Photo Credit: Rainer Ehrhardt/Getty Images for NASCAR
Driver Re-signs with Billy Boat Motorsports and Partner 811
NASHVILLE, TENN. (January 12, 2015) – Twenty-year-old Mason Mingus will follow up his rookie season in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) with a return to the No. 15 Chevrolet Silverado of Billy Boat Motorsports (BBM) for the 2015 season. He’ll enter the 23-race campaign with the continuing support of 811, a new crew chief and momentum generated in the final races of the 2014 season.
The Brentwood, Tenn., native finished 11th in the NCWTS championship last year, earning one top-10 and six top-15 finishes in a campaign that included 16 races with Win-Tron Racing and the final six races with BBM, owned by former open-wheel racer Billy Boat.
Mingus will return to the No. 15 BBM team with a new crew chief in Dennis Connor. The 34-year NASCAR veteran has three NCWTS championships to his credit and has worked with drivers including Tim Richmond, Jack Sprague and, most recently, Johnny Sauter.
“Running the last six races of the season with Billy Boat Motorsports last year was a good opportunity,” Mingus said. “Billy Boat is a successful racer and a great businessman. I definitely saw a lot of potential within those six races, and even improvement in that short amount of time. I think they’ve got a lot of great guys on board, and I think our trucks are going to be solid equipment.
“I’m also excited to work with Dennis Connor. I worked with him for a couple races last year, and I felt like we got along and communicated well. He has a lot of success in the Truck Series and throughout his entire career. I think having his notebook and his experience in the series will help me with my learning curve.”
The underground damage prevention phone line 811 will return as a year-long associate sponsor with Mingus’ racing program. The 811 line encourages homeowners and professional excavators to “Call Before You Dig” to prevent damaging underground utility lines while working on digging projects.
“811 has been on board with me since I started racing,” Mingus said. “My dad owns a construction company and they call 811 every day. So, I’ve grown up knowing about the industry and being involved with it, and I can relate to the message they’re trying to get out. Having 811 involved with our race program has been a perfect fit and I look forward to continuing it in 2015.”
Boat is looking forward to having Mingus back for a full season.
“Billy Boat Motorpsorts is proud to have Mason back with our team for 2015,” the team owner said. “Our goal as a team is to compete at a high level in the NCWTS. I know Mason has the talent to run at the front in the series, and we are working hard to build new trucks and build our team in order to give him that opportunity.”
Mingus and the No. 15 team will kick off the NCWTS season with the Nextera Energy Resources 250 on Feb. 20 at Daytona International Speedway. The race will air at 7:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1.
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