Memphis Win Propels Matlock to MWPMS X275 Championship|

With son Cory calling the shots on his turbocharged '92 Mustang, Randy Matlock won the 2022 Meridian Racing Equipment Mid-West Pro Mod Series (MWPMS) X275 championship.

"We've won several races in unlike classes before, but this is our first big championship," the Wentzville, MO-based driver said. "Then it was especially gratifying to do it as begetter and son, a lot of fun."

After scoring his lone Mid-West Series race win at Memphis in September, Matlock, threescore, took over the points lead from Kenny Hubbard and his Procharger-equipped '74 Nova, so followed upwards with a runner-up finish to seal the deal a month subsequently at the MWPMS World Finals in Tulsa.

"To exist quite honest we weren't actually chasing the championship this yr," Matlock admitted. "Nosotros even missed a couple of races, merely the car was just running and so well that when we did go nosotros did pretty well."

He recalled 28-twelvemonth-one-time Cory calling soon before the Memphis event to point out they were sitting 2nd in points and and so discussing whether the Matlock team should make a run for the season championship.

"He said, 'Let'due south just get see if we tin win the championship,' so we kind of laid out what nosotros needed to practise for that to happen," Matlock said. "So nosotros were fortunate enough to win in Memphis and when we got to Tulsa there were probably 10 or 12 different scenarios that could have happened, just realistically it basically was really between just us and a couple of cars."

With Hubbard non attending due to business organization and other racing obligations, the door swung wide open up for Matlock to seal the title deal.

"The guy who was third, he was in that location and he qualified well, merely everything would've had to have been perfect for him to win. Even so, he had a gamble, just when we ended as number-1 qualifier I think that pretty much wrapped it up," Matlock said.

His day continued to the semi-finals, but a win there came at the toll of a cleaved lifter.

"We did go information technology put back together, but we also realized that we had some pretty serious internal bug," Matlock admitted. "So I just told Dave (Pierce), nosotros weren't even going to stage and that he should just become up there and enjoy his first win in the serial.

"But at starting time I told my son, 'Let's take it upwardly there. I think it'll make the pass.' Merely Cory told me, 'I don't know, I don't call back I'd practise it,' and he really talked me out of information technology. After we got back and got the motor out of the car it was obvious who made the right call. We would've actually injure some stuff."

Matlock's Mustang was put together past Beilman Fabrication in Wentzville, with owner Mark Beilman attending most races with Matlock to aid with chassis tuning. Up front the car carries a Pattern Performance-built 436 c.i. LS engine boosted by a single 88-mm turbocharger and featuring ComSync EFI by Ryan Micke at Mick'southward Functioning.

Sending the power back to the Mickey Thompson Pro X275 tires is an M&M 2-speed Turbo 400 outfitted with a 10-inch Coan converter mated to a Strange Applied science rear end and axles. Matlock besides emphasizes O'Fallon Business firm of Quality, a commercial rental property visitor, is a major backer and part possessor of his car.

"I want to thank everyone who helped make this happen, but my son about of all for getting us out at that place. I also need to thank my wife, we merely historic our 40th wedding ceremony, and I have a daughter and two piddling 1000 babies, a ix-month onetime granddaughter and a four-year-old daughter who just loves this," Matlock said. "She calls me Pappy and helps me work on the machine in the shop, merely every once in a while you gotta' end and get play Barbies with her for a little while. She makes it fun."

The Summit Racing Equipment Mid-West Pro Mod Serial will open up its 2022 season Mar. 27-28, at the Texas Motorplex. Throughout an viii-race schedule information technology also will visit Bowling Green, KY; Tulsa (twice); St. Louis (twice), Ferris, TX; and for the first time Martin, MI, for a special double points race in September.