BAKERSFIELD,, California -- Showing off his excellent behind-the-wheel skill, Mike Mason piloted his No. 55 A.S. Mason Trucking and Crane Chevy to an 8th place finish at the HPS Mechanical/Victory Circle Chassis and Parts 100, Round 3 of Davey Hamilton's SRL Late Model Wild West Shootout at Mesa Marin Speedway, Saturday, April 17.
"What a race," said Mason at the end. "It sure was a long day, but in view of the circumstances, we are definitely pleased with the results. Our top ten finish coupled with being the second Rookie across the Finish Line will give us a boost in the Rookie of the Year battle and that will definitely help our standings."
Testing extremely well prior to the race, Mason arrived at the track feeling confident…a feeling that quickly ended right after first practice sstarted. "We went out, ran a few laps and then, bang, we had a parts failure in the engine," explains Mason. "I pulled back in and the crew immediately went to work putting in another engine. They managed to get everything done just prior to qualifying. However, since we knew that we had to start in the rear, we decided not to push it, but just run the two laps to make sure everything was in working order."
When the Green Flag fell, Mason was ready to get up on the wheel and make his way forward. Carving a path through the field, he continued to dig lap after lap. Passing competitors one-by-one, he made it up to 9th and then disaster struck for the second time.
"I was starting to feel good again," smiles the Bakersfield High School student, "when all of a sudden, I got tangled up and spun. We dropped back to 20th and I had to begin all over again. "If they had a trophy for most cars passed, we would have won it. But I guess Lady Luck decided to be benevolent and I was able to get back up to 8th before the Checkered flew. A lot of the credit is definitely due to Rick Grissom and our entire crew. They worked incredibly hard to make things right and they weren't about to let me give up. Without their efforts, plus the support we receive from my dad and from our sponsors, KMI, Kwik Signs and Victory Circle, I sure wouldn't be able to realize my dream.
