INNERVIEW
Mitch Stott

Words and photo by Ian Tocher
2/19/03

After making history at Darlington International Dragway, Mitch Stott joked, "We are now the quickest doorslammer in the Solar System. I was going to say universe, but I don't know what the Martians are up to!"

Mitch Stott ended the worldwide doorslammer drive for five on Feb. 14, at Darlington International Dragway's Radiac Abrasives Winternationals with a 5.985-second pass at 231.42 mph. The special- event Pro Mod Five-Second Challenge featured a 200-pound weight break from the IHRA/NHRA-legal minimum of 2,700 pounds and Stott's supercharged '63 Corvette weighed in at 2,545 pounds after the record-setting pass.

Other than the reduced weight, Stott's car conformed to all NHRA Pro Mod rules, according to NHRA Division 2 Tech Inspectors Andy Hambright and Harry Ferrari, who were on hand to inspect Sportsman racers for the NHRA-sanctioned portion of the event.

"We checked the blower overdrive on it, legal; checked the clutch, two discs, legal; and we checked the rear end and it's right on, too," Hambright said. "The weight is out of the car, they told us that up front and that's fine, but they didn't have as much weight out of it as they thought. They were light about 160 pounds. Very impressive, that was as good as I've seen. The weather was right for it. It's blower weather."

Drag Racing Online was there, too, and we caught up with the Mill Spring, NC-based driver just minutes after he reached the historic milestone.

DRO: Mitch, what are your first thoughts on what you've accomplished today?

Stott Well, we felt eight months ago that we were capable of running a five, but we had to run our racing season first. At the end of the season we actually made some attempts to do it, but we wanted to make it more of a spectacle than just going somewhere and doing it all out there on our lonesome. So we knew this deal was coming about here at Darlington and then Radiac Abrasives came on as the sponsor. Over the winter I was worried about the Australians doing it, and I told Dave Pryor, the president of Radiac, I said, 'Dave, we will do a five, I cannot guarantee we will be the first to do it, but we will do a five.' I said the car is very capable and from that, he wanted to do the sponsoring of the event.

To have all of these things in place and all of these things in play, it is just absolutely a wonderful feeling. It means more to me than any drag race I've ever won. I reflect back to two years ago when we had the first nitrous car in the twenties (6.20s), and there were three or four guys who were seriously competing and capable of doing it, and we were lucky enough to do it first. It was a wonderful feeling and gives you a tremendous feeling of accomplishment and pride to know you have beat the best in the world in doing it. So obviously, with this I'm very ecstatic and elated, and I've just got to let it soak in now. I really haven't realized, I don't think, the pinnacle of what we've done. I mean, the phone calls that'll come, and maybe the worldwide popularity, and maybe security in drag racing; I mean, who knows? You just don't know.

Our names are now etched in concrete for drag racing history. I've always said, when I'm dead and gone I wanted something to represent my name in the drag racing history books, so if they'll do that and put a cross of God beside it, I'll be a happy man.