Dave Mason Jr. holds off Black Diamond for 2025 Mexican 1000 victory

Dave Mason Jr. is a two-time NORRA 500 overall winner, but luck had eluded him at the longer Mexican 1000. He failed to finish in his first two attempts before finally reaching the end in 2024, where he won his class but placed third outright.

Luck finally smiled upon him in 2025, though he still had to earn his victory. Standing in the way of his 2020 Mason Class 1 buggy? The legendary Black Diamond.

“Black Diamond” is a 1993 Trophy Truck that won basically every major desert race in the 1990s and early 2000s from the Baja 1000 to the Laughlin Desert Challenge. It was eventually restored for NORRA competition, winning the Mexican 1000 thrice.

“About six months ago, I was sitting there and said, ‘Wait a minute. This Riviera Black Diamond #3 is the most iconic in 30 years of racing. Tons of victories, tons of things, and an amazing group of drivers have driven this truck with me over the years,’” started owner Mark Post. “I thought, ‘What a great way to celebrate that this 30-year life of this truck is to bring Larry Ragland, Robby Gordon, Rob MacCachren, who’ve all been a part of the legacy of this truck.’”

With such a decorated ensemble cast sharing driving duties, Black Diamond took off. It wasn’t the fastest early on, not even in its class as it finished the first day of racing second behind Bob Briggs’ 1990 Class 8 formerly driven by Dale White and Gordon’s former NASCAR colleague Jimmie Johnson.

MacCachren and Gordon’s stints led to victories on Days 3 and 4, respectively, though they remained behind Mason and overall leader Brent Fox. Fox dropped out of contention with a transmission failure on the fifth day’s first Selective Section, setting up a duel between Black Diamond and Mason. Out of the picture, Fox finished fourth in Evolution 6100.

Ragland won two specials in his effort to close the gap to Mason, but had to make up 11:22 going into the final day. Thursday ultimately did the team in, never finishing higher than 31st across the three timed stages. Their goal consequently shifted to simply finishing to win the Historic Truck and Truggy class ahead of Briggs, which they succeeded as they cleared Briggs—who finished third overall—by 19:49.

“We were behind 11 minutes on the overall, so we knew we weren’t going to push Dave Mason,” said Post. “We had a 28-minute lead in Historic Trophy Truck and about that big a lead in second overall. We just sat in there and got it there. […] Everyone did a fantastic job.”

Ahead of the truck, Mason had what he simply described as “1,400 miles and one word: perfect. Every dream of mine came true in this last stage. We had a perfect race.”

Mason, usually a short course driver in Championship Off-Road, has proven to be stout in the desert in both rally-style racing offered in NORRA and standard events. He finished runner-up in class at the Mint 400 in March.

Of course, to go toe-to-toe with a truck shared by his idols and beat them was a special moment.

“I’ve been looking up to these heroes of mine for my whole racing career, and we put a lot of work into getting our program up to speed,” Mason continued. To compete at a very high level and dice it up with those guys and ultimately beat them at the end is a huge testament to… not just me, it’s really a team effort.

“Evan (Erdelyi) preps the car, he co-drove a lot of the race as well as Rob Schultz. Our whole team, one of our guys, Steve Reeder, builds our engines in his garage and this thing ran perfect. That’s part of that. It ran phenomenal the whole way. We’re flogging that engine wide open from Ensenada and it still sounds like brand new.”

When he wasn’t driving Black Diamond, Gordon was in a SPEED UTV like his son Max. The younger Gordon had been the fastest UTV in qualifying the Thursday before the race, but mechanical issues—one of which prompted Robby to tow him along in Day 5—forced him to settle for second in the Evolution Production Turbo class behind Kyle Vestermark. The Gordons’ teammate P.J. Jones also won a stage only to run into vehicle issues during the penultimate day. Still, Max got to enjoy being the fastest car overall on SS2 of the last day.

Day 5 was not only hairy for the leaders but also surprisingly wet. Travis Clarke, the head of RZR Factory Racing and UTV overall leader going into Tuesday, rolled into the water just a few miles before the finish. Cole Bradburn’s Class 11 also suffered a similar fate, his Beetle getting stuck on the rocks lining the water.

