Mullins Racing and Mason Diaz team up to take on the Last Great Colosseum

If it weren’t for Mike Diaz, Willie Mullins likely wouldn’t have competed in many ARCA Menards Series events this year.

Thursday at Bristol Motor Speedway, Mullins will pay Diaz back by fielding a car for his son, Mason Diaz, during the Bush’s Beans 200 | Sioux Chief Showdown.

“I’m very excited,” said Mason Diaz, who will make his second start on the ARCA platform this season at Bristol after spending most of the year racing Late Models in the Southeast. “Bristol is a great track, I have great, solid finishes there. Bristol is just a fun place to go to in general.

“Everyone over there at Mullins Racing, Willie and Dinah (Mullins) are great people. My dad has become pretty good friends with them throughout the years with the ARCA racing and short-track racing, all of the above.”

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The arrangement all began thanks to a conversation last fall between Mullins and Mike Diaz at Southern National Motorsports Park, the race track the elder Diaz promotes in Kenly, North Carolina.

Mike Diaz was considering exiting the ARCA Menards Series completely, but Mullins convinced him to stick around. As part of the arrangement, Mullins took possession of Diaz’s chassis and added his parts to it.

The result was a competitive race car that Mullins has driven to a top-five finish this year at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida, as well as top-10 runs at New Smyrna Speedway in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, and Minnesota’s Elko Speedway.

That car is the same car Mason Diaz will drive Thursday night at Bristol.

“We put it all together in our shop,” said Willie Mullins, who has been racing in the ARCA Menards Series as an owner and driver since 2008. “We’ve got a good, competitive car. I finished fifth with it at Pensacola this year. It’s a really good car, and we’re excited to put a good driver in it like Mason.”

Originally the plan was for Mason Diaz to join Mullins Racing for a two-car assault at Elko Speedway, but things didn’t go as planned. Instead, all parties are now focused on racing this Thursday at Bristol.

“He’s finally had an open weekend coming up, so we’re going to give it everything we’ve got at Bristol,” Willie Mullins said. “It’s all the Mullins Racing crew coming together to put Mason in a competitive car and go have some fun.”

The No. 3 Chevrolet will have sponsorship from Solid Rock Carriers, as well Prince William Marina, The Sign Shops, Graphix Unlimited, Crow Wing Recycling and Bugsy’s Auto. Austin Simmons will serve as Diaz’s crew chief at Bristol.

While this will be the first time Mullins Racing has competed at Bristol, this won’t be Mason Diaz’s first rodeo. He’s raced four times at Bristol in ARCA and East Series competition dating back to 2019.

He has a pair of fourth-place finishes during those four attempts, and his goal is to race inside the top-10 and bring home a clean car for Willie and Dinah Mullins.

“I’m hoping we can come out with a solid top-10 finish,” said Mason Diaz, who recently finished second while racing a late model at North Wilkesboro Speedway. “I think we’ll have a good baseline for it. That car, in general, is pretty fast. I’m hoping for a solid top-10 and a clean night. Just get to the finish.”

In addition to being part of the ARCA Menards Series schedule, Thursday’s race doubles as the finale for both the ARCA Menards Series East and Sioux Chief Showdown. Sammy Smith enters the race as the championship leader in both divisions.

The Bush’s Beans 200 | Sioux Chief Showdown will be televised live at 6:30 p.m. ET on FS1, with MRN / SiriusXM providing live radio coverage.