It may have been his inaugural race in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, but rookie Marc Mitchell handled 100 laps of restrictor plate mayhem like a veteran. The Tallahassee, Fla. native used a fine blend of patience and aggressiveness to pilot the No. 15 Ergon Chevrolet to a 13th place finish in the Chevy Silverado 250 at Daytona International Speedway.
Starting from the 25th position, Mitchell decided it would be best to drift to the back of the field in the beginning stages of the race while the cars up front battled for position. The plan turned out to be a smart one, as it didn’t take long for the thirty-six car field to get rowdy. On lap 18, the "big one" occurred when several cars at the head of the pack triggered a multi-car wreck. With help from his spotter, Mitchell navigated through the melee, barely avoiding spinning vehicles on both sides of his truck. The incident brought out the caution flag, which gave the Ergon team a chance to service the No. 15 Silverado with four tires, fuel and a track bar adjustment to tighten up the handling.
The race resumed on lap 23 with Mitchell in 15th place. Shortly after the green flag waved, another multi-car incident brought out the caution. Once again, Mitchell was able to steer clear of the wreck. Mitchell felt a slight vibration when cruising around the track during the caution period, so the team called him into the pits for another four tire pit stop. He rejoined the field in the 11th position.
Green flag racing picked up on lap 33. Three laps later, Mitchell broke into the top-10. He hung strong until lap 53, when another wreck brought out the yellow flag. Crew chief Doug George called Mitchell into the pits for another round of tires and fuel. When service was complete, the Ergon Chevy rejoined the field in 9th place.
On lap 57, the race went green. Mitchell’s truck began loosening up on him and the back-end began snapping around on him through the corners. Mitchell grew concerned that the issue was being caused by a flat tire and was forced to slow down the pace. He made an unscheduled pit stop on lap 77 to change the tires. The team serviced Mitchell’s vehicle and sent him back on the track. Luckily, Mitchell’s pit stop was near a pit window and the rest of the field pitted shortly after he did. Once everything cycled around, Mitchell was back on the lead lap in 14th place.
Mitchell raced furiously with the lead pack in the remaining laps. He kept his truck hugging the bottom line, hoping he’d pass by the outside lane of traffic. Unfortunately, the field stayed two-wide for the rest of the race and no one was able to pass. Mitchell finished the day in 13th place.
"It was a great way to start the season," said Mitchell after the race ended. "The Ergon team gave me an awesome truck. It sucked up well in the draft. I could go high or low on the track. It got loose on me towards the end of the race. I started to think it was because I had a flat. It turned out to be just buildup on the tires.
"What a great start to the season. We finished our first race together with a top-15. There were a lot of teams with more experience than us that didn’t have nearly as good a race as us. That says a lot about our performance today. I can’t wait to get to California."
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