Mason Daniel and his family-owned team had their 2018 plans all mapped out, that is, until they bumped into Danny Lasoski, the 2001 World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series champion. What began in the fall of 2017 with a blueprint to compete in California in 2018, wound up being altered—just a bit. 

After hatching out a new plan, Daniel ended up relocating 1,768 miles from Springville, CA, to Carrollton, MO, with Lasoski serving as a mentor to the teenager who is in the midst of his first full season behind the wheel of a sprint car.

The Daniel family initially met Lasoski just before the Trophy Cup at Thunderbowl Raceway in California in October 2017 as he was gearing up to run a car for Gary Scelzi. The Scelzi team’s engine had not arrived yet, so the Daniel family lent an engine to the squad to use. One stipulation existed and that was to allow Mason to serve on Lasoski’s crew and learn from the Hall of Fame driver. The interaction between the two is ultimately what led to the proposition to head to the Midwest in 2018.

“Working on Danny’s car, he got to know me and asked why I was going to start racing out here in California,” Daniel said. “He said, ‘Why don't you come back to the Midwest and work with me?’ That’s how it all started. We came out to the Midwest after Thanksgiving and saw the shop he works out of and the area and the tracks that were close to here. I ended up moving out here in February, after the World of Outlaws race in Las Vegas. I drove straight here and have been here ever since.”

Daniel, who cut his teeth racing Micro Sprints in his home state of California, faced a steep learning curve upon arriving in the Midwest. Every track was one that he was seeing for the first time. When he gets to a new track, the 18-year-old walks the track or on half-miles, rides a quad or dirt bike around, looking for nuances that may affect the way he has to drive the car of the setup. This routine was instilled in him by Lasoski.

“When I come back to the pit area, Danny (Lasoski) wants me to tell him what I saw and he wants me to notice everything,” Daniel noted. “For example, a few weeks ago, we were at Donnellson, Iowa (Lee County Speedway), and that track had a lot of character. On the entry to turn three, it falls downhill and then the bank changes on the straightaway. He wants me to notice things like that, without him telling me. He then goes over what the track typically does and where to be strong when trying to pass a car and things like that.”

Daniel has raced at a handful of historic tracks thus far in 2018, with the famed Knoxville Raceway in Iowa leading the way. The level of competition that he has faced has been stout, each and every race, which has helped the young driver continue to grow and mature as a driver.

“There is so much talent in the Midwest,” he shared. “Out here, you have the best drivers and the tracks are so much different than anything we have in California. Out here, it teaches you to race properly. In California, we have a lot of heavy tracks with ruts, which sometimes can tear a lot of stuff up. Here in the Midwest, the tracks are smooth and well prepared. You always have a top and bottom (groove). 

“You get a wide variety as well. For example, U.S. 36 (Raceway in Missouri) is a short bullring that has huge banks. Then, you go to Sedalia (Missouri State Fair Speedway), which is one of the biggest half-miles and has no bank. You get so much experience running different tracks and that’s probably been the thing that I’ve had to adjust to the most. You learn to be well rounded out here and good on all kind of tracks.”

Daniel picked up his first career win in a sprint car on June 16 and it came at Knoxville Raceway, in just his fifth-ever start at the half-mile. He followed that up with a third-place finish the next week while also turning the fastest lap in time trials for the first time in his young career. Daniel currently rides a three-race top-10 finish streak at Knoxville.

On June 29, Daniel picked up his second career victory at yet another historic track, Missouri State Fair Speedway in Sedalia in an event sanctioned by the ASCS Warrior Region. Making the win even more impressive was the fact that Daniel was seeing the track for the first time and outdueled veteran driver Tony Bruce Jr., who had raced at the track a number of times over the years, including with the World of Outlaws.

"I was hoping I could get a win there later this season at Knoxville,” Daniel said. “I didn't think it would come as soon as it did. It’s an honor to be able to run well there. That is such a historic track and the people who have won there over the years is pretty amazing. I’m thankful that I was able to win there and add my name to that list. 

"There are a group of guys that run Knoxville every weekend, so the talent there is like nowhere else in the country. It takes a while to get going there. We struggled at first there and had a bit of bad luck. Then, we put together a very solid night and won and went back the next week and ran third."

Being just 18 years of age, the sky is truly the limit for Daniel in the racing game. With this season being his first full year in a sprint car, racing with a 360-cubic-inch engine under the hood, the Californian looks to get as much experience as he can on as many varying track surfaces as he can. The next step will be to advance to a 410-cubic-inch sprint car.

“Every sprint car driver wants to run with the World of Outlaws and win a championship with them,” Daniel said. “Hopefully, later this year or early next year, we can start heading toward 410 racing. There are a lot of big sprint car races I’d like to win. If my career went further than that and I had a chance to race on asphalt that would be fine with me as well. World of Outlaws drivers are the best and there is nothing wrong with making a career of racing with them.”   

Bringing it back full circle, Daniel points to Lasoski as being the glue that holds everything together. With the 11-time Knoxville Raceway champion, who is the winningest driver in the history of that famed venue, teaching Daniel some of the finer points of what he has learned in his legendary career that spans nearly 40 years, the young driver is soaking it all up as he continues to make a name for himself in the sport. 

“Danny has been the key to it all this year,” Daniel noted. “He helps me so much driving-wise. He helped shorten my learning curve and has been able to help me go fast. He’s been a vital part of all the success we’ve had.”