Mason Mitchell at 9:30 pm ET on Tuesday, July 5, 2016 Photo – ARS
Mason Mitchell is our guest on Fan4Racing NASCAR Weekend Preview on Tuesday, July 5 at 9:30 pm ET. Call 929-477-1790 or tweet @Fan4RacingSite or @beberly18 with any questions or comments during our LIVE broadcast.
The ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards heads to Iowa Speedway this weekend and Mason Mitchell will be behind the wheel for the first time in 2016.
Last season at Iowa, Mitchell won in thrilling fashion, passing Kyle Weatherman in a one-lap overtime sprint to the finish at the 7/8-mile track located a mere 40 miles from Mitchell’s hometown in West Des Moines.
“These guys work too damn hard to come home second and lose,” an excited and emotional Mitchell said of his Mason Mitchell Motorsports crew after the thrilling victory last July.
“It means so much to be able to win here. I’m super pumped I can’t even put it into words. This is my Daytona 500. This is better than the championship. This is huge. I don’t know what it’s going to be in the future but I know we’re going to celebrate like animals tonight.”
Thus far in 2016, Mitchell has served as crew chief for the team he owns with Brady Boswell, Gus Dean, David Levine and Kyle Weatherman piloting the team’s No. 98 entry through the first 10 races. The MMM organization has one win this season, at Talladega Superspeedway with Dean behind the wheel.
Mitchell made six starts behind the wheel in the ARCA Racing Series last season, recording two wins and four top-five finishes.
“I can’t express how much I am looking forward to getting back behind the wheel,” an excited Mitchell stated. “I can’t think of a better track on the ARCA schedule to make my first start of the 2016 season.”
The 22-year-old driver made his debut at Iowa in 2012 and has three top-ten results in his three starts at the track. This weekend, Mitchell will look to become the first repeat winner in ARCA competition since the inaugural event in 2006.
The opportunity for Mitchell wouldn’t be happening without the support and sponsorship from Karl Chevrolet – the area’s leading Chevrolet dealership located in Ankeny, Iowa. The dealership sponsored Mitchell last year at Iowa and Kansas, both races in which Mitchell took the No. 78 Chevrolet to victory lane.
“I can’t begin to express what it means to have Karl Chevrolet step up in 2016,” Mitchell stated. “They helped our program a lot last year. It was great to be able to bring them to victory lane with us both times they came on the car in 2015.
“They do a fantastic job supporting the local community and the racing community. I can’t wait to get back behind the wheel at Iowa.”
In addition to Iowa, Karl Chevrolet will sponsor Mitchell at Chicagoland, where Mitchell won in 2014, and again at Kansas.
“In 2015 we were able to align a sponsorship with Mason Mitchell as he made the jump to Chevrolet prior to the Iowa ARCA race,” Carl Moyer of Karl Chevrolet explained. “Him being a hometown kid, the pieces seemed to fit perfect. Mason not only won in Iowa, but again in Kansas with us on the car and we couldn’t have been more proud of his success and representation of Karl Chevrolet.”