Matthews Motorsports


 * For information on the team's current drivers, please see Ryan Matthews. Mariano Zavala, Giovanni Roda, Taylor Matthews, and Carter Fitzgerald.

Matthews Motorsports is an American racing team based in Bristol, Connecticut. It is owned by former TM Master Cup and current ARLA Elite Series full-time driver Ryan Matthews.

The team competes full-time in the TM Lights and the ARLA Elite Series, and will contest the Independent's Trophy in the TM Master Cup Series in 2013.

It was one of the teams involved in the tragic events of the 2012 Hanmore World Championships.

Pre-stock car history
Matthews Motorsports began operations in 2001 as a late model team in the Can-Am Series. Team owner Ryan Matthews was the lone driver, fielding a green and blue No. 6 Lenard. Matthews experienced little success that first season, finishing 30th in the final points standings. Matthews improved steadily through 2002 and 2003, finishing 20th in 2002 and 14th in 2003. By 2004, Matthews had won three races en route to a 3rd-place finish in the points.

The team took its long-time shape in 2005. At the Can-Am tour stop in Barrie, Ontario, Matthews finished fifth, but it was the driver that finished in front of him that caught his eye: a 19-year-old named Tiffany Rogers. She had finished third despite being spun twice and fighting a loose race car throughout. Impressed by her skills, Matthews made a point to introduce himself after the race and offer her a ride. After a little convincing over dinner, she accepted the offer and moved to the team for the 2006 season. The duo started the 2006 campaign on a colossal roll, racking up four straight top-5 finishes. Both Matthews (in the No. 6) and Rogers (in the No. 16, her car number prior to joining the team) earned victories in that stretch, with Matthews' win coming at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Rogers' coming at Cayuga 2000. The mojo continued through the year, with Matthews winning the championship and Rogers finishing third.

Matthews and Rogers married prior to the 2007 season, in which both drivers finished in the top ten in points.

2008 and 2009 saw more of the same from the Matthews duo, as Ryan won his second championship in 2009. Tiffany would place in the top five each season, with a second-place points finish in 2009 - the first time in Can-Am history that teammates finished one-two in the final standings.

In that offseason, discussion began of taking the operation to a different discipline – the world of stock cars. In March of 2010, Ryan Matthews announced that the 2010 season would be Matthews Motorsports' last in the late-model ranks, and would move to stock cars in 2011 ("whichever series will have us," Matthews said during the press conference).

The 2010 season would show a reversal of sorts for the team, as Tiffany would finish higher in the final points standings than Ryan for the first time – she would finish third while he finished fifth.

Vaughn Stock Car Championship/RROL Elite Series
In the 2010 offseason, Matthews Motorsports, as promised, began investigating its options for its stock car debut. The TM Master Cup Series was eliminated outright as an option, as both Matthewses felt that, in spite of their prior successes, jumping into the deep end of the pool would be counterproductive. As a result, the search for a series focused on the lower divisions of racing as a starting point. Lenard had signed on to provide technical support and cars (continuing the working relationship from the Can-Am Tour), but when Matthews suggested ARLA as an option, Lenard terminated the deal, citing its exclusivity to Jaguar Racing as a consequence of ARLA's one-chassis-per-manufacturer rule. The ASCC was also floated as a possible destination (short season and all-American locations were the main selling points), but once the rules discouraging foreign as well as non-male drivers (meaning Tiffany would technically have two strikes against her as a Canadian-born female) were made public, that option was also eliminated. That left the VSCC as a destination. By the time things shook out, however, no full-time spots in the VSCC remained, so the decision was made to run a part-time schedule there and pick up other races wherever possible.

Neither car number 6 nor 16 were available, so each driver selected numbers closest to the last two digits of their years of birth for their new cars - 75 for Ryan, 85 for Tiffany. Sponsorship also followed quickly, with Jiffy Lube signing on to sponsor Ryan in the 75 and Stop & Shop inking a deal with the 85 team. But there was still one thing left unresolved - which car model the team would run.

