BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – A backup car may not have cured all of Ethan Mitchell’s woes, but it certainly solved a bunch of them Friday night during Indiana Midget Week action at Bloomington Speedway.
Mitchell, who battled electrical issues with his primary car during hot laps and qualifying, switched to his second car – sporting a blue scheme instead of the usual red colors – for the remainder of the night.
The change paid dividends, as even though Mitchell had to take a provisional and start last in the 23-car feature field, he was able to race his way forward to 12th and was in position for hard-charger honors before shredding a tire on the final lap and dropping to 15th in the final rundown.
“I think we started dead last and were up to about 12th with one to go before the tire let go on us there on that last lap,” Mitchell said. “I think coming out of two it came unraveled, and it really just cost us a hard charger and a decent finish to the night. We had a rough day. The red car started out the day with something electrical happening to it. We’re not sure what it was, but I think it was firing on three cylinders … like it was missing a spark or something.
“We swapped over to the backup car and ran good there in the heat race. Just somebody went out in front of me and I really had nowhere to go to avoid them,” added Mitchell. “In the B-main there, I started tenth, and I think I was running around seventh or eighth and just ran out of laps. I didn’t get to the top soon enough, really, is what that came down to.
“Overall, I guess we salvaged a decent night, so I’m not too disappointed.”
As for which car he’ll use for the rest of Indiana Midget Week, Mitchell tipped that sticking with the blue car “will probably be the play,” at least for now.
“I’ve got a lot of people telling me that one is faster, anyways, so we’ll see what happens with it.”
– This year’s Indiana Midget Week championship fight may be one of the deepest – and most unpredictable – in the 17-year history of the Hoosier State mini-series.
With Buddy Kofoid and Chris Windom separated by just 12 points at the top of the order and two of the top-five drivers having won the first two rounds, it’s anyone’s guess who will leave with the big trophy.
Only one driver competing this week – Logan Seavey – is a past Indiana Midget Week champion. Seavey won the title in 2019 driving for Keith Kunz/Curb-Agajanian Motorsports.
– Speaking of Seavey, he had an idea regarding what made Bloomington Speedway’s Indiana Midget Week round so tightly contested Friday night, as well as made passing so difficult.
“I think the track was a little too good,” tipped Seavey, now the driver of the Tom Malloy-owned, Jerome Rodela-prepared No. 25. “You had to be so much faster than someone ahead of you to make a move stick. It was really hard to go anywhere.”
Seavey ended up seventh in the finishing order and ranks third in Indiana Midget Week points after two of the eight scheduled races.
– Emerson Axsom learned a valuable lesson following qualifying Friday at Bloomington that shook up his entire night.
“Go to the scales,” the Franklin, Ind., youngster sighed with a shake of his head.
Axsom had his qualifying time disallowed and had to fight off the back foot for the remainder of the night. He missed the transfer in his heat race and had to race his way in through the B-main.
After starting 22nd, Axsom’s night finally did get better in the feature – as he raced from 22nd to 11th and earned B&W Auto Mart Hard Charger honors with his Petry Motorsports No. 15.
– After RMS Racing was wildly successful during the Indiana Midget Week opener Thursday at Paragon Speedway, finishing first and third with Thomas Meseraull and Justin Grant, respectively, Friday night brought the team back down to earth.
Grant and Meseraull finished ninth and 13th at Bloomington after handling issues plagued the Dave Estep-owned operation for most of the night.
Still, however, Estep didn’t want to hang his head too far, knowing there’s still a lot of racing ahead.
“This is just how it goes sometimes,” he said while packing up the RMS hauler.
– So far, the Indiana Midget Week flip count stands at two, picking up one tally from Friday’s action after Chase Randall got upside down in turn four with six laps left.
Brenham Crouch previously flipped during his heat race on Thursday night at Paragon.
– Pit gates open at 3 p.m. Saturday at Lawrenceburg Speedway. Hot laps kick off at 6 p.m.