“The rush, the adrenaline. It’s something I can’t beat…You feel like you’re in control, but at the same time, you’re on the line of crashing.”

For senior, Michael Mack, the need for speed has always been a common theme in his life. Over the past few years, he has gotten to dive into that idea with a very thrilling passion: UTV racing. For the last 3 years, Mack has taken on his passion with hard core dedication. He currently races for Arizona Offroad Promotions (AZOP) and spends most races on short courses.

Mack has taken an interest in racing from a young age. In the past, his father raced quads, which also influenced Mack’s interest. Before racing UTVs, he started out on quads like his father. As a quad racer, lots of training was required for success. He was required to be in top physical condition. In order to achieve an appropriate fitness level, Mack rode 20 miles on a bike every other day, got in 2 hours of daily exercise, and spent time working on his quad.

“I’ve always had that kind of attitude of, the faster the better, or for the adrenaline factor,” Mack stated.

Today, his weekly schedule is a little different. UTV racing requires more work put into the car than the actual race. Every day, after working for his family’s construction company, Mack comes home to prep his car. Every day he goes through a checklist of things such as checking bolts, knuckles, bearings, the oil, shocks,  cooling, vehicle durability, and other things.

“It’s almost like a full time job,” Mack states. “I come home from work, and that’s all I do, just work on and prep my car. If you don’t have a prepped car, you won’t win.”

As a current racer for AZOP, Mack is sponsored by various organizations including Blood Lubricants, Axel Sports, RBC Performance, ZRP Promotions, Method Race Wheels, BF Goodworks Tires, Rugged Race Radios, Alba Racing, Diesel Headquarters, and Nash Powersports. He is soon expecting to transition to Best In Desert Racing and continue.

Mack considered his first year racing as sort of a trial run to see what he wanted to do. The following year, he got his first personal sponsor Blood Lubricants, who have stuck with him since his starting point. Shortly after, he was able to earn the 3rd place rank for points out of the AZOP series out of 30 other racers. The following year, he moved up to the expert class and took third place once again. Mack currently stands in 4th place in points overall out of the proclass in AZOP out of around 11 others.

Mack typically averages 2nd and 3rd place in his races. While these placings are still impressive, Mack sees them as opportunities for improvement. Out of 3 races, Mack has been able to run prolap times very consistently. He considers being able to race with and keep up with others in the AZOP series as one of his overall highlights. On his first race however, he received a “Did Not Finish”, or a DFN. However, at this race, he was able to earn the title of the third fastest lap time. For his second race, he came close to getting another DNF, but ended up finishing in second. His last race was his first professional race. For the first two laps, he kept up a steady third place with 5 minutes in between himself and the racer behind, and was gaining on the two in front of him. Unfortunately, due to some technical difficulties with his car, he lost a significant amount of time causing him to end 7th out of 9 total racers.

“Pretty much all I want to do is be the best at what I can be, even if it takes more time to sacrifice it,” Mack said.

Mack considers one of his  highlight moments to be his chance to participate in the Mint 400, a race that is around 50 years old. Unfortunately, Mack didn’t get to actually race due to his partner wrecking the car, but stated that being there was a pretty big deal.

Another highlight moment of Mack’s was his first expert class race at Vulture Mine. He mentioned that 3 and a half months of consistent training went into the race, and while doing so, he was recovering from an injury that left him bleeding internally. He credits this as a highlight because of all the hard work he had to put into being at top peak shape, and for ending up winning it in first place.

“I’ve raced a lot of races, I’ve gotten consistently second or third, but being in that top spot takes a lot of work to try and get there, so I will say that was one of my highlight moments,” Mack stated.

Every day, Michael Mack puts in hours of time and plenty of dedication into making himself the very best he can be. With all the prep and time he contributes to his racing hobby, he hopes to soon be as good as the greats.