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“Texas Trey” Mitchell takes top honors in the 2010 ARBodies.com Most Popular Driver contest

According to the contest organizers, over 40,000 race fans voted in the 2010 edition of the Speed51.com ARBodies.com Late Model Most Popular Driver contest and after the votes were tabulated, “Texas Trey” Mitchell was declared the winner.

The obviously popular Mitchell will receive a brand new ABC “Package A” kit from ARBodies.com for winning the contest. ARBodies are among the most sought after stock car racing bodies in the racing industry and are worth nearly $3.000.00.

“It feels good to know that so many people from all over the country voted for me,” Mitchell said. “We came pretty close to winning last year, but I am proud to say that a Texan won it with another Texan, JT Schild, among the top three. I just want to thank everyone for taking the time to vote for me and JT.”

For the past two seasons the personable Wimberley, Texas, native has run up near the front in the PASS South Super Late Model Series, finishing a strong fifth in the 2010 final PASS point standings despite running one less race than the rest of the drivers who finished in the top ten. While it’s only on paper, if Mitchell had been able to compete in the all 13 PASS events and earned his average points (213 points per race) for the missed race, he would have won the PASS South Super Late Model championship by 39 points.

Mitchell caught the racing bug at fourteen, competing in four races in his Allison Legacy Mitchell Motorsports ride at the very end of the 2004 season at Thunderhill Raceway in Kyle, Texas, not far from his hometown of Wimberley. In spite of his brief season, he proved a quick learner and was named the “Most Improved Driver” in the series that year.

With the racing bug fully implanted, in 2005 Trey started his first full racing season in style by breaking the track record in the Allison Legacy season opener at Red River Speedway in Wichita Falls, Texas. Although 2005 saw no wins, he was in the lead pack all season with seven second-place finishes – more than good enough to win the coveted “Rookie of the Year” honors.

In what many saw as a daring move, the 16-year old made a huge jump to the highly-competitive asphalt Pro Modified division in 2006. The move took him from a relatively calm 120 horsepower scale-model stock car to a fire-breathing, low-slung , open- wheel modified, but it didn’t take the high school athlete-scholar very long to learn the ropes. In fact - and to most everyone’s astonishment - the youngster recorded a win in his rookie season at one of the most demanding, half-mile, high-banked tracks anywhere – San Antonio Speedway - making him the youngest winner ever in the Texas-based Pro Modified division. With that impressive notch in his belt, Mitchell was named “Rookie of the Year” for the second year in a row.

The following season, Mitchell raced his Pro Modified at Houston Motorsports Park, picking up three wins, six top 5’s and 9-top 10’s in 12 starts at the 3/8-mile concrete and asphalt oval, almost winning the championship except for a costly wreck during the season finale.

Mitchell, who combines his studies at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with his racing career, says he will be putting his new ARBody to good use in 2011.

“We are planning on running the whole PASS South schedule this season – this time without missing a race,” Mitchell said. “We have a great team and the best part is that we have learned a whole lot about all the tracks that were new to us over the past couple of season. To me the PASS Super Late Model Series is the best Super Late Model group in the country with a first-class group of drivers and teams. Like a lot of other drivers, I hope to move up the racing ladder - paying my dues along the way - and eventually land a ride in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, so the awesome experience I am gaining now is invaluable.”

For more information about Trey and opportunities to be part of his 2011 racing efforts, check out Trey’s website at http://www.treymitchellracing.com.

by Nick Holt, Lone Star Speedzone
Photos courtesy of Trey Mitchell Racing

“Texas Trey” Mitchell has a Career Weekend PASS South Double Header

Trey Mitchell went into the PASS South double header looking to build on his career best third place finish at New Senoia Speedway just two weeks ago. He did just that with the #47 Magnum’s Oilfield Services Ford Fusion that was capable of sweeping the weekend. The Texas native had to settle for a solid top ten finish after having the car to beat in race one then did it the hard way to make it a career night in race two.

Friday night at Greenville-Pickens, Mitchell qualified in the twenty-second position. In the end though, he proved to be one of the main players in one of the most dramatic races in the PASS South series history. Mitchell slowly worked his way through the field knocking on the door of the top ten by lap fifty-six when the first caution of the night flew. Mitchell worked his way into fourth position by lap 100 and was running third with two laps to go when the fireworks began.

In a hard three way battle for the lead between Jeff Fultz, Corey Williams, and Mitchell; Mitchell dove to the inside of Williams in turn one, getting loose inside of Corey turning the #47 of Williams around in the corner. Both Mitchell and Williams were sent to the rear of the field. After three attempts at a green-white-checker, Mitchell fought his way back to a sixth place finish in the Firecracker 125.

