(Photo by http://www.SteveEichelberger.com)
Inside Line Promotions – KNOXVILLE, Iowa (June 11, 2018) – Mason Daniel made the most of his debut at U.S. 36 Raceway last Friday when he finished a close second to veteran Jack Dover during the ASCS Warrior Region show.
Daniel powered his way from fifth to second in a heat race, which positioned him well for the main event on the high-banked oval in Osborn, Mo. The native of Springville, Calif., lined up third and traded slide jobs early with Dover before falling to fourth. Daniel then marched back to the front and was able to get within a couple car lengths of Dover late in the race.
“The track was definitely hooked up and fast all night long,” Daniel said. “We were pretty good for being the first time there. When I got back to second, Jack had a straightaway lead and I was able to close that down to about a car length behind him. He got tight going into (turns) three and four and I thought I’d make a move off the bottom. I just needed one or two more laps and I could have challenged him for the win. It was a good race and I had a lot of fun.”
The runner-up result was his career-best finish in a sprint car.
Daniel returned to the famed Knoxville Raceway on Saturday night and he was the third quickest in time trials despite having a bit of a stumble in the engine. Unfortunately, bad luck befell him in both the heat race and the main event. In the heat race, the engine stumbled again and another car got into Daniel, pushing him up the track. That led to contact with another car, which resulted in a broken shock spud and a subsequent spin. That ended his heat race.
“We tried something new and I really liked it,” he shared. “The car was fast and we were set up for a really good night. I mentioned to the team that the engine stumbled a little bit when I first got on the gas. We made some changes and we thought we had it fixed, but we didn't.”
In the feature, Daniel lined up in the 10th spot thanks to his strong qualifying effort. Just before the midpoint of the race another driver came straight down the track and got into Daniel, which led to a significant amount of damage. It ended his night early and he was credited with a 17th-place finish.
“We got the engine fixed and went back out for the main event and had a good starting spot,” he said. “It was just bad luck and I guess you’ll get that sometimes in auto racing. We’ll regroup and get ready for this weekend.”
Daniel will head to Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Mo., on Friday for a Sprint Invaders race before returning to Knoxville Raceway on Saturday.
QUICK RESULTS –
June 8 – U.S. 36 Raceway in Osborn, Mo. – Heat race: 2 (5); Feature: 2 (3).
June 9 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifying: 3; Heat race: 8 (5); Feature: 17 (10).
SEASON STATS –
17 races, 0 wins, 4 top fives, 6 top 10s, 11 top 15s, 14 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Friday at Scotland County Speedway in Memphis, Mo., with the Sprint Invaders and Saturday at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa
MEDIA LINKS –
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MasonDRacing
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Delray Tire
Delray Tire is a commercial tire dealer in the Central San Joaquin Valley of California. They provide tires and service to over-the-road, fleets, farmers, and commercial vehicles of all shapes and sizes. For more information, visit https://www.delraytire.com/.
“Delray Tire has been supplying our family business with tires for the last couple of years,” Daniel said. “They have always been there as part of our sprint car operation and I can’t thank them enough.”
Daniel would also like to thank Dillon Risk Management, Valley Pacific, Young’s Commercial Transfer, Fresno Truck Center, Golden State Peterbilt, Bell Helmets and Schoenfeld Headers for their continued support.
INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –
Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations and media management for motor sports drivers, teams, sponsors, tracks, series, events, organizations and manufacturers. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and the return on investment for your sponsors.
To meet the media relations needs of your program by joining Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or Shawn@InsideLinePromotions.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.
- Shawn Miller on Jun 11, 2018
- Article Date: 6/11/2018 by Inside Line Promotions