’ M THE BACKGROUND guy ,” Mike Costic proudly admits . “ I pride myself on being the ‘ find-it guy .’ If a part can ’ t be found , I get a phone call or a text , and I can usually track it down .

“ That ’ s what gives me the most joy in motorsports is being able to get the job done when people will falter ,” he says . “ That ’ s my happy moment in racing .”

Costic hasn ’ t only just been the “ go-to-findit-guy ” for racers . Before securing his full-time position with Summit Racing Equipment , the 29-year-old had held numerous roles in the sport and even dabbled behind the wheel as well .

It was Costic ’ s grandfather who introduced the family to motorsports . He was an infield official at a circle track because he had six sons and wanted to have something all of them could do . It didn ’ t take long before Costic ’ s dad found himself at a dragstrip and became infatuated with the quarter-mile , straight-line sport .

Costic couldn ’ t wait to get behind the wheel , that so much so , right after he received his driver ’ s license he took his daily driver , a 1997 Chevy S10 single cab , straight to Thompson Raceway Park in Thompson , Ohio .

November / December 2023

“ It was just a regular street truck . I didn ’ t do anything different from that until I got into our race car [ a 1962 Chevy Biscayne ], which is a low-to-mid-9-second quarter-mile car , and that was when I was 19 .”

However , when Costic was 16 years old , he found himself in another role at the track .

“ I started doing video of our car to get the chassis setup correctly , and another racer saw that I was taking video , and he asked if I had ever taken photos . I was like , ‘ No , but I ’ m not opposed to it ,’ and he handed me his camera .”

In Costic ’ s words , things “ went crazy ” from there . Before he turned 21 , he was published 12 times in four different publications , and even made a Facebook page where he would share his work that quickly gained popularity . Additionally , Costic was the track photographer at Quaker City Motorsports Park in Salem , Ohio , and he ’ s worked alongside Bryan Epps and Mike Davis , who is the track photographer at Summit Motorsports Park . Then the pandemic hit and Costic had to pivot . “ I took it upon myself – I was actually sitting in the parking lot at Summit Racing , and I made a video saying , ‘ Hey , you know , all these tracks are closed for the time being , and I want to give back in any way that I can to the racetracks . They ’ ve given us a place to race for all these years , and they haven ’ t really asked a whole lot of us other than to show up . Well , now is our time to support them .’”

Costic turned his words into actions by volunteering at tracks that were eventually allowed to open during 2020 , doing whatever the track needed .

“ You need grass mowed , you need a starter , you need this , you need that . I ’ ll figure it out ,” he explains . “ Dragway 42 called and said that they needed help in the water box one weekend . Then , I went to the starting line position , and now I ’ ve been all over the racetrack . The only thing that I haven ’ t done there is prep and take people ’ s money at the front gate .”

Now , Costic is proud of his role at Summit Racing Equipment , a journey he began seven years ago .

“ I started three days after I graduated from college ,” Costic explains . “ I went in at the end of college to a job fair at Summit because I knew a couple of guys that worked there .

“ My degree is in graphic design with a minor in marketing , and I just went in to have interview experience . Just so happens one of the guys we raced with was the guy that picked up my application ,” Costic continues . “ I lucked into an entry-level position there as a merchandiser in the retail store in Ohio . I worked from that position to a retail salesman job . I got as much sales experience as I possibly could knowing that my ultimate goal was to end up in the motorsports division . Now , as of the beginning of this year , I transitioned from retail sales to motorsports . I get to talk to some of the biggest names , which is really cool .”

Costic ’ s future goals are to continue to learn as much as he can while he ’ s at Summit and continue to bracket race . – KAYLA ZADEL DI

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