ROSSBURG, Ohio – Mason Mingus admitted following final practice Wednesday afternoon for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series that it was hard not to be behind the wheel of the No. 15 Billy Boat Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado.
Instead of debriefing with crew chief Brandon McSwain, Mingus was helping his team clean up from the dirty conditions at the famed dirt track in preparation for teammate Chad Boat who will make his series debut.
The organization announced last week that the Brentwood, Tennessee native would skip the special event and return at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway next Saturday afternoon. While Mingus agreed it was difficult to step aside, even for only one race, it was the best decision in the interest of the team.
“We felt like Chad would be a good fit for this with all of his dirt background,” said Mingus who entered the race 17th in the championship point standings. “He’s pretty excited to be in the truck for the first time and be at a place that he’s raced a lot at Eldora. I’m here learning and helping them guys, we’ll try and get better as a team and I’ll be back for Pocono.”
Mingus switched teams’ midseason last year to Billy Boat Motorsports and while the team carried the rookie to three top-15 finishes in the final six races, 2015 didn’t start off as kind. In Daytona, Mingus missed the season-opener after a hiccup in group qualifying left him out of the draft and no provisional to fall back on.
Steadily, the team has been trying to play catchup ever since. While earning a season-best ninth place finish at Kansas Speedway in May helped boost the team’s confidence, it hasn’t been enough.
A recent shift in personnel changes over the last month or so has given the Mooresville, North Carolina-based team a new direction, one that the 20-year-old feels will benefit him substantially in the season’s second half.
“We’re assembling, I think a really good group of guys, Brandon (McSwain) obviously as my crew chief,” said Mingus. “He’s done a great job calling the shots since he’s been here. I think we’re just going to keep getting better.”
“I’m excited to run the rest of the season and see if we can’t make some of the ground in the points, at least owner’s points.”
As for next weekend?
Qualifying and finishing 17th at the 2.5-mile triangle last August, Mingus says his team has spent a lot of time on the truck, making his return more enticing.
“It’s a tough place, I feel like having laps last year in a truck is gonna help us this year. They put together a good piece for me to take to Pocono, I’m excited.”
Tonight, Mingus will do something he doesn’t do very often nowadays, watch a race from the pit box. And while that wound may be seem hard to heel, Mingus concluded, “sometimes you need to take two steps backward to make one gigantic leap forward.”
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
