Interview with 2022 Champion Matt Andrews- COUNTDOWN: only 19 days until racing action @Eagle!
By Greg Soukup
Yesterday, Saturday March 11th I slept in because, well…..that’s what us old dirt track racing writers do!!! I got up and opened the shades only to see freezing drizzle change to freezing rain and eventually just regular rain. I started thinking about how long it had been since I saw competition on the high banks of Eagle Raceway. I managed to figure out that it had been exactly 6 months and 7 days. That’s 188 DAYS!!!!!
I know that most of you are having the same withdrawal symptoms, but let’s look on the bright side. Racing at Eagle Raceway is just 20 days away as Leiting Motorsports presents the Topless Nationals April 1st. We can all hang on that long. In the meantime, I’m going to share interviews with last year’s track champions. The first one is with Matt Andrews who was high point driver in the Avid Realty Sportmods.
Matt’s career in sportmods started in 2015 when he ran 10 races, followed by a half season in 2016 before going full time in 2017. It all began when he had a very bad crash on his motorcycle. His mother told him that if he sold the bike she would help him get a sportmod.
2022 at Eagle was his first IMCA championship although he had previously won the points in 2020 at I-80 Speedway.
“It takes quite a bit of dedication to win the points at Eagle, staying on top of your equipment week in and week out. There’s not many breaks at Eagle unless you have a rainout. You have to be really sure that you’re always ready to go. There were quite a few weeks last season where the track wasn’t the best for us with my driving style. When I didn’t make the invert I would have to start even further back. In fact, one time I had to run the B Feature and barely made it to fourth so I squeaked my way into the A”.
“I want to give a big thank you to my wife, my parents and my father-in-law. Without them and my sponsors it would be pretty tough to be competitive”.
Matt’s sponsors include John Bonta, Skytop Towers, Raymond Contracting, Big Red Lawn Care, JM Billiards, All Pro, PBS Rentals and Strategic EMS.
Opening night at Eagle Raceway is March 31st for a practice night. All classes are welcome. Both the front gates and pit gates open at 6:00. Front gate admission is free with pit fees being just $15.
The following evening racing begins in earnest when Leiting Motorsports present the Topless Nationals! Topless Nebraska Lottery Modifieds, topless Avid Realty Sportmods and Topless Late Models are on the card. Hot laps start at 5:00 with racing at 5:30.
Front gates open at 4:45. Admission is $18 for those 13 and up, $5 for kids 6-12 and children 5 and under free.
Pit gates open at 3:00 with pit fees being $35.
Come on out and satisfy that craving that we all have been having for hot racing action on the high banks of America’s Home Track, Eagle Raceway!!!
