One year after a late entry led to an impressive result at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, Mason Mingus is back for an encore performance.

Mingus reunites this Saturday night with team owner Jeff McClure, whom he partnered with last season to compete in the ARCA Menards Series East event at Nashville.

The duo clicked immediately, with Mingus scoring a surprise pole and leading the opening 56 laps before ultimately finishing third. It was an impressive performance for everyone involved as the deal came together extremely late for Mingus to compete at the 0.596-mile oval.

“We knew Jeff would bring a pretty good race car to the race track, but I hadn’t worked with Jeff before,” said Mingus, who finished second in the ARCA Menards Series standings in 2013. “We had kind of thrown (the deal) together a few days before the race. I got there for practice and we had limited practice time. I think we only made four or five runs.

“It felt like we had a good race car, but with me getting back up to speed with a heavy stock car like that after running late models the past couple years and getting used to everything, we didn’t really make a true mock run.”

Unsure what to expect, Mingus jumped in his car for qualifying and stunningly won the pole ahead of the heavily favored Sammy Smith, who was driving for Joe Gibbs Racing at the time.

“We were obviously excited about it and definitely surprised,” Mingus said. “I didn’t expect to do that.”

Mingus ultimately faded to third by the time the checkered flag waved, but his performance at Nashville led to the opportunity to compete in additional ARCA events for McClure.

In all, he made six ARCA Menards platform starts last season. He earned top-10 finishes at Michigan’s Berlin Raceway, Indiana’s Salem Speedway and North Carolina’s Southern National Motorsports Park to go along with his performance at Nashville.

Fast forward to this weekend and Mingus is back at Nashville with McClure as the pair hope to be just a little bit better when the checkered flag waves Saturday night.

“It’s a tough, tough race track,” Mingus said about Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway. “I think it’s one of the toughest race tracks that I’ve raced at. It’s fast, but it’s just so old and so wore out and it’s all about tire conservation, especially in the ARCA cars. The cars are so heavy and you lose rear grip so fast in those race cars compared to a late model.

“If you can run solid and keep your stuff clean for the first part of the race, that’s what it’s all about. Having some tires left at the end of the race, you can do a lot.”

Tanner Arms making ARCA platform debut

A fixture at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway for several years, Tanner Arms will make his ARCA Menards Series East debut during Saturday’s Music City 200.

Arms, a track champion in the Pro Modified and Super Truck classes at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, will pilot the No. 95 entry owned by Mark Noble.

The two initially met when Noble’s family-owned business, Cedar City RV in Lebanon, Tennessee, sponsored a Super Truck race at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway. Arms won the pole that day, which earned him a $100 bonus from Noble and Cedar City RV.

Conversations between the two began there and eventually led to Arms and Noble striking a deal that will see Arms make his East Series debut at his home track this weekend. The team is hoping to compete in a few additional ARCA races later this year.

In addition to his ARCA Menards platform debut on Saturday, the 22-year-old from Springfield, Tennessee, has already visited victory lane at Nashville this year. He collected a victory in the Super Truck class on April 16.

Successful return to ARCA for the Ford Mustang

As it turns out, Taylor Gray’s victory last weekend at Dover Motor Speedway wasn’t the first for the Ford Mustang marquee in ARCA competition.

You have to go all the way back to the 1970s to find the last time a Ford Mustang competed in ARCA competition. Prior to Gray, the last competitor to win in a Ford Mustang in an ARCA-sanctioned event is three-time series champion Ron Hutcherson.

Hutcherson won several short track races in a Mustang during the “pony car” era of the ARCA Menards Series.

Gray is hoping to pick up where he left off last Friday at Dover when the ARCA Menards Series East returns to Nashville on Saturday night, a track that Gray has never raced at in ARCA competition. 

He enters the Music City 200 two points behind East Series points leader Sammy Smith as the two continue to battle for the series championship.

Notes:

• Sammy Smith is going to be a busy man Saturday at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway. In addition to competing in the Music City 200, he’ll be driving for Donnie Wilson Motorsports in the North/South Super Late Model Challenge 100. Hendrick Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series driver William Byron is also scheduled to compete in that event alongside Smith.
• After making his return to ARCA competition for the first time since 2017 at Daytona International Speedway in February, Michael Lira will be back in action with JW Motorsports in the No. 60 Chevrolet.
• Matt Wilson, who took part in the pre-race test at Daytona in January, will make his ARCA Menards platform debut No. 22 Chevrolet fielded by Eric Caudell. Wilson is a regular competitor at the Hallett Motor Racing Circuit in Jennings, Oklahoma, where he competes in the COMMA Racing Series.
• Ryan Roulette, who competed in the ARCA Menards Series and West Series combination race at Phoenix Raceway in March, will make his East Series debut Saturday night in the No. 11 entry fielded by Andy Hillenburg.
• After skipping last Friday’s race at Dover Motor Speedway, Canadian Donald Theetge returns to the East Series aboard the No. 74 fielded by Visconti Motorsports. He has finishes of fifth and ninth thus far this year in East Series competition.