Mason had an outstanding day at Atlanta Motor Speedway Saturday racing in the Pro division. After starting 3rd in the heat race, he took the lead on lap 3 and led to the finish. Starting on the pole in the feature, Mason had an awesome racecar and led the entire 20 laps for his 3rd Pro win in the 2011-12 Winter Flurry Series.
After the race, Mason said, " Doug made a couple of changes in the shop on Friday before practice. This car was unbelievable today. I have never had a car drive this good at Atlanta. I just wanna thank Doug for all his hard work and my family and sponsors for making this happen. Hopefully, this is just the beginning to a great 2012, because we have alot of things going on this year. I am really excited."
After drawing for last starting position in the heat race, Mason knew he had a tough day of competition ahead of him. In the 10 lap heat race, Mason drove it up to 3rd for a good starting spot in the feature. On lap 5 of the feature, Mason passed for the lead and was able to hold on in the 20 lap race. After the race, he was quick to credit Crew Chief Doug Stevens, "The car was incredible. I could drive it anywhere I needed it to go. We were really hooked up today. Thanks to Doug and all of the guys at Advanced Technology Motorsports. Also thanks to Advance Auto Parts, Summit Tires, and Wren's Body Shop for making all this happen." You can watch the video of Mason winning here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHmzmWxgRoI
On a frigid, cold night Friday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Mason was there to race in the opening race of the 2011-12 Winter Flurry Series. It was not just another race for Mason, because he was making his Pro division debut in the always competitive class on the 1/4 mile Bullring. After starting the heat race in the 6th spot, he worked his way up to 3rd when the 10 lap race come to an end. Starting 3rd in the 20 lap feature, Mason made his way to 2nd at the drop of the green flag. On lap 12, Mason made the pass on the leader and was able to hold on for the victory in the race. After the race, Mason was quick to thank Crew Chief Doug Stevens, "Doug really had the car dialed in tonight. After the flip in Vegas, I was kind of worried about getting it back together, but Doug had the car better than ever. Thanks to him and all the guys at Advanced Technology Motorsports. Also, this win is for my Poppy. Today is his birthday and I hope he enjoys this win even though he had to be out of town tonight. And thanks to my sponsors for making this happen: Advance Auto Parts, Summit Tires, Ideal Restorations, Motivated Eyewear, G Force Racing Gear and Racerboost.com." Lastly, in the race, Mason broke the existing track record at Atlanta Motor Speedway and is now the current track record holder in Legend car competition.
After a very successful 2011 season, that included over 20 feature wins, Mason is set to make his Pro debut Friday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Race #1 of the Winter Flurry Series. He will have his Doug Stevens prepared car ready to race after a disappointing finish at the Legend Nationals in Las Vegas last weekend, that included Mason flipping on lap 2 of the feature. Mason had a very fast racecar in Vegas all week leading up to the race. In qualifying, he ended up 2nd, just .02 off the pole, while qualifying under the existing track record. In the final rounds of practice, he was consistently at the top of the speed charts, while posting the fastest lap of the day in the final practice of all the Legend cars, including all divisions. Unfortunately, Mason could not show his speed in the feature, as he was unable to avoid 2 cars in front of him wrecking on lap 2 of the feature. This wreck ended his night and left the car in bad condition. He will be at Atlanta Friday night ready to race. Come out to Atlanta Motor Speedway to see some good racing!!
Saturday night at Lanier National Speedway ended a near 30 year run of weekly racing with an event billed as "The Final Showdown." The track will only run special events in the future, so therefore a large turnout of cars was to be expected. Eleven cars showed up for the Semi Pro/Young Lions race. After starting 3rd in his heat race, Mason quickly took the lead and never looked back. In the feature, Mason jumped out to an early lead and lead flag to flag, to pick up another win in his successful 2011 season. After the race, in victory lane, Mason said, "Man, Doug (Stevens) really gave me a great car tonight. This is the best we have been all year here at Lanier. Also, I want to dedicate this win to my buddy Rick Hensley, who died yesterday of cancer. He was a great man and a good friend, and will really be missed. Rest in peace, buddy."