“Just a little too much speed in a poorly marked corner without enough talent to save it,” Clarke quipped. While his race was over, he and Max Eddy Jr. technically ended Day 5 as a finisher after they towed their Polaris to the end before pushing it on foot across the line.

Luke McMillin and his father Mark McMillin wrapped up their first race together with a 35th overall in the “Macadu” Chenowth. Chad Smith and his daughters enjoyed a family effort of their own as they placed 81st and third in Pioneer Buggy with their 1973 Sandmaster Panzer.

Brad Lovell added to his impressive portfolio by topping Evolution Showroom Stock Late Model ahead of Seth Goslawski, whose co-driver Jason Hutter usually works with Lovell; both crews raced Ford Broncos. Another Bronco piloted by Shelby Hall placed 77th and third in Evolution Heavy Metal in the debut race for Shelby Hall Off-Road; the race began on a sour note when the radiator began malfunctioning on Day 1, forcing her to miss the next day before rejoining afterward.

Larry Trim won in Vintage Short Wheelbase 4×4, returning to the Mexican 1000 with a heavy but full heart after his co-driver Brent Yeadon passed away during the 2024 race. It is Trim’s second straight NORRA class win, having also dedicated the 2024 NORRA 500 to his late friend.

Sean Barber was the lone finisher in Legend 4×4 after Robert Figlioli bowed out. Still, to reach the finish in his new Scout Terra was a great rebound after crashing shortly before the finish in 2024.

Alex Ritz scored the overall victory for bikes, winning the first two stages and never looking back. Although Justin Moore and Kevin Archer made up the bulk of the stage victories afterward, Ritz’s consistency prevented either of them from gaining much ground. Moore would finish fourth overall and Archer in seventh.

A pair of old guys joined Ritz on the overall motorcycle podium in Larry Engwall and Robert Creemers. Engwall held off Creemers by just 40 seconds for the 60+ class victory.

Ignacio Chivite raced the oldest bike in the field, a 1967 Bultaco 360 El Bandido. While it’s as old as the Mexican 1000, the stock chassis and engine ultimately held up while all mechanical issues he faced were ironically due to the new components added to make it rally compliant. He was the 21st and last bike classified.

Desert racing photographer Art Eugenio of GETSOMEphoto was the final car to reach the finish, his 1994 Bronco enduring a myriad of vehicle problems from the first day. It was an emotional race for Eugenio, who had dreams of racing NORRA alongside his father Art Sr. until the latter’s passing in 2014. He was classified 104th.

Grand marshal Mike Pearlman finished 107th overall in a Meyers Manx tribute car to his 1968 Mexican 1000 run.

Stage winners

Cars

StageDateDriver of RecordTime
Day 1, SS1April 26Dave Mason Jr.1:04:15
Day 1, SS2April 26Brent Fox52:02
Day 1, SS3April 26Scott Bailey1:06:42
Day 2, SS1April 27Scott Bailey52:14
Day 2, SS2April 27Brent Fox53:28
Day 3, SS1April 28Mark Post1:52:54
Day 3, SS2April 28Mark Post1:10:41
Day 4April 29Mark Post3:11:41
Day 5, SS1April 30Dave Mason Jr.1:49:31
Day 5, SS2April 30Mark Post2:12:36
Day 5, SS3April 30Mark Post1:30:14
Day 6, SS1May 1P.J. Jones47:06
Day 6, SS2May 1Max Gordon24:54
Day 6, SS3May 1Benjamin Button1:19:57

Bikes

StageDateRider of RecordTime
Day 1, SS1April 26Alex Ritz1:21:09
Day 1, SS2April 26Alex Ritz2:37:15
Day 2April 27Justin Moore3:52:58
Day 3April 28Kevin Archer3:55:53
Day 4April 29Kevin Archer1:28:40
Day 5, SS1April 30Justin Moore2:07:37
Day 5, SS2April 30Kevin Archer46:04
Day 5, SS3April 30Kevin Archer1:10:17
Day 6, SS1May 1Justin Moore33:21
Day 6, SS2May 1Kevin Archer26:27

