4/25/2025
Bloomington Speedway
Justin Mathews: Striking a Balance
If you speak to any driver or crew chief about the performance of their racecar one surmises that finding the right balance is the elusive, but much sought after goal. It is an endless quest marked by much trial and error. Evidence abounds that the racing life can become all-consuming. It has an addictive quality with all the ramifications of that term very much in play.
It seems Justin Mathews has found balance in the places where it matters most of all. He’s a family man who devotes a great deal of time to a job that he finds enjoyable and meaningful. Does he love to race too? Yes, and he spends time reading, watching videos, and seeking advice in order to improve. He jumped into the game at a relatively late stage in his life, at least by today’s standards, and that alone may have provided some important perspective. Racing was never going to be his primary occupation – and that’s okay. It means he won’t waste time running down a blind alley or allow his head to wander too long in the clouds. Rest assured, he still takes the sport seriously and the mission every time he hits the track is to win.
Unlike many of his peers Justin did not spend years behind the wheel as a youth. His father Eddie helped Roger Kinser from time to time and occasionally tooled around in a kart. The family would occasionally travel to West Boggs Park in Loogootee and watch Bookie Howe whose son Winston was a regular at Bloomington Speedway for years. At home racing was always on the television, and the family would take in the major races at Bloomington Speedway.
If there was a true racer in his family, it was his great uncle Will Mathews. There is one catch. Will’s glory days came in an airplane, although he did help a Bloomington Speedway legend. “He did work with Cecil Beavers.” Justin says, “but he eventually competed in the Reno Air Races.” In daily life he worked at International Truck and Engine as a mechanical engineer who was ecstatic to have him on their team. Mathews was a graduate of the General Motors Institute and at the time of his passing he held 24 different patents. In 2002 he showed up at Reno with a White Lightning airplane he christened Moonshine. The craft was equipped with a homemade supercharger he had built in a barn. Some snickered, but the smirk on their face was washed clean when Mathews finished at the top of the Sport Class heap with an average speed of 267.425 mph.
One early influence on Justin’s future racing career was his cousin Cody Workman. When Workman started racing karts Mathews’ interest was piqued. He had started working at the age of fourteen, and with a little cash in his pocket he decided it was time to get a kart of this own. “I ended up buying a kart in 2008,” he says, “I ran a couple of races at Bakersfield (Linton, Indiana) and at the Monroe County Fair. I really didn’t have any luck; in fact, I can’t even remember how we did. That’s how I know we didn’t have any success at it.”
It would also be fair to suggest that his father was less than enthusiastic about this entire enterprise. “My dad told me that as soon as I got my driver's license, I would lose interest,” he says, “and he was right. As soon as I got my license when Friday and Saturday rolled around, I wanted to be with my friends.” He graduated from Bloomington North High School in 2011 and was anxious to get earn a real paycheck.
At this point nothing suggested that he would ever try to compete again. Life was going well. He was working at Meadowood, an adult living community, and began dating an Indiana University Recreational Therapy major named Kassady Parrott. Then in 2017 Mathews and his good friend Jake Bland decided to purchase racing simulators. There would soon be a change in plans. “Jake was already racing,” he says, “and I thought man that would be fun to get in one of those cars. Jake told me his dad Bo would help me with anything I needed to know. Then Jake and Bo started sending me ads of 305 sprint cars that were for sale. It could be a car in Texas, it really didn’t matter where it was.”
It turns out to get the car that fit his needs perfectly did not require a long journey. “Bo knew that Damon Fortune was going to sell his car,” he recalls, “and he told me that it was good equipment, he’s local, and a straight shooter.” The deal was completed in August 2019. At least that was true in theory. “Damon wanted to race the car one more time,” he recalls, “and I was supposed to meet him at Daryl Tate’s place the next day. The race was at Haubstadt, and we watched the livestream. Damon is leading the feature, and in fact he darn near led the whole thing. Right there I’m thinking there is no way he is selling the car. This is unbelievable. Then he loops it and doesn’t get hit which is a good thing.” The next day the car rolled onto Bo Bland’s trailer and Justin Mathews was in business.
A test day was scheduled at Lincoln Park Speedway and by the time he was headed back to Bloomington he was anxious to take the next step. “We had a lot of fun,” then he adds with a laugh, “but we didn’t know what we were doing, but I kept the car underneath me.” One week later he was signing in at Putnamville. It was an impressive debut. “I had to run through the B,” he recalls, “and then I had beginner’s luck. I started 18th and finished 11th and was the hard charger in my first race. That was cool and gave me a little boost of confidence.”
