By: Zach Catanzareti, Staff Writer
After running four of the opening five races for JD Motorsports in the XFINITY Series, 2018 was looking to give Matt Mills the seat time he has waited for in the sport’s second tier.
With three prior series starts along with 10 starts in the Camping World Truck Series, the 21-year-old rookie was ready to build a notebook with the small four-car organization.
The relationship, however, took an unfortunate corner following three DNFs in a four-race period. And after the third accident at Michigan in June, the team and Mills split ways and the Virginia native would not return with the team the following week at Iowa.
“It wasn’t a good fit at the moment,” Mills told Kickin’ The Tires of JD. “I don’t have any hard feelings against [team owner] Johnny Davis, he gave me a great opportunity. I still have a lot of respect for him. The finishes just weren’t there.”
As a young driver who struggled to adapt to a mid-pack car, Mills learned a few valuable lessons from this six-race stint.
“Your car is what it is,” he said. “If you have a 25th-place car and finish 20th, that’s a good day. I was trying to do way too much for what the car was able to and what I was capable of. I need to log all the laps and not get into bad situations like that.”
After his leave from the team, Mills went to work to find an additional XFINITY ride to fill the gap. And after more than three months and 14 races out of the series, Mills returned at Richmond with BJ McLeod Motorsports. This time, with a new perspective.
A driver never wants to be out of his or her racecar. And following a steep learning curve to start the year, Mills needed some time to himself.
“I think it’s good,” he said. “A driver doesn’t really want to admit that but the team even told me, they gave me a couple races off just to cool down. That allowed me to watch film, go work out and just clear my head.
“It’s how the sport goes. This has been a really rough year for me as far as bad luck. I’m hoping to get this year out of the way. We’ve had more bad luck than in all my years of racing.”
Even in the toughest of circumstance, Mills stayed at work to return to the cockpit, showing up to the track, emailing, texting and chasing sponsors for that next opportunity.
“Even when I was out of the car, I went to the track as much as I could,” he said. “Still call, text and aggravate people when I can. Trying to be there when an opportunity comes. Every day is emailing sponsors trying to get back in a racecar.
“You have to play both sides of it. When you get in the car, your job is to simply drive it. When you get out, your job is to network.”
That hard work paid off during his time away, as he ran his first Truck race of 2018 at Michigan in August. The truck would be prepared by DGR-Crosley Racing and it would put Mills in prime position to contend up front.
Qualifying fourth, Mills would show solid speed in the race until an early accident took him out of the event. This was evidence to Mills that he still needed seat time.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BmYoD3KgEig/?taken-by=mattmillsracing
“I learned at DGR that I need more seat time before I get opportunities like that,” he said. “When we ran that race, I knew about it two or three weeks before. I wouldn’t say I was looking forward to it all year, it was more of an opportunity that just came up and I took it when I had it.
“The highlight of the day was the qualifying, which made a lot of noise. My phone was going crazy. It was an inexperienced deal. The truck was a bit loose than I wanted it to be, especially in traffic. I hit a wrong patch of dirty air and I wasn’t ready for it. That’s why I need more seat time so I can go do those again and be ready for it.”
Though the opportunity was a one-off for DGR, Mills has another shot in the XFINITY Series following his return at Richmond in September, where he finished 27th. For the second time, he will race with BJ McLeod Motorsports, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet at Dover.
Returning to the team owner who gave Mills his first Truck Series start in 2016, Mills knows McLeod has his support.
“He was there three years ago coaching me,” he said. “Little things like drinking plenty of water before this race, eat something. He’s always been there since my first start. That’s why it’s cool to have him around and to get to still drive for him, he keeps me motivated. There are no down moments with him.”
With plenty of downs in 2018, Mills, from the business side to the competition side, has learned the reality of NASCAR and hopes to build from these experiences for 2019. Fortunately for him, funding may be on his side.
“We’re going to be looking pretty good for next year,” he said. “We have a few good options out there, we haven’t quite nailed one of them down yet. We’re just finishing out this season to build those connections.
“As far as funding goes, it’s going to be one of our best funding years. We got some good sponsors coming, we just have to figure out what track to go down.
“Either way, I’ll be blessed with any opportunity I get, whether Trucks, XFINITY, BJ McLeod, whoever. As long as I’m in a racecar, I’m happy.”
(Below is a video capture of our interview with Matt Mills)
I am a big fan of Matt Mills. Good to know he is passing a great year in 2018. Hope he will be champion next event.