MARTINSVILLE, Va., March 29, 2018 (Newswire.com) – Tyler Matthews made his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Debut for MDM Motorsports in the No. 99 Popeyes/BB&T Scott & Stringfellow Chevrolet Saturday, racing in the Alpha Energy Solutions 250. The rookie driver started 14 and finished 21, persevering through a couple of different incidents during the race and learning a lot from experience.
Matthews, 21, remained upbeat after the race, focusing on the long-term picture. “This was obviously not the finish we wanted, but you’ll have that. Martinsville is fun because it’s a short track, but it gets crowded out there, and sometimes you’re just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I learned a lot today. Everyone at MDM Motorsports worked hard and brought a fast truck here. We qualified well for our first time, but it took me until almost the end of stage one to feel like I knew what I needed to do to be fast in the race. I just wish we’d been able to stay out of trouble and I could have shown what I learned throughout the remainder of the race with a clean truck. I am looking forward to Iowa and the opportunity to keep learning and growing at this level.”
Crew Chief Huffman echoed Matthews’ thoughts about the half-mile track. “Martinsville is a tough little place to get around and staying out of other people’s messes is always key. Anyone who has ever raced here knows how difficult that can be at times. We weren’t able to do that this weekend, but Tyler showed he has speed and that’s a real positive going to Iowa.”
Matthews has progressed from cutting his teeth in ATV’s and U-Cars to earning NASCAR Whelen All-American Series North Carolina State Rookie of the Year honors in 2015. He won the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series North Carolina state championship in 2016 and the late model track championship at Swansboro, North Carolina’s Carteret County Speedway in 2017.
Additional information about MDM Motorsports is available at www.MDMmotorsports.com, find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @MDMmotorsports.
