Mattias McCallister

Mattias David McCallister (Born October 30, 1980) is one dude that really loves to race from Vancouver, British Columbia. He is currently the reserve driver for the #55 Team Quest car in the ARLA Elite Series and drives the #37 Team Quest car in TM Lights. He has no relation at all to former TM Master Cup driver and McCallister Motorsports owner Garth McCallister, Sr. or his son, Garth McCallister, Jr.

Early Life

McCallister was born and raised in Vancouver by his parents, Roger McCallister, a Canadian former pro hockey player, and Hana Nielsen, a Swedish supermodel. McCallister gained an interest in racing at age 5. The next year, his parents would buy him a go-kart and enter him into the 8 and under British Columbia go-karting division. He would have a rough 1st year, as he often collided into barriers and finished a lap or two off the pace. During the offseason, he got some training from his uncle, Sven Nielsen, a legend in Swedish touring cars. The next year, with some training in experience under his belt, McCallister won 3 races, finished 4th in the points, and won the Most Improved Driver award. He would win the chamionship the following year, his last in the 8 and under division. It would be the 1st of many racing championships for McCallister, as he would notch 24 more in various Canadian racing leagues (I'd tell you about them, but they're non-canon series so no one would really care).

"Addiction" to Racing

Many of the people who know McCallister best say that he loves racing to the point where it seems as if he's addicted to it. He's been banned from playing racing games at several arcades in Canada for constantly hogging all the racing games and beating everyone mercilessly on them. He would sometimes even hide in the bathroom during closing hours and sleep there overnight just so that he'd be the first one on the racing game. In 2006, he was arrested for Trespassing when the owner of an arcade saw him sleeping in the bathroom via security cameras that the owner had access to via his home PC and immediately called the cops. Since it was concluded that he wasn't trying to rob the arcade, McCallister was sentenced to 100 hours of community service and to never return to that specific arcade... ever. He once was logged on to a racing simulation site for 72 hours straight. He's also been known to try to compete in 2, 3, or even 4 different racing leagues at once.

ARLA and TM Lights

McCallister was originally signed by Team Quest owner Gregory Alexander to drive the 2nd part time entry for the team in the ARLA Elite Series and be Alexander's mentor. McCallister would immediately be under controversy not of his own doing, thanks to the "TM Canadagate" scandal in which a rogue news reporter by the name of Chad Maddox had purposely sabotaged McCallister's backstory as a way to get back at his news station for allegedly cheating him out on the terms of his contract. The plans of McCallister running in ARLA would have to be scrapped due to time constraints, and he would have to settle for being the reserve driver for Alexander's car. Wanting to do something other than sitting around all year, McCallister adressed the idea of running in TM Lights. The team decided to go through with that plan.

Social Following

McCallister has approximately 2,000 followers on Twitter @RealMattyMac, and has been known to sneak his phone into the car and tweet during yellow and red flags. Besides his usual nickname Matty Mac, he also has gotten the nickname The Rain Man for driving exceptionally well in rainy weather, and is an advocate for running races in the rain. He says that running in poor conditions tests a driver's true skill behind the wheel. He also frequently expresses his idolization of Marcos Leonard and hopes to someday race against him in TM Master Cup. Being fluent in both English and Swedish, McCallister sometimes posts his tweets in Swedish (usually when he's angry, which rarely happens).

Driving Style

McCallister has a smooth and patient driving style. He's often known for playing mind games with opponents, either pulling up right behind them and staying there until they make a mistake or back off for a little then pull right back up to them again. When under attack, he'll give up the position rather easily early on and save his stuff for later in the run, but late in the race he'll try to prevent drivers from passing at all costs, but only if the situation calls for it. Unlike his team owner Alexander, McCallister never tries to commit on-track retaliation, as he doesn't want to risk taking out "innocent bystanders" in the process. He usually saves any retaliation for off the track.