8/6/2018
Inside Line Promotions
Daniel Records Podium on Opening Night of 360 Knoxville Nationals
(Photo by Paul Arch)
Inside Line Promotions – KNOXVILLE, Iowa (Aug. 6, 2018) – Mason Daniel finished an impressive third against a star-studded field during the opener of the 28th annual 360 Knoxville Nationals presented by Great Southern Bank last Thursday night.
Daniel started on the pole for the 20-lap preliminary feature. He settled into second in the early going behind eventual winner Thomas Kennedy. Once the duo hit traffic, Daniel was able to close back in on Kennedy, but then had Sammy Swindell bearing down on him in the final laps. The native of Springville, Calif., crossed the line third after Swindell got by him on the last lap.
“We were good in the feature,” Daniel said. “I battled Thomas Kennedy for the lead the first couple of laps and then we checked out from third place. I was always three to four car lengths behind him and when we got to lapped traffic I was able to close the gap a lot. I got to his rear bumper a few times and then I started spinning the tires. That hurt me more than it was capitalizing for me and that allowed Sammy Swindell to get by me on the last lap. As a rookie, getting passed by Sammy on the last lap in the 360 Nationals is nothing to hang your head about. A top three against some of the best drivers in the country was a good result.”
The Californian was 14th fastest in time trials earlier that night with a stout 43-car field in attendance. Daniel started fourth in the fourth heat race and he finished third, which locked him into the preliminary main event.
“We brought out a new car and it was fast all night long,” he said. “I think I made a mistake qualifying. We ended up eighth in points, which put us on the pole for the main event. It was exciting to be on the pole and we wanted to win and have a good night to get as many points as we could for Saturday night.”
Daniel found himself 10th in overall event points out of more than 90 drivers following the completion of both qualifying nights. That lined the 18-year-old up in the 10th starting spot for the 25-lap main event on Saturday night.
“You have all day to think on Saturday,” he said. “You hot lap and then go straight into the main event. We were hoping we had the car on Thursday night to show speed again.”
In the finale, Daniel ran among the top 10 for a large part of the race. He lost a couple of positions in the late going on a restart and crossed the line 17th. Late in the main event, the track was very abrasive and tough to pass on.
“At the start of the main event, we stayed with the group of guys around 10th,” he said. “On one of the restarts, I had a bit of a stumble and that hurt us and we got passed. In the 360 Nationals when you are running in the top 10, you can’t really make any mistakes. Everyone around is ready to capitalize on it. When the rubber kicked in, I found it too late and there was just a couple of laps left in the race.”
Daniel will return to action this Tuesday at Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, Iowa, for the Sage Fruit Ultimate ASCS Challenge presented by Searsboro Telephone Company with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour presented by SawBlade.com.
QUICK RESULTS –
Aug. 2 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Qualifying: 14; Heat race: 3 (4); Feature: 3 (1).
Aug. 4 – Knoxville Raceway in Knoxville, Iowa – Feature: 17 (10).
SEASON STATS
31 races, 2 wins, 10 top fives, 16 top 10s, 22 top 15s, 27 top 20s
UP NEXT –
Tuesday at Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, Iowa, for the Sage Fruit Ultimate ASCS Challenge presented by Searsboro Telephone Company with the Lucas Oil ASCS National Tour presented by SawBlade.com
MEDIA LINKS –
Website: http://www.masondanielracing.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MasonDRacing
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT – Dillon Risk Management
Dillon Risk Management is an award-winning risk management insurance company located in Granite Bay, Calif. For more information, visit http://www.DillonRisk.com.
“Dillon Risk Management sponsored us with the midget last year and have stepped up to be a part of our sprint car program this year,” Daniel said. “We’re grateful for their support and look forward to a lot of success together.”
Daniel would also like to thank Young’s Commercial Transfer and Precise Racing Products for their continued support.
INSIDE LINE PROMOTIONS –
Inside Line Promotions specializes in affordable public relations and media management for motor sports drivers, teams, sponsors, tracks, series, events, organizations and manufacturers. ILP Founder Shawn Miller leverages professional journalism with new media technologies and social networking to improve your exposure and the return on investment for your sponsors.
To meet the media relations needs of your program by joining Team ILP, contact Shawn at 541-510-3663 or Shawn@InsideLinePromotions.com. For more information on Inside Line Promotions, visit http://www.InsideLinePromotions.com.
Article Credit: Inside Line Promotions
Submitted By: Shawn Miller
