Ryan Matthews

Ryan Thomas Matthews (born March 22, 1976 in Hartford, CT) is an American race car driver currently competing in the TM Master Cup Series, piloting the No. 11 Gasnier Spahi for Majestic Motorsports alongside Karjala Grand Prix hero Mika Passonen.

He will run a number of races in the ARLA Elite Series as well, driving the No. 106 I.W. Eagle Lenard.

Prior to this, Matthews drove in the Vaughn Stock Car Championship for his own team, Matthews Motorsports.

Matthews made his name racing in the Can-Am Touring Series, a series dedicated to the late-model class. His debut came in 2001.

2001-2010: Late model career
Matthews began his racing career relatively late in life, at age 25. He entered his first race in the Stafford Motor Speedway local late model event and finished third – in a car he rented at the track. He took the winnings from that race and signed a season-long lease for that same car, joining the track's late model division in the process. He would place second in the 2001 season’s final points standings.

During the 2001 off-season, he literally hit the lottery: he won the Connecticut Lotto, claiming $10 million in the process. Flush with cash, he arranged to purchase the car he previously rented and formed Matthews Motorsports. Once the 2002 season started, Matthews picked up right where he left off, finishing in the top-5 four straight races. In an effort to get him off his game, the other drivers started calling Matthews "Lotto". It didn't faze him at first, but when he went on to win the track championship, a lot of the ribbing ended.

Matthews announced he would join the Can-Am Series in 2003. It was here that two long-term relationships would be formed – one professional, the other personal.

2003-04: Deal with Lenard
Matthews decided the best way to prepare for the rigors of a regional tour was to upgrade his equipment. He approached Saar initially: his family had always owned Saar street cars; he even drove a Saar Carolina to the track. But when the manufacturer came back with a quote that was well higher than what he expected, he solicited a bid from Lenard. Lenard's offer was more in line with what he wanted to spend, and so he signed with them.

In his first season in the Can-Am Series, he routinely finished mid-pack – but consistently was selected for post-race tech inspection. Convinced that someone in the Saar camp was carrying a grudge and making false cheating allegations (though no evidence of it ever was found), he swore that he would never support Saar, and, in the 2003 off-season, he signed a six-year extension with Lenard that covered through the 2010 season. (He also traded in the Carolina for a Lenard Q9.)

2004 started the way 2003 ended: with routine mid-pack finishes. The saving grace: the constant calls to the tech line ended, leading most of those who follow the Can-Am Series to believe it was just a form of rookie hazing. Matthews remained convinced, however, that it was more than that. "That was my early motivation," he said in a 2008 interview. "I wanted to prove that they messing with the wrong guy."

Matthews would improve steadily through the 2004 season, and at one point in the season posted three wins over a six-race stretch. He finished third in the final points standings, serving notice to the rest of the league that indeed, the opposition was messing with the wrong guy.

A new beginning: The 2011 season
Matthews, along with his race team, made his stock car debut in 2011.

The VSCC
Matthews made his debut in the VSCC season-opener at Daytona International Speedway in the second of the twin qualifying races the league held. He finished 11th, just making the cutoff to transfer to the main race, where he would start 22nd.

Matthews kept his Juneau out of trouble for the most part, though he did receive minimal damage from an incident on Lap 39. Matthews barely got through the second caution on lap 43, when two of the lead cars ran out of gas on the restart. Given a clean bill of health on the subsequent pit stop, he was told, "Go get 'em." With spouse and teammate Tiffany cheering him on, he promptly obliged, working his way to third place with 11 laps to go. He got as far as second with two laps to go, but couldn't get past eventual winner Brandon Burns, finishing 0.09 seconds back.

"I would've been happy with a top 15 (finish)," he said in his post-race interview. "I couldn't imagine we'd have ended up here."

Matthews also made the race at Karjala, starting fifteenth, but, in a recurrence of what he called his "Karjala luck", he got caught in an incident not of his own doing and finished 23rd. He had little to say about the race afterwards.

In Matthews' final scheduled VSCC start at Clairmont, he started 26th in the first qualifying race, but worked his way up to 15th at the halfway point in spite of spinning off the track in the first set of turns. He finished 13th, which was good enough for him advance to one of the main races – meaning he made all three races that he attempted to qualify for. The race was subsequently cancelled when the VSCC folded at the end of the year.

