Upstate South Carolina

Around the dirt track racing scene many know or have heard of Zack Mitchell also known as Kid Quick who is a 12 year old 7th grader out of Enoree, South Carolina. If you haven’t heard of him, you are really missing a NASCAR driver in the making. (Click on any of the pictures in this article to see a larger version.)

Zack Mitchell is a 3rd generation driver following in his dad (Todd) and papas (Jerry) footsteps right down to the number 57 that is placed so proudly on his cars. He started out his love for racing very early in life with go cart’s at the age of 5. He went on to get better while winning local and national championships then trading in that go cart for a race car in the Young Guns division.

Zack started racing in the Late Model Crate division in 2008 and took the whole sport by storm. His age as well as his driving ability, made everyone stand up and take notice of the new driver in town. Kid Quick is sponsored by Hot Spot, Clary Hood Inc. and R.L. Jordon Oil company. With those kinds of names on his car, he has to be doing something right.

I remember the first time I saw this young man when he came to TR Speedway in July, I think. All I could imagine is this poor boy is going to get killed. I had never seen anyone that age compete with these older drivers. I asked his mother (Jennifer Mitchell, who was walking around in the grandstands) if she was terrified of him racing in that division. She simply said “I feel he is much safer in these cars than he was when he was racing go carts. I do still worry though.”

During the qualifying races Zack came from the back to sit in fourth place to start the main race. Unfortunately the races were rained out that night. So I would have to wait several weeks to see the real deal.

He came a time or two after that and I seemed to miss him until 11/1/08. Zack Mitchell qualified to start the race on the front row outside for the main event. When the main race started he was on his game and never looked back remaining in the lead the entire race with the most perfect driving around each turn I had ever seen. He never missed a beat and won his 4th race of the year.

It takes so much work that goes into building and maintaining cars like this that Zack has 10 people working on his cars regularly. He says he knows for sure that Travis Morgan, Chad Husky, Frank & Janice Vinson, Jerry & Bonnie Mitchell, Jeremy Thomas, Keith DeYoung and of course his parents Todd & Jennifer Mitchell do everything they can to make things run smoothly and without them he would not be racing.

Zack is now the youngest driver ever to win in the Late Crate division with his first victory at Cherokee Speedway (his home track) on 5/10/08. Since then he has went to the victory lane another time at Cherokee, once in Cleveland County with the last win being at TR Speedway 11/1/08.

Finishes for 2008 (1st - 4 times) (2nd - 5 times) (3rd - 5 times) (4th - 2 times) (5th - 3 times) (6th - 1 time) (DNF - 2 times)

You can find other articles on Zack Mitchell at: IndianaDirtScoops.net / GoUpstate.com

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