By Bill Martin
DENTON, Neb. (Oct. 31, 2025) — Just how good was Mason Richards’ first Sunoco IMCA Stock Car season?
The National and EQ Cylinder Heads Northern Region Rookie of the Year inspired his own line of seasoning.
From Denton, Neb., Richards won six features, collecting another 13 top five finishes in 48 starts at 10 different tracks.
That success gave sponsor Serina Strizek, owner of sponsor and Lincoln-based food wholesaler Grill Starters the idea of introducing Mason Richards Victory Blend seasoning.
“It’s kind of like a taco seasoning, only a little saltier and a little sweeter at the same time,” said Richards, also the 2025 Nebraska State Champion. “It tastes really good. You can pretty much put it on whatever you want, meat, vegetables, even pasta. It’s so good it sells out every time, but you can get it through their (Grill Starters LLC) Facebook page.”
When not racing or promoting Victory Blend sales, the 20-year-old Richards is a junior mechanical engineering major at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.
He’s a third-generation driver, following grandfather Terry Sr., a 2019 inductee in the Nebraska Racing Hall of Fame, and father Terry Jr., the 2024 Friesen Performance IMCA Modified Nebraska State champion, into the sport.
“It’s kind of a tradition at this point. All three of us have wins at Eagle Raceway and that’s pretty neat,” said Richards, who really didn’t develop an interest in racing himself until his mid-teens. “We came into the year racing for national rookie of the year. I pulled off a win in my second night – our first couple months were pretty dang good – and that gave me a lot of confidence in my ability.”
“Getting a win wherever you go is super cool. It’s hard to describe winning because it’s such an amazing feeling.”
Richards took those first-ever checkers on April 13 at Concordia Raceway, where he’d later set a fast lap time record.
He would total three wins at both Concordia and home track Eagle, where he’d tie for the top spot in point standings, finishing as runner-up to Chad Andersen in a race that went down to the last night of the season and to the 39-point finishes in the tie breaker.
“I don’t think there’s another track that compares with how fun Eagle can be, and it’s tough to win there. I think Eagle has the best of the best competition weekly. They get something like 33 Stock Cars a night and that’s more than 30 drivers who can beat you,” Richards said. “When you race against guys like Kyle Vanover and Jordan Grabouski and the other super good guys, they’re the ones you want to race with.”
“They’re the ones you learn from. They’re the ones who make you better. If you race with a bunch of guys who don’t go anywhere, you’re probably not going to go anywhere, either,” he added. “The competition at Eagle really benefitted me. It pushed me to my limit and helped me do things I couldn’t have done before.”
Richards, no relation to multi-division rookie of the year Cade Richards or National and Super Nationals champion Dillon Richards but proud to share a last name with both, ran micro sprints briefly before finding a home in the Karl Chevrolet Northern SportMod division in 2022.
He also made 16 starts, 15 of them at Eagle, with a single feature win in the open wheel class this year. He pilots a Jet Chassis in both divisions.
“After three years racing a SportMod, my dad and I were talking with a buddy, Kevin Betzen, and he had a Stock car he let me test drive at Columbus. I drove it and knew then it would be a pretty fun class,” Richards said. “I think a Stock Car requires more finesse. They’re not as fast as a SportMod but they make you better because they take more skill to drive.”
“They’re definitely a different beast. The Stock Cars are a class that suits my driving style and getting six wins my first year was pretty impressive to me.”
Feature Wins 6
Total Top Five’s 10
Total Starts 48
HIS CREW: Father Terry, Jerry Zierke, Tatum Arguello and Bobby Brewer.
HIS SPONSORS: TR’s Tool Service LLC of Denton; Jet Racing and Hadley Rohr, both of Beatrice; NNN Auto Sales & Service, Spanel Engines, C & L Automotive, Grill Starters, Bobby Brewer, Derek Masek, Dave and Laura Rodgers, Linda Czaplewski, Jeanette Greer, James Sedam and Nathan Hirt, all of Lincoln; Blackstone Builders of Humphrey; Riha Lawn Mechanix of Adams; Miratsky Farms and Jim and Maggie Miratsky, both of Bruno; Jerry and Brenda Zierke of Pierce; Mitch Mitsudome and Shawn Sill, both of Bennington; Scott Olson of Blairsburg, Iowa; Bay Composites Inc. of Bay City, Mich.; Dietz Wealth Management of Denver, Colo.; and the Abernathy family of Midlothian, Texas.