ARLA Elite Series
Ryan was the relief driver for Tiffany's entry in the 2011 150 Laps of Dwyer. He kept her #85 Cromwell out of harm's way and helped bring her car home in a respectable 8th place. He presently runs a limited schedule in the No. 106 car for Matthews Motorsports.

TM Master Cup
Matthews attempted to qualify for the 35th Karjala Grand Prix, but after a poor pole qualifying effort, he found himself having to race his way in. Placed in the second qualifier, he got well-acquainted with the sand traps in the Dwyer S and finished three laps off the pace in 28th place – well out of being anywhere near a transfer position.

"No matter what I did, I somehow seemed to end up there," he said in post-race comments. "I really wanted to go out there and not look like a total rook, but boy, did I embarrass myself." He did not, at the time, rule out a future attempt at Karjala, nor did he rule out the possibility of another go at a TM Master Cup event.

His second attempt to make his Master Cup debut came at the season-ending Round of Decatur. Again, like Karjala, Matthews qualified poorly and had to race his way into the field. He started tenth in the pre-qualifying race and came home sixth, advancing to a main qualifying race for the first time in his (short) Cup career. Matthews started 31st in that race, but failed to advance much past there and finished in 32nd place. Fortunately for him, that was the final transfer position – meaning he would make his Cup debut in the final race of the season.

Matthews ended up starting 19th on the grid for the main event – interestingly, alongside two-time Master Cup champion Alexis Rainsford. He managed to keep his car out of trouble, and ran for a while inside the top 20 before settling back into 23rd, where he ended up finishing.

Little did he know that his effort would impact his career in ways he couldn't have imagined.

2012: The best-laid plans...
Prior to the 2011 off-season, Matthews, along with Matthews Motorsports, announced its intention to field a part-time entry in the 2012 ARLA Elite Series season. He had planned to continue his part-time run in the Vaughn Stock Car Championship as well, mentoring Tiffany's younger sister Kellan, who made her stock car debut in 2012.

Those plans changed dramatically when Majestic Motorsports called him regarding the driver opening created due to Jacques Bouvier's accident at Brazil. He was offered a full-time ride in the team's re-christened No. 11 Gasnier Spahi, which he enthusiastically accepted. Matthews looked to compete for Rookie of the Year honors alongside teammate Rene Recamier. Of all drivers confirmed to be running for Rookie of the Year in 2012, Matthews is the oldest.

He also intended to run his part-time ARLA campaign, but due to his Cup commitments he will not compete in the VSCC in 2012.

TM Master Cup
Matthews made his debut as a full-time driver at the 2012 Round of Las Vegas. He qualified poorly, rolling off 27th of 36 drivers. However, he had managed to make his way through the field, and thanks to some early attrition might have been in a position to score his first career points. But it was not to be, as the engine on his Gasnier expired around the halfway point, ending his day on a disappointing note.

"That wasn't the debut I had in mind," he said in his post-race interview. "We didn't have the best starting position, so I was just trying to pick my way through the field. I think I got up to mid-field, and was really happy with the car, and then...pfft...the engine quits. I was just so disappointed. I really hoped I'd have had a better debut for Majestic Motorsports than this, but hey, that's racing."

Matthews would fare little better at Road Atlanta, though he would complete all the laps this time. "It's frustrating, to be honest," he said. "I came in figuring we'd at least be competitive out of the gate, and we're not even that yet. We'll get there...I just hope it's sooner rather than later. At least we were running at the end this week, so I guess we're making progress."

At Carbondale, Matthews qualified tenth and hopes were high that he would finally crack the points. However, a faulty tire put him behind the 8-ball early on, but managed to hang onto the tail end of the lead lap. A Lap 66 incident involving himself, Dale Roswell, and Daniel Leckliter put to rest any ideas of breaking into the points table. "If this is somebody's idea of a joke, it isn't funny anymore," he said in post-race comments. "We finally get a decent qualifying effort in, and then the tire goes flat. We bounce back from that, work our way back up and then, bam, we're in someone else's mess (the aforementioned incident on Lap 66). I hope I get some luck for my birthday coming up, because Lord knows I could use some. This is one St. Patrick's Day weekend I'd like to forget."

European Tour: "Baby steps to prosperity!"
Unfortunately for Matthews, he didn't get that luck he was looking for at Brands Hatch. With a number of quality cars involved in shenanigans and either off the track or out of the race, the potential was there for Matthews to finally end his pointless string. A camshaft failure put that idea to bed, and again, he left a TM Master Cup race with no points. "Reliability got us again," he said. "With all the attrition, we were looking at finally cracking the points in a big way. But to have that happen...well, it's just really disappointing."

