It’s a hot Saturday afternoon and the 424’s are roaring so loud one can barely hear the distant cries of enthusiasm from the bleachers. Irwindale Speedway has transformed into a jungle of classic cars and Tommie’s ’72 Chevy Monte Carlo is leading the pack. Chevelles, Novas, Dodge Darts; they all whip around the track at lightning speeds, yet none quite as fast as the blue 96 car. Its yellow and silver decals are only a blur from the grandstand vantage point. It’s now or never. It’s white-knuckle time. It’s Tommie Mason.
Tommie has been into racing ever since he can remember. No one is into it more than he is, possibly the same, but no one more. He races his muscle car every other week at the same track he works for: Toyota Speedway of Irwindale. And by ‘works for’ I mean ‘dedicates his life to’. Like I said, racing is Tommie’s life.
Announcing races at the track: Tommie does it. Head of Public Relations: Tommie does it. Track website: Tommie does it. Entertainment promoter: Tommie does it. Filming the races: well, you get the point. The only thing Tommie may not cover is the demolition events. His girlfriend does.
This all came to be once Tommie and his friend Jeffrey Best started their low budget race films back in 2006. It began as a joke as they took an entry level JVC video camera Tommie had received as a Christmas gift to the racetrack. Complete with a non-functional toy microphone they headed up to Willow Springs in Rosamond and pretended to cover an event. Young and naive, they could’ve never imagined what would eventually transpire from this novelty act. Some of those in attendance that day were indeed fooled into believing that Tommie and Jeffrey were actually covering the event. Even the toy microphone was passed off as being genuine.
Eventually they decided to get serious and take the act to Irwindale. They began by interviewing the racers, this time with a real microphone. People began to notice them and before too long they had full permission from the track to film their endeavors, even maintaining 100% licensing on whatever they shot. The track members were so impressed they took it one step further by offering both Tommie and Jeffrey jobs.
Racing has completely consumed Tommie’s life. 99% of his time is spent coordinating one thing or the other for the track. Even his love life with his girlfriend Shayla revolves around the speedway, just as the cars do. When asked what he sees for his future Tommie responds, “I don’t care if I just pick up trash, I just want to be involved in racing.” With passion like that, it would be hard to believe anything less for Tommie.
