Inside Line Promotions - CARROLLTON, Mo. (Oct. 29, 2018) - Mason Daniel certainly took a big risk this year, relocating from California to the Midwest to advance his racing career. The move paid dividends for the 18-year-old as he had a very successful first season in a sprint car.
The main objective was to get seat time, laps and experience, and the native of Springville, Calif., exceeded his expectations as he picked up a pair of wins and turned in many strong performances over the course of the 2018 season.
"We made the choice to move to the Midwest because we believed the quality of racing was so good," he said. "We also could race 40-to-60 times, depending on rainouts. We wanted to come out here and the goal was to get up to speed with the guys out here. I think we did a good job of accomplishing that early in the year and we showed good speed throughout the rest of the year."
The highlight of the year for Daniel was earning his first career sprint car win, which came at the famed Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, on June 16. He followed that up a couple of races later with a victory at yet another historic venue - Missouri State Fair Speedway in Sedalia, Mo. Daniel, who also made the 360 Knoxville Nationals A Main during his first career attempt, finished in the top 10 in nearly half of the races he competed in over the course of the 2018 campaign, with 11 of those being top-five performances.
"It's still surreal to me today that we won at Knoxville (Raceway)," he noted. "I still cannot believe that we did that. Knoxville is a special place to race at and to win at, especially. It's one of my favorite two tracks that I raced at this year. They put on such a good show and to be able to race there and win there is truly amazing."
Daniel based his operation out of Danny Lasoski's shop in Carrollton, Mo., and he soaked up everything the Hall of Famer taught him. Along with mentoring Daniel, Lasoski turned the wrenches, serving as the crew chief for the young driver.
"Danny is vital to everything we do," Daniel said. "He made sure the car was fast and that I knew where to be on the race track. He also helped me know what I should be prepared for racing certain guys. Basically, everything I should know about a track that I had never been to, he taught me."
Daniel raced at 14 different tracks as well as with a handful of different series during the course of the 2018 campaign. Late in the season, he made his first-ever 410ci sprint car start with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series at the historic Terre Haute Action Track in Terre Haute, Ind. The next weekend he raced with the Outlaws again at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., qualifying for the main event after a solid heat race finish.
"The more different drivers you can race against and series you can race with the better you become as a driver," he explained. "We ran a lot at Knoxville this year, which helped on the bigger tracks. We raced with the ASCS Warrior Region quite a bit, which was mainly small tracks and helped us learn those. We ran some ASCS National Tour race on bigger tracks, which was great. Up north, we raced with the Sprint Invaders in Iowa and they were a great group to race against and we had some success there. The only way you are going to get better is to race as much as possible."
Daniel is already looking ahead to next season, with more 410 races tentatively on the docket. The plan is to start the season in Florida, then head to the West Coast with the World of Outlaws in the spring before focusing on the Midwest again in the summer months leading up to the Knoxville Nationals. Along with putting the hours in at the shop, Daniel is also stepping up his workout regime in the gym this offseason.
"The biggest thing is prepping your cars so you are ready when you get to Florida" he said. "It makes things easier during the season when you are prepared. For example, if you wreck, you don't have to build cars, you can just pull another one down and keep going. From the driver aspect of it, I learned at Lakeside (Speedway with the World of Outlaws) that you have to be in great shape. My job is to get in better shape because it's a lot different driving a 410 than it is a 360. I am looking forward to working hard all winter and being ready when February gets here."
SEASON STATS -
40 races, 2 wins, 11 top fives, 18 top 10s, 24 top 15s, 30 top 20s
MEDIA LINKS -
Website: http://www.masondanielracing.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MasonDRacing
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT - Young's Commercial Transfer
Young's Commercial Transfer is a family-owned business with deep roots in California's Central Valley. Young's Commercial Transfer is the largest for-hire hauler of tomatoes in the United States. For more information, visit http://yctinc.com.
"Young's Commercial Transfer started my racing career," Daniel said. "Without them I would never have set foot in a car or had the opportunity I have now. I can't thank them enough for all that they do for us. They have supported me since Day 1 and that means the world to me to have that support."
The main objective was to get seat time, laps and experience, and the native of Springville, Calif., exceeded his expectations as he picked up a pair of wins and turned in many strong performances over the course of the 2018 season.
The highlight of the year for Daniel was earning his first career sprint car win, which came at the famed Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa, on June 16. He followed that up a couple of races later with a victory at yet another historic venue - Missouri State Fair Speedway in Sedalia, Mo. Daniel, who also made the 360 Knoxville Nationals A Main during his first career attempt, finished in the top 10 in nearly half of the races he competed in over the course of the 2018 campaign, with 11 of those being top-five performances.
"It's still surreal to me today that we won at Knoxville (Raceway)," he noted. "I still cannot believe that we did that. Knoxville is a special place to race at and to win at, especially. It's one of my favorite two tracks that I raced at this year. They put on such a good show and to be able to race there and win there is truly amazing."
Daniel based his operation out of Danny Lasoski's shop in Carrollton, Mo., and he soaked up everything the Hall of Famer taught him. Along with mentoring Daniel, Lasoski turned the wrenches, serving as the crew chief for the young driver.
"Danny is vital to everything we do," Daniel said. "He made sure the car was fast and that I knew where to be on the race track. He also helped me know what I should be prepared for racing certain guys. Basically, everything I should know about a track that I had never been to, he taught me."
Daniel raced at 14 different tracks as well as with a handful of different series during the course of the 2018 campaign. Late in the season, he made his first-ever 410ci sprint car start with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series at the historic Terre Haute Action Track in Terre Haute, Ind. The next weekend he raced with the Outlaws again at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kan., qualifying for the main event after a solid heat race finish.
"The more different drivers you can race against and series you can race with the better you become as a driver," he explained. "We ran a lot at Knoxville this year, which helped on the bigger tracks. We raced with the ASCS Warrior Region quite a bit, which was mainly small tracks and helped us learn those. We ran some ASCS National Tour race on bigger tracks, which was great. Up north, we raced with the Sprint Invaders in Iowa and they were a great group to race against and we had some success there. The only way you are going to get better is to race as much as possible."
Daniel is already looking ahead to next season, with more 410 races tentatively on the docket. The plan is to start the season in Florida, then head to the West Coast with the World of Outlaws in the spring before focusing on the Midwest again in the summer months leading up to the Knoxville Nationals. Along with putting the hours in at the shop, Daniel is also stepping up his workout regime in the gym this offseason.
"The biggest thing is prepping your cars so you are ready when you get to Florida" he said. "It makes things easier during the season when you are prepared. For example, if you wreck, you don't have to build cars, you can just pull another one down and keep going. From the driver aspect of it, I learned at Lakeside (Speedway with the World of Outlaws) that you have to be in great shape. My job is to get in better shape because it's a lot different driving a 410 than it is a 360. I am looking forward to working hard all winter and being ready when February gets here."
SEASON STATS -
40 races, 2 wins, 11 top fives, 18 top 10s, 24 top 15s, 30 top 20s
MEDIA LINKS -
Website: http://www.masondanielracing.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MasonDRacing
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT - Young's Commercial Transfer
Young's Commercial Transfer is a family-owned business with deep roots in California's Central Valley. Young's Commercial Transfer is the largest for-hire hauler of tomatoes in the United States. For more information, visit http://yctinc.com.
"Young's Commercial Transfer started my racing career," Daniel said. "Without them I would never have set foot in a car or had the opportunity I have now. I can't thank them enough for all that they do for us. They have supported me since Day 1 and that means the world to me to have that support."
