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Seventeen Year Old Racer Determined to Reach Goal

Beau Mitchell, like most racecar drivers, has set his sights on one day reaching the pinnacle NASCAR Winston Cup Series. The 17-year old Owensboro, Kentucky native is busy with much more than just racing. Mitchell has competed in nearly every sport imaginable, from boxing to football. He enters his second year as captain on his high school football team, playing linebacker for Apollo High School in his senior year. His love for racing, however, calls him from all other activities.

“I am giving up a lot to race. I am missing my first football game of the season, which means a lot because this is my last year of high school. I pretty much have to sacrifice my teenage life to race. I spend all my time working in the garage to get the car ready for the next race; then I am at the track all weekend. By the time I get home on Sunday night I am too tired to do anything,” said Mitchell. “It is definitely worth it though. I understand how hard you have to work to succeed in racing, so I am willing to make that sacrifice in order to make it.”

Mitchell currently competes in the Phillips 66 Street Modified series at Nashville Speedway USA. His goal is to one day make it to the Winston Cup Series. “I would like to be in the Busch Series in the next five years at least. This year I am just going to keep racing Street Modifieds and try to win the championship. That is my main focus right now,” said Mitchell.

He is certainly headed in the right direction. After winning the 2000 Rookie of the Year honors, he leads the points race at Nashville Speedway USA in only his second year of competition, winning ten of thirteen features this season. He stands to become the youngest driver ever to win a championship at Nashville.

Mitchell’s parents have had a great deal of influence on his racing career as well. “Beau played every sport you can imagine. He won titles in boxing and bowling when he was younger. He has excelled in just about every sport he tried. We have just been there to support him, and when he made the decision that racing was what he wanted to pursue the most, we started pushing him in that direction,” said his father Gene. “He gives 125% in every thing that he does, and it shows in his performance on the track.” Beau’s dad is quick to point out his biggest reason for success to date. “Beau is a very smooth driver. He knows not to use up the racecar too early. He doesn’t try to lap the field either. Once he gets up front he just keeps running consistent laps to hold the lead and win the race. He listens very well and takes all the advice we give him to heart.”

Beau doesn’t just race his cars; he works on them too. “When Beau comes in to make a change on the car, he wants to know exactly what we did to fix it. He wants to understand everything that goes on in that racecar. He can tear the car down and put it back together as much as he has worked on it,” said Gene.

Beau’s next goal, after winning the championship this year, is to move into the Gatorade All Pro Series or into racing Late Models. “I am working on a deal to run two All Pro races later this year at Nashville Speedway and at Nashville Superspeedway. I would really like to move into Late Model Stocks, because I know that is one series I need to run to help me get ready to run in the higher NASCAR series. I have to find sponsorship before I can go up to Late Models, but I am hopeful that I can find something there to help me move forward in my career,” remarked Beau. “Right now I am just focused on winning the championship. Then we’ll worry about what comes after that.”