Mike Mason made his USAR Hooters Pro Cup a strong one rolling to an 11th-place finish in the Lucas Oil 250 at USA International Speedway Saturday evening.
“That was a lot of fun,” said Mason, an 18-year-old Bakersfield, CA native. “We’ve been waiting all year to do this and this was a good race for us. I got a ton of experience and the car doesn’t have a mark on it.”
Mason’s No. 75 Team ASE Ford Taurus proved to be strong right off the trailer running as high as fifth on the speed charts in practice on the half-mile, high-banked USA International oval. In qualifying, Mason took a conservative approach turning a lap of 22.351 seconds (120.800 miles per hour) to secure the 19th starting position in the 30-car starting field.
“We just wanted to get a solid lap and get in the show,” said Mason. “That was really the goal coming into the weekend – just to make the race.”
Mason stuck with the conservative plan at the drop of the green flag finding a clear hole on the race track and getting valuable seat time.
“It’s been almost a year since I raced, so we just wanted to get comfortable with being in the car and stay out of trouble during the first half of the race,” said Mason, who moved his Bakersfield-based Mason Motorsports operation to Huntersville, NC this summer. “This race was all about gaining experience and then having a chance to race a little at the end. Fortunately, we were able to do that.”
Mason raced just outside the Top-15 and stayed on the lead lap throughout the first 100 circuits. After briefly falling a lap down to then leader Shane Huffman, Mason cycled back to the lead pack through a series of caution flags and pit stops.
Now armed with fresh tires for the final half of the race, Mason pushed his Team ASE Ford into contention for a Top-10 finish slipping by Billy Bigley, Jr., Ken Butler III and Daniel Johnson with just over 30 circuits remaining in the 250-lap event.
In the closing laps, Mason caught the leaders and was in a pack that included Huffman, Steven Wallace, David Pletcher, Brad Rogers and Matt Carter. Unfortunately, an increasing tight handling condition forced Mason to throttle back over the final 10 circuits and take the well-deserved 11th-place finish.
“My car just wouldn’t turn off the corner for most of the night and it was really tight at the end of the race,” said Mason. “It was great being able to run up in that pack with guys like Shane Huffman, but the smart move was to just roll out, take the good finish, and bring the car home in one piece.”
"Mike drove a very smart race," said spotter John Close. "He was really controlled and didn't put himself in any bad situations. He showed a ton of maturity for being in just his first-ever Hooters Pro Cup race. Mike and the rest of the team should be very proud of themselves. It was a great effort by everyone."
Bobby Gill won the event with Joey Logano second. Michael Faulk, Jody Lavender, Jay Fogleman, Rogers, Pletcher, Huffman, Wallace and Carter completed the Top-10 finishers.
The event was the final race of the 2005 USAR Hooters Pro Cup Southern Division tour and the win was Gill’s 41st in USAR Hooters Pro Cup competition.
Huffman, who led a race-high 113 laps, captured the Southern Division regular season title and a $25,000 bonus while Faulk earned the Southern Division Miller Lite Rookie of the Year Award and a $10,000 cash bonus.
Mason will now hit the books on and off the track attending college in the Charlotte, NC area and testing extensively throughout the off-season in preparation for a run at the USAR Hooters Pro Cup Southern Division Rookie of the Year Award in 2006.
“I’m really looking forward to next year,” said Mason. “We got a great start on next season tonight thanks to a lot of family and friends who helped us move our team and get us here to Lakeland. I have to especially thank Ron Weiner and everyone at ASE for their help this year. We couldn’t have done this without them and we’re hoping we can continue to be a part of the Team ASE racing program next year.
“We’re going to test a lot during the off season,” Mason continued. “We’re going to Motor Mile Speedway (Radford, VA) in a week or so for the first one. It was great to not have any problems at Lakeland. All we have to do is wipe the car down and go test. After finishing 11th tonight, we’re sure looking forward to coming back here to Lakeland next February and the start of the 2006 Hooters Pro Cup season.”
The Lakeland Hooters Cup race will be telecast on a taped-delayed basis on The SPEED Channel on Saturday, September, 10 at 10 p.m. Eastern Time.
For more information about Mike Mason, Mason Motorsports and marketing opportunities with the team in 2006, please log on to www.mason-motorsports.com.
About ASE -
Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) has been providing the highest quality automotive vehicle repair and service through the education, testing and certification of repair and service professionals since 1972. Currently, more than 400,000 automotive repair specialists hold ASE credentials at thousands of dealerships and repair shops worldwide.
Team ASE is a grass-roots motorsports program that has over 800 teams competing in over 17,000 events across the country throughout the racing season.
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