(Image: Ben Thrasher)
26 Promotions – Queen Creek, AZ – (May 1, 2018) – Tye Mihocko used a late race restart to race past Charles Davis Jr. to pick up his first career USAC Southwest victory Saturday night at Arizona Speedway.
Mihocko’s night began with heat race action where he advanced from sixth to fourth, placing him seventh to start the 30-lap feature.
“It took us a couple of laps to get going,” explained Mihocko. “We backed up a couple of spots in the first five laps or so, but got going once the track thinned out and we were able to settle in.”
The Bull’s march to the front started around lap ten as he charged from eighth to third in three laps.
“A handful of guys got checked up down the backstretch, and we got a run on them,” he said. “We slid three cars for position, one of them crossed over, but we squeaked by them in one and two.”
Mihocko then set his sights on the lead making up ground as the leaders worked lapped traffic. An open red allowed the team to make a few quick adjustments for a run to the checkers.
“Sambo was able to get the car dialed in even more under red, and we restarted second with three to go,” he explained. “We had two separated red flags, on the first restart I messed up, but figured out what I needed to do the second time. We got a good jump on Charles and cleared him down the backstretch. He threw a slider, and I was able to cross over and pull even with him out of four.”
Mihocko stuck the bottom to secure the lead on the white flag lap crossing the line with a half-second advantage over Charles Davis Jr.
“Watching my first win slip away to Charles on the last lap two weeks ago to winning in that same fashion felt incredible,” said Mihocko. “I was more pumped for my guys and everyone that has helped us get to this point. I’ve known we could make it happen, but things never worked out. I’m incredibly proud, especially to win in that fashion. We had to be almost perfect around the bottom those last two laps, and we were.”
Mihocko knows he hasn’t arrived at this point in his career without the help of his family and team.
“I need to thank my dad, he’s been behind me since the beginning, and there isn’t a chance I’d be anywhere close to where I’m at now without him,” he said. “I have to thank Sam Peroni, who wrenches on the car and gets it to where it’ll drive itself if I hit my marks, and Tyler Peroni, who busts his ass in the shop and at the track.”
Mihocko now has one win, four top five, and six top ten finishes this season and sits second in the USAC Southwest Sprint Car Series points. The series returns to action on May 19th at Arizona Speedway.
Tye Mihocko would like to thank Mears Mechanical, Dave Wilson Reality, Michael Most Trucking, All-Star Catering, Five Star Engines, Red Beard Composites, The Race Shack, and Paint by Steve for their support.
Results
Heat: 6th -> 4th
Feature: 7th -> 1st
Links
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TyeMihockoRacing
Twitter: https://twitter.com/tye_mihocko
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tye_mihocko/
Article Credit: 26 Promotions