RACE HISTORY - STORY OF TWO

The Mitchell brothers started their racing career in June of ’05 when Logan (age 5) took his first ride in a friend’s borrowed kid kart at their local track, TNT Kartways in West Quincy, Missouri.

Logan’s first pass around the track would be indicative of his approach to racing. After pushing him back onto the track and explaining that “flooring it” was not the only position for the gas pedal, he tried again, and again, and again. On the way home that day, the excitement and enthusiasm was a clue that this may be more than a passing fancy. With his style of driving (which often mimicked his yard kart days) and newly found need for speed, he quickly adapted to sprint kart racing and went on to win the Beginner Kid Kart Class Championship for TNT Kartways in the ’05 season.

The next year brought all new challenges for the Mitchell household. After watching big brother Logan (now 6) for a year, younger brother Mason (age 4) decided it was his turn to give it a try. In direct contrast to Logan’s approach, Mason started off using a restrictor to slowly and methodically approach each curve and kart as he came to them. In the end, the completely opposite approach brought about the same result. This time, Mason would be the winner of the Beginner Kid Kart Class Championship for TNT Kartways in the ’06 season.

For Logan, ’06 brought a whole new level of challenges. After his rookie season success, Logan went on to try his hand/wheels at the regional level. The Central States Super Series would be the forum to determine whether Logan was to be considered another “one track wonder”. After racing at five of the best sprint tracks in the Midwest, Logan would achieve consistent top five finishes and pull off an upset to end up winning the series.

For ’07, both boys would sharpen their traffic skills by racing in venues with even more karts. The Route 66 series was another regional series competing in Missouri, Illinois, Iowa and Indiana with kid kart participants often exceeding 20 karts per event. From there, both boys traveled to Riverside, California to participate in one of the most competitive, aggressive races in the nation, the California State Championships. In their first visit to the track, Logan achieved a top ten finish, while Mason finished in 15th position (the highest of any six year old). This secured their positions as factory team drivers for the 2008 Tornado Team (a kart manufacturer specializing in kid and cadet kart frames).

The year ended with a visit to Daytona International Speedway to compete against 31 of the best kid karters from across the nation in the World Karting Association’s “participation only” kid kart event. The final result from the random start races were 3rd and 4th place finishes for Mason and 1st and 5th place (after a 29th starting position) finishes for Logan.

Outside of racing, both boys enjoy camping, fishing, swimming, wrestling (mainly each other), animals and almost any outdoor activity. Logan has started to read and write cursive this year in second grade while Mason enjoys his first year of school in an all day kindergarten. Both boys excel in school and enjoy extracurricular activities and playing with friends. On occasion, a friend’s parents relent, and we all head to the track where the cycle begins all over again. Strapping on borrowed helmets and gear, explaining that flat out is not the only way to drive, pushing another rookie back onto the track, and listening to excited little voices on the way home as they replay the day’s events.