Rural Missouri - August 2022 - 46

Racing
WITH MY FATHER
Tom Mitchell's lifelong love of cars and racing is rooted in fond memories of his father, Tom Sr., and a need for speed. Now he's passing on that
legacy of racing and automotive expertise to son, Ethan.
by Jessica Jainchill |
T
Classic race cars connect the Mitchell family
info@ruralmissouri.coop
Photos by Zach Smith | zsmith@ruralmissouri.coop
om Mitchell loves the smell of racing fuel, burning
tires and all the other sights and sounds that come
with a racetrack. This is because Tom's passion
is building, showing and racing vintage race cars.
However, Tom's passion would not exist if it was not for
the bond he shared with his father, Tom Sr.
" My dad, when I was a kid, was a semiprofessional
drag racer, " the Boone Electric Cooperative member says.
" When my sister and I came along, my mom said he
needed to settle down a bit and do more family things. He
started buying cars, fi xing them up, restoring them and
started racing again in the early '80s. "
Living in the country and with no social media, there
was only so much childhood biking Tom could do. Eventually,
he wandered into the garage to help his father. " I
know that I was out there at 5 or 6 years old, " he says.
" I might have been out there earlier, but I can remember
being out there on bicycles, messing around, and he
might be under the vehicle and be like, 'Hey, bring me a
wrench.' "
46 RURAL MISSOURI | AUGUST 2022
Soon Tom became fascinated with cars. In his early
teens, his father took him to his fi rst race where he got a
good taste of racing. There was no going back after that.
" As far as the racing goes, there is always the thrill of
speed ... and the atmosphere around a racetrack, " Tom
says. " There is always something that would draw you to
that. I'm not sure if it's just me, but when I was a kid, it
drew lots of people. "
In his fi rst race, Tom saw his father win, which further
spurred him into race cars. He says, " You get to the point
of 'When's it going to be my turn?' I wanted to experience
the same thing my dad did when he was winning. "
At 17 years old, Tom followed in his father's footsteps
with a 1964 Dodge Polara 500. He even had the thrill of
winning his fi rst event with a trophy to prove it.
" I don't know if it's beginner's luck or that I had been
around racing so much that I knew what I had to do to
be able to win, " he recalls. " I was fortunate enough to win
that fi rst time, and after that, you're kind of hooked. "
After that fi rst race, Tom sought what all racers seek
- speed. " It doesn't really matter about how fast you are
going today; you want to be faster the next time, just a
little bit faster, " he says.

Rural Missouri - August 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Rural Missouri - August 2022

Contents
Rural Missouri - August 2022 - Cover1
Rural Missouri - August 2022 - Cover2
Rural Missouri - August 2022 - Contents
Rural Missouri - August 2022 - 4
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