The outcome even got his father’s attention. “He was a little upset when I bought that car,” Justin admits, “and the very first race at Putnamville he would even come down to the pits because he was so nervous. He called me later and was almost crying. Now he is eaten up with it. He comes with me and has about five to seven things he takes care of at the track.
Mathews was aware that this wasn’t going to be one long joyride going forward. In fact, there were times when he was a bit lost at sea. “Honestly everything was really tough for the next two years,” he admits, “I couldn’t get the hang of anything, and I didn’t know where I was struggling. I also didn’t know what to be scared of, although I put a little fear in myself. That was my issue. I was not driving the car like it needed to be driven. That’s what people around me told me. This is where guys like John Paynter Jr. have been a big help.”
The 2023 season was solid, and one highlight came at Lincoln Park. On the third weekend of July, he was leading the feature late but knew Ethan Barrow was lurking. It so happened that Barrow was undefeated at the Putnamville oval in 2023. A late yellow proved to be Justin’s undoing. It was a disappointment but when he posted a third place run at Bloomington in August, he knew he had turned a corner.
In October he purchased a DRC chassis from Joe Devin and spent the winter putting the car together. He deems himself “decently mechanical” and while he doesn’t do “internal engine work” he knew he could get the job done. “That is what is neat about a sprint car,” he says, “there really isn’t that much to them and I also don’t hesitate to ask questions.” To hone his skills even further he spent time at the shops of some of his rivals to continue to learn.
The early stages of the 2024 season were challenging as he tried to sort out a new car. “Jeff Wimmenauer was a big help,” Justin says, “we struggled at first because my ride height was not correct. Jeff gave me some numbers to change some things around. I was so far behind that I thought we were running well – but we weren’t.”
With the necessary adjustments made, on June 14th he scored his first win at Bloomington Speedway. It was a great moment and a bit of a surprise. “Even as late as 2021 I wouldn’t have believed in a million years that I would win a race at Bloomington. After I had that good run at Putnamville, I thought it might have happened there.” One thing for certain, racing can humble you, and the ebbs and flows of the sport were in evidence when he lost an engine the next night at Lincoln Park.
While he was waiting to get his car back in order others like owner Mickey Smith and fellow racer Barry Miller stepped up and offered him a ride. He views this as an example of how routinely people in this series assist others. It was also a chance to learn some valuable lessons. As Mickey Smith and Mathews shared set up ideas, he began to realize anew that no two drivers were the same. What worked for Ethan Barrow, Smith’s primary driver, did not necessarily work for him.
What is most impressive about the accomplishments to date is the fact that this entire program has been built for the ground up. Mathews, who will turn 32 in February, came with little experience but plenty of desire. Through hard work he is now in a position to take on the best the Huntley’s Hoosier Wing Sprint Car Series has to offer. “I love it,” he says, “I love how it has worked out. We can run pretty much up front most nights . A lot of it comes down to me. Not the car. I need to be smarter, and maybe a bit more aggressive.”
He has averaged about twenty races a season over the last two years and wants to take on as many series events as he can in 2025. However, there is that issue of balance. His son Lane will be two in March, and he recognizes that there are other things in life other than racing. He acknowledged that his wife Kassady was skeptical when he began to walk down this road but enjoys it more now. Still, what was once pitched as an activity that would consume seven or eight nights a year has grown well beyond that. He would like to run for a championship but knows that could be a tall order. “I’m trying not to run myself ragged,” he says, “I know they say races are won and lost in the shop which is definitely true but sometimes you get swamped. I am trying to pay attention to the smaller things.”
He also pays attention to his job. As the dining room manager at Meadowood after 13 years of service he has developed strong bonds with residents, and some have become fans. Sometimes it is hard to head to the shop after a long day at work, but there is one constant source of motivation. “My son likes being in the garage,” he says. “so, I hope this is something I can keep doing so he can grow up around it. It has definitely brought my dad and I closer. It is bonding thing.”
Justin Mathews may well have found the sweet spot with his racecar, and it seems like he has also hit the mark in his life.
Action shot Tommy Kelly Kfmedia Family shot Mathews colleciton
Article Credit: Patrick Sullivan
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