Mason Diaz will roll off ninth in the first heat race for Sunday’s ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville Speedway and is hoping to make the race as a rookie.
Diaz is driving for Tommy Lemons, Jr.’s Jumpstart Motorsports racing team and has had a fast car all weekend. He qualified 27th overall with a 20.546 second lap, but his main goal right now is just making the 42-car field for the ValleyStar Credit Union 300.
“Jumpstart Motorsports gave me a great car this weekend,” Diaz said. “Track got a lot tighter in qualifying and we weren’t ready for it. Not the best run I wanted but it was still a good run. Qualified 27th, so that’s not terrible for my first time here.”
Diaz will be starting ninth, a potentially vulnerable position as drivers attempt to race their way into the transfer spot with above average aggression.
“We start ninth in the first heat race,” Diaz stated. “I want to milk it a little bit because that’s a bad spot to be in, it’s where people race the hardest. I’ll be good if I stay where I’m at so I’m happy with it. My main focus is getting into the race and everything goes from there.”
Diaz has gotten plenty of advice from two-time and defending ValleyStar Credit Union 300 winner Tommy Lemons, Jr. He says Lemons has shared secrets with him but that, it ultimately comes down to driver preference.
“He’s sharing secrets with me,” Diaz commented. “It’s more of a driver preference thing. Every track is. They can tell you how to drive it but that doesn’t mean you’re going to do it. He taught me a lot and I can’t thank him enough for everything he’s done for me.”
Diaz’s progression as a driver has shown at Southern National Motorsports Park in the track’s Pro Late Model series as well as in Late Models and Legends races across the region. His season started off with a victory in the inaugural Legends race at Dominion Raceway and continued to impress from there.
“The Sweet Potato 7 Series at Southern National, I finished third in points and won rookie of the year for that class and I’ve got a lot of big car experience now,” Diaz explained. “I started a couple Late Model races, finished third in one of those and good positive feedback for the year. To win the opener at Dominion Raceway, that was a big confidence booster going into the year.”
Diaz is the son of Southern National Motorsports Park owner Michael Diaz. The elder Diaz has raced in Legends cars in the past and still does on occasion.
“I don’t know where I got my talent from,” Diaz said. “My dad’s a pretty good wheelman on road courses but he doesn’t mess around with circle tracks as much as I do.”
