Sometimes racing can be a cruel sport to teams and drivers. Thursday evening, at the Chicagoland Speedway it was cruel to Mason Mitchell Motorsports and driver Michael Self in the SCOTT 150.
Self driving the No. 88 Sinclair Oil Chevrolet had the evenings dominate car. He took the lead with over 30 laps remaining in the 100-lap event and drove out to a commanding three second lead. Within sight of his first career ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards victory a right front tire blew coming off of turn two inside of ten laps remaining ending Self’s bid at victory. The cut tire ended the veteran drivers evening relegating him to a 19th place finish.
“That was pretty depressing,” a dejected Self said after the 100-lap event. “We had the field covered. I was riding and taking it really easy on the tires. Every time we race with MMM we’ve been so fast. They build great cars and deserve to win. I am overwhelmed by everyone’s support. I can’t thank Sinclair Oil enough for believing in me. We will get one of these checkered flags, I promise.”
Myatt Snider who was making his 2017 ARCA Racing Series debut grabbed a top-ten finish in ninth in his first start with MMM. In the opening laps Snider raced up to fourth from his tenth-place starting position. During the evenings first round of pit-stops the Liberty Tax Service/Louisiana Hot Sauce No. 78 speeding on pit-road was forced to restart at the tail end of lead lap cars in the 15th spot.
Snider exerted patience and worked his way back inside the top-ten to as high as sixth. A late race caution bunched up the field as it appeared Snider would contend for a top-five. Several drivers made contact forcing Snider to check up and losing valuable time and positions. The No. 78 crossed the finish line in the ninth spot.
“I had an absolute blast this evening,” Snider stated. “This was a deep field of talented drivers. We had a fast car and raced up to fourth early. We had to overcome some adversity and come from the back of the field. At one point during the long runs we were a half second faster than the field. I learned a ton for the truck race tomorrow evening. I can’t thank MMM enough for their hard work throughout the course of the day.”
Crosley Brands 150
Next up for ARCA is the 1.5-mile Kentucky Speedway located in Sparta, Kentucky. Teams will have an open test on Tuesday, September 19th to prepare for the September 22nd race. Teams will get the day started with a 90-minute practice session from 1:00-2:30. General Pole qualifying will start at 5:10 PM. Then the 100 lap, 150 mile event gets underway at 8:00 PM. Fans can watch the race live on Fox Sports 1 beginning at 8:00 PM ET.
Follow MMM on Social Media: To keep up-to-date with the latest, news, information and race updates, follow MMM racing’s twitter page @MMM_Race and “like” their facebook page at Mason Mitchell Motorsports.
Mason Mitchell Motorsports: Is a championship driver development team fielding multiple entries in the ARCA Racing Series for the 2017 season. The team is based out of Statesville, North Carolina. http://www.masonmitchellmotorsports.com
MMM PR
- IROC Returns July 19-20 at Lime Rock Park - April 19, 2024
- RCR Race Preview: Talladega Superspeedway - April 19, 2024
- The perfect sweep: Julien Rehberg makes an incredible debut in the Rookie Trophy - April 19, 2024