Photo courtesy of PBO Media Productions
By Rob Spires/ Ken Ten PR
Salem, Ind. (June 19)- The Ken Ten Pro Late Model series has a new prince. Fifteen-year-old Mason Mingus of Brentwood, Tenn., assumed that title after he dominated the Touchstone Energy Hoosier Hills 100 at Indiana’s historic Salem Speedway.
Mingus, who started on the outside of the front row in his first race at the tricky half-mile, rocketed into the lead as the cars made their way into turn 1 on the first lap. From there, Mingus was able to stretch the lead margin little by little each lap.
“We had a clutch problem in practice, so we didn’t get as many laps as we wanted,” Mingus said. “We were able to put down a pretty good lap in qualifying, and then we got a good jump when they waived the green flag,” he added.
The most dramatic incident of the night occurred on lap 17. As the cars worked off of turn 2, the sixth and seventh place cars of Kevin Willis, from Shepherdsville, Ken., and Ryan Isaacs, from Lagrange, Ken., tangled. Both cars slid into the inside wall and ricocheted back into the racing groove where series regulars Brian Royalty and Tim Hollis were collected. As the cars ground to a stop, Willis’ car burst into flames. Though Willis emerged from his crumpled machine unhurt, the race had to be red-flagged for over half an hour while fire crews battled the inferno. Because of the damage sustained to his charred racer, Willis was awarded the AR Bodies hard luck award.
Once the race resumed, it was business as usual for Mingus, though by lap 39 AR Bodies fast qualifier Will Kimmel, from Sellersburg, Ind., had worked his way into second place from his sixth starting spot following the inversion. Kimmel, a Salem Speedway veteran and former track champion, stalked Mingus lap after lap until his car began to overheat. Kimmel brought the steaming car onto pit road on lap 57 and retired from the event.
“Kimmel was who we thought was going to be our toughest competition. We were still faster than him once he got to second, but it made our night easier when he fell out,” Mingus said.
Kimmel’s misfortune opened the door for Hermitage, Tenn., veteran Josh Weston to challenge Mingus for the top spot. Weston, a former Rookie of the Year winner at Nashville’s Fairgrounds Speedway, was able to maintain a consistent margin behind Mingus, though he wasn’t able to gain any ground on the youngster.
The field was bunched up as the caution flew for a Martin Belcher spin on lap 76, but as soon as the green flag was displayed, Mingus reasserted his dominance. Mingus comfortably led until lap 95 when the lights went off in turn 4 of the race track. Due to the circumstances, the race was deemed official and Mingus was awarded the win. In all, it was one of the most dominating performances in Ken Ten series history as Mingus led every lap en route to scoring his first career series victory, and becoming the youngest winner in series history. Weston had to settle for second, and Greenfield, Ind., driver Damon Ecoff finished third. Weston’s charge through the field was enough to earn him the whiplashgear.com hard charger award.
“I was thankful we didn’t have to do that last restart,” said Mingus. “We had the best car, but you never know what can happen.”
Mingus uses a Port City chassis, with a S.P.E.C. engine. The car sports an AR body and ARS shocks. His sponsor is Kentucky/Tennessee 811, which is a number to call before digging to avoid underground utility damage.
The next stop for the Ken Ten Pro Late Model series is the flat quarter-mile bullring of Beech Bend Speedway in Bowling Green, Ken. The action is sure to be intense as several drivers have established themselves as contenders for the series championship!
Final Results:
1. Mason Mingus
2. Josh Weston
3. Damon Ecoff
4. Dr. Jeff Berg
5. Tony Conway
6. Tim Hollis
7. Martin Belcher
8. Will Kimmel
9. Jared Smith
10. Brian Royalty
11. Ryan Isaacs
12. Kevin Willis
13. Jason Fuller
DNS Sammy Sanders
DNS Blake Hillard
DNS Chad Willis
Point Standings:
1. Tim Hollis- 204
2. Brian Royalty- 168
3. Mason Mingus-120
3. Roger Parker- 120
5. Josh Weston- 116
5. Robbie Brown- 116
7. Damon Ecoff- 112
7. Jason Jones- 112
7. Davey Coble- 112
10. Dr. Jeff Berg- 108
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