Mini Tyrrell didn’t just have to face the challenge of competing against 14 other drivers for a full-time truck ride at Kaulig Racing.
He faced the challenge of not being able to share the journey with his family.
Tyrrell won Kaulig Racing’s “Race For The Seat” reality contest that took 15 potential drivers to compete for a ride in its truck program. Having won three races in the CARS Tour last year to finish fifth in points, the 21-year-old Tyrrell will make his truck debut this weekend at Daytona (he also will have to run the ARCA race Saturday as he needed the practice and testing of that series before the truck race Friday).
As all the competitors lived in a house for a couple of weeks without phones or computers, they couldn’t have contact with anyone outside the show.
“It was definitely tough not having a connection to family or anything,” said Tyrrell, whose actual first name is Timothy, same as his father. “Not being able to call my dad, stuff like that was tough.
“But I feel like the hardest part was really just keeping the mental aspect of it and keeping focused on … how to be successful, how to beat the guy that you’re competing against, and taking that extra step to be better every day.”
Tyrrell gets one year to show what he can do. He seemed to be a favorite from the start of the eight-episode series that aired on YouTube as well as FOX Sports networks. It was produced by Dana White’s Thrill Productions as part of the entry of Ram into the sport.
For Tyrrell, he vaults from the world of Virginia and regional short tracks on to the national stage.
“There is that little bit of pressure on my shoulders that says, ‘Hey, this is a year deal, and I have to prove myself at this level in order to stay,’” Tyrrell said. “So that’s my goal. A little bit of pressure is I’ve just got to go out and do it, but I know that I just need to learn and adapt as best as I can.
“I did during the entire show, and I feel like I’ve been pretty good at getting in anything and being able to be fast and be competitive in it. There’s not a worry that I will be competitive this year. It’s just a matter of making the right decisions and making sure that I prove to not only to Kaulig Racing and the fans of NASCAR, but also to Ram that I’m the guy you want.”
In addition to Tyrrell, Carson Ferguson also got a ride — but just for possibly one race. Ferguson earned a chance to race a truck for Kaulig at Martinsville.
Tyrrell said he feels the other drivers from the show will be rooting for him.
“One thing about the show that I thought was really unique, really cool was to kind of get to know those guys, learn their story, learn their life, and become more personal with them and build friendships,” Tyrrell said.
“[They are] definitely guys that I will forever talk to going forward, and no one’s been negative towards me or anything just because I’ve won. They’ve all been very supportive.”