Massey Denied Late-Race Opportunity by Rain at Phoenix
| Race Results Venue: Phoenix Raceway FINISH: 3rd Start: 6th AMSW Championship Standings: 2nd |
| Mason Massey and the No. 19 Mongoose Power Solutions Chevrolet SS secured a third-place finish in the Diamond Desert Casino West Valley 100 at Phoenix Raceway, with rain bringing the ARCA Menards Series West (AMSW) race to an end in overtime. The podium result propelled Massey to second in the championship standings, 39 points behind the leader. Starting sixth, Massey moved into fourth on the first lap and held the position through the opening half of the race. Despite maintaining a solid pace, Massey reported over the radio that he was chasing the rear of the car off every corner. The team used the lap 50 break to make adjustments, working to improve the handling for the second half. The changes paid off as Massey showed tremendous long-run speed through a series of restarts and cautions. By lap 78, he was closing in on fourth before a late caution on lap 97 brought the field back together. Restarting fifth for an overtime attempt on lap 104, Massey made an aggressive move through the dogleg to grab third and began looking for second. A caution followed, setting up another restart opportunity with Massey on the bottom of the second row and the race leader showing front-end damage. Massey was in prime position to contend for the victory on the bottom of the second row when rain ultimately ended the race after 113 laps. The No. 19 team for Bill McAnally Racing (BMR) left Phoenix with a hard-earned podium finish and valuable momentum heading into the final round of the AMSW championship. Mason Massey Quote: “We had a great run tonight, but the way this race ended really stings for the whole No. 19 Mongoose Power Solutions team. I really thought that was our race if we ever went back green, but I am super grateful for the support from everyone tonight at Mongoose Power Solutions and GenServe. I wouldn’t be here competing for wins without them, Bill McAnally (owner, BMR), and everyone else involved. We’ve got one more shot with the [ARCA Menards] West Series at Kern in a couple weeks and then the truck series finale at Homestead [Miami Speedway] with McAnally-Hilgemann Racing in November.” |
