For Immediate Release
Contact: Larry Mason
LMR Marketing - Communications

PODIUM FINISH HIGHLIGHTS MASON'S RETURN TO RACING IN TEXAS!

Decatur, TX – Larry Mason made a successful return to the cockpit of a Formula Mazda race car July 28th and 29th, 2012 at Eagles Canyon Raceway for the Formula Car Challenge Southwest Series. Mason, driving for Team LMR in association with Texas Autosports was thrilled to be back racing after a family illness caused an unexpected interruption in his racing exploits. Despite the time away from the cockpit Mason came back strong earning a 4th place and 3rd place finish in a competitive field in the double race weekend.

Tough track and weather conditions challenged all the drivers as they had to battle the bumps on the track and oppressive Texas summertime heat that saw the thermometer hit 105F degrees each day. One competitor dropped out due to the heat before the race started and another packed it in after the first race.

Mason’s Saturday qualifying effort was hampered by a broken layshaft in the transmission that left him with only first gear; yet he still qualified eighth out of the 11 car field. In the first race, Mason managed to get a good start and moved into fifth by the end of the first lap. He got as high as third before being passed a few laps from the end and finished fourth. That almost turned into third as the winner’s car was found to be under the minimum weight in post-race inspection. After a couple more weigh-ins, he squeaked through with a pound to spare leaving Mason in fourth place.

In qualifying for Race #2, Mason stayed on the tires from the day before since he didn’t get many laps on them in qualifying. Unfortunately, an electrical gremlin popped up and the engine stalled and wouldn’t re-fire. Moses Smith (Texas Autosports) came to the rescue and flipped the ignition switch multiple times. The car re-started so Mason took it out to get in a good qualifying lap. During his first hot lap, the car stalled out in exactly the same spot on the track, but then re-fired. He kept going and then it stalled out twice more before he finished the lap. That lap was good enough for sixth on the grid and it left the team enough time to track down a faulty ignition coil and replace it in time for the race.

Mason was able to make a late-braking pass to move into fifth. A few laps later, a full course caution came out for some broken cars on the track. “Two of the cars in front of me made contact and took each other out, so that moved me into third! When the pace car pulled off, I was ready for the re-start and got a great one. The third place driver made a slight bobble going into turn 3 and I took advantage of that sticking my car’s nose right under his gearbox and by diving to the inside for turn four. I made the pass stick and saw the leader about 10 or 15 car lengths ahead. I hadn’t been close to him in qualifying (time wise) but I found myself able to stick with him now. My new Bell Dominator.2 helmet was helping to keep me focused as there was absolutely no buffeting from the wind either by myself or in traffic. I was a little quicker in some sections and he was quicker than me in others. One of my crewmembers was monitoring the live timing and scoring app on his phone and told me later that I had put in a faster lap than the leader as I tried in vain to catch him. Meanwhile, the guy I passed wasn’t out of the picture and he was closing back in on me. I made a slight bobble on the last lap under braking at the end of the back straight and that allowed him to make a move on the inside of the following corner. I stayed on the outside because the next corner would have me on the inside. He took a defensive line but I expected that. I went for the pass and got almost half way alongside when he turned in on me just enough to where I either had to back off or we would both be taken out. As I got on the brakes, the car got loose and I almost spun. Due to that, I had to settle for third. Not the finish I wanted but at least it was close competitive racing and that’s how you improve your racecraft. It was certainly an exciting race as evidenced by the data recorded by my Polar RCX5 heart rate monitor. I averaged over 150 beats per minute during the race and peaked at 167!

“After everyone passed post-race tech inspection we brought the car back to the transporter. As we assembled for a team photo with the trophy, Moses found that my left front tire was flat! I wondered, ‘Is that what caused my bobble under braking on the last lap?’ We’ll never know, but that’s racing.

“All-in-all, it was a successful weekend of shaking off the rust and blowing out the cobwebs against a very competitive field. I’m looking forward to going faster and improving on our finishing position in the next one!”

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L-R: Denver Mut, Moses Smith, Chris Dow, Larry Mason, and Anthony Garcia. Not pictured, Matt Lively and Tara Wilson.
Photo by Tara Wilson

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