Racing Bio

Mitch Perry has been around race cars for almost as long as he has been alive. His father was a leading contender in the SCCA Continental Championship (now known as the Formula Atlantic Championship) and Mitch's first memories are of seeing his dad race all across America.

When he was 16 Mitch began a career as a professional musician (working with major artists ranging from Cher to Aerosmith, amongst others) but even as he enjoyed success in his field, his interest in racing never waned. At the end of 1991 he decided to take a class at the Jim Russell Racing School. Immediately showing a flair behind the wheel, his instructors suggested he enter the Russell Graduate Runoffs, which he did in 1992. In a field of 80 drivers (most of whom had prior racing experience) Mitch captured 2nd place, and along with it a budget that covered half of the next season's races in the USAC Russell Championship Series.

Although 1993 was only his first season of competition, Mitch managed to win a pole position (fastest qualifying time) as well as scoring three podiums (top three) and eight top six finishes. Despite a rash of mechanical DNF's he was still in contention at the last race to place in the top 10 of the championship standings even though a lack of additional sponsorship prevented him from entering every event.

The next season was one of those good news/bad news type of years. The good news was that Mitch was able to bring home a win in every race he entered. The bad news was that he only found enough sponsorship to run two races (both at Laguna Seca) that year, before his touring commitments with the Edgar Winter Group began to keep him so busy he rarely was able

to find time to get back in the car. He only drove the odd race or two over the next couple of years, but not being able to commit the time and effort to run properly was too frustrating to deal with and he stayed away more often then not.

It wasn't until the end of 2000 that Mitch was able to get back behind the wheel with any frequency, and he made up for lost seat time by not only running a number of races in the 2001 Skip Barber Championship Series (where he scored a podium in his first ever start at Lime Rock Park), but also by making his first NASCAR start in a Grand American Modified car at Stockton 99 Speedway, where he ran the main event in his first attempt at short track oval racing.

That same year Mitch was offered a job instructing at the California Racing Experience by its director Kelly Bussey, after the two met while Mitch was racing with Skip Barber at Fontana in January. When C.R.E. merged with the Skip Barber Racing Organization and went nationwide, Mitch decided to take a break from music and go along with the school, and he devoted all his time to motorsports for the next couple of years, either through teaching or racing himself. In addition, Mitch was also asked to contribute a feature article to the renowned national periodical 'Racer' magazine that ran in July of 2003.

After working For Dale Jarrett's school when Skip Barber ran into monetary problems and liquidated C.R.E., Mitch finds himself once again working at the 'Racing Experience'. In addition to teaching at the school, Mitch also coaches an endurance go kart team for which he also drives, as he keeps himself in shape for whatever opportunities might arise in the future.