With about a month before the season was to begin, representatives from the Inglesby Motor Company contacted Matthews about providing cars and engines for the team. The manufacturer had launched its Juneau division late in 2010 and was looking for teams to run its cars. Matthews jumped on the opportunity, selecting the S1. With the last piece of the puzzle in place, the team could finally concentrate on going racing.

2011
The Matthews Motorsports cars made their debut in the second qualifying race for the VSCC season-opener at Daytona International Speedway. Both drivers expressed concerns about being placed in the same race in pre-race interviews, with Ryan saying "getting through clean would be a priority." Tiffany took it a step further, saying, "It's the other guys that worry me."

Tiffany's words proved to be prophetic: she was involved in the aftermath of a third-lap incident and her car was severely damaged. Though she managed to finish the race, she ended two laps down in 21st place and on the outside looking in. Ryan had better luck, finishing in 11th and making the race.

Ryan would show the skills he honed over the years in the main event, as he kept the car clean and was in the lead pack in the closing laps. He would work his way to second place, where he eventually finished. The 75 team was the highest finisher of the five Juneau cars that were on the initial entry list.

At Karjala, which was slated to be the second event Matthews Motorsports was to enter, it was more of the same – Tiffany got caught in someone else's incident and finished 15th in the qualifying race, while Ryan got through and made the show. However, his Karjala luck (or lack thereof) kicked in, as he, like Tiffany in the qualifier, got caught in someone else's wreck and was turned tail-first into the guard rail. He would finish 22nd.

2012
With both Ryan and Tiffany Matthews moved on up the racing ladder (Tiffany moved up to ARLA, and Ryan jumped to the Master Cup Series), Matthews Motorsports inked two new drivers to take over the team's entries. It signed Tiffany Matthews' sister Kellan Rogers to one of the cars, and Florida sprint-car ace Billy Ray Smith-Thompson to the other.

Both Rogers and Smith-Thompson were competitive out the gate, with Rogers scoring two consecutive top-ten finishes at Daytona and Ohio, and Smith-Thompson winning the pole at his home track in Tampa. But it would be Smith-Thompson that would claim the team's first victory, an impressive run at Salem Speedway.

Both drivers ended up in the top 20 in points at the end of the season, with Smith-Thompson missing winning the championship by 20 points. Rogers finished sixteenth.

2011
Building on its successful Daytona debut in the VSCC, Matthews Motorsports announced its intentions to attempt to qualify for the Karjala Grand Prix, the crown jewel of the TM Master Cup schedule. Due to Master Cup regulations, the team could not (initially) re-skin its Juneau S1s and bring them to Karjala. (It was later announced, after the entry blanks were submitted for both drivers, that Juneau would have given them the OK to do so.) As a result, the team invested in a pair of Omecha MA02 cars, one each for Ryan and Tiffany. Jiffy Lube would carry its sponsorship to Ryan's entry, which would carry the number 76 (as 75 was already in use). Stop & Shop, however, was reluctant to do the same for Tiffany's car, citing its, along with parent company Ahold's, absence from the Finnish marketplace. (Jiffy Lube, interestingly, had no such reservations.) The team announced Blackberry would sponsor the car in a one-off arrangement. As with Ryan's entry, Tiffany's car also received a number change to 86.

However, once the final approved entry list was released by Master Cup officials, Tiffany's entry was not on it. Stewards cited a number conflict as the reason for the rejection (another team also wanted to enter a No. 86 entry), and as a result only Ryan would be entered.

Paperwork issues arose again once the Matthews Motorsports hauler arrived at Karjala, as track officials declined to let it into the paddock. After a brief discussion, it was determined the officials were using an out-of-date listing and the hauler was allowed to enter. The team was assigned paddock number 76, which Ryan Matthews called "a good sign".

Unfortunately, a poor first-round qualifying effort put Matthews into the pre-qualifier stage, and he finished 28th in the second race.

