Mini Tyrrell traveled to Tri-County Motor Speedway in Hudson, NC for the first time in his young career and when he left he had earned the respect of the other racers but not the finish he deserved.
Mini posted the second fastest time during Friday practice and followed that up with the fastest lap in final practice on Saturday. Then he posted the second fastest time and started from the outside pole in the inaugural CARS Tour Limited Late Model race.
It didn’t take long for Mini to jump out into the lead and after leading several laps he was moved for the top spot slipping to third. That move would put him in a position to be involved in a caution as a crash at the back of the field came up too soon for the leaders to dodge.
Mini went to check up hard as the caution was called late and when he did he was run over from behind. The crash left his car with a little bit of damage but nothing that would keep him from returning to the race. Mini was slicing through the field and back up to 10th but a restart coming on lap 34 would end Mini’s day and ultimately end the race as a whole as darkness was setting in.
This crash would do even more damage to Mini’s car as the majority of the field collided on the backstretch when the leaders tangled coming off of turn two. While Mini’s race didn’t go as planned, he was able to establish himself with the other competitors as someone they could race with without worry.
“That was a wild race,” Mini commented following the race. “We had a great car and thought we were going to at least come out of here with a top five but that first wreck ruined the good run we were having. While the second wreck ended all hopes of continuing even if they could have restarted the race.”
Mini’s results weren’t what he and the team expected but Mini was able to get plenty of experience in a new division, new series and at a new track.
“It was definitely an experience,” Mini said laughing. “We got to experience a lot in this first race with the CARS Tour. We’re really looking forward to getting to run with these same guys at Hickory and back with the CARS Tour there in August. We’ll regroup and get to Shenandoah and make sure we have the car back right and try to get some wins.”
Mini’s next race will be at Shenandoah Speedway on April 7th. Mini is the two-time defending champion at Shenandoah and will be looking to defend his home turf against what’s expected to be a stout group of cars running on opening night.
Mini is supported by Castrol Edge, PPC Lubricants, Beautiful Bodies Auto Body Shop and Team Racing Virginia. For more information on Mini and the Timmy Tyrrell Racing team check out their website at www.MiniTyrrell.com or click “like” on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MiniTyrrell/ and @minityrrell on Twitter