Hopes for Matthews were high coming into the Round of France, and for good reason. "That's one of the big ones for us," he said. "It's Gasnier's home race, it's the team's home race, and it's Rene's home race. I'd be tickled if we both can bring home good finishes." However, almost as soon as the checkers flew on Brands Hatch, rumors began to circulate that Matthews would be replaced by Majestic Motorsports' third driver Jacques Bouvier (a native Frenchman) for the race. However, those rumors dissipated when it was announced Bouvier would fill the No. 08 car for Power Steering, Incorporated as that car's regular driver, Anthony Griffith, was serving a suspension. With that cloud lifted from his head, Matthews could concentrate on the race itself. Though he didn't start well compared to teammate Recamier (who started fourth), Matthews managed to keep his Gasnier out of trouble and pointed in the right direction. He was rewarded with his best career finish to date: 12th, behind – ironically – Bouvier.

"Finally," he said, exiting his car with a big smile on his face. "That monkey's finally off our back. We got points! Seriously, though, we needed this one. We were in position to get points in England but the car just died on me, so I was getting a little nervous as the race wore on. I almost expected something to go wrong - a cut tire, a bad valve, anything. Thank God it didn't. Now we can concentrate on going racing and getting good finishes. Baby steps to prosperity, my friends!"

Matthews took the green in Sweden with a massive hill to climb: of the 36 cars that made up the field, he would start 32nd. Undeterred, Matthews made his way through the field, and thanks to the speed of his pit crew and errors by other crews, finished in 16th to notch his second consecutive points-paying finish after an oh-for-four start.

"I thought we were toast after qualifying," he said. "Starting 32nd in a field of 36 doesn't usually lead to good finishes, let alone finishing in the points. I have to thank the guys for putting together another great car for me this week. I said it after France, and I'll say it again now: baby steps to prosperity!"

Coming into Karjala week, Matthews was hoping for better results than his first two visits to the track – both ending in failure. Unfortunately for him, his bad luck at the fabled Karjala Raceway continued, as he finished 22nd in his qualifying race and failed to advance out of pre-qualifying for the second consecutive year.

"It stinks," he said. "We had all kinds of momentum going from the last two weeks and now it's all out the window. At least I finished the race this year, which is something. Maybe next year I'll actually make it through."

He also addressed the MCMA issue for the first time.

"I think they had a point," he said. "Look at the cars that didn't make it through - that's a huge list of full-time drivers. Delgado, Packer, Rene, hell, we could form an all-star race with the cars going home. I hope the organizers are happy with the starting grid they're going to put out there eventually, because nobody back home is going to watch this thing."

"Speaking of home, that's where I'm going," he added. "I miss my wife. I'll see y'all in Russia."

With his Karjala failure in his rear-view mirror, Matthews returned to the track in Russia and picked up where he left off with a solid top-10 qualifying effort (eighth, his best of his career). He managed to hang around the top 10 most of the race, before dropping down to 12th on the last set of pit stops.

"Drat," he said after exiting his car. "I really thought we'd crack the top 10 today, but I guess it wasn't meant to be. I shouldn't complain though...this is the third time in four races that I've gotten points. So that's a positive."

He was also impressed with the debut of new teammate Mélanie Clévenot, who replaced Recamier after Karjala.

"Wow," he said. "Melanie did a terrific job, especially considering this was the first time she's been in one of these cars. She kind of reminds me of another young female driver I met years ago. Her input has been invaluable for us. She's been a real shot in the arm for this team, and did we need one!"

Matthews wrapped up the European stretch of the season at Wales, where, despite qualifying poorly, he managed to bring his Gasnier home in 18th place – good for yet another points-paying finish.

"I'll take it," he said. "After qualifying I thought we were going to go home empty-handed. But this Gasnier got great fuel mileage all race and we were able to stop later than everyone else. That, I think, is what got us into the points. I really thought we should've done better than what we did, but hey, sometimes you have to take what you can get."

Caught in the politics?
Prior to the Round of Wales, the MCMA once again raised the provisional spot issue it raised for Karjala – but this time, for the Round of Indianapolis. Unlike at Karjala, however, the Association threatened to pull its teams from the Round of Michigan if officials didn't acquiesce – which would directly affect Matthews, along with other drivers.

And unlike before, he was less sympathetic to the organization's plight.

