MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Kyle Weatherman announced Wednesday that he will team up with Mason Mitchell Motorsports to contest 10-races in the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards this year, beginning with the season opener at Daytona Int’l Speedway on Feb. 18.
Weatherman, the 2015 SCOTT Rookie of the Year, drove for MMM in two races last season and is excited to return to the organization alongside team owner Mason Mitchell.
“After my crash at Kansas to end the year last fall, I went through a lot of down time in recovering from the effects of that and making sure I was where I needed to be going into this new year,” Weatherman told Race Chaser Online. “I think I’m stronger than ever, honestly, and I’m really excited for what’s possible in 2017 with Mason and the entire team.”
“They have great equipment, and with them adding Kevin Reed to the program, it certainly makes them even better than they were before. When that happened, it was a no-brainer to me as far as where I wanted to end up for this year. With him in the shop and Mason’s support, I feel strongly that we can go out and achieve a lot of success together.”
Weatherman’s schedule in the No. 78 Chevrolet includes Daytona Int’l Speedway, Fairgrounds Speedway Nashville, Salem Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, Pocono Raceway, Michigan Int’l Speedway, Iowa Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway, Kentucky Speedway and Kansas Speedway.
The 19-year-old Wentzville, Missouri native is coming off a tumultuous 2016 campaign, in which he ran 15 of the 20 races on the ARCA schedule, split between three different teams in Lira Motorsports, MMM and a family-backed effort supported by Andy Hillenburg’s Fast Track Racing.
Despite just missing out on victory lane last year, Weatherman still accrued seven top-five and nine top-10 finishes in his limited schedule, including a runner-up effort at Madison Int’l Speedway while driving Mitchell’s primary No. 98 entry.
The goal this time around, says Weatherman, is stability.
After running the first four races of the year, Weatherman added that he and the team will evaluate their situation, with an eye on filling in the gaps and completing the remainder of the schedule.
“For now, I know I’m going to be running these 10 races that we have set out,” Weatherman explained. “To have that already is good, and I’m thankful to have that in place. Our intention is to run the full season, but after the first four races we’ll take a step back, regroup as a team and look at where we’re at before we make a determination on exactly what the rest of the season looks like.”
“The other six races we have set out are the bigger races (on the schedule) right now, but we’re just taking it one step at a time and we’ll see what happens. If I do my job correctly, we should have ten chances at winning.”
Veteran crew chief Kevin Reed will lead the charge in Weatherman’s ARCA starts from atop the pit box.
Team owner Mason Mitchell, the youngest owner in the ARCA garage, is excited to have Weatherman onboard once again and eager to chase down victories with his young protege.
“Having Kyle driving for us worked out really well last year, and I really feel like if everything falls together the way it should, it’s going to be way better for both Kyle and for us as a team this time around,” Mitchell said. “I feel like if all that happens, we should be the car to beat every time we hit the race track. It’s a great feeling to have him back in the driver’s seat for Mason Mitchell Motorsports, and we’re looking forward to sharing success together this year.”
“The two races we ran together last year, we unloaded fast and kept making adjustments all weekend … and we just had good speed. With having Kevin as his crew chief as well, I think our goal of having multiple wins together is very achievable.”
Weatherman has one career ARCA victory, coming in May of 2015 at New Jersey Motorsports Park, while he was driving for Cunningham Motorsports.
In all, Weatherman has a career record of 22 top-five and 32 top-10 finishes in 43 ARCA starts, dating back to his debut in 2013 as a 15-year-old at Salem (Ind.) Speedway, where he finished fourth.
About the Writer
Jacob Seelman is the Managing Editor of Race Chaser Online and creator of the Motorsports Madness radio show, airing at 7 p.m. Eastern every Monday on the Performance Motorsports Network.
Seelman grew up in the sport, watching his grandparents co-own the RaDiUs Motorsports NASCAR Cup Series team in the 1990s.
The 22-year-old is currently studying Broadcast Journalism at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., and is also serving as the full-time tour announcer for the Must See Racing Sprint Car Series.
Email Jacob at: editor@racechaseronline.com
Follow on Twitter: @Speed77Radio or @JacobSeelman77
Email Race Chaser Online: news@racechaseronline.com
Follow RCO on Twitter: @RaceChaserNews
