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Nancy Matter attended her first race at the fabled
San Fernando Raceway at the tender age of three. While
growing up in the Southern California hotbed of drag
racing, she spent countless weekends bracket racing
with her mom, and traveled to numerous NHRA National
and Divisional events with her step-dad. To say the
hook was set in her young, impressionable mind during
these years would be an understatement. Her strong desire
to further her involvement in drag racing landed the
youngster a summer job at NHRA, where she met and knew
"everyone." Nancy's first hands-on Funny Car
experience came when she met Lou and Vicki Gasparrelli,
and she crewed with their competitive Alcohol Funny
Car team throughout her teenage years.
Nancy stepped away from racing in the mid-80s to raise
her two children, Ryan and Jamie, and also developed
a career in the music industry. In 1998 Nancy founded
Moonlight Mastering, a successful music studio, earning
upwards of 35 gold and platinum recordings together
with mega-superstars such as Peter Gabriel, The Who,
Ray Charles, Genesis, and Run DMC, just to name a few.
She always kept her fundamental goal in mind however,
to own and drive a competitive racecar.
After completing her licensing at the Frank Hawley School
of Drag Racing Nancy began competing in a Super Comp
dragster. Nancy knew from the very beginning that she
was destined to race a Funny Car, but realized that
driving a dragster would earn her some very valuable
experience. During three years of competitive Super
Comp racing she also crewed on John Patton's "Foolish
Money" Funny Car team, skillfully absorbing as
much specialized knowledge as she could.
When Nancy sold her dragster, she buried herself in
the studio for more than 18 months, churning out hundreds
of albums. Her absence from the scene left fellow racers
concerned, but Nancy assured them that she would return;
"only this time it would be in a flopper."
In 2005, Nancy bought a turnkey 2002 Camaro Funny Car
built by chassis builder Bob Massey. The car had only
30 laps on it, and all the components were brand new.
She earned her Top Alcohol Funny Car license at the
beginning of the 2006 season, and is now in a career
transition while focusing all of her energy towards
a career as a full-time professional drag racer. What's
her ultimate goal? Driving a Nitro Funny Car –
of course!
Racing Accomplishments:
Frank Hawley School of Drag Racing Graduate
Quarter Final Finishes in Super Comp at select events.
Lucas Oil Division 4 Top 10 2006-2007.
2006 NHRA Standings -61st out of 122
2007 NHRA Standings -41st out of 115
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