‘A wild lap’: How Mason Massey pulled off a stunning West Series victory at Portland International Raceway

www.arcaracing.com August 9, 2026

PORTLAND, Ore. — When the white flag waved in Saturday’s Portland 112 at Portland International Raceway, Mason Massey was fourth.

He took the checkered flag as the winner.

Massey watched as Sam Corry, Ethan Tovo and Kyle Steckly all made mistakes in front of him during a long, chaotic final lap around the two-mile road course, gifting him his second ARCA Menards Series West win of the year. The circumstances that led Massey to Victory Lane left him stunned, but also grateful.

“It was a wild lap,” Massey said. “I knew I had to have myself in a good spot coming to the white. [Corry and Tovo] got to racing, and they ran off the track a little bit I think, and we went by them. Off in the final turn in turn 10, I was putting some pressure [on Steckly]. I missed the corner, but he missed it worse, and I was able to get by him on the frontstretch.”

RELATED: Complete results from the Portland 112 

Road courses were not exactly Massey’s specialty during his time across the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series or NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

That’s because he only qualified for one road-course event in 99 combined national NASCAR starts, which was a 35th-place showing in the Truck Series at Circuit of the Americas in 2024.

The General Tire 150 at Sonoma Raceway in June provided Massey a much-needed refresher to road-course racing in a full-bodied stock car. Multiple issues throughout the day resulted in Massey finishing 12 laps down, but he had more than a month to regroup for the next West Series road-course venue in Portland.

After starting seventh and avoiding some early trouble in Portland’s treacherous Turn 1 chicane, Massey settled into a rhythm inside the top five. Keeping pace with the Nitro Motorsports fleet proved to be a challenge for Massey, but he was still poised to finish strong in his second road-course appearance.

Then the two Nitro teammates of Corry and Tovo started racing each other.

Corry possessed the dominant car of the day despite being missing the chicane on the initial start, continuing the efficiency he showed from his maiden West Series victory at Sonoma. Tovo won the pole at Portland in his West Series debut, but he spent the whole race methodically climbing to the front after going to the rear for unapproved adjustments.

Tovo provided Corry the toughest opposition he faced all day, giving him a bump in the Turn 1 chicane on the last lap to move him out of the racing line. Frustrated by Tovo’s actions, Corry briefly rubbed doors with his teammate before Tovo gave him a bump in Turn 5, which sent both drivers wide and gave the lead to Steckly.

All Steckly needed was to be perfect through a handful of turns to become the second Canadian to win an ARCA Menards Series platform race in Robert Torriere’s No. 53 alongside Andrew Ranger, who had done so seven times before. Steckly could not let his guard down once, as he faced constant pressure from Massey in his rearview mirror.

One slight misstep from Steckly in Turn 12 proved disastrous. Steckly ran his right-side tires into the infield grass, causing him to run wide on the frontstretch and give Massey a clear pathway toward one of the more improbable victories of his career.

Mason Massey
Consistent throughout the 2026 ARCA Menards Series West season, Mason Massey now has two victories to his name following Saturday’s race at Portland International Raceway. (Photo: Susan Wong/ARCA Racing)

With West Series points leader Trevor Huddleston failing to finish inside the top 10, Massey’s Portland triumph also enabled him to keep his championship hopes alive. The outing was everything Massey could have asked for, as he was eager to visit Victory Lane again after winning the West Series opener at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway.

Massey’s journey in motorsports has been unorthodox in many ways, just like his Portland 112 win. After being a regular in the O’Reilly Series and Truck Series for most of the 2020s, Massey now has a home in the West Series with his long-time sponsor in BRUNT Workwear and a renowned team in Bill McAnally Racing.

The fact that McAnally had not won a West Series race at Portland prior to Saturday made the milestone even more special for Massey, who is more ready than ever to finish the second half of 2026 strong.

“I have to thank BRUNT Workwear; this was our first win together,” Massey said. “It means everything to win for these guys. They have been with me for five years, and I love every single one of them, along with my guys at BMR. Mr. McAnally was here for this one. He wasn’t [there] for the first one, so I’m really happy to have him.”

Hailie Deegan finished the Portland 112 in third, her first top five of the 2026 West Series season. Tovo salvaged a fourth after tangling with Corry one more time in the final corner, while Eric Johnson Jr. rounded out the top five.

The rest of the top 10 consisted of Jeff Anton, Robbie Kennealy, Alex Quarterley, Andrew Chapman and Gavin Ray.

West Series competitors will tackle their next event nearly a month from Saturday at All American Speedway in Roseville, California. The green flag for the Sept. 5 running of the NAPA Auto Parts 150 presented by West Coast Stock Car Motorsports Hall of Fame waves at 7:45 p.m. PT/10:45 p.m. ET and will be shown live on FloRacing.