For Dutch: Willie Mullins to pilot throwback paint scheme honoring wife Dinah’s father at Elko Speedway

Mullins Racing may be based in Virginia, but the state of Minnesota holds a special place in the hearts of team owners Willie and Dinah Mullins.

Dinah is from Minnesota — specifically, the city of Brainerd — and a lot her extended family still lives in the North Star State. That includes her father, Dutch VanWyngeeren, a business owner and former dirt-track racer.

“I was born and raised in central Minnesota, but my father was born and raised in southern Minnesota, and dirt racing is kind of a big deal down there,” Dinah said. “My dad was a hobby stock racer in northern Iowa and southern Minnesota. He raced for probably eight years. He ended up giving up racing to have kids. So, I was the end of his racing career.”

VanWyngeeren is a huge supporter of Mullins Racing through his businesses, Crow Wing Recycling and CW Metals. He often travels from Minnesota to be with his daughter and son-in-law during ARCA Menards Series events.

For all those reasons and many more, Dinah and Willie Mullins decided they wanted to do something special for VanWyngeeren when the team competes in Saturday’s Menards 250 at Elko Speedway in Elko New Market, Minnesota.

The No. 10 Ford Mustang that Willie will race in the Menards 250 will carry a special throwback scheme that mirrors the car VanWyngeern once raced on dirt tracks in Minnesota and Iowa.

“This is us trying to recognize Dutch and how much a part of this race team he is, and how much he wants us to do well,” Willie said. “This is one of those things where I wanted to try and recognize him and try to show our appreciation for what he does for us.

“Him being a fellow racer, it’s going to be cool having his paint scheme on our car.”

Willie and Dinah had wanted to pay tribute to VanWyngeeren for a few years. When Willie began the process of updating one of the team’s short-track cars, they saw it as the perfect opportunity to honor VanWyngeeren.

“We’ve been kind of kicking it around,” Dinah said. “Normally our cars are painted and not wrapped, so it becomes kind of a pain to switch things over. Willie started updating one of our short-track cars last year, and in the last month or two he decided to upgrade from the Fusion body to the Mustang body. So that means we had a blank slate.”

That blank slate became a red and silver paint job nearly identical to scheme VanWyngeeren raced all those years ago. The car will even carry the branding of S&V Automotive, a business once co-owned by VanWyngeeren and business partner Kent Slegh.

Willie and Dinah are expecting a full contingent of family and friends when they head to Elko on Saturday — VanWyngeeren included. They’re both looking forward to honoring him in his own backyard.

“The business still exists in Hollandale (Minnesota), and Kent still owns it. I reached out to the Sleghs, and they’ll be attending the race,” Dinah said. “We’re excited to have Kent there; we’re excited to have the whole family there and show my dad some appreciation.

“He turns 70 in September, so this is a little bit of a birthday gift.”