Mason Massey of Douglasville, GA wins of the Oil Workers 150 at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway. – ARCA Menard’s Series West Photo
BAKERSFIELD, CA. – Across a motorsports career that spans over a decade, Mason Massey had never once competed in the ARCA Menards Series West prior to the Oil Workers 150 at Kevin Harvick’s Kern Raceway.
Massey now finds himself on the West Coast as part of a Bill McAnally Racing team seeking to regroup after a disappointing 2025. Alongside his teammate Hailie Deegan, Massey intended to begin McAnally’s pursuit for his first title since 2021 by putting together a strong performance on Saturday evening.
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.”
A native of Douglasville, Georgia, 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.
“I’m super proud of me and the whole team,” Mayhew said. “A huge thanks to my spotter Spencer Davis for driver coaching me through the whole thing. I had a hot rod for my first time racing [in the West Series]. I didn’t need that last restart, but we worked with what we got and I’m happy to end up P3.”
Just like the Mayhews, McAnally is a name synonymous with success on the West Coast. 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.
A long season awaits Massey with McAnally’s program, but he made a strong first impression against a talented West Series field on Saturday. More performances from Massey like the one at Kern Raceway could play a crucial part in McAnally returning to the top of the West Series pedestal at the end of the year.
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 rest of the top 10 consisted of Deegan, Joey Iest, Jade Avedisian, Gavin Ray and Cole Denton.
ARCA Menards Series West competitors will have less than a week to get ready for their next event at Phoenix Raceway on Thursday evening, which is a combination event with the national ARCA Menards Series. The green flag for the General Tire 150 is set to wave at 4 p.m. MT / 6 p.m. ET, with FS1 providing live flag-to-flag coverage.