Thu, 10 Mar 2005, 11:21 PM Two Kids Who are Making Mom and Dad Really Proud

By Bob Frey Photo copyright 2005 Bob Johnson Photography

Colt Mikel

Over the past few years I've written a lot of columns about sportsman racers and there is almost always a common thread to be found in them. More often than not it seems that today's crop of racers are either people who have been racing for a long time themselves or they are second generation racers following in the footsteps of mom or dad. Well, neither of those scenarios apply to Daniel and Colt Mikel, two of the great new young racers on the drag racing scene. Another thing that you may have noticed is that, very often, racers in the gasoline burning sportsman classes, especially Competition Eliminator, always seem to have a desire to move up to Pro Stock at some time in the future. Well, guess what? That doesn't apply to Daniel and Colt, either. Oh they do intend to move up the food chain in the next few years but they have their sights set on the Pro Mod class and the reason for that is fairly simple.mom likes Pro Mods. "The first time we took my mom to the track in Sealy, Texas, she saw the Pro Mod cars and she fell in love with them," Colt, the younger of the two brothers said. "We really enjoy what we're doing right now but we are having a Pro Mod car built and we'll be driving it in a year or so." Make no mistake about it, the new Pro Mod car will hit the track before that but the boys won't take over the driving for a while. At the age of twenty two, Colt seems mature beyond his years. As I spoke with him he continually talked about the learning curve in drag racing and how he is constantly learning something every time he goes out and races. "I want to drive the Pro Mod car eventually but I don't want to do it until I have more experience under my belt. 'Lump,' (Brian Self of Lump Induction Systems) and Buddy Nickens have taught me a lot about driving and I want to take my time learning about all aspects of driving, but I am looking forward to my turn in the Pro Mod."

Daniel Mikel

For a couple of young kids whose family has no real history in drag racing it's interesting that Colt and Daniel are so involved with the sport now. They credit a lot of that to their cousin, Scott Benham, whose family was and is heavily into the quarter-mile sport. "Back when I was in high school I used to go to the races and help Scott and then when my dad came with us he started to show an interest in it and that's when we decided that we wanted to go drag racing," Colt said. The family now races together when they're not working together at the family's plumbing company which dad, Ken, has been running for almost thirty years. It's a company that specializes in new residential construction and both of the boys have a hand in the operation. Colt is involved with the planning of the projects and Daniel works on the purchasing side of things. Like their racing, Colt says that he and his brother are both still in the learning process when it comes to the business. "We're both just young kids and we have a great opportunity at the business and on the track. We just hope we learn our lessons well."

Colt goes red vs Deceglie (near lane)

At the recent Division 7 Lucas Oil race in Phoenix Colt came close to claiming the first win for the family. Although he fouled out against Vince Deceglie in the finals he said it was a great experience and part of his ongoing learning curve. "I have to admit that I was a little nervous going into that final round," he said. "Not shaky nervous but I was aware of where I was and what was at stake. I'd been cutting good lights all day long and the final was at night and I just left too early." Colt did say that in his short time in the sport he has met a lot of really nice people who have been more than supportive of his efforts. "Vince and his team and everyone involved with that car couldn't have been nicer. It was a pleasure talking with them and racing against them." His brother, Daniel, came close to posting the first win for the family last year when he went to the finals at the D-4 race in Belle Rose, Louisiana where he was beaten by Jason Coan. The brothers will next try to get into the winner's circle when they travel to Tucson for the upcoming D-7 race. "We're actually going to skip the Houston race this week because we're looking at running some of the higher elevation tracks in an effort to take advantage of the attitude factors." Not a bad thought pattern for the relative new comers to the sport, after all, in sports you want to take advantage of everything that you can and running the altitude tracks in Comp appears to be a smart move.

Daniel Mikel

The vehicles that the boys run are former Pro Stock Trucks that became available when the class was dropped from the professional ranks. One is a 323 cubic inch engine while the other is a 321 motor and they both run with automatic transmissions. The boys have surrounded themselves with a good group of people and currently the team builds their own engines with help from "Lump" who does the cylinder heads and they're making pretty good power. "Lump" also serves as the crew chief on Colt's truck and as the advisor for the young driver. "'Lump' has done it all and he's been a huge help. He tells me how to approach different situations and how to race a slower car or a faster one. He's the best." He also steered the boys toward Competition Eliminator, but in all honesty it didn't take a lot of effort. "We really liked the class because of how competitive it is and the speed. I have to admit that the speed really attracted us to it." That and the fact that a Pro Mod is just down the road for the boys. "We're new and we like to pay attention to what's going on. We watch the teams who do well and try to learn from them," Colt said. As I said earlier, mature statements from a youngster who is only a few years out of high school.

Colt wins semi-final vs Kent.

While the 2005 and 2006 seasons will see Colt and Daniel competing in Comp Eliminator they have to admit that they're really looking forward to the Pro Mod experience. "I'm still learning this class and I know that I'll be able to drive the Pro Mod car, but they're so fast and hard to handle that I want to make sure that I have the experience to do the job. I don't want to go out and fail at it or at anything, for that matter." Brandon Pesz, who has a lot of experience in the Pro Mod class, mainly working with Thomas Patterson, one of the premier Pro Mod drivers in the class, and who is currently the crew chief on Daniel's truck, is also working to get the Pro Mod car ready. "We got the parts from Brad Anderson and Brandon is busy assembling them right now. We're really excited about it," Colt told me. And, in keeping with the family's involvement in racing and plumbing, the new 1953 Corvette will have a paint scheme that reflects both of their passions. "It'll have a plumbing theme, with graphics that reflect that and it will have a splashy water look to the whole thing. It's going to be pretty cool."

Daniel and Colt Mikel have yet to win a race but it only seems like a matter of time before it happens. Based on what they've done so far and based on how quickly they have adapted to the class you can bet that before too long there will be a Mikel family member in the winner's circle, and when that happens, whether it's Daniel or Colt, in Comp or Pro Mod, mom and dad will be right there with them to celebrate. "Our parents are so supportive and they come to every race. They've given us a great opportunity and we want to take advantage of it." You can be sure that they will and you can also be sure that with the approach and attitude that they have, Daniel and Colt's parents have to be really proud of their sons. And rightfully so.