Who is Mason Mingus?
Meet the Driver of The 811
Mason Mingus is a young man just starting out in major-league late model racing, but there’s little reason to think he won’t wind up being an accomplished and popular racer given a little time. After all, Mingus has thus far excelled at every sport he’s put his efforts into and his racing resume already boasts a number of championships.
Racing may seem an odd path for a youngster who finds success in plenty more “traditional” sports yet it may just be a natural culmination of talents. He has the pure strength from years of wrestling that serves well while trying to maneuver a heavy stock car around a tight corner at the local bullring. Years of playing both fullback and linebacker on the high school football team have helped teach both the ability to find the holes through crowded lanes of traffic as well as constantly being aware of one’s blind side. And years of running relays on the high school track team? Well, simply put, they’ve just put the desire in Mingus to go even faster.
Mingus began racing back in 2002, taking a route that many successful racers have taken in order to reach the level they are today. In the early days, Mingus competed in Quarter Midgets in and around the greater Kentucky-Tennessee area. After a few years of this, Mingus graduated to the MMRA Mini Cup Series in 2005, starting to travel around the Southeast to compete in miniature versions of the stock cars in special touring events while competing at Bowling Green, Kentucky’s Beech Bend Raceway Park weekly. By end of 2007, Mingus had picked up a number of winner’s trophies at Bowling Green and had even traveled to Cheyenne, Wyoming to claim a victory in the touring MMRA Mini Cup.
2008 proved to be the year when Mingus would begin to turn some heads and had doors of opportunity begin to open. Most of his success this season was thanks to his transition to the MMRA Baby Grand series, featuring a type of full-fendered racing vehicle right in between the Mini Cups and the average NASCAR stock car. Mingus quickly found his footing in this series, winning touring races at Bowling Green and then at the historic Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville. As a result of these triumphs, Mason earned the 2008 MMRA Baby Grand national championship as well as the local Baby Grand title at Bowling Green.
2009 presented another new challenge for Mingus as he joined the new Ken-Ten Pro Late Model Series driving for Kevin Gardner, a local track titlist who saw Mingus’ immense potential. Competing against some very talented and experienced PLM talent, Mingus more than held his own in his rookie season, recording a top-five and four top-tens in route to an eighth place finish on the tour. His best finish was a fourth place finish at Kentucky Motor Speedway in Whitesville, a track Mingus had scarcely seen prior.
2010 saw Mingus racing again in the Ken-Ten Series. He recorded his first ever touring Late Model victory at Salem Speedway in June. A few more strong finishes down the stretch would net Mingus the 2010 Ken-Ten Pro Late Model championship. While the title serves as Mingus’ most notable season-long accomplishment to date, the undisputed highlight came in October, when Mingus competed in the forty-third running of the prestigious Winchester 400. Competing against some of the best short track racers in the country, Mingus turned plenty of heads when he brought his machine home fourth.
2011 will see Mingus compete full time on the CRA Super Series after parlaying his Winchester success into a full-time ride and a great sponsor in Kentucky-Tennessee 811. After finishing 2nd in the season opener, expect Mingus to not only win Rookie of the Year but seriously challenge for a number of race victories.
