Matt Forbes - ready to rock in his new roadster

Drag racing isn’t a hobby and it certainly isn’t a past time. For many hard core fans and racers it’s not even a sport. It’s so much more than that.

For many it’s a way of life. From the minute you’re exposed to the sights, smells and sounds of drag racing you’re hooked. It’s gets in your bones and has an influence over many aspects of your life.

Ballarat born and bred, local sportsman racer Matt Forbes was bitten by the drag racing bug 30 years ago and it still plays a big part in both his personal and business life today.

Matt explains. “I don’t think I ever stood a chance of not being passionate about cars in some form. I was born into a family that had heavy involvement in hot rodding and muscle cars. However, strangely enough participating in drag racing was never on the agenda.”

“Around 1982 when I was 8, my parents had taken the family on a holiday to Surfers Paradise. My older brother and I wanted to see some cars so my father and uncle took us to Surfers Paradise International Raceway for a drag racing meeting....for me it was all over from there!”, laughed Matt.

Shortly after that first taste of drag racing, Matt started his own paper round so he could afford to buy copies of the newspaper edition of Dragster Australia, which became his most prized possessions.

As soon as Matt could legally drive he purchased a big block 1969 Camaro and then a street registered LJ Torana with a 350, powerglide and 9”. It ran 11.15 at Calder Park Raceway and he raced the LJ in ANDRA Super Street competition for 3 years prior to moving into Super Gas.

Hot rodding heritage

A statue of Wally Parks, founder of the NHRAWith a family heavily involved in cars and afternoons spent poring over drag racing and hot rod magazines, it’s no wonder Matt has a fascination and passion for cars from a bygone era .

“I’ve always loved the history of the sport and how Wally Parks, through the hot rodding movement, formed the NHRA and made drag racing a legitimate sport”, said Matt.

“Drag Racing’s foundation was the guys in the 30’s and 40’s, tearing around Southern California in Hot Rods, then onto the dry lakes and in the 50’s onto asphalt.”

Matt’s family has always had hot rods and muscle cars and always will. Currently the collection includes a steel 1934 3 window Ford and a high performance corvette owned by his dad, his brother has a 1936 Ford Roadster and a 69 440 RT Charger.

Matt has just sold a 1932 Ford roadster and completed a concourse restoration on a 1969 Z28 Camaro. Matt’s garage consistently has GT Falcons, Torana’s, early Camaro’s and drag cars coming and going.

Living the dream

Over the last few years Matt has made a number of trips to the USA, the home of drag racing. During these trips he has formed some great friendships and visited many hot rod shops and race tracks and has also been invited into the homes of some terrific racers.

On the last trip, explains Matt, “I managed to do something that I had dreamed of for a long time and that was to take a car down the track in the USA. A good friend of mine towed an 8 second full chassis 68 Camaro to Irwindale Raceway and we were able to do exhibition passes. That was a blast and something I want to do again next year, hopefully in competition.”

With a fair amount of time spent in the states and the friendships developed with the local racers, it’s no wonder Matt‘s main influences come from some of the top sportsman racers in the US.

“The racers I am most influenced by are the sportsman guys. Don’t get me wrong, I love what the Pro’s are doing, however I just thrive on what the sportsman racer brings to drag racing. Guys like Luke Bogacki, Dan Fletcher, Peter Biondo, Edmond and Scotty Richardson, Tommy Phillips, Chip Rumis, The Emmons Brothers, Brad Plourd, Troy Coughlin Jr, Jeg Coughlin and Shane Carr just to name a few.”

Let’s go racing

With Matt’s 3 girls all a little older and with the thrill of travelling to the US, it was the right time to start thinking about getting back into the local drag racing scene.

“I purchased my current car in the USA a couple of years ago. For a long time I wanted to combine my passion for drag racing and hot rodding and by far the best Super Gas car I could purchase that would fulfil my requirements was a Don Davis Race Cars (Texas) 27 roadster. The DDRC Super Gas cars are amongst the best bracket cars going around, they have incredible round win % and feature in many, many Super Gas final rounds", said Matt.

