Mason Mingus left Dixie Motor Speedway this

weekend knowing that he had an exceptional

machine worthy of a top five finish.  Although

the results didn’t fully reflect his excellent car

due to a flat tire late in the race, Mason

Mingus was confident that his car was strong

and will be again.  His ability to drive from the

rear of the field back up to 10th with less

than 10 laps to go is a testament to Mingus’

strength as a driver and his well prepared

racecar.

The Brentwood, TN teen and his crew started

out the day confident in the car they had

prepared after practice to familiarize himself

with the Michigan track and to fine-tune the car.

By the second practice session, Mingus found himself third fastest on the track and when it came time to qualify Mingus was able to earn a solid 10th-fastest time. Although the qualifying run was a bit of a disappointment to Mingus and his team, they were confident that his machine would shine through in the race, and it did.

“We didn’t have a great qualifying run, but we qualified 10th and started in the top half of the field,” said Mingus.  “We had a really good racecar and we knew we would.  We had practiced strong the past two days. We just rode out the first half of the race and picked a few of the slower cars off in front of us as we went and tried to save our tires and that worked well, at the end we were really strong.”

With 10 laps to go in the race, Mingus had secured third place and was searching for a way around the second place car of Chase Elliott when he ran over a piece of metal and his tire began to go flat.  He was able to pull off the track during a caution and his team quickly changed his tire so that he could return to the race.  Mingus then fought his way toward the front of the pack in the few laps that remained, taking risks and making moves that truly showed his skills as a wheelman.

“The last couple laps were pretty hairy, I made a few holes that weren’t actually there and dove it in three-wide a couple times and made it around the cars in the back, but we had a great car and we were able to pull it off and end up 10th.”

Mason was very proud of his strong car for the weekend, which featured a new McGunegill sealed engine that certainly helped him find his way to the front of the field. There’s no doubt that with a little more luck and no flat tires Mason Mingus would have found himself even closer to a podium finish.  Next up for Mason is the CRA Super Series Labor Day race at Winchester Speedway where he will continue to strive for a win and points toward the Rookie of the Year standings.

Mason Mingus receives support from generous sponsors including 811-Call Before You Dig, Sperry’s Restaurant, Sam’s Sports Bar and Diamond Equipment.

Late Race Flat Tire Robs Mingus of Top-Five Finish at Dixie

Mingus up to Third Before Flat, Still Manages Top 10 Finish

Mingus ran well at Dixie. (Speed51.com Photo)