by Reid Scearce
Mason Maggio: Earning His Shot | includes the transcript of his interview on Fan4Racing Radio. Read the companion article to learn more.
Mason Maggio, the DGM Racing driver from Palm Beach, Florida, has rapidly risen through the ranks of short-track racing and, subsequently, NASCAR. Maggio, however, doesn’t come from a racing family and instead developed his racecraft through rental go-karts, where the foundation of his racing career was laid. He continued to run laps and improve as he moved up through the ranks of Bandoleros, Legends cars and eventually Limited Late Models, before winning Rookie of the Year in the Carolina Pro Late Model Series with Rick Ware Racing.
Mason Maggio: Earning His Shot
Maggio would eventually make his NASCAR debut with Team Reaume at World Wide Technology Raceway as an 18-year-old. For years in the Craftsman Truck Series and the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, Mason continued to run part-time schedules with smaller operations, including Team Reaume, Peck Motorsports, and Joey Gase Motorsports. While those opportunities allowed him to gain valuable experience across NASCAR’s national series, his biggest opportunity would come this year in the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season.
DGM Racing owner Mario Gosselin chose Maggio to become the anchor driver of the No. 91 Chevrolet after his promising run with the team last fall at Talladega. The opportunity gave Maggio the chance to move into a more consistent role with an established O’Reilly Auto Parts Series organization and continue building on the experience he had accumulated through his part-time schedule.
Maggio and the No. 91 DGM Racing crew’s season has largely been characterized by promising runs plagued by bad luck. While he’s put together several strong finishes, including an 11th-place result at EchoPark Speedway, Maggio has said himself that the season hasn’t gone exactly as he would have wanted. Still, Maggio continues to impress many throughout the industry and the garage, with his potential showing up on the racetrack.
Learn more about Mason Maggio’s journey through NASCAR and his 2026 season in the abbreviated transcript of his conversation with Reid Scearce.
Tell us a little bit about how your racing career began. What made you want to take up karting at 11 years old and pursue stock car racing as a kid in South Florida?
Mason Maggio: “I pretty much fell into it completely on accident. There was no intent of me becoming a NASCAR driver… My dad took me to a go-kart track to have some fun with my buddies, and next thing you know, I’m like, ‘Hey, I really want to go back again.’ … I would just go on the weekends and clock laps in the rental go-karts and just try to get faster and faster every single time I went out.
“My dad took me to the Daytona 500 in 2017, and that was the first race that I had been to in person where I watched it start to finish. … I saw Kurt Busch winning it, and I was just so fascinated. I was like, ‘You know what? I don’t want it to be a hobby. I want to try to go do what they did… and be a NASCAR driver.’
“We don’t come from a racing background, so we were learning this on the fly just as much as I was. … He told 11-, 12-year-old me, ‘You want to go NASCAR racing? Well, I’m going to tell you right now, there’s a 99% chance that you don’t make it. But there’s a 1% chance that you do.’ … I was like, ‘All right, let me give it a shot and at least say if I make it, great. If I don’t, I can at least say I tried.’
“So, the rest is history. We bought a Bandolero car and started racing that… moved up to the Legend Car rankings and had success… got the opportunity to work with Leicht Motorsports at Hickory Motor Speedway for a full season in their late model division… and then one of the biggest things that helped me was getting the call from Rick Ware Racing to run their Pro Late Model car in the Carolina Pro Late Model Series. … And then next thing you know, we put the deal together [to race in NASCAR], and the rest is history.”
Speaking of your early career, what was the steepest learning curve when you transitioned from lightweight Legend cars to heavy late models?
Mason Maggio: “The biggest thing is just getting used to that. You’re in the single-seater car with a sequential gearbox in Legend cars, and they’re primarily open-wheel cars. … Realizing, oh crap, I’ve got fenders, I’ve got a whole right side of the car versus just being a single seater. … And then tire conservation. When you get into late model racing, you realize that tire conservation is definitely a key player in a lot of those races. … You’ve got to go hard, but you’ve got to kind of find a happy medium and be able to save your tires, save your stuff, and then you kind of get back to running hard again.”
Your debut with Team Reaume came at Gateway in 2022, and you were just 18 years old. Looking back, how was the initial jump – and can you tell us anything about that race in particular, if you still remember it?
