Cockrum and Paul had great success together, netting three Lincoln Park championships. However, when Cottle had Silver Crown driving duties, Paul looked for other steady hands to take the wheel. The time came when he turned to Mihocko, who didn’t boot this chance.
Finishing in the top three the first time in the car was more than a confidence booster. In Mihocko’s words, “That was the first time a car owner thought of me as someone they could hire. I showed myself.”
The 2021 season ended on a high note. Mihocko returned home and enjoyed success at Arizona Speedway, including a sweep of the non-winged portion of the ASCS-sanctioned Copper Classic with team owner Michael Most.
With Cockrum pursuing other opportunities, Paul hired Mihocko.
“He raced for us seven nights and in those races, he won at Gas City, Putnamville and Kokomo,” Paul said. “I thought, ‘Wow, he can run all of these tracks, which are different configurations.’ He is really good on a slick race track and for someone his age that is something you just don’t see. And he can run the cushion, too. I have seen guys try that for years and not figure it out. I realized this kid was good, so when Shane left us, he was the first guy I talked to.”
The question was how Mihocko’s relaxed approach to racing would mesh with Paul’s old-school methods. A diesel mechanic by trade, Paul was more of a NASCAR and Indy car fan when he met his wife, Michelle. She took him to see the USAC sprint cars at Eldora Speedway and his interest took off from there.
Paul spent eight years wheeling a mini sprint and has now owned a sprint car for a dozen seasons. He maintains the race car and hires professionals to get results. Simply put, he’s not much for foolishness.
This is where the fun starts. Paul is clear on one thing. No one touches his race car and that includes his driver.
“I don’t trust people with tools,” he said. “This is a dangerous sport and if something would fall off that’s my responsibility. I don’t want somebody leaving something loose. I think a lot of problems with some race teams is they have too many hands on the car. That’s not a good situation.”
To that end, Mihocko’s constant pleas to help on the car have become a running joke. “We go at each other all night,” Paul said with a chuckle, “He tries to push my buttons and I know what he is doing. I do the same to him.”
In the end, it is working.
“I think he is really good for his age,” Paul said. “He’s smart. I had a lot of talks with him last year because he was a bit rambunctious. I told him he didn’t need to try and impress me and tear stuff up every night. There can be no checkers or wreckers here. We have to take care of the car. He went through a few rough spots and then we really started clicking.”
Paul has had to loosen the reins up a bit, too. He’s in control when the car is sitting still, but it is in Mihocko’s hands when it’s time to race.
“He adjusts the shocks differently than anyone who has raced for me,” Paul noted. “But he knows what he wants and what he wants to feel, so I leave him alone. It took me a while to figure out that he likes the car a lot freer than other guys who have driven for me.”
Early last season Mihocko suffered a hard tumble, which set him back. But as the summer progressed, he climbed steadily up the standings at Lincoln Park Speedway. It was never an overriding goal to win a championship, but the team decided to gauge where they were.
“We knew where Brayden Fox and (Geoff) Ensign were and how many races were left,” Paul said. “So it was, ‘OK, let’s go for it, but if we don’t get it done, we aren’t going to cry.’”
They got the job done.
“It didn’t mean a lot until we got to the banquet and everyone is there patting your back and you get the trophy,” Paul acknowledged. Mihocko agreed that it was important, “Because it is something I can share with my dad. He has done so much for me. I also think it means a lot to Jamie and Michelle. It makes you feel great to do something and see the smile on your car owner’s face.”
Mihocko is living his own dream. The stress is there. There is pressure to exceed on the race track and he understands that as a welder at DRC he has a massive responsibility to the clients.
“I know how hard you can crash these things,” he said. “So that is kind of constantly there and you know you have to do a really good job.”
He’s racing, he is working in the industry, and he just bought a home. Mihocko knows he didn’t go it alone and he thinks about people like his dad, Michael Most, Dave Wilson and the late Dan Steffey and his widow Marsha — people who believed in him and have offered support.
At age 25, there are a lot of laps left to be turned, and maybe a few championships. One thing we know is that a kid from Arizona had the guts to bet on himself, and that wager paid off.
This story appeared in the April 26, 2023 edition of the SPEED SPORT Insider.
