Deadliest Catch star "Wild Bill" Wichrowski joins Mia Tedesco this weekend

NEW ALEXANDRIA, Pa. (July 29) -- Captain "Wild Bill" Wichrowski, star of Discovery Channel's Deadliest Catch, will be a guest of CARS Protection Plus/VP Racing Fuels driver Mia Tedesco when she races at her hometown track this weekend.

Tedesco, a rising star in NHRA drag racing, is competing in a $10,000-to-win bracket race this weekend at Keystone Raceway Park. Michael Tedesco, Mia's dad, became friends with Wichrowski after they met last year.

"It's pretty awesome," Mia Tedesco said of having Wichrowski at the racetrack this weekend. "We met him in Bristol (Tenn.) last year, and he and my dad became pretty good friends. Last year, he stayed at our house for a few weeks, and we hung out a bunch. He's back in our house again this week. It's pretty cool. We hang out, play golf; he's a cool guy. He's real supportive and likes watching drag racing."

Wichrowski, a Navy veteran and commercial fisherman, is in his seventh season with the television show that chronicles king crab fishing in the Bering Sea.

Tedesco is gunning for her third consecutive victory this weekend. She won in Super Gas at the NHRA national event in Chicago on July 10 and then won in Top Alcohol Dragster at an NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series race at National Trail Raceway last weekend.

Deadliest Catch star "Wild Bill" Wichrowski joins Mia Tedesco this weekend

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Mia Tedesco looks to extend personal winning streak

PITTSBURGH, Pa. (July 28) -- Mia Tedesco's star continues to rise after winning back-to-back races for the first time in her young career.

Now, the CARS Protection Plus/VP Racing Fuels driver will go for another achievement: Win at her home track.

Tedesco followed up a victory in Super Gas at the NHRA national event in Chicago with a win in Top Alcohol Dragster last weekend at the NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series event at National Trail Raceway in Hebron, Ohio.

This weekend, Tedesco will race her dragster in a $10,000-to-win bracket race at Keystone Raceway Park in New Alexandria, Pa., near her hometown. Winning three consecutive races would be a big accomplishment for the 22-year-old.

"That would be awesome," Tedesco said. "I've actually never won at my own track, so I'd love to check that off the bucket list. I go and win a $20,000 bracket race somewhere else, but I haven't won at my local track. It's crazy."

Crazy would describe her victory at the NHRA Buckeye Fuel Wars last weekend at National Trail, especially her final-round win. Poor weather was rolling in, so officials rushed Tedesco and her team to the starting line.

"The final round was kind of hectic," Tedesco said. "Storms were rolling in, and everybody thought it was going to pour. We were trying to fly up and just get it done. It was such a long day, and we didn't want to drag it on to another race.

"We got up there and got ready, and it started sprinkling a little bit. It happened so fast, and before I knew it my win light came on."

Tedesco made a pass of 5.518 seconds at 260.76 mph to beat Jared Dreher, whose run was 5.607 seconds at 255.39 mph. She was able to handle the pressure because, well, she's always in hectic situations.

"I don't really know how to function without craziness," Tedesco said. "Our pits are always crazy; there are people everywhere. My dad is meeting and greeting people, and there are a thousand things going on. It's the craziness that keeps me sane because I'm not thinking about racing. I know I do better when I'm not thinking about racing. I'm used to moving 100,000 different directions at a time."

Tedesco had a bracket car of sorts during eliminations, repeating 5.5-second runs.

"It was a crazy weekend," Tedesco said. "It was so hot it was almost miserable. Going into it, I knew for Super Gas and Alcohol it would be tough just to get down the track, especially the Alcohol car. We went 5.50 the first and second round and 5.51 the third round, and those times don't normally win races.

"It was definitely a different way to win. It was just better than the guy in the other lane, that type of story. That's what it takes sometimes, just to be better than the other lane."

Coming off back-to-back wins, CARS Protection Plus/VP Racing Fuels driver Mia Tedesco will bracket race at Keystone Raceway Park near hometown this weekend.

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CARS Protection Plus racer Mia Tedesco brings winning ways to Buckeye Fuel Wars

HEBRON, Ohio (July 20) -- Fresh off a huge Super Gas victory 10 days ago at the national event in Chicago, Sportsman standout Mia Tedesco arrives at National Trail Raceway ready to bolster her standing in the divisional, regional, and national points at this weekend's Buckeye Fuel Wars.