Mason Maggio: “I look back at it all the time. … It was really cool, the people that came out for that. I had a ton of family. I had friends that were coming out, friends that weren’t even into racing came out to that because they knew how big of a deal that was for me. … One of my partners, funny enough, was Rich Flores… and he told me that whenever I go make my NASCAR debut… ‘Give me a call because I’m going to buy you a Rich Mar Suit for your debut.’ … So, it was really cool.
“I didn’t know if it was going to be the first of many or the one and only. … I kind of just looked at it as, hey, let me go enjoy this and let me try to make the most of the opportunity, get to the checkered flag and be able to walk away knowing, hey, I lived the dream. … It was an amazing experience. I’m never going to forget it. … Just the nerves when I was climbing in the truck and the emotions of standing there pre-race during the national anthem and all that stuff… was so special. So I look back at it all the time and I’m super thankful for that day. It’s a day I’m never going to forget.”
Other than Team Reaume, you’ve driven for several smaller operations like Peck Motorsports, Joey Gase Motorsports, and most recently, DGM Racing. Has grinding out laps in those partial schedule entries helped you grow as a driver?
Mason Maggio: “I feel like any opportunity is an opportunity worth taking. … Obviously I feel like I’ve learned a lot in those opportunities. It’s tough when you’re driving for small teams. A lot of the times you’re going to the racetrack looking at the entry list a bunch, trying to figure out, all right, well, who do I got to beat in qualifying just to make the race in the first place. … Then the expectations change to, all right, well, where’s our car at in speed and what are some obtainable goals for the teams that I was driving for.
“I feel like I’ve learned a lot in a lot of those opportunities. … Driving for teams like Team Reaume helped me with gaining traction in the Truck Series and being able to put together some respectful runs, some good runs for that team. … I feel like I was able to do what I needed to do with that opportunity and even excel in a couple of occasions. And then, you know, I think it’s what’s led me to the opportunity with DGM Racing.”
I know you mentioned guys like Josh Reaume and your dad. Has there been anybody else in the past or present that has kind of served as a mentor to you? And have you received any advice that you’ve used throughout your career and would like to share with us today?
Mason Maggio: “I feel like Justin Allgaier gave me some really good advice, and it was just enjoy it. … Really enjoy the opportunity, enjoy the pressure, enjoy the fact that you get to race on Saturdays and get to be one step closer to the goals and the dreams that you want to achieve. … I’ve grown a good relationship with Justin. He’s been a guy that I’ve looked up to for years and years, way before I ever got in NASCAR. … He’s been a very good mentor to me and somebody that I can lean on.
“Josh Reaume, like you said, has been a very good mentor to me… both from a driver’s perspective as well as a personal perspective. … My dad is super influential with me. We have a great relationship. … Those are a couple of people that right off the rip, I could tell you right now have been super influential for me and being able to know, hey, these are people that I can lean on for advice.”
You talked about how your relationship with DGM Racing began, and you made your first start with them last year at Talladega. Did that race kind of serve as an audition for the season? You talked about how that relationship began, but were you thinking ahead of time that it could help bring out the opportunity for this year?
Mason Maggio: “In a sense, I think it was an audition maybe for them. I didn’t really look at it as an audition at the time… We did good. We really did good. … We qualified 19th on pure speed and pure race car. … We ran really good and honestly just communicating with the team and understanding, okay, what are we trying to achieve? And they’re like, ‘Man, we want you to get after it and try to put yourself in a position for top 10, maybe a win if we could.’
“They told me, ‘We’ve got the car, the people, and if you got the confidence and the drive to do it, then let’s go do it.’ … And I think that’s what made that day really beneficial, not only for me, but they saw that’s what the team saw a lot of is, okay, he’s listening. He’s applying what he’s learning and doing a good job. … So, it was more of an audition, I think, to them than it was to me.
“Mario came up to me at Martinsville and he’s like, ‘Hey, what are your plans for next year?’ … Next thing you know, he’s like, ‘Hey, let’s get through Martinsville and Phoenix, and then let’s have a conversation about you coming to drive for us next year.’ … I had a contract put in front of me by late November and then had an announcement out by December. So, it was nice going into the offseason having what I like to call job security, which is very hit or miss in this sport.”
DGM—they’re based in Lake Wales, Florida, making it a home state for you. What does it mean to represent a fellow Florida-based organization, also alongside your teammate Josh Williams, who is also a Florida native?
