DAVEY MATTHEWS: THE BEST OF WHAT'S AROUND
In the Title Hunt at Both Lowe's and Atlanta, This Georgian Is Hot
by Tommy Kinsella
Every summer, the Dave Matthews Band, one of the most popular rock bands in recent history, will tour to sold-out crowds throughout the world. They’ll play their mellow-yet-upbeat tunes to a fanbase ranging from college kids to grandparents.
Someone who wasn’t even born until a full year after DMB’s first major hit record will also be touring the Southeast and performing in front of his own group of loyal fans. He might have a similar name as the singing Dave Matthews, but this 11-year-old has been making sweet music of his own in Bandolero events throughout the Southeast this season.
In just his first season behind the wheel of a Bandolero in the Bandits Division, Douglasville, Georgia native Davey Matthews has been tearing up racetracks everywhere, earning him the distinction of being the hottest Bando driver in the Southeast so far this year. He’s won four times in nine events during the Atlanta Motor Speedway Thursday Thunder program. He’s won at Kentucky Speedway, Music City Motorplex (TN) and OCR Action Park (NC).
But there’s just one track on his list that is left on “Super Davey’s” win list – Lowe’s Motor Speedway. With three second-place finishes this year, Matthews has knocked on the door to victory lane, but he hasn’t made it in just yet.
Matthews has two more chances for a Summer Shootout victory in the final two weeks, but even if the young star doesn’t take a Shootout win this year, it doesn’t mean that his season is any less impressive.
While Dave Mathews may be a millionaire singer with even more millions worth of fans around the world, 11-year-old Davey Matthews, a part of the BDI Racing development program, hopes to have the same perks a few years down the road. There may not be a family relation between the two stars, there are a few of the singer’s famous lines that tell young Davey Matthews' story to where he is now as the hottest Bandolero driver around.
“To change the world, start with one step. However small, the first step is hardest of all.” – You Might…
Bandolero racing, like its big-brother Legends Car ranks, is full of young drivers with famous last names. The only difference is, Matthews’ name association with the singer is only a coincidence. He doesn’t have a dad who is a former racer; no brothers or cousins who are working up the racing ladder currently. “Super Davey” is a fan-turned-racer who has turned into quite a good little driver. The stats back it up, with numerous heat wins and double-digit feature victories on the season at tracks throughout the Southeast.
“At the beginning of the year, we were thinking that we might take a break from racing because I wasn’t doing that good,” said Matthews. “But then we went to Atlanta for the Thursday Thunder and it just popped into my head. I just got it and I started doing good ever since. We’ve had a real good first season in Bandoleros now.”
Matthews entered into the season just wanting to gain experience in Bandoleros, but because he was a winner in every car he had ever sat in before this season, winning was what this kid knew best.
“My goal was to maybe win one or two races and just do good, be consistent and get the hang of it. I think I’ve got the hang of it now.
“It’s really cool because it’s my first season and I’m racing against some guys that have been racing Bandos at these tracks for four or five years. They’re all good and to come out and run good against them is pretty cool.”
“Turns out not where, but who you're with that really matters.” – Best of What’s Around
Davey Matthews always has a good time, but he's focused once he gets strapped into his #41 Bandit.
Matthews is not just running good against the best of the best in the Bandolero ranks – he’s frequently beating them. All of the success this season has earned him fans, something that not many 11-year-olds can boast.
“My first Bandolero race was in Atlanta and I think I got ninth out of 15. We get a lot of exposure and I have some fans now. I saw some people the other week in Atlanta in the grandstands that had a sign that said “Go #41.” It’s just a really cool feeling having fans now.”
Matthews certainly has been giving those new fans of “Super Davey” something to cheer about this year. With four wins in the first eight weeks of the Thursday Thunder at Atlanta and threes runner-ups at Lowe’s this Summer Shootout season, Matthews is hot.
“Before the Thursday Thunder started, my best finish at Atlanta was fifth. Then the first week of the Thursday Thunder I got fourth and then the next week I got sixth and then the next week I won. I just thought ‘oh my gosh, this is so cool.’ Then we just kept winning and kept winning.”
"Super Davey" is a four-time winner at Atlanta Motor Speedway this season. (DaveyMatthews.com Photo)
But of course, there is that one thing that continues to eat at young Davey. He’s been so close to victory at Lowe’s Motor Speedway so far this summer, but he hasn’t been able to get that elusive first win at the quarter-mile.
“I want to win at Lowe’s so bad,” said Matthews. “I’ve got three seconds and we’ve been really good. Two of the three times I’ve gotten second, they’ve done a green-white-checkered and not told us on the RACEceiver. I get so mad when they do that. At Atlanta, if they’re going to do a green-white-checkered, they’ll at least tell you, but they don’t at Lowe’s. It just makes me made because I might have raced different.”
“Celebrate we will, for life is short but sweet for certain.” - Two Step
Matthews’ most recent second-place finish came this past Tuesday at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. He finished fourth Thursday night in Atlanta
and now sits in position for championships in both the Summer Shootout at Lowe’s and the Thursday Thunder in Atlanta. Two track championships in the two biggest Bandolero series in the country would make for a career summer for Matthews.
“They are two different racetracks. They’re pretty much total opposites, but I’ve got both tracks pretty much down now, so that makes it really cool to be able to win two championships.
“Just before the Summer Shootout started, my grandpa died. If I won any of the championships, I’d dedicate it to him. It’s just been a real tough year. At the beginning of the year, I really didn’t have it. We were struggling a lot. Then when the Thursday Thunder started, it just clicked and I started doing good.”
Matthews has been doing so good, in fact, that he is also near the top of the Bandolero National points, currently 11th. The National Title wasn’t even on Matthews’ radar at the start of the season, but with success at Lowe’s, Atlanta, Kentucky, Nashville and beyond have got the Matthews family thinking National title.
Matthews is always having a good time, whether in the car or with his friends in the garage.
“We’re thinking about winning everything now,” said Matthews. “We want to win the Nationals in August, we want to win the National Championship, we want to win the Georgia Championship and the Championships at Atlanta and Lowe’s. We’re going for it all.”
Take what you can from your dreams, make them real as anything." – Grey Street
With the victories, the podium finishes and the hunt for championships coming about all in Matthews’ first season in a Bandolero, the 11-year-old is already thinking about the future.
“I want to go to a Legends Car next. Then I want to get a Late Model, but I know I’m going to have to do real good in that because I want to get a ride. I know it costs a lot of money to get any further than that. I want to go to ARCA or Busch East or something, then I want to go to Trucks after that and try to make it all the way to the top dog.”
Whether or not Matthews makes it to Cup or not, he will always have that trademark smile on his face that he hasn’t shed since his first taste of success in a Bandolero earlier this year.
"It’s more fun when you win, but I know you’ve just got to be happy with what you’ve been blessed with. We know I’m still out here to get experience. When we were in the Midgets, there would be people who would get so mad and do all this stuff. That’s not what it’s about for me. I just like to have fun.”
Davey Matthews has been the hottest Bandolero driver in all the Southeast this season (LN Photos)
