By DAVID MILLER
Special to The Dispatch
Everything is clicking for Jordon Mallett, who leads the United Sprint Car Series national points in his bid to repeat as series champion.
The Arkansas native hadn’t won a race by this time last season, but he currently has three wins in three states in 2018.
“We’ve always been a little slow beginning the season,” Mallett said, “so we’re glad that we’ve picked up speed a little quicker this year and know what we have to do now to be faster out of the gate.”
Mallett will race tonight at Magnolia Motor Speedway in USCS’ “Fast Friday” event, the series’ second stop at Magnolia this season. Mallett has raced at Magnolia three times since 2012. He finished ninth earlier this year and in 2012 and took 11th in 2017.
Mallett’s early-season program has improved, even while breaking in a new car, but so has his “slick-track game,” which will be put to the test at one of the country’s slickest race surfaces at The Mag.
“Track position is pretty key [at Magnolia],” Mallett said. “You need to be in position to win. A slick place like that, in my opinion, is more of a momentum game. You can’t expect to go as fast as what you could when [the track surface] is hooked up.
“You have to keep in mind that every time you slow, it takes so long to get up to speed because of wheel spin … the car wants to slip out from you. You have to be smart in the seat to know when you can make your moves.”
The 25-year-old Arkansas native is beginning to develop the patience and strategy needed to navigate challenging tracks where he doesn’t have much experience. Mallett began driving 360 sprints for his parents, Steve and Jonie Mallett, at age 16 and bought out the race team prior to the 2017 season. In becoming a car owner, he took on a full USCS slate and began running twice as many races.
The transition resulted in a national points title, but it was a grind, especially in the middle of the season, when the weather got hot and the travel started to wear on the crew, Jordon said.
“To an extent, there were multiple times where I wondered if I bit off more than I can chew,” Jordon said. “There were some weeks where I had to figure out how we were going to make it to the track. But I’m very blessed with the people I’m around, and by the Lord to say, ‘everything is where it needs to be … I just have to keep my mind right.'”
Mallett said he leaned on the advice of his father, who competed in “baby grands” stock cars and asphalt trucks races before getting out of the seat to teach Jordon to race. Steve is currently Jordon’s crew chief.
“He raced professionally and has a lot of insight,” Jordon said. “I’ve looked up to others, too, and it all comes back to ‘you can’t do it halfway.’ There are a lot of things you can teeter on the edge of and get a taste for it, but if you want this to be your job, you have to be fully committed to it.
“The biggest thing I learned was about how important seat time is week in and week out. But there’s also the mental aspect of it, to stay positive when you’ve had not just one bad weekend, or a few in a row to where you’re beat down, but remembering that each night is new and different, and you have to move on.”
Jordon said he won’t turn down a chance to compete on asphalt, but he hopes to eventually compete in sprints on the World of Outlaws series.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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