|
MAWHINNEY RETURNS TO VEGAS LOOKING TO CHALLENGE IN
SRL
10/29/2010
 The
RealFast.TV 200 at the Las Vegas Bullring this
Saturday night will provide a preview of what to
watch throughout the 2011 season of the SRL SPEARS
Southwest Tour.
Headlining that are the series debuts for 16
year-old Trevor Cristiani and 2010 All American
Speedway Late Model runner-up Jonathan Mawhinney.
These two talented young drivers are making the
foray into one of America’s most challenging Late
Model touring series.
For Mawhinney, the challenge gets a little bit
easier as the Las Vegas native, who relocated to
Sacramento about three years ago, has many laps
around the super-fast 3/8ths mile Bullring track
in Legends cars.
Mawhinney’s prolific run in the Legends at Las
Vegas includes 30 wins and three INEX Nevada State
Championships. His strongest season was 2005
where he accumulated 15 feature wins in that
season alone.
“I’m really excited because it’s my home track and
there’s a lot of friends and family who haven’t
gotten the opportunity to watch me race yet,”
Mawhinney said. “I have never turned a lap there
in a big car so it will be intimidating, but I
have a great crew chief so I should adjust
quickly.”
The 2010 season was arguably Mawhinney’s best
season in three full years running the
NASCAR-sanctioned Late Models at All American
Speedway. Mawhinney finally picked up his first
career stockcar wins by grabbing two feature
victories.
After challenging Matt Scott in the point hunt,
Scott went on a tear throughout July and August
with many podium finishes distancing himself from
Mawhinney.
But Mawhinney’s second place finish in the
standings was a huge accomplishment that has
prepared him well for the SRL SPEARS Southwest
Tour. The SRL is a series comprised of many
veterans from the former NASCAR Southwest Tour and
is arguably the most difficult series on asphalt
in the
Western United States
 Because
the SRL utilizes Late Model stockcars, it is an
easier step for the teams then the NASCAR K&N Pro
Series, West. Many of the parts and pieces are
the same as the Western Late Model, the learning
curve for the teams is lower, and the costs much
less expensive. The drivers, on the other hand,
have to bring a much greater game each week to
compete in the SRL because of the many veterans in
the series.
30 cars are entered for Saturday’s 200 lap
contest, which is the longest in series history.
It will be marked by a halfway break where teams
can take four fresh tires and fuel.
Mawhinney will be racing with crew chief support
from TJ Clark, father of the late Spencer Clark,
as well as SRL SPEARS Southwest Tour veteran
Thomas Martin and Joiner Motorsports’ Dan Joiner.
Martin provided Mawhinney an opportunity to turn
some laps in an SRL car last week which helped
prepare him more for this event.
The car Mawhinney will drive is out of the Joe
Farree stable and will be #55. The entry is
sponsored by the Blind Center of Las Vegas,
Jessica’s Children’s Foundation, Performance Ready
Mix, Delta Shotcrete, Mr. D’s Sports Bar and
Grill, and Joiner Motorsports. |
