The Mares' 84 Pro Truck hits CNS

Joe Mares, Jr. and his son Daniel Mares were ready to take a step (or two or three) up from the Pure Stocks in 2014 to a Pro Truck in 2015. They got a smoking deal on a championship-winning truck in a turn-key package. In making it their own, they stripped it down to the bare frame and painted and detailed every part as they put it all back together. It turned into quite a project, and as the 2015 season closed in, it was evident that the truck would not be ready for the first couple of races. They decided to slow down, take it easy, and do it right from beginning to end, top to bottom, bumper to bumper. In the meantime, there was plenty of Pure Stock and Super Stock racing to do with the pair of Caprices still in their stable.

Joe took the truck to the Twin Peaks CNS car show on July 19th and wowed race fans and fellow competitors alike with his spectacular paint and graphics on top of a super-detailed chassis and cockpit.

As we are just turning the corner into August, it was time. Joe and Daniel decided that Daniel’s birthday was the day to get it on the track, and that’s just what they did. Jax and Tom Hughes joined in to help out in the pits, along with Dave Johnson and team and Eric Meisner.

The truck rolled off of the hauler at Colorado National Speedway ready to race. Daniel got it out for the first practice session and found it handling like a dream and very responsive to the throttle. The second practice proved it to be ready for some competition.

BUMMER. The truck did not make minimum weight and there was not enough time to get it there before qualifying. The CNS officials allowed Daniel to go ahead and run the night’s events, but he would not be allowed to get any better than last place points and purse. DEAL. He jumped on in and qualified 7th out of 12 trucks there for the August 1st “Wheelen Lights it Up” premier division show.

The dash was the first chance to get it running in race traffic, both truck and driver looked real good. The main was the same, and offered Daniel the opportunity to swap positions with Billy Harkins, George Green, and Cole Whitford for 30 laps. A great debut!

After the races were over, Daniel and Joe spent some time with the greatest race fans in the world right here at Colorado National Speedway. We’ll have to see what they’ve got in store for the remainder of the 2015 season, hopefully we get to see the number 84 Pro Truck again.