The Legends Invitational at Atlanta Motor Speedway was run Friday Afternoon before the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race. It was an invitation only race for drivers who had won a selected qualifying race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Lanier National Speedway, or Watermelon Capital Speedway during the 2011 racing season. Mason showed up ready to race, after winning 12 of the qualifying races, to try his luck and skill against Georgia's best drivers in the long 40 lap event. After starting 2nd, Mason settled into 3rd for the first half of the race, pulling away from the field with Taylor Hull and Sean Rayhall leading the way. On lap 25, Mason was able to pass for the lead and led the race as Hull and Doug Stevens were fighting for 2nd. A pair of late race cautions, set up a shootout with Mason leading and Stevens in 2nd place. Mason was able to hold off Stevens and won the biggest race of his career. It was an exciting day for Mason to win such a big race on NASCAR weekend in Atlanta. After the race, Mason said,"we had an awesome car. Doug had it set up perfect and I could drive it anywhere it needed to go." Asked about the late race cautions with Stevens in his mirror, he said,"my car was definitely better on the short runs, so I feel like the cautions actually helped me, but it was nerve racking to know that he was behind me and I had to have perfect restarts to stay up front. Doug is a great guy and a good friend and it was just awesome to race hard with him. He is one of my heroes on and off the track." For the win, Mason pocketed $1,000 and a gift certificate to the Legends of Georgia shop.
After starting 4th in the 6 lap heat race, at the big 4/10 mile Watermelon Capital Speedway, Mason worked his way to the lead to win the combined class race. In the feature, Mason started on the pole and held on to get the win in a very exciting race. It was Mason's first visit to the track since March, when he won driving Austin Hill's car, after blowing a motor in practice. After the race, Mason said, "man that was a fun race. It was a blast racing that hard with William(Plemons) and Scott (Mosley). It is nice to win and I appreciate them racing me clean. Also, thanks to Doug Stevens for the good car. We tried a new setup that we had never ran here before and we were fast off the trailer. As usual, Doug had us dialed in."
After having an altercation with a car in the heat race, Mason was unable to finish and therefore had to start the Young Lions feature in the rear for Week 5 of Thursday Thunder at Atlanta Motor Speedway. After having his car repaired by Doug Stevens of Advanced Technology Motorsports, Mason started last in the 14 car field, and at the drop of the green flag and began working his way to the front. By lap 11, he had moved into 2nd place and had his sights set on the lead. On lap 14, Mason made the pass for the lead and led the remaining 6 laps to take his 12th career Thursday Thunder win and his 3rd in the last 4 weeks. As always, Mason would like to thank Doug Stevens and ATM for giving him a great racecar and repairing the car after the heat race incident. Also, thanks to all of Mason's sponsors for making this all possible.
Mason continued his hot streak with two strong runs last week at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway during the always competitive Summer Shootout and Thursday Thunder Series. Tuesday in Charlotte, Mason qualified 4th out of the 36 entries, after the inversion he started the feature in the 2nd spot. After leading the first 8 laps, Mason was passed for the lead and finished a strong 2nd after a very intense race. In Atlanta on Thursday, Mason started 5th in his heat race and finished 2nd in the race that was shortened to 5 laps. Since Mason was the feature winner last week, he was required to start the feature from the 7th position. He raced to the front and took the lead on lap 9 with a very strong race car. On lap 15, Mason was hammered from the rear and lost 2 positions to fall to 3rd place. Mason raced back to the lead on lap 19 only to be slammed again from the rear, by the same driver, coming to the checkered flag and crossed the finish line in 3rd position. Due to the rough driving charge against the other driver, he was penalized and Mason was awarded the 2nd spot. Mason should have had the win, but sometimes it just don't work out.
After traveling over 2,000 miles in the last ten days racing, Mason won his 2nd Thursday Thunder feature in a row at Atlanta Motor Speedway Thursday night to cap off a successful stretch in his Summer racing schedule. After winning at Atlanta Motor Speedway last Thursday, Mason traveled to South Alabama Speedway in Opp, Alabama to run his second race in the Gresham Motorsports/Summit Tires Late Model on Saturday. He started 10th in the feature, and worked his way up to 4th with 20 laps to go in the 100 lap feature. Unfortunately, with 3 laps to go Mason was crashed from behind and was unable to finish the race due to damage to the car. On Monday, Mason unloaded at Charlotte Motor Speedway ready to race his legend car. He qualified 2nd out of the 38 cars in his division. After a rough, crazy race he was able to bring it home in 2nd place for a great finish in the opening night of the 2011 Summer Shootout. On Tuesday, at Charlotte Motor Speedway again, Mason timed in 5th fastest and was able to salvage a 3rd place finish with an ill handling car. Two great finishes with a lot of competition. Finally, at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Thursday, Mason won his heat race and had to start the feature in 7th, because he won last week. He worked to the lead on lap 5, and run a strong race to win his 11th career Thursday Thunder race.
