Getty Mason Massey will kick off his season with DGM Racing on February 19.
DGM Racing announced on December 15 that Mason Massey will join the team for the “majority of the season” while driving the No. 91. He will run the largest schedule of his NASCAR Xfinity Series career while fighting for his first top-15 finish and, potentially, his first top-10.
DGM Racing owner Mario Gosselin spoke to Heavy on December 27 and discussed his decision to add Massey to the organization. He explained that he saw a lot of potential in the Georgia native and that he is a good fit with the entire team. Gosselin also highlighted an 18th-place finish at Darlington Raceway in which Massey drew his attention as someone that could step in and play an important role.
“I had heard of him back when he ran some Late Model stuff when he went to Five Flags [Speedway], Snowball Derby, things like that,” Gosselin told Heavy. “I’d heard the name and kind of knew of him a little bit. And then obviously when he ran at Darlington, he ran really good and was actually around one of my other cars a good part of the day.”
Gosselin heard at the end of the season that Massey was looking for an opportunity for 2022. They were able to reach an agreement after the season came to an end, which led to the December 15 announcement. Though there is still work to do before DGM Racing provides Massey’s full schedule and his list of partners.
Gosselin explained to Heavy that DGM continues to work on putting together Massey’s list of partners for the 2022 season. The holidays and the time off for several potential partners slightly disrupted these plans, but Gosselin expects to have everything “sewed up” by mid-January.
Massey Will Have a Busy Schedule Preparing for Each Race
GettyMassey will potentially take on several new tracks during the 2022 season.
The third-year Xfinity Series driver moved to NASCAR country early in his career in order to put in more time in the simulator and improve as a driver. This extra preparation will continue with his move to DGM Racing, but he will have a unique schedule.
According to Gosselin, Massey will continue to work on his own while remaining in NASCAR country. He will do his “homework” of studying the tracks, working in the simulator, and examining the film from past races on the schedule.
Massey will also occasionally travel down to Lake Wales, Florida, to visit the DGM Racing shop. This will give him the opportunity to work face-to-face with Gosselin and his staff, but he will have the responsibility of putting in considerable effort on his own to prepare for each race on his 2022 schedule.
DGM Racing Has Made Changes to Become More Competitive
Massey’s time in the simulator and his track study will both play a role in whether he achieves success during the 2022 season. However, DGM Racing will also take several steps to push to become more competitive in the immediate future.
Gosselin briefly mentioned these changes in the press release welcoming Massey to the team. He provided further details during the interview with Heavy, revealing that the changes don’t boil down to one simple thing. There are several things in the process that will have an effect on the 2022 season.
“Mainly it’s people. I mean we are adding on to the shop, but it’s been a little bit slower process than we know. Our new addition is not ready yet, but it’s gonna get started here soon,” Gosselin said. “We’re more than doubling the size of the existing facility and [adding] some new equipment. And some new people coming on board. I feel like it’s not one thing, in particular, it’s just a lot of little things together that [we’re] really hoping make a big difference.”
With Massey gaining more experience and DGM Racing making changes to become more competitive, it’s entirely possible that the third-year driver will contend for some top-10s during the 2022 season. However, that’s not the focus at this exact moment. Gosselin has other goals that he wants Massey to achieve early while building a foundation.
“I mean, everything takes a little bit of time. Like I told him, he just needs to go out there and do his thing. First and foremost, we’ve got to complete all the laps. That’s how we’re going to get better and learn. We need to learn about his driving style and maybe some of the setup adjustments that we need to make.
“But I feel like Mason will be competing for top-15s, top-20s. You know, on a given occasion, hopefully with luck being there and cards just falling in the right places, maybe we can get us a couple top-10s.”
Massey will make his DGM Racing debut in the season-opening Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner. 300 at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, February 19. He will try to qualify for a solid position in the No. 91 and then use that to turn in a strong performance to kick off the year.
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