Mason Mingus Ready For His ARCA Season-Opener At Mobile

Mason Mingus Ready For His ARCA Season-Opener At Mobile

Topics: Mason Mingus, Mobile ARCA 200

Mason Mingus Ready For His ARCA Season-Opener At Mobile

Chris Knight
Knight Motorsports Management
Win-Tron Racing
March 8, 2012

LAKEVILLE, Minnesota (March 8, 2012) - - It’s not very often that you can head to a race and say that someone has a chance to walk away as a first-time winner. Opportunity knocks and Win-Tron Racing hopes to answer when the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards resumes action at Mobile (Ala.) International Speedway for the running of Saturday afternoon’s inaugural Mobile ARCA 200.

Win-Tron Racing led by crew chief Mike Chaffee is a wizard when it comes to bringing drivers to their first career victory in the development series. He’ll look to pull off that magic again when ARCA CRA Series standout Mason Mingus takes the wheel of the No. 32 Call 811 Before You Dig Toyota Camry in the second race of the season.

James Buescher, Blake Bjorklund, Justin Marks and Matt Merrell are just a few of the names that have excelled thanks to Chaffee’s philosophy. One thing is for certain though, when the garage opens on Friday afternoon, the Lakeville, Minnesota-based team won’t be taken lightly, no matter who’s behind the wheel.

Not only is the team looking to put Mingus into the spotlight, but the veteran ARCA team is eager for some redemption after their late race misfortune in the season-opener at Daytona (Fla.) International after driver Chris Windom was running second coming out of turn four on the last lap - but ran out of fuel with leader Brandon McReynolds and stuttered to finish eighth.

“We can’t be disappointed with the way we ran at Daytona, we just didn’t have quite enough fuel to soar to the checkered flag,” explained co-car owner Nate Thiesse. “But, Daytona’s done and everyone knew that we were there, so we’re taking that same mentality into Mobile this weekend with our newest rising star.”

For 17-year old Mingus, he’ll look for not only a strong starting position at Mobile, but he’ll hope to complete all 200-laps which will enable him to carry some momentum and experience into his upcoming races which recently increased from five ARCA events to eight.

“You can say, I’ve been waiting since last Fall to get back into one of these ARCA cars,” offered Mingus, a native of Brentwood, Tennessee. “I know that I have a lot to learn, but man, I’m with one of the best teams in the garage and as a rookie that takes your stress level down several notches. There will definitely be a lot of “unknowns” with Mobile being a new track and all, but I know that’s the type of track that Win-Tron Racing excels at, so I’m not worried one bit. I’m just appreciative of the opportunity to be behind the wheel of the No. 32 Call 811 Before You Dig Toyota Camry.

Speaking of Call 811 Before You Dig, they are a new spectacle sponsor in the ARCA Racing Series and for good reason.

811 is the new number you should call before you begin any digging project. A new, federally-mandated national "Call Before You Dig" number, 811 was created to help protect you from unintentionally hitting underground utility lines while working on digging projects. People digging often make risky assumptions about whether or not they should get their utility lines marked due to concerns about project delays, costs and previous calls about other projects. These assumptions can be life-threatening.

Every digging job requires a call – even small projects like planting trees or shrubs. If you hit an underground utility line while digging, you can harm yourself or those around you, disrupt service to an entire neighborhood and potentially be responsible for fines and repair costs.

“Call 811 Before You Dig is a great program and we want to increase their awareness and I feel that we’re going to make a major dent into that this season,” offered Mingus. “It’s really a great, informational service available and I’m extremely grateful to them for pairing up with me this season. Believe me, we’re going to do everything we can to spread their message and more importantly take them to Victory Lane!”

Thiesse, well-known in the garage area for pinpointing the racers of the future, commented on the expectations he has for his young protégé this weekend. “Seat time is our main priority with Mason,” he sounded. “He (Mason) undoubtedly has an awful lot of talent, but we just need to finesse it with these ARCA cars and it (hopefully) will be just a matter of time before he’s holding that “number one finger” up in Victory Lane. As for Saturday afternoon, if he can keep the fenders on the No. 32 Call 811 Before You Dig and finish inside the top-10, it will be a good day!”

On top of Mobile (Ala.) International Speedway, Mingus’s current ARCA schedule also includes Salem (Ind.) Speedway, Toledo Speedway, Elko (Minn.) Speedway, Winchester (Ind.) Speedway, Iowa Speedway, Lucas Oil Raceway and the traditional Fall Salem (Ind.) Speedway classic.

In addition to Call 811 Before You Dig, Diamond Equipment has leaped aboard the team as an associate marketing partner for Mingus’s foray into the development series.

The Mobile ARCA 200 (200 laps / 100 miles) is the second of 20 events on the 2012 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards schedule. The first ARCA race held at MIS is a two-day show. Practice begins Friday, March 9 with a three and a half hour practice session planned from 1:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Menards pole qualifying presented by Ansell is set for later in the day at 7:00 p.m. An on-track autograph session has been etched in on race day, Saturday, March 10 from 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. The event will take the green flag shortly after 2:00 p.m. The race will not be televised on SPEED but additional race coverage including live timing and scoring will be available through the ARCA Racing Network (ARN) online at arcaracing.com. All times are local.

Further information including driver opportunities with Win-Tron Racing is available by visiting win-tronracing.com or contacting Nate Thiesse at 612.306.1641

For more input on Call 811 Before You Dig, please connect to call811.com.

For more on Mason Mingus, please visit MasonMingusRacing.com.

About Win-Tron Racing:

Located in Lakeville, Minnesota, Win-Tron Racing is the home of one the most potent ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards single-car operations. Owned by former racers Kevin Cywinski and Nate Thiesse, the team since has acquired the assets of County Joe Racing has become a favorable fixture on the circuit. Since Win-Tron Racing’s inception in 2007, the team has hosted a variety of drivers including leading drivers James Buescher, Blake Bjorklund, Justin Marks and Matt Merrell to their first career ARCA victories. In 2012, the team will begin its sixth year of competition under the helm of veteran crew chief Mike Chaffee with current drivers Chris Windom and Mason Mingus.

PHOTO CAPTION: Mason Mingus with his No. 32 Call 811 Before You Dig Toyota Camry in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards for Win-Tron Racing.

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TEAM COMMUNICATIONS CONTACT:
NAME: Chris Knight, Knight Motorsports Management
PHONE: 239.834.9797
EMAIL: chris@chrisknightpr.com / knight849@aol.com