BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Mason Massey made his first ARCA Menards Series West start a winning one Saturday night at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway.
Mackey drove the No. 19 fielded by Bill McAnally Racing to victory in the season-opening Oil Workers 150.
The debut West Series appearance for Massey did not disappoint, as he maintained track position inside the top five all evening before passing Sean Hingorani for the lead on a late restart. Massey then survived two overtime attempts to formally start his West Series career in perfect fashion.
“I don’t think it [gets better than this],” Massey said. “All these guys work super hard at [Bill McAnally Racing]. I had a hot rod tonight thanks to [my crew chief] Ty [Joiner]. He really got this baby going and it was a lot of fun out there.”
Massey’s short track background includes starts in both Pro Late Models and Super Late Models, along with a handful of appearances in dirt late models.
Massey eventually worked his way into NASCAR’s top divisions, making 98 combined starts between the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and the Craftsman Truck Series. The best showing Massey recorded at the national level was a sixth during an O’Reilly Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2022.
Although the West Series was uncharted territory for Massey, he did have the success and experience of McAnally to rely on during the transition. Among those who have competed for McAnally’s program include Brendan Gaughan, Eric Holmes, Todd Gilliland and the team’s most recent champion in Jesse Love.
In a field that featured 12 rookies across the 22 starters, Massey’s experience paid dividends. He patiently conserved his tires during the opening stretch of the Oil Workers 150, which provided him enough of an advantage to stay within range and eventually overtake Hingorani, who had dominated most of the race.
One of the rookies that challenged Massey at the end of the night was Taylor Mayhew, also making his first West Series start. The son of seven-time West Series winner David Mayhew, Taylor drove with plenty of composure and ended up getting two opportunities to take the lead away from Massey in overtime.
The second overtime attempt proved costly for Taylor, who ended up losing second to Eric Nascimento Jr. in a photo finish. Despite this, Taylor considered his maiden West Series outing a success in that he gained valuable experience and brought his No. 17 MMI Toyota home in one piece.
With Massey’s victory on Saturday, McAnally picked up his 101st victory as a car owner and his first since Jake Bollman won a rain-shortened race at Colorado National Speedway last May.
Defending West Series champion Trevor Huddleston, who swept both events at Kern Raceway last year, settled for a fourth-place finish. Hingorani rounded out the top five after a strong start in his one-off appearance with Central Coast Racing.
The finish:
Mason Massey, Eric Nascimento Jr., Taylor Mayhew, Trevor Huddleston, Sean Hingorani, Hailie Deegan, Joey Iest, Jade Avedeisian, Gavin Ray, Cole Denton, Eric Johnson Jr., Mia Lovell, Jaiden Reyna, Cody Dennison, Eric Rhead, Andrew Chapman, Alonso Salinas, David Smith, Julian DaCosta, Robbie Kennealy, Toby Blanton, Austin Varco.
