Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 17, 1991 TAG: 9102170107
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB ZELLER SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. LENGTH: Medium
Do not assume it is only a matter of skill, or luck or timing. Do not expect a miracle.
For while some may wonder why he, of all drivers, landed a full-time ride in Richard Jackson's Oldsmobile, Mast knows why. Quite simply, the Rockbridge Baths, Va., driver wanted this more than anything else in the world. And he meant it.
"There's probably a thousand good short-track drivers across the country who could drive a Winston Cup race car," Mast, 33, said. "But I doubt that, out of those thousands, there's a quarter of a percent of those drivers who are willing to do what I've done and what some of these other guys had to do to get here.
"And that means you just put everything you got at risk. You don't do anything for security. You can't. You put your family through hell. You put yourself through it. The sacrifices you have to impose on your family and yourself - there's just not that many people who commit themselves to doing it.
"And even at best, it's a longshot."
Consider the last two years of Mast's life.
In the 1989 Daytona 500, Mast - a relative unknown in an unsponsored car - startled the stock-car racing world. He kept up with the lead pack during most of the race and actually took the lead awhile before finishing sixth.
One year later, he was at the bottom again, watching the Daytona 500 on television at his home, even out of the Grand National circuit. It was largely his own doing, evidence of his commitment to sacrifice everything for a shot at the big time.
Mast and his father-in-law, A.G. Dillard, had campaigned a solid Grand National car in 1989.
"We had pretty good equipment and I made a pretty good living and all," Mast said, "but he wanted me to stay in Grand National racing and I just couldn't do that. I wanted to be able to run in Winston Cup.
"So in order to be fair to him, I had to pull out. When I pulled out, I pulled out without a paycheck, without equipment, without anything. I had nothing.
"In January [1990], I couldn't make my mortgage payment. We eventually made it. It was a little late, but we made it."
With help from friends and some money from Raven Boats, Mast found the parts and equipment to put together his own Grand National team.
"I threw together an old junk car and came to Daytona and over the course of the season we built that thing into a winner," he said.
"It was a big deal just to get to Daytona and get qualified" for the Goody's 300 last year, Mast said. Although he was caught up in the massive fourth-turn crash early in the race, his team kept getting better as the year went on. He won three Grand National races last year - he considers them among his most satisfying victories in racing - and had 10 top-10 finishes.
Free from the obligation of a total Grand National commitment, Mast was able to run in 20 Winston Cup races. He drove for three different teams. His best finish was seventh at Phoenix.
On Sept. 14, well before the season was over, Mast got the break he was looking for. He signed a two-year contract to run Winston Cup full-time for Jackson's Skoal Classic Racing Team, replacing Terry Labonte.
"The biggest thing was I was out there every week," Mast said. "I was there in front of the people every week. As soon as this ride became available, they picked up the phone and called me. If I hadn't been in front of the folks, I doubt they would have called me. They would have forgotten about me.
"I've got a lot of ability - I'm not being egotistical - but there's plenty of other guys who've got the ability to do this who will never make it because they don't have the desire or determination."
Mast comes from a racing family. His father, R.K., and uncle, John, owned a race car when he was a small boy and bought the Natural Bridge Speedway when he was 10.
"And I was always there," he said. "I guess it was only natural that when I became of age, I started driving." That was in 1973.
The next year, he won the sportsman track championship at Natural Bridge.
His career really began to take off in 1983, when he won three 100-lap races at Franklin County (N.C.) Speedway. By 1985, he was on the Grand National circuit.
Mast will start today's Daytona 500 in seventh spot after finishing fourth in the first Twin 125 qualifying race on Thursday. Like many of the drivers here, he was not happy with his car's performance Thursday.
The Oldsmobile began pushing and he said he had to get off the gas in the second and fourth turns to keep from sailing into the wall.
"But we're gaining on it," he said after more practice Friday. "We're gaining tremendously."
And as the last practice came to a close Saturday afternoon, Mast was still on the track, working to improve.
Keywords:
AUTO RACING
by CNB