ARCA Champion to Debut at Homestead
ARCA Racing Series champion Mason Mitchell will make his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut Friday night at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The W. Des Moines, IA driver will be in the No. 48 New England Energy Management-Wildlife Foundation Florida Ford for the Ford EcoBoost 200.
Things kind of fell into place (after winning the ARCA championship) and we were able to put together some pieces of the puzzle to run this event,” Mitchell said. “I have a good relationship with Roush Yates and I have a good relationship with Brad Keselowski racing and we ended up buying a truck from them and racing it under the Mason Mitchell Motorsports banner. To be able to run this event it’s been a little bit of a time crunch, but everybody just came together and got the truck really well prepared led by Ricky Viers and can’t thank New England Energy Management enough for coming onboard for this event.”
Mitchell has reason to be confident despite only driving a truck on iRacing. Mitchell recorded his first ARCA win at Chicagoland and had an average finish of third in three 1.5-mile events. Mitchell said he excels at these venues because “you get spread out a little bit. I get in my zone and just find a way to get speed and I love the style there…. you can maneuver the car how you want to do it and it all comes down to the car handling obviously and trying to find the part on the track with the most speed.”
Homestead is unlike most of the other 1.5-mile tracks with an oval instead of a tri-oval or D. The turns are progressively banked from 18-20 degrees.
“I’ve always loved watching races and loved studying races at Homestead,” Mitchell said. “I think it’s a really unique track. You can move around, where I like where you can move around at tracks. At Chicago this year, we won the race because we were the only car that went up and raced against the wall and that’s what you need to do at Homestead, and I like when the tires can wear out because you can kind of manage them, and then you can also play tire strategy too, so I definitely feel like that can benefit my style a little bit”
“(A) realistic goal I think it a top 10 run to be up front and be competitive all night and impress and not make any mistakes, but honestly I want to go out there and compete for a win,” Mitchell said. “I think with all the pieces of the puzzle that we have the capability and the potential to, but we’re just going to have to execute and have a good run all night and be there at the end.”
Mitchell’s home state of Iowa has 99 counties and boasts one dirt track per four counties. Hawkeye Downs in Cedar Rapids and Iowa in Newton are the lone pavement venues. “It’s really neat,” Mitchell said. “I wish there was more (asphalt tracks), but maybe someday.”
Mitchell began his career at a 1/5 mile track in Jamaica in go-karts before moving to Mini Cups and eventually Late Models at Hawkeye Downs. Mitchell estimates that he spent “at least as much or more time out of state” competing in Mini Cups and Late Models to test his team against the best competition.
“Whatever racing I’ve done, it’s prepared me,” Mitchell said. “There’s been a lot of adversity that I’ve had to deal with throughout my racing and it’s definitely prepared me to be who I am today and all the people back in Iowa that supported me so much and always having my back.”
Mitchell graduated high school in 2012 and decided to go racing nationally with ARCA. Mitchell recorded four top 10s in as his first four races for Eddie Sharp Racing. “(I) led some laps, almost won some races, so after that point it kind of put things into place and we were able to see a brighter light at the end of the tunnel,” Mitchell said.
After a slow start to the 2013 season with a new team, Mitchell moved to John Corr’s No. 82 car. The combination flourished as Mitchell won two poles and was eighth or better in the remaining nine races.
“We were always in contention and always there finishing second, finishing top five,” Mitchell said. “It’s just that one little thing that you don’t know what it is that you need to do to win.”
By November, Mitchell decided to form his own team to pursue that elusive victory and pursue the championship. Mitchell had many questions to answer entering the season. With the pressures of starting a new team, Mitchell called the undertaking “tremendous, a lot of stressful moments, a lot of sleepless nights.”
“I don’t regret any division I ever did,” Mitchell said. “It turned out obviously like I wanted it to be and we’re set on moving forward …. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”
“A lot of hard work and anything is possible just had to dig in and make it happen and from windshield-ing cars, to fabricating stuff, to handling the business side of things,” Mitchell said. “I feel like I’m really involved in the business and trying to make it successful. Obviously, it wouldn’t be successful without all the great people that we have helping us out and work on this, and it’s just there’s so much more to it than people think. “
Mitchell drove the No. 98 Thermal Technology Services Ford to consistent finishes, including only two finishes outside the top 10. Mitchell focused on the championship over wins from the onset.
“Honestly, I think my mindset; attitude toward the whole year was a lot different than people,” Mitchell said. “… From the minute the green flag dropped at Daytona, I was points racing and I don’t care what people say about that, but that’s how you win a championship. You’ve always got to be calculating your moves, calculating your risk if you want to win the championship and I think championships are the most important thing (in) any career, sport, or activity you can do. Yeah you want to win as many races, you want to win as many games this and that, set as many records as you can, but I think the person with 10 rings at the end of their career has done a lot more than a person that has so many records, this and that and no rings.
“….(I) was always figuring out how to get the most out of every situation that we put in and we set goals every time and we tried to execute them.”
Mitchell had 14 top fives in ARCA before the breakthrough win at Chicagoland. “It’s just patience and resilience and attitude and mentally tough,” Mitchell said. “That’s what I did, and that’s what my team did, and we finally made it happen.”
The team debuted a new car for Pocono in June. After a day of testing at the ‘Tricky Triangle,’ Mitchell’s car proved fast during the race, nearly holding off Sprint Cup rookie Kyle Larson for the victory. Mitchell dominated at Michigan before finishing second to Austin Theriault.
