Dylan Presnell
Hometown: Sevierville, TN
Age: 13 Years Old
Birthday: May 22, 1995
Height: 5' 8 1/2"
Weight: 130 Pounds
Years Racing: 5 Years
School : 8th Grade at New Center Middle School
Family: Dad- Ken, Mom- Michelle
Sisters- Jessica, April & Jennifer
Brother- Major
Dylan, also known as the Smoky Mountain Thunder, began racing Quarter Midgets in March of 2003 just 2 months shy of his 8th birthday. He had his first win and first track record (Which still stands to date) just a few months later in the Junior Novice class in Nashville, TN.
2004 was a great year for Dylan. He advanced up into the faster classes of Sr. Honda and Sr. Superstock . Dylan’s dad requested that The Board of Directors allow Dylan to move up into the Light Honda 160 class even though he didn’t meet the age requirement and they allowed him to do so. He set Fast Time in the Sr Superstock class at the Eastern Grands held in Thompson, Connecticut and he got the win and set a track record in the Sr. Superstock at the 46th annual Tangerine held in Brevard, Fla. That track Record also still stands to date. He won the Region 3 Championship in the Sr. Superstock. This is achieved through a series of regional events held at tracks in TN., GA., AL., NC. He also won the Music City Speedway Points Championship in the Light Honda 160 Class held in Nashville ,TN.
2005 was even better. It started on January 2 with a win in the Sr. Superstock at Little New Smyrna 500 in New Smyrna, Florida. February brought a win and a Winter National’s Championship in a different race car called a Mini Cup. This was Dylan’s first event in the 1/2 scale sized stock car. It was held at Orlando Speedworld and was a great experience for Dylan. March began the quarter midget season again and Dylan concentrated on the Region 3 races and the Points races held in Nashville, TN. Dylan has set track records in Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama. including another Fast Time and Track Record in the Sr. Superstock at the Eastern Grands held in Cummings, Ga. He has had several fast times throughout the season and many wins.
He won 3 Regional Championships, 1 in the Sr. Superstock Class, 1 in the Lt. Honda 160 Class, and 1 in the Lt Mod Class. He also won the Points Championships in all 3 of his classes at the Music City Speedway in Nashville, TN which consisted of Sr. Super Stock, Lt Honda 160 and Senior Honda.
2006 was another busy but successful year for Dylan. He started racing the MMRA Mini Cups full time and won the MMRA Future Stars National Touring Championship, winning races in Florida, Wyoming, Nebraska, & Oklahoma just to name a few. Dylan was also named Rookie of the Year making him the first driver in his division to ever win a Championship in his rookie season.
In addition to his national Championship, he also won the Local Championship at the famed Music City Motorplex in Nashville, TN in the Mini Cup Division and in the Bandolero Bandits division making him the first Driver to ever win two championships in two different divisions in the same season at the track.
Dylan’s run in the Bandolero Bandits at Lowes Motor Speedway in the Summer Shootout started out with a 2nd place finish in the first race and was an uphill battle with the remaining 9 races. Dylan ended up with an over all 9th place finish out of about 30 cars in the points there.
2007 yielded a lot of new experiences for Dylan. He was ready for bigger and faster cars and started running in two new Divisions in which he was the youngest driver in both. The first was the Young Lions Division in a 600 Racing Legends Car that Dylan raced in the 2007 Summer Shootout where he won the 1st race of the Shootout and remained in contention for the Championship right up until the last race. A bad finish left him 6th place overall in the Championship points.
The second division Dylan raced in was the Allison Legacy Series, where Donnie Allison has become an important part of Dylan’s training process in the series, acting as his driving coach as well as helping with the car. Dylan only ran a handful of races in 2007 with his best finish at Hickory Motor Speedway where he qualified 4th and finished 6th. The Allison Legacy Car is a great training tool for Dylan’s future in racing.
Dylan worked hard and raced a lot of weekends, including some Fridays that took him away from school, but he still maintained a 4.0 GPA and Honor Roll status and is a member of the Junior Beta Club.
Dylan’s plans for 2008 include racing in the Allison Legacy Touring Series where his goal is to be named Rookie of the Year. He also plans to run his Legends Car in the Summer Shootout held at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
Dylan’s ultimate goal remains the same…to become a NASCAR driver. Stay tuned…