Decatur was kinder to Matthews Motorsports, as Ryan Matthews' No. 76 Omecha performed well enough for him to finish sixth in his pre-qualifying race and he advanced to the main qualifying race for the first time in his two Master Cup attempts. Matthews started 31st and couldn't make any headway, finishing 32nd. Fortunately for him, 32nd was the final transfer slot, which meant that, for the first time, Matthews Motorsports would compete in racing's top division – quite an accomplishment considering that just one year ago the organization was still in late model racing.

2012
Matthews Motorsports announced it would attempt to debut its new chassis, the M12 (see below), at the 2012 Karjala Grand Prix. Tiffany Matthews was intended to drive the car, but her unavailability for the event (ARLA was scheduled to run in Toronto the same weekend) precluded her from doing so. The team instead tabbed ASCC rookie and Connecticut native Joe Olenick for the spot. It had requested to use the number 46, which the team used in the Dash Cup series. (The number 76, which the team used in the 2011 Round of Decatur, was not available as it had been assigned to Mitchell & Sons Racing's third car.)

However, Olenick was not approved by the TM Master Cup officials, and thus, the team skipped the Grand Prix. (It has been speculated that the reason for Olenick's non-acceptance was that the car number, 46, was unoffically "retired" due to the 2011 death of Scott Hamilton.)

Matthews Motorsports also attempted the Round of Indianapolis, again with Olenick listed as the driver. He got through pre-qualifying, but ran near the back of his main qualifying race and missed the event.

The third time was the charm at Decatur for Olenick and the M12, now rebranded Aspira (though at Indianapolis and Decatur the car was branded the M12 Aspira). Olenick comfortably made it through both pre-qualifying and the main qualifying race, assuring both himself and the Aspira would make their Master Cup debuts.

Matthews Motorsports also entered a second car at Decatur for the person it was originally intended for: Tiffany Matthews. She, unfortunately, got a piece of an incident between Mika Tervo and fellow ARLA competitor Richard Scott, and finished her qualifying race one lap down in 33rd after starting fifth.

2013
Matthews Motorsports was confirmed as an Independent's Trophy candidate team for the 2013 TM Master Cup season, marking the team's first attempt at the honor. Ryan Matthews, formerly of Majestic Motorsports, will pilot the entry, which will carry sponsorship from the Principal Financial Group. The car will carry the number 61 – the same number as Tiffany Matthews' unsuccessful bid to make the 2012 Round of Decatur.

He will race at the rounds of California, Carbondale, Darlington, and Quincy. Matthews will, by virtue of being an Independent driver, also attempt the 2013 Karjala Grand Prix, the Round of Indianapolis, and the Round of Decatur.

2011
Matthews Motorsports announced it would attempt to qualify for the ARLA Elite Series endurance event, the 150 Laps of Dwyer, at the Dwyer Speedpark in Minnesota. Tiffany was listed as the primary driver for the event, with Ryan assuming the role of relief driver. Despite a mid-race get-together with Anthony Griffith, Tiffany rallied to bring her Cromwell CS home in eighth place – one of the best finishes for a debutante driver in the event.

Matthews also attempted to make the 2011 Rockford 200. She started shotgun on the field in the first heat race, but could not advance any further than 12th, missing the cut-off to make the race.

2012
The new year saw a number of changes for Matthews Motorsports; most notably, the team received (and accepted) an invitation to run ARLA. Matthews Motorsports will field two cars, with both Ryan and Tiffany moving up from the VSCC to drive them. Tiffany drove full-time in the Elite Series, while Ryan ran a partial schedule. The promotion also allowed Matthews Motorsports to rekindle its long-time relationship with the Lenard Motor Company.

Additionally, Matthews Motorsports announced, in an effort to reconnect with its history, a change in car numbers for ARLA. Effective January 1, the team's cars would carry the numbers 106 and 116, in a number style to be designed in-house.

Tiffany Matthews drove her Lenard to five top-ten finishes en route to a ninth-place points finish. Ryan Matthews had two top-ten finishes, including a top-five at the Lone Star Supercell, in his four starts.

