"I'd really like to make a career out of driving Pro Buggy or moving up next year," said Mason, who is third in the Pro Buggy standings with three points races remaining in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series presented by GEICO. "I think that's definitely possible. I just need to do as well as I possibly can and attract the big sponsors.
"I think Pro Lite is probably the next step from the Pro Buggy class. I'd like to do Pro 2, but the financials are a lot bigger in that class, so Pro Lite is a good next class. I think I can do really well in that class because the trucks are not as wide or as good-handling as the Pro Buggy so I'd really have to drive those things through the corner and be careful, so I think I might be able to do pretty well with that."
Mason, who debuted the green-and-white-and-black colors of LoanMart Racing at the recent event in Sparks, Nevada, has been doing pretty well since he got into off road short course racing eight years ago. His father has been a desert racer for over a quarter of a century, in both cars and trucks, and Dave Jr. had been riding dirt bikes and quads, but Mason said "when the Trophy Karts came out we figured we definitely needed to get into that" as a team.
"It was a good opportunity for kids to start racing," Mason said, and he showed his affinity for it by winning the first Trophy Kart race, in Chula Vista, California, in 2006, and "we were pretty much hooked from there." He raced Junior 2 Karts for a couple of years, moved up to Modified Karts where he was third in the standings in 2009, then spent two years in the Limited Buggy class and finished second there in 2011.
He and dad and crew chief/engine builder Steve Reeder joined the Pro Buggy ranks in 2012 and had several strong performances late in the year to finish 10th in the standings.
"Things were looking really good going into this season, and we've been able to stay consistent and I've been trying to do as well as I can and it's been working out really well," Mason said. "At the beginning of last season I still had to figure out the car, but a lot of it was setup. We had a lot to figure out. We pretty much built the car in-house by ourselves and we never had built a Pro Buggy before so we had a lot to figure out, but by the end of the season we had it worked out and I was driving better and better."
He had a strong start to this season with eight straight podium appearances and went into rounds 9 and 10 at Glen Helen July 27-28leading 2012 champion Steve Greinke by 4 points. Mason struggled that weekend, though, finishing 12th and 7th, and left Glen Helen 28 points behind Greinke, who had a pair of seconds. On Sunday at Sparks Mason talked of still having time to close the gap if he could be consistent and Greinke had an issue or two. Instead, after finishing 3rd and 10th while Greinke won twice, he is third and trails Greinke by 51 points and Bradley Morris by 3.
That's why racing in a class "with so many great competitors" can be both frustrating and fun.
"I guess there definitely is pressure, but I enjoy that," Mason said. "I want to be racing against the best and be pushed to do my best. I think it's definitely a good thing. It's one of the best classes in short course, for sure."
DAVE MASON JR. AT A GLANCE
Age: 20 (7 July 1993)
Lives in: Valley Center, California
Marital status: Single
Occupation: Driver for Eleven Western Builders; student at Palomar College
Car number: 65 Pro Buggy
Type of chassis: Alumi Craft
Engine: Ecotec Chevrolet
Crew Chief: Dave Mason, Steve Reeder
Sponsors: LoanMart, Mickey Thompson Tires, Rockwell Watches, Competitive Metals, B&R Buggies, USA Wheels, JAMAR
Years in racing: 8
Divisions raced: Trophy Karts, Modified Karts, Limited Buggy, Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series Pro Buggy
Series points standings: 10 Pro Buggy (2012); 2 Limited Buggy (2011); 6 Limited Buggy (2010); 3 Modified Karts (2009)
