Mick started racing in 1979 after attending the British School of Motor Racing in Riverside, California. After the school, Mick helped out a GT team that raced a Porsche 911 in the IMSA GT series for 2 years, while working full time in the aviation industry. He also purchased a Datsun (Nissan) 510 to race in the IMSA Champion Spark Plug Challenge.After 2 years of racing the Datsun with the highest place finishing position of 5th in a 70 car field at Sebring, Mick sold the Datsun and moved to the SCCA with a Crossle Formula Ford.

Two seasons with a low budget, Mick finished in the top 3 in 3 National races and sold the Formula Ford. He went bass fishing for a year before the racing bug bit again, and this time it really got a hold of Mick. In 1986, Mick purchased a brand new Sports Renault that he would race in the SCCA. In his first year of national racing with the car, Mick earned a spot in the SCCA Valvoline Runoffs at Road Atlanta. He earned a fully sponsored season in 1987 which also included a run in a Porsche 911 at Sebring where the team finished 5th in the GTU class. The Runoffs were again attended, but his attempt at the national title failed because of an accident in the race. In 1989, several racers approached Mick about taking care of their Spec Racers and supporting them at the local SCCA races. The drivers of those cars immediately became front runners and race winners in the races, while the reliability of their cars was dramatically improved.