Former SCSA Racing Stock Car Champion John Mickel is facing the toughest challenge of his racing career when he will travel to the United States to take on the worlds best oval racers in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.
John Mickel, from Cambridge, is no stranger to American circuits, having won the World Legends title at Sears Point and he competed in two ASA oval races at the end of 2004 in a car prepared in England by his Torquespeed team. The car was shipped to the US especially for the races at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in North Carolina and Atlanta, where he finished on the lead lap in both races.
However Mickel and the Torquespeed team, whose ambition is to compete full time in the US, have put together a deal to race with 2004 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series winning team Bobby Hamilton Racing, backed by UK sponsors dsi nexdox, Dudman Group and RS Capp. The 34-year-old racer is entered in the races at Atlanta on October 29th and Texas Motor Speedway on November 4th.
“This is a fantastic opportunity to prove that I can compete with the best race drivers in the world,” said John Mickel. “The deal with Bobby Hamilton Racing will give me the best equipment to get the job done and allow me to do what I do best – that’s race. It’s going to be tough, I have to qualify for the Atlanta race but I have a reserve place for Texas as in that event I will be driving the No. 4 Dodge previously piloted by Timothy Peters. I’ve got to be realistic about my chances and my aim is a top 20 finish at each event, anything above that will be a real bonus. However, I’m going there to do the best I can for myself and for dsi nexdox, who have backed me all the way this year both in England in SCSA racing and now in the States.”
Mickel, who took 8 podium finishes in 12 starts in the 2005 SCSA Stock Car Series on the 1.5-mile banked oval at Rockingham Motor Speedway near Northampton in England, flies out on Saturday October 8th for a week to test the 800bhp Craftsman Truck at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Tuesday October 11th.