When the barely used roadster landed in Australia it was stripped to the bare chassis and Matt installed a new motor, transmission, pipes, wiring and plumbing etc.

With a new red and yellow flame paint job, the very first test pass was at Calder Park Raceway in 2011 and it ran 9.92 @ 149 off the trailer in Super Gas trim. It’s capable of 8.50’s flat out with the throttle stop switched off.

Matt recalls, “This is by far the best race car I have driven, it reacts quickly, drives great and responds positively to any changes we make. We have made 50 or so passes in the roadster and it works well, whether it be Super Gas or DYO. We are really looking forward to putting some more laps on it and improving this season.”

Why Super Gas?

Super Gas is often referred to as junior pro-stock and is the only sportsman category of racing to use a pro tree. It runs on a fixed index of 9.90 seconds and if you run any quicker than this you lose.

“Sportsman racing, in particular Super Gas has always held a major appeal to me as I love the Pro Tree start, the racing is super close, the challenge of running dead on, game planning and creating different racing strategies, costs are somewhat contained and the class is just full of terrific people and some great characters”, said Matt.

At his first Super Gas meeting in 1999, he was sharing a garage at Calder Park with Stephen Crook (Mr. Super Gas) and he offered Matt some great advice. At Matt’s second meeting he went to Adelaide and Colin Griffin gave him whooping in the first round.

“When we got back to the pits Colin came over for a chat and gave me some tips on where I could improve. For a younger (at the time) guy coming into a very competitive class, people like this make a big difference. The Super Gas family I guess you could call it, welcome people in and will help newcomers to the class, not to mention a breeding ground for Pro Stock racers Lee Bektash and Dave Newcombe. “

For the 2012/13 season Matt will compete in the Southern Super Gas series and also enter the RARS rounds in Vic, NSW and SA. This will take the team to Adelaide, Portland, Mildura, Heathcote and Sydney.

You will also see them racing at some of the ‘Slamfest’ meetings which are brilliant regional meetings. “The crowds are great and really get into the on track action. We will do quite a few meetings this season as well as many car shows. This provides our sponsors with greater exposure and also allows us to retail our sponsor’s product.”

Matt and the team intend to stay in Super Gas for the foreseeable future. However, they are always looking at ways to improve the program and provide their sponsors with more exposure.

“If Top Sportsman becomes a reality here we could possibly head down that path”, said Matt.

Exciting times ahead

So Matt Forbes is back doing what he loves doing best, racing down the drag strip against some of the best competitors in the country.

Along for the exciting ride is the new major sponsor Lucas Oil Products, who are joining the team for the upcoming season.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.“I would like to take the opportunity to thank our team and sponsors. We are so proud to announce Lucas Oil Products as our major sponsor. To be a part of the Lucas Oil team is very special for us as their products are second to none. “

“We have used Lucas Oil for many years and are a stockist of their products. To be a part of the team and represent them is a real honour. Their commitment to motorsport and producing innovative products is so impressive. I must thank Jeff Pahlke and Tom Bogner for their support and commitment.”

”I’ve been fortunate enough to work with the Lucas Oil team in Australia and visit them in the USA and they’re a big family, just really wonderful people. We have some really neat things planned for the future.”

“We would also like to thank Fast Time Design performance transmissions for a bulletproof powerglide transmission and Steve Williams at K&N Filters for air filters and oil filters that are second to none. K&N Filters have a terrific Sportsman program and really get behind drag racing. Please show your support to these companies as they are always giving back to drag racing at many levels and that is a great thing.”

“All of this is not possible without a dedicated team of people including my long time crew chief Les Waight, crew Paul Sheppard and John McDonald, Paul Rogers Snr for his advice and of course my supportive family.”