Rick Mast moves over to drive the No. 98 Fords owned by Cale Yarborough.
Career
Rick Mast found solace in his belief that his 1998 team knew what went wrong
last season, a year he called miserable. "We think we know what the
problems were," Mast said. "If you don't run good and you don't know why,
you're in trouble. If you don't run good and you at least think you know
what the problem is, you at least have a chance to fix it. That's where we
are."
Not much to brag about in 1997, with 32nd-place finish in points and
just two top-10 finishes. Missed making the starting field for three races,
including Daytona 500 at start of season and UAW-GM 500 at Charlotte in
October. Best finish of ninth came at Talladega week after failure to
qualify at Charlotte.
The 1996 season saw Mast tie his career-best overall finish of 18th in the final NASCAR Winston Cup Series standings. Three of Mast's four-top 10 finishes all came in the latter stages of 1996
Paired up with veteran owner Butch Mock in the Remington Arms for the '97 season which puts him back behind the wheel of a Ford. With a disappointing conclusion to the '95 season, Mast ended 21st in the final point standings. Even though the Precision Products Racing team had one of the fastest Fords on the track, they decided to switch to a Pontiac Grand Prix for the '96 season.
Started driving '57 Chevy in hobby division at Natural Bridge Speedway and
Eastside Speedway at age 16. Won in his rookie year. Ran sportsman division and
won track championship at age 17. Moved up to run Busch Grand National in '84.
First full BGN year was '85. Has posted nine BGN wins.
His first Winston Cup start came in 1988 for BakerSchiff Racing at Bristol.
Running on lead lap before wrecking on lap 285.
Highlight of the 1994 season was winning pole at inaugural Brickyard 400. His
first pole came in 93rd start, Richard Petty's final start, 1992
Hooters 500 at Atlanta.
Best career finish came at Rockingham in fall '94 when
he was second to Dale Earnhardt despite driving a car that had hit the wall.
Career best 18th in '94 Winston Cup standings earned $722,361.
Father and uncle owned race cars, then owned and operated a local short-track.
Took Rick to his first race at age 10 and he's been hooked ever since. At age
12 Rick would sneak out in a '65 Comet when his parents weren't home and he'd
race down dirt roads (and ditches) dreaming he was a race-car driver.
Most memorable race is 1989 Daytona 500. Finished 6th in unsponsored car. Still believes he could have won the race if team had gambled on fuel mileage.
Sources: NASCAR Press Guides, Star and News staff reports.