Mason Maggio: “It’s really cool, and it makes going to places like Daytona and Homestead so much more special because of the fact of, hey, I was born and raised in Florida, so was my family. … A team that’s based out of Florida, it’s their home track just as much as it is mine. … Having a teammate like Josh Williams has been a very good person to lean on. Obviously has a ton of experience in the O’Reilly Series, and being able to kind of lean off of him has been very beneficial for me.
“It’s so cool just hearing the stories and how it came to be the organization that it is today from a short track late model team to the two-car operation that it is in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series today. … It’s really cool to add my name to the list of drivers that have been a part of that team and to be one of the few Florida drivers to drive for DGM is really special.”
A month ago, you earned your best result of the season with an 11th-place finish at EchoPark Speedway. However, you’ve had a rough stretch of finishes relative to where you’ve run this year, mainly due to bad luck, most notably two weeks ago at Iowa Speedway. You likely would have earned a solid top-20 finish, maybe even contended for a top 15, but, just like you said, you got involved in someone else’s mess. How do you bounce back from a disappointing result, and what do you tell your team going into the next week after a race like that?
Mason Maggio: “I would rather have a bad day at the racetrack knowing, hey, we were at least in the mix for top 20s and top 15 finishes rather than having a bad day running 32nd. … I am disappointed in the end result. But I think you look at the positives of, like, hey, we weren’t great in practice. We were second to last in practice. We threw the kitchen sink at it and found some issues, and we got the car better. And as soon as we got the car better, we started moving forward.
“Honestly, that was probably one of the best short track cars that I had ever driven. … We started battling with teams that have double, even triple our budget around the top 20. … So, you know, I look at where we started the day and where we were at before that happened, and I look at that and I’m like, you know what? I’m pretty proud of that.
“I’ve really tried to look at the positives this year, even in the days that haven’t results-wise been quite where we’ve wanted, and try to look at that as motivation to, okay, let’s look at the positives and apply that to next week. … We’re starting to move in the right direction, and I think some things are also clicking for me between understanding what the team needs and what I want out of the team. … I think we’re like one or two pieces of the puzzle away from putting the end result together on a consistent basis. And I think we’re very close to that.”
Luckily for you, in a week you head back to your home state at Daytona, and you’ve been pretty good at drafting tracks throughout your career. What are you looking forward to, and what are your goals?
Mason Maggio: “I would love to put myself in a similar position to where I was at in Atlanta. … Atlanta kind of gave me a taste of being at the front and being in a position for top five, top 10, maybe even a win if the cards fell our way. So, I think if I can find myself in that position at the end of the race or similar position like that at the end of the race, then I think we’d be in good shape for a good finish, if not a win.
“Realistically, those are our opportunity races to have really, really good days. … Would love to check off the top 10 on Racing Reference and see that, and add that to the resume. Just want a good, clean run. Definitely want redemption from Daytona in February because that was not fun. … I feel like DGM Racing does a phenomenal job with the Super Speedway program. … I think if we could stay out of trouble and put ourselves in a good position at the end, we should have a really good day. So, hoping somewhere around the top 10 would be awesome.
“That would mean a lot to me knowing that I got a lot of family and I got a lot of friends, as well as a bunch of sponsors and even some local sponsors to me coming out to the race next week. … I think if we got a top 10, I’m definitely having a few adult beverages, that’s for sure.”
Outside of the race car, is there anything you like to do to unwind and recharge when you’re away from the track?
Mason Maggio: “I’ve really loved going to the gym, not only to stay fit for the racing, but also just for some personal goals. … I do like playing video games with my friends. That’s always fun. You can never go wrong with a good video game with your friends. … Watching movies, I’m trying to watch more movies lately. It seems like there’s a lot of good stuff coming out lately.
“I try to do a little bit more downtime and make myself come up with some more hobbies. I bought a bunch of Lego sets as of recently, but I haven’t built them yet. So, maybe this off weekend for me would be a good time to maybe put some builds together.”
What message would you like to share with your fans watching this interview, supporting you and DGM Racing this year?
Mason Maggio: “Just don’t give up. … I feel like the more that I’ve been able to learn and understand the sport and go through some of the down days, which in my opinion, I feel like you’re going to have more downs in racing than you are ups. But that’s part of the sport. … I just say keep grinding, keep pushing for more and for the next opportunity, whether that’s in racing or in life or a career choice that you want to go after.
“I know that I’m not going to give up the same way that I know DGM Racing’s not going to give up and trying to achieve our goals and expectations that we have for each other and what we want to see on the racetrack. … You got to try to utilize the connections and the resources that you have and just try to make it happen.”
