Thu, 15 Jun 2006, 12:37 PM I Can Name That Tune In...

By Bob Frey Photo copyright 2006 Auto Imagery, Inc.

Nancy Matter

When I get an opportunity to talk to a racer eventually the topic of "what do you do for a living" comes up. Most of the time I am at least vaguely familiar with the occupation even if it's not something that I would use or do on a regular basis. Construction, trucking, building, mechanics and engine builder are all fairly self-explanatory and even though I can't build, drive, fix something or build anything I know what they are talking about when they tell me about their particular line of endeavor. Recently I met Nancy Matter for the first time and when the topic of occupation came around she told me that she was a music mastering engineer. OK, Nancy, I give up, just what is that anyway? "I take music that someone has done and refine it and get it ready for its final stages. Or as someone once said in one of the trade publications, music mastering is where you take a recording and then it is shaped, sculpted, equalized, compressed and finessed into sonic splendor." OK, that clears it up. Nancy Matter runs a business called "Moonlight Mastering" and she and her business are among the most well respected in the industry. Over the past few years she has worked on projects for the late Ray Charles as well as for Peter Gabriel, the Lion King and the 2006 Oscar winning movies like Tsotsi and the March of the Penguins. "I'm very fortunate to have established a good reputation and business is good," Nancy said. Between sessions in the studio, and when she's not working with some of the top names in the music industry, Nancy also has another passion, drag racing. "I've been around the sport since I was just a little kid," she said, "and I've known for a long time that I wanted to race and now I'm getting to do it." She's getting to do it in one of the toughest classes in the sport, Top Alcohol Funny Car. But if she is as focused on her drag racing career as she has been on her music career, Nancy Matter will be beating out a winning tune before too long.

When she was just three years old Nancy went to the drag races in Southern California with her parents and she loved it even then. "We went to tracks like San Fernando, Fremont, Lions and even Beeline Dragway in Arizona," she said. "My mom actually used to work with Wally and Barbara Parks so drag racing really is in my blood." When the family would go to some of those historic tracks Nancy would watch her dad race cars that ranged from a 1954 Ford to a '67 Ford Fairlane with a 427 engine that ran Super Stock C eliminator. Then, at the age of thirteen, while on the way to the races, she got on the family's cb radio and that's where she met Lou Gasparrelli. "I talked to Mike (Lou's brother) on the radio and the next thing you know I was in their pit area at the track working on the car." Like a lot of youngsters who hooked up with a race team, Nancy's responsibilities ranged from dumping the oil to waxing the car. "But the most fun was when I got to sit in the driver's compartment while they towed the car into the staging lanes and back from a run," she said. "And during that time I got to be very familiar with the feel of a funny car and I knew that I would eventually own and drive one of them someday."

While Nancy was married and raising her family she lost contact with the Gasparrelli family and with drag racing. Then, after her divorce, she heard from Lou and Vickie Gasparrelli again and they told her that she needed to come back to the races. "I went a few times," Nancy said, "but I am not a very good spectator and I didn't want to live vicariously through others so I set my goal to getting a car of my own and two years ago I really decided to put a lot of effort in that direction." Like a lot of racers, Nancy's march toward a drag racing career of her own began with a trip to the Frank Hawley School of Drag Racing. After that she tried her hand at Super Comp racing out west but she quickly tired of that. "I grew up around funny cars so I knew that's where I wanted to be and after a while in the Super Comp car I went out and bought my first funny car." The car she bought had a grand total of about a dozen runs on it and she has now been the owner of an alky funny car for just about one year. "I took delivery of the car on July 30 last year and I'm finally starting to get accustomed to it." After a few shake-down runs in Las Vegas earlier this year Nancy and her team, which includes crew chief Bob Miner, decided to hit the road and try their hand on the divisional level and then move up to the national races. "Bob has been the best thing that's happened to me," she said. "He and Lou realized that I'm new at this and they have been very supportive. We have a good team with Bob and Don Eason and Jeremy Mitchell, all guys who have been around this sport for a while and we're making some real progress." That progress has taken her from the test mode in Vegas earlier this year to qualifying for her first divisional race in Louisiana and to making her first appearance at a national event in Topeka a few weeks ago. "We had trouble at the divisional race when we hurt the engine. Thankfully, Karl Brounkowski was there and he had engine handle bar pullers and we were able to get it fixed. It's that kind of help, from a racer whom we had never met, that makes this such a great sport and a sport where I want to be." After fixing the car Nancy lost in round one to Jackie Stidham but she said that the whole experience just helped strengthen her resolve to do well. Next up was the national event at Topeka and even though she didn't qualify she said that the team continued to learn and grow. "I'm new and I'm going to make mistakes but I have a wonderful support group around me and they know that I am determined to make a success of this. Obviously I would eventually like to run a fuel car but right now I'm just trying to learn this one and be the best racer I can be in the alcohol ranks and the rest will eventually take care of itself."

As if getting a new car and race team weren't enough to keep one person occupied Nancy is also is the process of relocating her business from California to Texas. "We just need more space and with the music and a race car, well, living in California just wasn't going to work. Sometimes while we're doing music or working on the car the neighbors want to sleep. One of our neighbors works on the set of 'Desperate Housewives' and she has to get up real early so we didn't want to bother her." Her new place is in Austin, Texas and it's already working out well for Nancy. "This is a real good community, and with the technology the way it is I can work with my clients around the world at any time of the day or night. Plus we have enough room for the car. My business is going well enough that I can spend some more time on the race car and team now. I know that I'm still growing as a driver and learning about what I can do in the car. Plus we are constantly working on developing sponsors for the car and that's a real process of its own." In addition, Nancy is also a donating sponsor of the Austin Children's Hospital and is committed to donating 10% of qualifying money which will be matched by her music company and $5.00 from every tee shirt sale that her team does.

For now, Nancy is planning to run most of the divisional races in and around her new home in Texas and that will include the event this weekend in Rusk, Texas. After that she hopes to compete at national events in Brainerd, Richmond, Dallas and a few others. "My big goal now is just to continue to learn and improve and become competitive. I know that it's a long battle but I'm in it for the duration." For someone who has worked with some of the top entertainment figures in the country, and for someone who has been around drag racing for over thirty years, it's only a matter of time before Nancy wins a race and gets her first "Wally," and when that happens she can put it in her trophy case right nest to her "Oscars" and all of those platinum records. Now I ask you, how many drag racers can say that.

Nancy would like to thank everyone for their friendship and on going support, especially Don Eason, Jeremy Mitchell, Ryan & Jamie Matter, Bob Miner, Gasparrelli Racing, Clint Thompson Racing, Ron Morrison Racing, Doug Gordon & Crew, Mike Strasburg, Tim Wilkerson, Duane Shields, Foolish Money Racing, Jackie Stidham, Brandon Lewis, Steve Burck, Jimmy Jones, Karl Brounkowski, Randy Balough, Loreen Johnson, Bud Chesborough, Joe Roubichek, Geneva Nash, Hi Rez Printing, Co-Color, I Mark Signs, John Hanucane, Gary Munroe and Mark Hoi.

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