
Tyler Matthews is hoping momentum from a runner-up finish last month in the Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour can propel him to victory lane in Sunday’s Old North State Nationals at Orange County Speedway in Rougemont, North Carolina.
Matthews’ second place finish to two-time CARS Tour champion Bobby McCarty was the Richlands, North Carolina driver’s best finish in the series – and one of the closest finishes in series history at 0.025 seconds between the top-two. That finish has given he and the Hawk McCall Motorsports team, which is led by five-time NASCAR Cup Series winning crew chief Lee McCall, a boost of confidence heading into the CARS Tour’s richest race of the season.
“Hickory was definitely a confidence booster,” Matthews told Short Track Scene. “Anytime you are there at the end of the race, you have a shot to win. I think, as long as we make positive gains on the car like we did all weekend at Hickory, we’ll be in a good place to race for the win.”
Prior to the runner-up at Hickory, Matthews’ best finish was a seventh at both Carteret County Speedway, where he won the 2017 track championship, and at Orange County. In three previous starts at Orange County, Matthews has two top-10 finishes and has finished no worse than 14th.
“Orange County has been one of my best tracks in the past,” Matthews reiterated. “Hopefully that streak continues. I really like Orange County.”
Matthews has been a presence in Late Model Stock Car racing since 2014 and has racked up plenty of accolades, including two track championships (Southern National Motorsports Park – 2016, Carteret County Speedway – 2017) and the 2017 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series North Carolina state championship.
Despite that success in Eastern North Carolina, Matthews’ family-run team in Richlands was not able to duplicate that success against the higher-budget teams in the CARS Late Model Stock Tour. After running a race for Hawk McCall Motorsports at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in South Carolina toward the end of the 2020 season, Matthews decided to team up with McCall in 2021.
“It was a great feeling putting the whole weekend together,” Matthews said. “We have struggled the past few seasons running the tour, and felt like it was time to do something different, so we got with Lee McCall and put a deal together to run some of these big Late Model Stock Car races. He has brought fast race cars every weekend. We had a really good car at Florence for the Icebreaker but I put us behind in qualifying and was not able to make up for it. So, I felt good going into Hickory. When we qualified fifth, I knew we had a car to go race for a win. This weekend will be more of the same.”
This time, people are aware of Matthews’ presence and his ability.
“It’s going to be a little bit tougher now to fly under the radar,” Matthews continued. “When you start showing speed, people start paying attention. We’ll just go out there and run out own race and maybe come up one spot better.”
In recent years, Matthews has made a handful of starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Despite that taste of the majors, a win on Sunday in the $30,000-to-win Old North State Nationals would count as the highlight of Matthews’ career.
“It would be the biggest win of my career,” Matthews said. “Late Model Stock Car racing is the most competitive racing there is. The field is tight throughout and it’s a dog fight for every position. You can’t ask for a more talented group of drivers.”
The list of talented drivers who will compete on Sunday includes defending series champion Jared Fryar, two-time series champion Bobby McCarty, hometown driver Layne Riggs, Super Late Model standouts Bubba Pollard and Stephen Nasse, and recent NASCAR Xfinity Series winner Josh Berry.
That win by Berry at Martinsville Speedway was celebrated throughout short track racing as a grassroots racer’s triumph – and Matthews was one of the Late Model Stock Car drivers who enjoyed the moment.
“That was awesome to see,” Matthews remarked. “I don’t know if it will really open any doors. Hopefully, it will open more eyes and show that the current model is broken. I would say Late Model Stock Car racing is more competitive, but Josh won that race too. He is really good there.”
For his part, Matthews is focused on chasing victory in the Solid Rock Carriers CARS Tour.
Sunday’s Old North State Nationals will take place around 3 pm and will be streamed live on the CARSTour.TV subscription streaming service.
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Marquis comes from St. Charles, Maryland and has a widespread background in journalism, having covered politics in Washington and Maryland as well as nearly every form of auto racing, including NASCAR, IndyCar, AMA Motocross and IHRA Drag Racing. Now living near Emerald Isle, North Carolina, Marquis covers Late Model Stock Cars and Super Late Models in the Carolinas and Virginia.


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