"I really wish they wouldn't," he said. "I've been looking forward to the short-track schedule since the beginning of the season, and be forced to sit out a race due to politics isn't just unfair to me, it's unfair to the other guys that would be caught up in this. Especially with all the rumors swirling of massive driver changes on the horizon. That's not something we need, and I hope things get ironed out. After all, we're here to race, not to bicker like siblings."

Matthews' plea fell on deaf ears, as the Association did indeed boycott the Round of Michigan, leaving him on the sidelines.

Back to business
With the Michigan debacle behind him, Matthews returned to action at the Round of Quebec, looking to continue his string of points finishes. Unfortunately for him, he was one of the victims of the buzzsaw called Chris Johaanes, as Johaanes wrecked him not even halfway through the first lap.

To say he was irate after being wrecked out was an understatement.

"The hell was that?" he yelled as he exited his crippled Gasnier after being towed back to the pit area. "Really, Chris Johaanes? Are you kidding me? That idiot was all over the place out there. He wrecks Soveral and Sykesy in the first corner, then he gets Pushanda, then he gets me, Blake, and Charlie. All in the span of one lap! Give me a (expletive) break. I can't believe he didn't get an ATP for any of that nonsense.

"He'd better get out of here quickly once the race is over," he added. "Because if I don't find him, someone else will."

At Ohio, Matthews returned to his element – short-track racing. Starting in the 11th spot, Matthews floated in and out of the top 10 for most of the race, but was running 16th at the halfway point. But with a little work and a fortuitous caution, he rallied to finish 10th – the first Top 10 of his career.

"I thought we were toast after halfway," he said. "We were down the order in 16th and I was like, 'Oh no, here we go again.' But after that first yellow, we got up to 13th, and I was thinking we had a shot at the top 10. And we got there. I'll be honest: I'd have liked to have been a little further up the table than that, but hey, it's better than where I've been finishing this season."

Matthews had plans for the Round of Quincy: he wanted to improve on his finish from Ohio. But to do that, he'd have to come from way down in the running order, as he started outside the top 20. He had made his way up through the field, at one point running second behind Tom Moore. As the laps wound down, he found himself running third, and in prime position to score his first career podium.

It was not to be, however, as with nine laps to go Luciano Soveral, who was considerably faster than Matthews, punted him into the pit lane, bringing out the final caution of the race. After the race, Matthews was understandably livid at the Brazilian.

"I am so mad I could spit nails," he said in an emotional post-race interview. "Nine laps from a podium and that happens. I knew Soveral was faster on that last run, but come on. You want to get by me? Race me clean. Don't punt me like that. I've been around too long to know you don't do something like that late in the race."

"We got screwed by a lack of patience, pure and simple," he added. "Soveral's gonna say he's happy with the win, but he shouldn't be. We worked our asses off to get up to third place and to have that happen...well, it sucks, that's for sure. No other way to put it."

Matthews did manage to take home the final available point, but, to add insult to injury, he was penalized for an earlier run-in with Anthony Griffith, meaning he would start at the rear of the field at the 2012 Round of Wisconsin.

ARLA Elite Series
Matthews made his ARLA debut at the 2012 Carbondale Duels, marking the first time in 2012 that he and Tiffany would race in the same event. Unfortunately, he would be caught in a Lap 1 incident caused – ironically – by an engine failure on Tiffany's car. Bigsby Foote rear-ended Matthews as the cars accordioned behind the crippled No. 116 car, sending his No. 106 I.W. Eagle Lenard tail-first into the wall. He continued on in the race, but his own engine would give out on Lap 32. "That wasn't how we drew it up, obviously," he said. "The engine shop is going to have a lot to answer for. I mean, heck, we go two full races with no problems and then we can't have an engine go 500 feet? Well, the good news is we weren't the only ones with issues. It just stinks for everybody."

Matthews returned to action at the Smash Beer 400 at Lone Star Supercell, where he redeemed himself from his Carbondale performance by working his way through the field and finished fourth – his first career top-five finish in the Elite Series.

"That was fun," he said. "I really felt the car was coming to me in the late stages of that last run. I just wish we had about 10 or so more laps...I might have had something for Porteau and those guys. But after Carbondale I'll take this run. Something to build on for Iowa."

Personal life

 * Married wife Tiffany in 2007. They live in Bristol, Connecticut, near the Matthews Motorsports race shop. They have no children.
 * Has admitted to having an unhealthy addition to the video game Angry Birds. He has been known to play it on his iPad in between on-track sessions.
 * Has become good friends with Packer Carroll.