Tedesco actually will have two chances to score as she plans to race both her CARS Protection Plus/VP Racing Fuels Chevrolet Cavalier in Super Gas and her CARS Protection Plus/Schepel Motors/NGK/Lucas Oil rail in Top Alcohol Dragster.

"We'd love to have another big weekend in both cars," Tedesco said. "The Super Gas car is running great. The guys gave me a perfect car every round in Chicago, and I was able to do my job behind the wheel and we got that win. It was a huge deal for all of us because that's been a longtime goal to win in that class.

"I'd like to see us go some rounds in Alcohol. We've struggled a little bit the last few races with the dragster, and it would be good to see us correct that this weekend."

Tedesco's Chicago victory, her first in the Super Gas class, brought her to within 10 points of the Division 3 lead currently held by Jacob Elrod, with Tedesco holding an extra race in hand. It also lifted her into a tie for first place nationally with Rusty Cook.

In Top Alcohol Dragster, Tedesco is third in the North Central Region and seventh in the national rankings.

"The whole points thing isn't really on my mind," Tedesco said. "After last year we didn't have any team goals relating to points. We just wanted to win some races in Alcohol and get that first win in Super Gas. Now that we've done that with so many races left, we can think about other stuff, but we won't be worrying about points.

"We have a rule in our pit that we never mention points. The only time I hear about them is if someone outside the team brings it up. The way I look at it is we can't really do anything about the points, why add something else to worry about? We'll just race the best we can and see where we are at the end of the year."

Super Gas racers will have three time trial runs, two on Friday and one more Saturday morning. They will then qualify and complete the first round of eliminations at 7 p.m., Saturday. Eliminations resume at 9:15 a.m., Sunday, and continue throughout the day.

The Top Alcohol Dragster class will hold qualifying sessions at 5 p.m., Friday, and 2 and 6 p.m., Saturday. Round 1 of eliminations are slated for 1 p.m., Sunday.

Fresh off a Super Gas victory in Chicago, Sportsman standout Mia Tedesco arrives at National Trail Raceway ready to bolster her standing in the divisional, regional, and national points.

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Chicago Super Gas victory a career highlight for emerging star Mia Tedesco

PITTSBURGH (July 15) -- The smile is still on Mia Tedesco's face nearly a week after scoring a national event victory in Super Gas at Route 66 Raceway in Chicago.

The young Sportsman star had been trying for a win in the cutthroat class for several years before finally breaking through at the K&N Filters Route 66 NHRA Nationals last weekend.

"This is way up there," Tedesco said. "I've won a few bracket races, divisionals, and one national event in the alcohol car, but when I won in Super Gas, it's because I did everything right. The car was good all day, we all made good decisions, and I drove well."

Tedesco drove the CARS Protection Plus/VP Racing Fuels Cavalier to the winner's circle after capping a terrific weekend by beating Gabriel Torres in the final round. Tedesco had a superb .008-second reaction time to go with a 9.926-second pass on the 9.90 index to beat Torres, who had a .059 light and broke out.

"It's cool to think back on how awesome of a weekend it really was and to finally accomplish something I've been working for so long," Tedesco said. "Everything ran so smoothly as a whole. There weren't any real hiccups, and the car ran good all weekend. We were pretty confident going into Chicago because I won the divisional there a few weeks ago. Going back there for the national event, we felt pretty good about our car and our combination."

Tedesco began racing in Super Gas in 2012, finishing in the runner-up spot twice that year. She has run a variety of cars since, including a Top Alcohol Dragster, with which she won a national event in Charlotte in 2015.

Tedesco, though, had struggled in the Super Gas car the last couple of seasons, as switching back and forth may have taken more of a toll than she realized.

"It was hard going back and forth," Tedesco said. "Looking back, I can see how bad I struggled."

The dragster uses a clutch and a hand brake while the Super Gas car uses a transbrake. After the 2015 season, though, Tedesco used her simulator to practice going back and forth and became comfortable with the process.

"Pretty much all winter I had the mindset that I wasn't going to let anything affect me," Tedesco said. "I was just going to have a good time and do what I love to do. This year has been like that.

"Coming out this year, I've felt the most comfortable I've felt by far. I don't have to think about anything. It's natural, and it doesn't matter what car I'm in."

Tedesco proved that in Chicago, where she left first on her final four opponents.

"To win in a class where it's 'all right, it's all on you' is pretty awesome," Tedesco said.

Mia Tedesco finally broke through for a national event victory in Super Gas with her CARS Protection Plus/VP Racing Fuels Cavalier at the K&N Filters Route 66 NHRA Nationals in Chicago.

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