(Photo by Craig Mobley)
Inside Line Promotions – KNOXVILLE, Iowa (June 18, 2018) – Some drivers race their entire career at the famed Knoxville Raceway and never win a race. After just a handful of starts at the historic half-mile oval, Mason Daniel made his way to Victory Lane last Saturday. The win was his first ever in a sprint car.
The Californian was fourth fastest in time trials and finished fifth in the second heat race, which set him up on the outside of the front row for the 18-lap main event. The race ended up going non-stop. Daniel ran side by side with Nate Van Haaften for a number of laps early before he took the lead on the eighth lap and never looked back.
“It definitely was surreal last night and this morning,” he said on Sunday. “When I got back home it started to settle in that I got my first win and it was at Knoxville, which is a hard track to do that at. I’ll never forget the win or that night.”
Daniel had established his career-best result of second the previous weekend at U.S. 36 Raceway in Missouri before he had some bad luck at Knoxville Raceway the next night as well as last week at a mid-week race in Oklahoma with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour presented by SawBlade.com. He rebounded in fine fashion and carries extra confidence into this weekend.
“I never thought I would get my first overall win at Knoxville,” he shared. “I figured my first win would come at a track like U.S. 36 (Raceway). We struggled at Knoxville the past few times we were there. To come back last weekend and qualify well, finish fifth in the heat race and win the feature was amazing. Our KPC Chassis handled great and our Moyle Racing Engine was hitting hard.”
Daniel is being coached by Danny Lasoski, the winningest driver in Knoxville Raceway history and a 10-time track champion.
“We had everything go our way,” Lasoski said. “When the racing Gods look down on you and the stars align, it’s few and far between when that happens so you have to be able to capitalize. We drew the outside front row for the feature. It was the perfect spot for him. I told him don’t think about going to the bottom. Give me 18 qualifying laps on the top. He put together 18 good laps and I’m proud of him. We had a lot of luck on our side as well.”
Daniel kicked off last week’s action on Wednesday at Lawton Speedway in Lawton, Okla., as part of the ASCS National Tour’s annual Speedweek. After a DNF in his heat race, Daniel charged from ninth to second in the B Main to earn a spot in the main event. Unfortunately, he was caught up in an accident and with damage to both wings Daniel elected to pull off the track.
“In the heat we made a mistake and that bent the car,” he said. “We transferred through the B Main and we were working our way through the field in the A Main when another car spun in front of us. We were collected in the wreck and decided to cut our losses by calling it a night early.”
Daniel will return to Knoxville Raceway this Saturday as he continues to gain experience at the Marion County Fairgrounds oval. With a win under his belt, the goal is to continue being a contender at the track.
“I think showing that we can run up front again is the main goal,” he said. “The past few times at Knoxville we hadn’t been in the top five at all and then went from wrecking one weekend to winning the next. I just want to show everyone that we can run up there consistently.”
QUICK RESULTS –
June 13 – Lawton Speedway in Lawton, Okla. – Heat race: DNF (2); B Main: 2 (9); Feature: 20 (18).
June 16 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifying: 4; Heat race: 5 (5); Feature: 1 (2).
SEASON STATS –
19 races, 1 win, 5 top fives, 7 top 10s, 12 top 15s, 16 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Saturday at Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa
MEDIA LINKS –
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MasonDRacing
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Young’s Commercial Transfer
Young’s Commercial Transfer is a family-owned business with deep roots in California’s Central Valley. Young’s Commercial Transfer is the largest for-hire hauler of tomatoes in the United States. For more information, visit http://yctinc.com.
“Young’s Commercial Transfer started my racing career,” Daniel said. “Without them I would never have set foot in a car or had the opportunity I have now. I can’t thank them enough for all that they do for us. They have supported me since Day 1 and that means the world to me to have that support.”
Daniel would also like to thank Dillon Risk Management, Delray Tire, 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 18, 2018
- Article Date: 6/18/2018 by Inside Line Promotions