Dirt
Advancing Motion
Matusek teams up with Garrett for
2019 NHRA Pro Mod title run
By Josh Hachat
W
ith championship aspirations
heading into the 2019 NHRA Pro
Mod season, veteran driver Steve
Matusek has signed a major part-
nership with Garrett Advancing Motion and its
technology-driven line of turbochargers.
Matusek will team up with the turbocharger
powerhouse, adding a proven and innovative
name to an already impressive list heading into
the NHRA Pro Mod campaign. Matusek, who also
joined Elite Motorsports’ burgeoning Pro Mod
camp in the offseason, will run Garrett Advancing
Motion turbochargers on his Pro Mod Mustang
as he enters the season with big expectations.
“We want to work with companies that want
to work with us and learn with us, and we have
a great opportunity to work with a real high-
tech company like Garrett Advancing Motion
that will give us good feedback to advance our
program quickly,” Matusek said. “It’s a very good,
very safe product that will help us reach our
goals and I’m very excited to work with Gar-
rett in 2019.”
Boasting a long track record of success and
a revolutionary line of turbochargers, Garrett
Advancing Motion has been at the forefront of
technology for six decades. Teaming up with
Matusek and Elite Motorsports, as well as tuner
Shane Tecklenburg and Modern Racing crew
chief Justin Elkes provided another great op-
portunity for Garrett to dive into the NHRA Pro
Mod ranks on a larger scale and showcase a tur-
bocharger program that has
been continually praised for
its performance, efficiency
and safety.
“For us, it’s extremely
thrilling to partner with
such a professional team
and a guy like Steve with so
much history in the sport,”
said Tim Coltey, marketing
specialist, Garrett Advanc-
ing. “This is the best of the
best in the class and we’re
really putting the product
to the test. It’s a great op-
portunity to see what our
products will do. It’s really
a big deal for Garrett to get
involved at this level and it’s
definitely the right opportu-
nity and team to be involved with. When you look
at Steve and just the whole program with Elite
Motorsports and Shane and Justin, it really was
a no-brainer for us.”
Highly regarded tuner Tecklenburg enjoyed
previous success with Garrett turbos more than a
decade ago, which only furthered his enthusiasm
for the partnership between Matusek and Garrett
Advancing Motion.
“I’m super excited to be working directly with
Garrett on a project once again,” Tecklenburg said.
“I can’t wait to go feed one of these Elite Perfor-
mance, Alan Johnson Hemis with the new offer-
ings from Garrett and start Advancing Motion.”
Matusek, who founded Aeromotive in 1994,
recognized the innovation that has been part
of Garrett’s makeup for more than 65 years and
also lauded the company’s
dedication to performance
without sacrificing safety.
He believes that bodes well
for a season that has all the
makings of a big year for
Matusek. The E3 Spark
Plugs NHRA Pro Mod Drag
Racing Series presented by
J&A Service starts in March
at the Gatornationals in
Gainesville, and Matusek
is ready to start the part-
nership with Garrett on a
good note at the first of 12
races in 2019.
“They’re concerned about
more than just maximum
performance,” Matusek said.
“They’re not willing to give
up safety for performance. Garrett has a product
that can compete at a high level, but they also care
about you and care about your safety. That’s really
important and I have so much confidence with
the team and I believe, in a short time, the car
will be near or at the top. I don’t see how it can’t
be successful and that’s what I’m expecting.”
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DI DI DI DI
DI Founder Wes Buck
Nominated for
Peterson Award
By Josh Hachat
D
Founder and Edi-
torial Director Wes Buck was nomi-
nated by the Motorsports Parts
Manufacturers Council of SEMA
(MPMC) for their annual Robert E. Peterson
Award. The award is given each year to one
member of the automotive media for outstand-
ing contributions specifically to the motorsports/
performance parts manufacturing industry.
The prestigious award is presented annually
during the Media Reception at the MPMC Media
Trade Conference in Santa Ana, California, in
late January.
“For someone who has spent their adult life
trying to make a difference in the drag rac-
rag I llustrateD
ing and the automotive high-
performance world, this is lit-
erally a dream come true just
to be nominated,” Buck said.
“To be in the conversation as
someone who is making a dif-
ference and having an impact, it’s incredible.”
A lifelong drag racer, Buck launched D rag Illus-
tated in 2005 and the publication has continued
to find a prominent place in the drag racing and
motorsports world. Through impressive vision
and work ethic, Buck has guided D rag Illustated’s
significant growth, both as a print product and
in the digital world.
His popular weekly “Drag Illustrated Facebook
Live!” show and behind-the-
scenes selfie videos at events
have drawn millions of views
on social media, drawing re-
markable fanfare and interest
to the sport. Buck and D rag
Illustated continue to branch
into new avenues as well with
its high-quality “Embedded”
and “All-Access” video series
productions, furthering the
D rag Illustated name on new
platforms.
“I’m tremendously grateful
to the SEMA family to be in
this conversation, and to be
mentioned in the same breath
as all of those who have won
previously and are nominated this year is really
humbling,” Buck said. “SEMA has their fingers
to the pulse of the sport and industry, and it
is responsible for so many of the positive out-
reach programs this industry has. This really is
a huge honor.”
Previous winners include Chad Reynolds, John
DiBartolomeo, Michael Murray, James Lawrence,
David Freiburger and Steve Wolcott.
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32 | D r a g
I l l u s t r a t e d | DragIllustrated.com
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Issue 142
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