This message was edited on
January 14, 2008 at
12:51:28 PM by Gary Thomas
Photos by Steve Lamothe Racing Photos
Mason Moore makes it to C-main in first Chili Bowl appearance
By Gary Thomas
Tulsa, Oklahoma – January 13, 2008…Young Mason Moore of Princeton, CA had the opportunity to head back to his first Chili Bowl Midget Nationals this past week and he made the most of it by making it all the way to the C-main on Saturday night in a field that saw an amazing 274 entrants compete. Drivers from all walks of motorsports took part in the action during the week in Tulsa, Oklahoma including competitors from the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NHRA, World of Outlaws, USAC and more.
The Dodge Chili Bowl Midget Nationals is one of the biggest short track races of the year and the 22nd edition of the event was the biggest ever as it saw a record car count and live HBO Pay Per View coverage of Saturday’s C, B & A-mains for the very first time. The field was split into three qualifying nights and Mason took part in the Friday portion, which was sponsored by O’Reilly Auto Parts. Also running during the Friday O’Reilly qualifying night were big names such as Kasey Kahne, Dave Darland, Cory Kruseman, Damion Gardner and Jason Meyers, as well as fellow California youngsters during week including Kyle Larson, Brett Miller, Ryan Kaplan, Justin Grant and Shane Golobic along with James Sweeney, Colby Copeland and Cole Peard who ran the Tuesday pre-qualifier.
Other major names competing at the Chili Bowl during the week included: Tony Stewart, Gary Scelzi, Cruz Pedregon, Joey Saldana, Danny Lasoski, Jason Leffler and many more. Drivers were split into nine heat races on Friday and Mason kicked off the night by finishing fifth in the sixth heat race aboard the Walker Racing, Moore Insurance Services & Financial Inc, Blue Shield of California No. 10m. It put him into the third last chance race of the evening and the 17 year-old got his elbows up to bring home a second place finish to transfer to the back of qualifying race number three, where he went on to finish 10th after passing World of Outlaw star Jason Meyers on the last lap.
With points determining line-ups for the main events, Mason found himself in the second of two twin semi mains where he started from the 12th position. Showing that he was getting more comfortable in the car that was wrenched by his normal crew chief Mike Clarke of Chico, the driver known as “Primetime” was able charge forward aboard the Colusa Casino, Rolling Hills Casino, Platinum Powder Coating machine and finish the B-main in sixth, just two spots shy of transferring to the A-main.
The 17 year-old however, gained enough points to give himself a starting position in the D-main on Saturday night, which was very impressive based on the fact that there were main events on Saturday as far back as a K-main.
Lining up fifth in the first 15 lap D-main, he continued his strong week and ran a mistake free race to finish third and earn a transfer to the back of C-main number one, which also helped him get on national TV for the first time. In the 15 lap C-main Mason was moving forward and had nearly driven the Selover's Body & Paint, theSkipperpartys.net, Withrows Motorsports No. 10m up to the top 10 when the engine in his midget cut out putting an end to his Chili Bowl bid. Despite the tough luck, the amount of success Mason had during his first Chili Bowl is something to be proud of and the experience gained while competing against that type of competition is priceless.
Not only did Mason compete at the Chili Bowl in Oklahoma, he also took part in a pair of high school basketball games back home earlier in the week. On Tuesday night he made three free throws in the final minute of the game to lead his Princeton Eagles to a 46-44 win over Biggs. Mason was also tied with a couple other of his teammates as high scorer for the game. Then on Wednesday night Princeton beat Paradise Adventist Academy to raise their overall record to 11-2.
Mason is coming off a successful first full season behind the wheel of a winged sprint car and he’ll be looking to build on that success during the upcoming season. This past year saw him spend the majority of his Friday nights at the Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico running a 410 where he took home Rookie of the Year honors. He also competed full time with the California Sprint Car Civil War 360 Series bringing home an eighth place finish in the final standings and earning Co-Rookie of the Year with good friend Kyle Larson. For 2008 Mason and the No. 22 team are once again planning to focus on the Silver Dollar Speedway and Civil War Series titles.
To keep up with Mason Moore in the '08 season log onto http://masonmoore22.com/
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