Special from Middle Tennessee Racing News – Nashville, TN (Thursday, May 5, 2022): Mason Mingus, who hails from Brentwood, TN, figures the Menard’s ARCA Music City 200 owes him one.

 

And that’s a reasonable assumption considering he won the pole for last year’s race and ended up finishing third.

 

“We had a great car last year but a few things happened in the race that eventually kept us out of victory lane,” Mingus said this week as he prepared for the race that’s scheduled for Saturday evening May 7. “I think a tire issue was the main problem but the competition was also pretty tough so a third place finish wasn’t bad but first would have been a lot better and that’s what we are aiming for this Saturday night at Nashville.”

 

Mingus, who raced a full ARCA schedule several years ago and finished second in points to ARCA legend Frank Kimmel before heading to the NASCAR Truck Series, will again team with team owner Jeff McClure and drive his number 11 car sponsored by the Bowling Green Firefighter’s Association and Team Construction.

 

According to Mingus, McClure has a close association with the successful ARCA team of Andy Hillenburg and that is a big plus for the team.

 

‘It’s rough competing against the Gibb’s teams but Jeff’s association with Andy sure does help,” Mingus stated. “We certainly feel that we can be competitive again this year and with a break here and there we are very capable of winning at Nashville.”

 

Mingus, the 2019 All American 400 champion, is very familiar with the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway’s high banks. He has raced both Pro Late Models as well as Super Late Models at the historic track located near down town Nashville.

 

Mingus first raced Pro Late Models when he was 13-years-old and won in the KenTen Late Model Series.

 

Mingus said he plans to run another race or two this season for McClure and was supposed to compete in the ARCA Talladega race until a scheduling conflict came up.

 

“We ran five races with Jeff last year in the ARCA Series but my work schedule won’t allow me to compete in as many races this year,” Mingus stated. “But we will still try to get a few more in this year in the ARCA Series if we can.”

 

The Menard’s ARCA Music City 200 will be joined by a Pro Late Model race plus a star studded Super Late Model North/South Shootout this Saturday.