“The car’s been a really nice piece for me,” Mitchell said. “It’s always been consistent and always there and really, really nice put together.”
“Kyle Larson was in that race and kind of just checked out on the field that whole race and at the end there we had found something and we were able to take the lead from him and almost held him off, finished second there,” Mitchell said.
The team built another brand new car that Mitchell believes is better than the Chicagoland winner is. Mitchell said his team has “learned a lot” from building a car during the preseason to the most recent product.
“We’re always trying to save weight and always trying to just improve your suspension components and geometry and every single aspect that goes into the car to make it handle, make it go fast,” Mitchell said. “You’re trying to figure out something to give you .001, so it’s very critical.”
All of Mitchell’s cars are new with a chassis supplier building the chassis and a bodybuilder to make and mount the steel bodies. The rest of the work is done in-house “and really prepared well by all the guys at Mason Mitchell Motorsports and I think every piece we have is a piece of equipment that can go and win a race any day and night,” Mitchell said. “… “It’s great to see all that flow and working together especially in a new team.”
Mitchell does not have anything lined up for next season, but is hopeful that he can find a new ride. While Mitchell will not be racing in ARCA next season, his team will continue with a new driver.
“I do not have anything yet for my side of things,” Mitchell said. “I’m working really hard and this is just a great opportunity here at Homestead-Miami Speedway that’s came about to drive the Mason Mitchell Motorsports-New England Energy Management F-150 and it’s been pretty unique to have that opportunity and trying to make it all happen. I think it will be a good evening and hopefully it turns into something for 2015.
“On the ARCA side for Mason Mitchell Motorsports, we’ll be racing the 2015 schedule and running for the championship weekend. I will not be driving; soon we’ll be announcing the driver and the plans for that. I’m excited for all the guys at Mason Mitchell Motorsports because they put a lot of hard work to build a successful program and I think that this will make it even stronger and defend our chance for another championship and I’m really excited to keep that program going and keep it strong.”
“We feel like we have a really good base and a really good foundation here and just the stuff that we’ve learned over the year and now being able to apply it during the offseason with rebuilding cars and building a couple of new ones and figuring out all the cool little tricks I feel are going to help us and be advantageous into the 2015 season.”
Mitchell is a proponent of the cost containment initiatives coming next season. The ARCA Ilmor 396 engine option was announced in August with the goal of reducing engine expenses. The composite Five Star body that debuted at SEMA last weekend will be legal for short track races. The body will also be available to NASCAR K&N Pro Series teams.
“I think (it) is a great opportunity for the series and lowering costs and the engine situation and the new body being similar bodies to virtually look like a NASCAR Sprint Cup car,” Mitchell said. “It’s going to be really unique and I’m looking forward to be able to test that race car and I think Mason Mitchell Motorsports will have another great opportunity to be successful again.”
“I really kind of dislike it when people are being so negative about the changes,” Mitchell said. “I’m not afraid to say it’s going to save our team quite a bit of funds and save a lot of money, which we could have gone either way. We could make it work where we have the old package you want to call it with a lease program and we were successful with that and obviously this is more money, but now with the new motor package and designs with the Ilmor motor design, and you have to be there with earlier engines and the rebuilds it’s very affordable it saves hundreds of thousands of dollars for us a year. (With) the body package on down the road you’re going to be able to save money because you can virtually mount new bodies, replace body parts in-house and that saves thousands of dollars outsourcing it to a bodybuilder where you got to put a steel body on it if people don’t have the capability to do it in-house.
“There might be a little bit of initial investment, just a little minor extra cost to it, but during the whole season you’re going to save a tremendous amount of money and that’s big for a touring series because this series is built from the grassroots of racing and I believe we’ve got to keep it evolving and keep it so we can keep the grassroots in it and keep the costs down.”
Mitchell’s primary sponsor this weekend is New England Energy Management, a Brookfield, CT company that specializes in energy efficiency for lights, mechanical and building controls.
“We have accrued a relationship over a year and we’ve met at the racetrack before,” Mitchell said. “We’ve had ‘em out and have some really great people and I love all the guys and folks there that are able to be a part of it and work with and when it came about they had kind of an idea they presented to us and we made it all working. I just can’t thank the folks over there. They’re super pumped and the solutions they provide for businesses is so unique in cost savings.
“I know Mason Mitchell Motorsports is going to be (experiencing) energy savings now with the new partnership, and it’s going to be huge. They’ve got a good relationship with Ford Motor Company and currently they’re redesigning their energy solutions with running their manufacturer divisions. I just can’t thank them enough certainly for the opportunity and to represent them and be in Miami for Ford Championship Weekend and just really excited and real humbled about it and can’t want to get on the racetrack for the first time.”
“Hopefully it’s a good evening and I can show the new fans and supporters of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series …and hopefully some people can start following me and start taking an interest into my career.”
Mitchell is ready to represent ARCA as their champion.
“I’m going to hold my head up high,” Mitchell said. “I feel like I’ve had a successful season and I feel like we can just be successful in the truck series too. … (I) have confidence going into it, going to try and make ARCA, all my competitors in that race and all the people that supported me proud in this race Friday night and hopefully we can open some ears and turn some heads and make something happen.”
Sources: Nicholas Teto/YankeeRacer.com