2013
With rumors of Tiffany Matthews moving on to a full-time TM Lights ride, the team searched for a possible replacement for its ARLA entry. It had planned on promoting Billy Ray Smith-Thompson from its RROL team to fill the potential vacancy, but plans changed drastically after the tragic death of Matthews at the 2012 Hanmore World Championships. With Ryan Matthews out of a full-time TM Master Cup ride, he decided to take over the car his late wife drove.

He will run the full schedule in 2013. It will mark the second straight season he will be considered as a rookie.

TM Lights
In a surprising reversal, Matthews Motorsports announced prior to the beginning of the 2012 TM Master Cup season that it would indeed field an entry for the 2012 TM Lights season. It was believed the team would not do so after team owner Ryan Matthews was signed to a Master Cup deal with Majestic Motorsports, and the team even announced such after the signing was announced. "Tiffany begged me to reconsider," Matthews said in an interview prior to the Round of Las Vegas. "She saw the Lights opportunity as not only a way for her to gain more seat time, but also as a way for her to make our one-off entries more attractive to the stewards," he added, referring to her two failed attempts to go Cup racing in 2011. "So I told her I'd think about it. Little did she know that I already had a deal in place for her – I just had to fax over the paperwork."

The Matthews Motorsports entry was sponsored by A&W, and, as a nod to Tiffany's late-model career, carries her traditional number 16.

2012
The 2012 TM Lights season started out poorly, as Matthews struggled in the first four races. She finished better than 30th in only one of those events, including a last-place run at Carbondale. Things looked up at Peoria, where Matthews claimed her first (and only) pole of the season. Poor finishes and DNF's dotted her schedule, and after 11 races Matthews was replaced by Brooke Ingwersen for the rest of the season. Ingwersen performed much better than Matthews out of the chute, finishing a respectable 15th at Road America. She followed that up with a top-five run at the New York Autoring, and finished 35th in the final standings.

2013
Matthews Motorsports announced its intentions to retain Ingwersen for the 2013 season, but has not yet made any further announcements.

TM Master Cup
The Aspira failed to qualify for both the Grand Prix and the 2012 Round of Indianapolis, as Joe Olenick, the ASCC driver signed to drive for the team, was not approved for the Grand Prix and did not advance past pre-qualifying at Indianapolis. But the third time was the charm at Decatur for Olenick and the M12, now rebranded Aspira (though at Indianapolis and Decatur the car was branded the M12 Aspira). Olenick comfortably made it through both pre-qualifying and the main qualifying race, assuring both he and the Aspira would make their Master Cup debuts.

2013
Matthews debuted the 2013 Aspira at the 2013 Round of California. Though he and the car started poorly and finished equally poor, the car did manage to make it on two pit stops while most of the front-running teams had to stop late for fuel. The Round of Carbondale proved better for Matthews, as he brought the Aspira home in 19th place, scoring the car's first-ever championship points.

The Aspira was approved by the Master Cup stewards for customer use prior to the 37th Karjala Grand Prix, meaning the car would be available for other teams to purchase. As of the most recent entry list, two other teams have also entered the Aspira.

RROL Elite Series
The team also developed a version of the M12 dubbed the T-Type, for use in what was the VSCC. The collapse of that league had placed the T-Type's use in doubt, but the series' rebirth as the RROL Elite Series put those plans back into service.

The car made its debut at the 2012 RROL Daytona 250, and made it to the winners' circle in the first race at Salem Speedway, with Billy Ray Smith-Thompson at the controls.

It was one of the finalists to be the series' fifth approved chassis in 2013. However, it was not selected, meaning the NRC-spec Aspira will be shelved for the foreseeable future.

M2 Development

 * Main article: M2 Development

With growing comes growing pains, and as the team expanded into other series it recognized the need to invest in driver development. Matthews Motorsports had plans to establish a driver development program in mid-2013 for the 2014 season, but the team decided to move up its timetable since it had the sponsorship available to do so.

M2 Development will be the team name used in all series below the ARLA Elite Series.