Mitchell DeJong Drives the Speed Technologies/Bully Dog Trophy Kart to the Podium

Murrieta, CA (April 9, 2009) What started as an epic weekend of racing fun in the Nevada desert ended in amazement as Mitchell DeJong displayed his skillful driving to take his Speed Technologies/Bully Dog Elite to a third place finish in the Lucas Oil Off-Road series round 2 event.

The weekend started with Mitchell DeJong locking in top-qualifier for Saturday’s Round 1 main event. Mitchell’s confidence was at an all time high now that he had the power under his feet to win. With an all new Yamaha 450cc power package, he knew he would be spending more time taming the power than searching for it.

Vince DeJong, Crew Chief & Dad, commented “Our new partnership with Speed Technologies/Bully Dog has allowed us to accelerate our race program to match Mitchell’s ambition to win. With the new Yamaha horsepower and tuned Fox Racing Shox, we know that we have the right set-up.”

Saturday’s round 1 main event kicked off with Mitchell leading the pack until a quick snap roll exiting turn two claimed his lead. Fortunately the #524 wasn’t damaged and Mitchell was ready to get his position back one-by-one. After a hard rally passing ten competitors, Mitchell then broke an axle and limped the #524 for 4 laps, settling for a seventh place finish.

With Round 2 in his sights, Mitchell DeJong claimed top qualifier on Sunday besting his closest competition by 1 full second. Lucas Officials held a drawing for the top invert positions and Mitchell still drew first! Two days in a row! Shelley DeJong, Mitchell’s mom, said jokingly about his good luck, “I am going to paint a mustache on Mitchell and take him to the casino!”

The Round 2 main event kicked off with Mitchell leading until he and Sheldon Creed had a little “bump and run,” putting Mitchell into the hay bales. Mitchell quickly “gassed” it over the bale and was back on track.

After a few short laps Mitchell found himself back in podium contention, when disaster struck! The #524 hood flapped up and stayed up blocking all vision to the track. Mitchell tried pushing the hood back down but it was stuck in place. He searched in every way to find a hole that he could view the track through. He decided he wasn’t going to let this stop him, so he began to watch the course beneath his feet and use his memory of the course to finish the race.

As the crowds cheered in the stands, they watched the Speed Technologies/Bully Dog truck keep race-pace with the stuck hood! With 4 more laps of driving “braille” Mitchell only relinquished one position and truly won the hearts of the fans for his third place victory.

Mitchell DeJong and the Speed Technologies/Bully Dog team would like to thank: DeJong Off-Road, Yamaha, Fox Racing Shox, Streight Edje, Simpson Racing Products and PayDirt Media for their support. Follow the #524 Speed Technologies/Bully Dog team all season at MitchellDeJong.com