“I was driving the wheels off the car trying to get to the front. I knew I had the car to beat and I was doing everything I could to get to the front. I hate that I got into Corey (Williams) and cost both of us a top three finish, maybe a win for me. I wanted to go apologize to him and his team but they wanted nothing of it. Hopefully in a few days when everyone isn’t so on edge I can tell him I’m sorry because I know 100% it was my fault. I was just going for the win and those kinds of things happen; what can you do we had the better car,” stated Mitchell after the race.

Sunday at Hickory Motor Speedway, Mitchell’s #47 Magnum’s Oilfield Services Ford Fusion was once again a hard charger as he weaved his way through traffic, not once but twice, en route to a career best second place finish in super late model competition.

Mitchell started sixteenth on the famous .363 mile oval. By lap sixty-eight, Mitchell was in the top ten when multiple cars, including Mitchell, spun to bring out the fifth caution of the night. However, as was the case Friday night, Mitchell’s car only got faster as the night went on as he moved into the top five with twenty laps to go becoming a major factor in the outcome once again.

On this night, Mitchell would be a benefactor of Ryan Blaney and Preston Peltier’s late race run-in, moving Mitchell up to third on the last restart of the night with five laps to go. Mitchell got a jump on the restart, moving up to second, but he was unable to reel in Justin Wakefield who took the checkered flag one car length ahead of Mitchell.

“My PR guy (Chris Ragle) has been on my case all year about qualifying better and before I went out and qualified today he told me, ‘since I was the last car to go out if there ever was a good opportunity to qualify up front this was it,’ and I let him down again. I don’t know, we just don’t qualify worth a darn but we always have good cars during the race and it’s starting to show. People are starting to say that Trey Mitchell is a guy we have to beat and that’s pretty cool. We just have one more spot to go before getting that first win and now after having a shot to win the last three races I know we will get one sooner or later,” added Mitchell.

Stay tuned to www.treymitchellracing.com for all the latest news and information regarding Trey Mitchell Racing in 2009. For sponsorship related items contact Tonya McCallister with McCallister Precision Marketing at 803-361-6199. For public relations and website information contact Chris Ragle at cragle02@yahoo.com or call 704-706-3666.

by Chris Ragle, TEX Motorsports Marketing/Pro Photo Productions

“Texas Trey” Mitchell carrying momentum into PASS South 4th of July double

As families and friends around the country prepare to celebrate our nation’s birth day with time off from work and relaxation, it is business as usual for the Trey Mitchell Racing team.

There will be no time off for Mitchell and his race team as they hope to carry the momentum of a career best finish in their last outing to a PASS South Fourth of July weekend double header this weekend.

The race weekend starts early for the team as they will travel to the paper clip shaped half mile Greenville-Pickens Speedway for the Firecracker 125 on Friday July 3rd to partake in what many consider to be one of the best Fourth of July weekend races to attend. Then after the day off to make the appropriate setup and handling changes, Mitchell and company will then compete Sunday July 5th at the abrasive Hickory Motor Speedway as part of the first ever Independence 150.

The double header will be a first for Mitchell when it comes to super late model competition but after having scored his first ever podium finish at New Senoia Speedway just a few weeks ago, the momentum of success is on his side.

“It felt good leaving Senoia last race with a third place finish. It’s just a whole new feeling when you finish in the top three; it pumped me up, it pumped my crew up and has us all really excited about racing this weekend. I know both places (Greenville and Hickory) real well and they’re two tracks I’ve had success with in the past so I have some pretty high hopes about coming away with some good finishes and hopefully building on that third place momentum we’ve got going,” said Mitchell.

The major object for the Texas native will be to keep his car in one piece at Greenville to be able to race Sunday at Hickory. The team wasn’t able to get a second #47 Ford Fusion completely ready to go for the double, forcing Mitchell to be extra cautious with his #47 Magnum’s Oilfield Service Ford Fusion. While Mitchell plans on being as cautious as possible he knows that with the ultra competitive field expected for both races he has to be on his game regardless.

“We weren’t quite able to get both cars ready for this weekend so I’ll have to be careful and make smart decisions. It won’t really change how I race that much other than maybe a little bit of extra give and take and I’m sure that everyone else has the same thoughts because they don’t want to end their chances of racing in Hickory either,” added Mitchell.

Stay tuned to www.treymitchellracing.com for all the latest news and information regarding Trey Mitchell Racing in 2009. For sponsorship related items contact Tonya McCallister with McCallister Precision Marketing at 803-361-6199. For public relations and website information contact Chris Ragle at cragle02@yahoo.com or call 704-706-3666.

by Chris Ragle and Tonya McCallister

Texans Trey Mitchell and Bryce Walker set for Orange County PASS SLM run

Durham, North Carolina’s Jay Fogleman has spent more nights than he can count over the years racing and winning at Orange County Speedway. After all, it is where he began his racing career in 1982 and is located in Rougemont just a few miles from where he lives. But, in all the races Fogleman has competed in at Orange County, perhaps he has never looked forward to an event like this weekend’s 4th Annual Orange Blossom Special.

