Alburnett community support fuels Reggie Mitchell’s racing success

CEDAR RAPIDS — Sophomore driver Reggie Mitchell has given the Alburnett community plenty to cheer about this summer.

And they’ve stayed by his side.

One of the Alburnett Young Guns competing at Hawkeye Downs Speedway, Mitchell, 15, has racked up an impressive five wins, 10 top-five finishes and sits in second place in the Hobby Stocks division with just one race remaining.

His most recent win came Friday night as he passed Adam Petrzelka in the closing moments of the final lap to secure the checkered flag.

Mitchell credits the experience he gained from his rookie campaign in 2022 (he finished fourth) for his success this year.

“I've become much more patient this year, and it's been really paying dividends,” Mitchell said. “I’m just learning everything about the other drivers’ tendencies and trying to navigate through traffic.”

Mitchell also will be a sophomore in the classroom at Alburnett when school resumes on Aug. 23. With the success he’s had, he anticipates a friendly welcome back, as he experienced last year.

“Almost every teacher I see in the halls knows that I race and will ask me, ‘How’d the season go?’” Mitchell said.

“The kids have the support from the schools,” Reggie’s father, Mike Mitchell, said. “The school is happy to promote the kids’ racing, even though it’s not a school sport.”

Mitchell appreciates the encouragement he and his fellow Young Guns receive from the Alburnett community.

It fuels him.

“We’ve had quite a few (teachers and students) come out because I told them, ‘Hey, if you want to see some people you know race, come out here,’” Mitchell said. “It honestly makes me want to win more when they come.”

As Mitchell’s popularity grows at HD, his fan club has become increasingly crowded.

“His Victory Lane pictures went from like six people to where we can hardly fit them all in the picture now,” Reggie’s mother, Jody Mitchell, said. “A lot of the Alburnett kids are there, so they all come down.”

In Friday’s penultimate race of the season, several Alburnett community members packed a section of the stands wearing purple and gold for “Pirate Night at the Races” to support their local competitors.

During intermission, several teachers took to the track for a race of their own.

“Hopefully we can get other schools next year to say, ‘Hey, look at what Alburnett did,’” Jody Mitchell said.

Other members of the Young Guns are Jacob Tiegen, Cameron Delay and Beckett Flannagan.

It’s a tight-knit group.

“It’s been nice to be with them because we're all kind of together to help each other,” Mitchell said. “It’s kind of like another family out there.”

Tiegen, 18, is the eldest of the group. He’s been an integral mentor for Mitchell and provided him with plenty of insights to pass on.

“I’ve gotten a lot of tips from Jacob, and I’ve used many of them,” Mitchell said. “And I've given tips to Cameron and Beckett quite a bit to get them to be faster as well.”

Mitchell is optimistic the overwhelming support from the Alburnett community, coupled with the success of the Young Guns, will inspire others of his generation to take up the sport.

“I think if people like us can get our name out there, hopefully it’ll get more younger drivers to come,” Mitchell said. “Because they see that we're doing it and they want to do it.”