THE MASONS: FINDING SUCCESS

Story and Photos: Shaun Ochsner

He has had a successful offroad racing career. Dave Mason has been blessed with good racing opportunities. He was bit by the off-road racing bug at 21 years old. Mason watched his first off-road race at Riverside Raceway. “I saw the most incredible thing ever, the place was packed with forty thousand people,” Mason says. That race he was watching was part of the SCORE International Off-Road racing series. He arrived there with a four-wheel drive pick-up truck and dog. It was right then and there, Mason made the decision he was going to figure out how to get into offroad racing.

Fast forward three years later, sometime at the end of the 1970’s, Mason was on the line with his very own class 9 car. He snagged the holeshot and learned his very first lesson of off-road racing after five laps. The

transmission broke. His race was over. Mason never gave up and worked on getting to the next race. He soon entered the Mickey Thompson series and spent two years racing there. It wasn’t long before Mason found himself racing on the Herzog Motorsports Team. Sponsorships began to roll in and Mason was part of the Ford team racing with BF Goodrich tires. He had quickly rose through the ranks with the top-level team. Mason recalls passing 67 cars at a Barstow race, starting in the back and leading after the first 100 miles. Mason also has won championships and has countless podiums on his resume. Of course, the most important accolade he has achieved was winning the Baja 1000, the granddaddy of all races.

Mason’s son, Dave Mason Jr. followed right in his dad’s footsteps of racing. Mason Jr, just a young boy, watched his dad win all of these championships and races. He had big dreams of one day doing the same. Mason Jr was right there in the pits helping his dad become successful. When he became old enough to race, the Trophy Kart class was just getting started. Mason Jr. jumped in a Jr 2 kart and began to race at the CORR series at famed tracks like Chula Vista. Much like his dad did at Riverside Raceway at his first race, Mason Jr got the holeshot. He went on to win the race. His dad was also racing Class 1 that weekend at the same track. CORR had created a desert exhibition class. Mason Senior went from 86 miles an hour on the track to zero instantly after a collision with two other vehicles into the k-rail. He was still happy his son had a better day than he did.

Dave Mason Jr continued to move up the ranks in Trophy Kart. He got second in the championship standings on his last year in the class. Next up was the limited buggy class, racing an Alumicraft-built buggy. Dave Mason Jr continued to develop his short-course

career. The buggy class had a full field and in his second season, Mason Jr found himself second in the championship standings. Mason Jr learns quickly, and his next career move was the Pro-buggy class. His limited buggy competitors were also moving up in class with him. He knew their driving styles and used that to his advantage. In his second year, Mason Jr had a historic streak of eleven straight podiums. In his three years in the class, he got at least twenty total podiums.

The Masons took a break from short-course to focus on the family business. One thing you have to understand about them is when they do something, they go all in. They needed to be 100% focused to make it successful. Today, San Diego area based Tri-State General Contractors is one of the leaders in commercial retail construction with an impressive list of big-name clients.

The success of the family business has allowed Dave Mason Jr to get back into off-road racing. Once you start off-road racing, you can’t stay away for long. He raced a handful of local motorcycle events in the desert and Class 10 in Baja. Mason Jr would share driving duties with his dad. In 2019, the Mason’s purchased Bryce Menzies Pro-2. Mason Jr first raced the truck during the Lucas Oil Challenge Cup. He jumped right in, with zero test time. His dad spots for him at the races. The two communicate very well together. Dave Mason knows exactly what his son wants to hear on the radio. Mason Sr recalls a conversation at the Challenge Cup Race as Mason Jr lined up on the front row next to Rob MacCachren. “Dad, I don’t know what gear to start the truck in.” The senior Mason replied, “I bet Rob Mac knows what gear he is starting in.”

The Lucas Oil Off Road racing series announced major rule changes for the Pro-2 class in 2020 forcing drivers to upgrade motors to fuel injection. The cost to make the truck compliant with the rule package was too much, so the Masons decided it was cheaper to run a Pro-Lite. As the Corona virus forced the series to reschedule races, the Mason shortcourse program sat idle. When racing resumed, they ran the first half of the season in the newly acquired Pro-lite truck. Seat time was key for Mason Jr. The last two racing weekends of the season, he jumped back into the Pro-2 and had way more fun. In November, Lucas Oil dropped an unexpected bombshell that threatened Mason’s short-course program. The series announced it was permanently shutting its doors and would no longer hold racing events. The Masons immediately decided it was time to switch back to desert racing and purchased a Class 1 car. They knew it would not be affordable to race a full short-course season in the Midwest for 2021. A couple months later Great American Shortcourse announced a west coast schedule. The

Masons re-signed the deal with their title sponsor- eBay Motors to race the Pro-2 at the GAS series. eBay Motors also came on board to support the Masons in the desert as well. The first race for their new Class 1 car will be the Best in the Desert Vegas to Reno. For Dave Mason Jr, he just likes being behind the wheel winning races. He already has his first Pro-2 win at the recent GAS Victorville event.

Dave Mason Jr has yet to win the Baja 1000. He hopes to very soon check that box on his to do list. He also has sights set on racing the Dakar Rally sometime in the future. Dave Mason Sr is also not finished yet. On his checklist is racing and winning the Baja 1000 with his son. That is one accomplishment he would like to mark off in the very near future. The two will team up to race this year’s Baja 1000.