Fogleman will return after a long absence from Orange County Speedway on Saturday night to battle the best field of Super Late Model drivers in the country. Over the better part of the last decade, Fogleman has been a regular in the USAR Pro Cup Series and has not had the chance to compete at Orange County. After finishing third in Pro Cup points in 2008, Fogleman has made the switch to the Pro All Stars Series (PASS) South Super Late Model division and will have the opportunity to race twice at Orange County this year.

In a limited PASS South schedule in 2008, Fogleman managed to win one race and has elected to go for the PASS South championship in 2009. Although the season has gotten off to a slow start with Fogleman stuck in 15th place in the PASS South point standings after two races, many look to Orange County as the place that the veteran can turn it around. Nobody racing in the Orange Blossom Special has as much experience at Orange County as Fogleman does. And, Fogleman will not be the only driver with local ties to Orange County looking to defend the home turf.

Mark Gibson from Winston-Salem, NC finished fourth in PASS South points in 2008 and is looking for his first top 10 finish in 2009. Duane Linville of Kernersville, NC made his return to PASS South at Orange County last year and has been knocking on the door of finishing in the top ten. Bradley McCaskill and Alex Fleming of Raleigh are best friends off the track and the toughest of competitors on the track. Both McCaskill and Fleming scored top five finishes with PASS South in 2008 and are hoping to give the hometown fans something to cheer about at Orange County.

Perhaps the best chance of scoring a win for the locals could come from one of the series youngest competitors. 14-year-old driver Ryan Blaney from High Point, NC has impressed since making his PASS South debut at Orange County in 2008. In his first start in a PASS South Super Late Model, Blaney stormed through the field and made it all the way up to third before a mechanical problem took him out of contention for the win. After poor qualifying runs in the first two races of the season at Dillon and Hickory, Blaney again charged through the field to score top five finishes in both races. Blaney comes to Orange County a surprising third in PASS South points behind veterans Ben Rowe and Jeff Fultz.

Maine’s Rowe hopes to make it three for three in PASS South for 2009 while Fultz looks for his first win in the series after four straight top five finishes dating back to last year.

While locals hope to steal the show at Orange County, a couple of PASS South rookies hope to join Blaney in the “phenom” category. Most short track observers would say Pensacola, Florida’s Johanna Long has already achieved that status. Last year, Long became the first female to win a Pro Late Model race at her home track, the Five Flags Speedway. Earlier this year, she made more history by becoming the first female winner at Five Flags in the Super Late Model division. Long looks to her crew chief, veteran racer Freddie Query, and teammate Trey Mitchell to help speed her learning curve in PASS South as she makes the transition from racing in Florida.

Texas rookie Bryce Walker will also make his PASS South debut in the Orange Blossom Special as a teammate to Jeff Fultz. Walker was virtually unbeatable in INEX Legends car racing and has scored a couple of top tens racing Crate Late Models thus far in 2009.

Veterans, rookies, and locals will be joined by the strongest Super Late Model drivers in the South including Justin Wakefield, Heath Hindman, Michael Pope, Clay Jones, Hal Goodson, John Batten, Devin Jones, and many, many more.

Joining the PASS South Super Late Models at Orange County Speedway for the first time will be the PASS Late Model Trucks. Through two races, Grant Davidson has a second place finish at Dillon and a win at Hickory. Those finishes have given Davidson a slight edge in points over Marty Griggs and Jody Measamer. Ben Ebeling led several laps at Hickory until an accident took him out of the running for the win. This weekend, Ebeling will be joined in a team truck by Allen Huffman. 2008 Pro Challenge National Champion Clint King continues to impress in his first season racing PASS Late Model Trucks and will be joined by another Pro Challenge alum Justin Crider. The PASS Late Model Trucks continue to grow and will compete along side the PASS South Super Late Models at the next three events before taking the month of June off when PASS South travels down to the New Senoia Raceway in Georgia. In addition to the 4th Annual Orange Blossom Special for the PASS South Super Late Models and the PASS Late Model Trucks, the Allison Legacy cars and Limited Late Models will be in action this weekend at the Orange County Speedway.

Action gets under way on Friday, April 24th at Orange County Speedway with gates opening at 1 PM and rotating practice for all divisions from 3 PM to 7PM. On Saturday, April 25th , pit gates open at 11 AM, rotating practice for all divisions from 1 PM to 4 PM, PASS South qualifying at 5 PM, and racing starts at 7 PM. Orange County Speedway is located off NC Highway 57 near Rougemont. For more information go to ocstrack.com or racewithpass.com. For marketing or media questions contact Alan Dietz at 704-231-2039 or for technical information contact Scott Reed at 207-625-3230

by Alan Dietz, PASS Marketing

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