TIMMONSVILLE, S.C. – Saturday’s Icebreaker at Florence Motor Speedway showcased the talent of Zack Miracle.
The son of long-time competitor Jerry Miracle who claimed top rookie honors last year at Florence, the younger Miracle’s pole in the Icebreaker was his third consecutive across marquee events at Florence, which he backed up with a second-place showing to late model stock car veteran and Xfinity Series regular Josh Berry.
Miracle’s strong showing was anything but guaranteed at the Icebreaker’s halfway point, as he had to fight his way back to the front of the field after being forced to make an unscheduled pit stop.
“We had an issue very early on,” Miracle said. “I had to go to the back with about 100 laps to go but we came all the way from 27th to second, so that feels pretty great. We’ve had some bad luck across these three races but we’re going to get better and try to win one of these things.”
A rear-end problem that resulted in an oil leak brought Miracle to the attention of his pit crew after he dropped back a few positions during the opening laps to conserve his tires.
Once he was sent back onto the track, Miracle knew that he faced an immense challenge to get back to the front, but felt more confident in his ability to maneuver through the field after previously competing in the South Carolina 400 and the CARS Tour-sanctioned Aaron’s 125 at Florence last year.
Although those two events ended poorly for Miracle due to circumstances outside of his control, he said that the extended races against more competitive fields provided him a broader understanding of tire conservation and how it was essential to claim victories at abrasive tracks like Florence.
That knowledge proved to be crucial as Miracle rode around at the tail end of the field following his pit stop. A caution for Ryan Millington with 46 laps remaining gave Miracle the opportunity he needed to carve through drivers that had previously used up their tires to salvage a strong run.
“Once we fell to last, I knew I had to save as much as I could to make that late-race charge,” Miracle said. “I’ve definitely learned a lot these past couple of months. Without the bad luck I’ve experienced, I wouldn’t be half the driver I am now, so I’m really proud of myself and this team. We played our cards right and got back to second.”
Miracle was still disappointed that the oil leak prevented him from at least challenging Berry for the win, adding that his comeback attempt highlighted the potential of himself and his team in prestigious races.
When Miracle embarked on his rookie late model stock season at Florence last year, he impressed many people in the garage area by recording a victory in five consecutive race weekends. A couple of poor performances late in the year took Miracle out of championship contention, but he still finished second to Matt Cox by 52 points.
Now that they have more experience against top-quality competition, Miracle and his team are ready to venture outside of Florence and show the late model stock community that they can hold their own and defeat the high-budget operations.
A full CARS Tour schedule will see Miracle travel to numerous diverse venues along the East Coast and compete against former series champions in Bobby McCarty and Jared Fryar. Miracle has no idea what to expect from the CARS Tour, but he believes he can consistently fight for top 10s following his resilient drive in the Icebreaker.
“This is definitely a great confidence-booster going into the rest of the season,” Miracle said. “The goal now is to win races, keep being consistent and put the work in at the shop. If we can do that, we’ll have a great year.”
Miracle is eager to represent Florence and South Carolina on a national stage in just over a month and translate his raw speed into more accomplishments on his burgeoning resume.