Matt Hutter

By Nikki Gonzales
August 25, 2000 - Have you ever started rooting for a driver and following his progress, only for him, occasionally her, to lose their ride? Then all of a sudden it is as if a large black hole opened up somewhere and swallowed your favorite driver, sucking them off the face of the earth. Never to be heard from again until they land a ride, or until they do something to grab local media attention.

With the fast pace NASCAR keeps, it’s often hard to keep up with changing names and faces. Then add in silly season and one can loose track of a driver for quite a while. Okay, maybe the black hole theory is a bit extreme but has anyone heard much about Tyler Walker? Damon Lusk? Brad Loney? Granted each has their die-hard fans but they haven’t made a big splash on the Busch circuit for a while now.

Remember Matt Hutter, who shared driving responsibilities with Kevin LePage for a third car team for Brewco Motorsports?

Last April at Fontana, I ran into Hutter and he was working as a pit crew member for Randy Lajoie. “Randy is an excellent driver. He works traffic as well as anybody, and he’ll take the car to the front if its right,” explains Matt.

Currently Matt is racing in the ARCA Bondo/Mar Hyde series for Phoenix racing. “I would love to go back Busch racing, but it would need to be the right situation. I’m having a blast with this team,” says Hutter.

The ARCA series has seen various faces over its history. First-time series winners from 1992-99, includes David Green, Darrell Waltrip, Loy Allen Jr., Tim Steele, Jeff Purvis, Jeremy Mayfield, Gary Bradberry, Mike Wallace, Andy Hillenburg, Joe Bessey, Kenny Irwin, Adam Petty, Mike Swaim Jr., Blaise Alexander, and Ron Hornaday, among others.

This season Kerry Earnhardt, Steele, Shawna Robinson, Dan Pardus, Bob Strait, Morgan Shepard, Ryan Newman, Lusk, Swaim, and occasionally Lyndon Amick can be found racing in the Bondo/Mar Hyde series.

Hutter faces some tough competition. Out of four starts this season, Matt has one top ten. “We’ve had a terribly unlucky season. We’ve run well almost everywhere, but I’m starting to think somebody’s got a voodoo doll somewhere.”

Looking for a ride can sometimes be a Catch 22, since publicity plays a large part. Without a ride, it’s hard to show off your talents, yet if you have a ride then you probably aren’t looking for another. Is it harder to find a ride not having a ride? “I would say only if not having a ride causes you to be away from the track,” answers Hutter.

So how large is the pool of open rides? “Depends on when you are looking, what kind of money you can bring, etc. Having a sponsor with you will make the pool quite a bit bigger,” replies Matt. “The greater the competition, the better. Intense competition is what makes you better.”

There are so many factors for a driver to consider when choosing a ride. For example, location. “It’s more difficult to race down here because most of the industry is in Charlotte. It can take longer to get parts and get things done because of the travel time. Fortunately, our crew chief, Marc Reno, is incredibly organized and keeps things moving along,” states Matt.

For any driver worth his salt, there are certain requirements an owner must meet. So what does a driver look for in a team owner? Matt says, “Someone who is a racer and understands the ups and downs of racing as well as what it takes to run well.”

If being a BGN driver is often a five day a week job, what about the crew members? “The time and effort required behind the scenes to get the cars ready for the track in one thing lots of people don’t consider. The preparations of these cars is definitely a more time consuming process than anything to do with driving,” states Matt.

For Matt there is “nothing more exciting than driving a race car. I can do almost anything on a race car. It’s really how I make my living. The driving is more of a bonus right now.” This season look for Matt to continue to race on the ARCA circuit. As for next season, Matt hopes to continue with Phoenix racing, and “hopefully add a few more BGN races, but that remains to be seen.”

Well that’s it for this report. Until next time race fans, take car and remember Safety First!

Nikki

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