Mini Charges Through August [Langley Recap]
Mini Tyrrell and the #81 Mini T's Fastest Grease In The East race team closed out a hectic month of August with a strong 4th place effort in the CARS Tour 125-lap race at Langley Speedway in Hampton, Va. It was Mini's 3rd top-4 finish in the last 4 races.
Prior to August, Mini's best finish on the CARS Tour was a 4th place finish in June 2019 at Dominion Raceway. In the span of 28 days in August, he posted a runner-up finish at Dominion, a 3rd place effort at Hickory Motor Speedway, and a 4th place finish at Langley.
Mini started 8th on the flat .395-mile track in Virginia's tidewater region. He used the outside line to his advantage to take a spot from Jonathan Shafer on the opening lap. He dropped a spot to a charging Bobby McCarty on lap 6. Mini engaged in a side-by-side battle with Justin Johnson on laps 9-12 before settling back into 8th place. On lap 15, he followed McCarty on the inside line to pass Grayson Cullather to reclaim 7th. On lap 25, Johnson dove low to take a spot from Mini who was caught on the outside line. Shafer and Trey Crews followed to send Mini back to 10th place. A caution on lap 41 for a crash in turn 3 involving Cullather after contact from Ronald Hill created a brief red flag for track cleanup.
Mini made headway on the restart by moving past Johnson and Brandon Pierce to take 8th place. At the halfway point, Mini was running 8th directly behind Shafer. With 55 laps to go, he followed Shafer past Timothy Peters to take 7th. Blake Stallings took a spot from Mini prior to a caution for Terry Carroll's spin with 39 laps to go. On the restart, he worked the outside line and moved back into 7th when Crews slowed for a flat tire. A subsequent caution for Crews' spin bunched the field for a restart with 37 laps to go.
As the race wound down, Mini's strategy to conserve his tires worked wonders as his competitors began fading. He passed Shafer to take 6th place with 30 to go. He then passed Stallings to enter the top-5 with under 20 laps to go. In the closing laps, Mini took 4th from McCarty. At the front of the field, Layne Riggs passed Corey Heim on the final lap to claim his first CARS Tour victory since 2018.
Mini brought the #81 Chevrolet to the line in 4th place. After a pair of back-to-back races during the month, Mini will enjoy Labor Day weekend away from the track. He'll celebrate his 16th birthday on September 8 before heading to the next CARS Tour race at Carteret County Speedway on September 12.
MINI'S COMMENTS:
"We had a great run at Langley Speedway with a 4th place finish in the CARS Tour race after starting 8th. We fell back a little and had some great battles. We came away with another top-5 finish. Of the 4 races we've finished this season, we've had a pair of top-3's and the 4th place finish at Langley. I'm super proud of the race team."
CONTACT TIMMY TYRRELL RACING
Owner: Timmy Tyrrell
Communications/PR: Larry Graff