Overall winners

Cars

ClassOverallNumberDriver of RecordVehicleTotal Time
Challenger 4×412059Mike Williams1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer57:34:25
Challenger Truck60759Travis Dutemple1987 Toyota Class 7S30:55:33
Evolution 4-Seat UTV42808Blake Conley2021 Alsup Can-Am Maverick X3 Max27:53:08
Evolution 61004250Zak Langley2017 Mason Trophy Truck Spec21:30:41
Evolution Class 5 Open83502Buddy Crisp1982 Frisk / Jimco Unlimited Baja Bug36:11:35
Evolution Class 11371100Oliver Flemate2023 Volkswagen Beetle26:46:14
Evolution Class 710041757Rodrigo Martinez1994 Ford Ranger27:51:33
Evolution Heavy Metal112020Bobby Patton2020 Jimco Fastball Racing Pre-Runner22:46:21
Evolution JeepSpeed 3700DNFN/ANo FinishersN/ADNF
Evolution Meyers Manx10780Mike Pearlman1968 Meyers Manx Custom Tribute45:42:20
Evolution Pre-Run Buggy71016Eric Duran2022 Curry Pre-Runner22:20:01
Evolution Pre-Run Truck102626Dave Taylor2014 Ford F-15022:39:12
Evolution Pro UTV / Class 1091811Cesar Cuevas2025 Polaris RZR Pro R22:38:10
Evolution Production Naturally Aspirated UTV5250James Saunders2018 Polaris RZR XP 4 100028:50:55
Evolution Production Turbo UTV12179Kyle Vestermark2024 Can-Am Maverick R23:13:58
Evolution Showroom Stock Late Model31766Brad Lovell2023 Ford Bronco Raptor25:36:20
Evolution TrophyLite1066036Bruce Anderson2022 TrophyLite45:45:45
Evolution Ultra 4×4DNFN/ANo FinishersN/ADNF
Evolution Unlimited Buggy1165Dave Mason Jr.2020 Mason Class 1 Unlimited20:40:57
Evolution Unlimited TruckDNFN/ANo FinishersN/ADNF
Historic Truck and Truggy23Mark Post1993 “Black Diamond” Riviera Racing Ford F-15021:09:20
Legend 4×41151976Sean Barber1976 International Harvester Scout Terra50:16:21
Legend Buggy661601Jim Greenway1980 Raceco 2/160032:24:46
Legend Car12234John Lannom1967 Volkswagen Beetle60:51:33
Legend Truck117800Daniel Cornwell1978 Dodge D10054:53:32
Pioneer 4×46526Boyd Jaynes1968 Ford Bronco32:22:21
Pioneer Buggy43305Ramon Castro1972 Funco SS127:53:35
Pioneer TruckDNFN/ANo FinishersN/ADNF
Vintage 4-Cylinder Buggy1633Bob Howie1989 Chenowth DR224:00:01
Vintage 6-Cylinder Buggy3583Mark McMillin1979 “Macadu” Chenowth26:01:36
Vintage 6-Cylinder Truck99711Richard Bartell1987 Ford Ranger42:14:26
Vintage Class 1/2-1600461662Julie Boyer1999 Lothringer 1/2-160028:11:27
Vintage Class 12231261Louis Chamberland2024 Custom DR224:44:18
Vintage Military Vehicle124998William Dicondina1987 AM General Humvee M99864:16:08
Vintage Open Buggy32136Jay Bills1989 Chenowth DR225:38:24
Vintage Open Production Car6164Ned Bacon1964 Volkswagen Class 531:03:27
Vintage Open Truck 4×4DNFN/ANo FinishersN/ADNF
Vintage Short Wheelbase 4×488301Larry Trim1993 Jeep Grand Cherokee37:54:58
Vintage Stock Production Car74964Pamir Kiraner1993 Porsche 96434:33:47

Bikes

ClassOverallNumberRider of RecordVehicleTotal Time
50+DNFN/ANo FinishersN/ADNF
60+268Larry Engwall2024 Husqvarna FE 501w20:33:56
Amateur Rally5429Michael Frederick2024 Kove 450 Rally Pro21:17:34
Moto UNON/A*1717Ruben Hale1984 Honda XR5004:29:45
Pro Rally1909Alex Ritz2019 Honda CRF450X20:06:09
Vintage Moto11722Steve Montana1984 Honda XR500R23:19:28
* – Day 1 only

Featured image credit: Bink Designs

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