MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Even as a youngster Scott Matas enjoyed tinkering with engines.

Now the 1991 Knoch graduate and former Lernerville Speedway Sprint car driver is developing some of racing's best.

Matas is in his first year as an engine engineer with Roush-Yates Engines and handles the production and installation of engines for NASCARdrivers affiliated with the Roush Fenway Racing and Robert Yates Racing teams: Daytona 500 pole-sitter David Gilliland, Jamie McMurray and current two-time race winner Carl Edwards among them.

"The carburetor system is my primary focus," Matas said. "I've got to go to some of the tests at tracks recently and that's been interesting.

"I've been involved with overseeing the engine tests. We were at the track Monday and Tuesday getting ready for this weekend's race. You win the race (at Las Vegas)Sunday, pack up the car and get it to the next site for testing."

Matas used to work with his father, who repaired machinery for a living.

"Scott's been into engines for as long as I can remember, dating back to his go-kart days,"George Matas said. "He still has two boxes of trophies around this house from running go-karts. We'd end up down in the garage building engines together."

This weekend's Nextel Cup race is in Atlanta. Scott Matas was involved in testing in Las Vegas and Fontana, Calif., as well.

"I'm involved with testing of parts separate from the chassis side,"he said. "I helped change an engine in Vegas. You're never sure what's going to happen."

Matas is confident that the cover coming off the oil tank of Edwards' car during the Las Vegas race, causing the driver to be docked 100 points and crew chief Bob Osborne to be heavily fined and suspended, was strictly an accident.

"Those guys know what's important and they know the rules,"he said. "No way would they knowingly do that. ... It's unfortunate, but stuff like that happens."

Osborne and Matas have been on the same team before — the Formula SAE(Society of Automobile Engines)at Penn State University.

They were part of Penn State's first Formula SAEteam in 1994 and competed against 84 other schools in a competition at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Mich.

"Basically, your team had to build a prototype SCCAAutocross-type car, suitable for competition,"Matas said. "I was on the Penn State team for three years."

Teams were judged on presentations detailing the car's cost and design, along with its single-lap and endurance (15-lap) performance.

"We were primed to finish among the top three in 1996, but we had an issue in the endurance portion and dropped to 16th," Matas said. "The beneficial part of those competitions was that companies did a lot of recruiting at them.

"I was able to get a position working in engine support with Honda right out of school."

Matas worked with Honda for four years, then took a job with Lycoming Engines in Williamsport, where he helped build airplane engines for six years.

He's been with Roush-Yates Engines since June.

"I imagine I'll be here for a number of years yet,"Matas said. "I'm still new at this and I'm still learning. Basically, I'd been an open-wheel racing guy up until this."

Matas raced the No. 9 Sprint car at Lernerville from 1991-96, never winning a feature there. He did receive the track's award for Most Improved Driver one year.

"He was a decent driver, but he enjoyed working on the car even more,"his father said. "I'm not surprised at the line of work he's in."

George Matas still tinkers with cars himself, lending a hand to Rod George's Sprint race team when needed.

The younger Matas hasn't gotten Sprint car racing out of his system, either. He's frequented the new dirt track at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.

"(Outlaws Sprint driver) Tim Shaffer wasn't there, but I caught up with Dave Blaney," he said. "I used to run with those guys at Lernerville back in the day.

"Seeing them down here, working with Bob Osborne again — it really is a small world, I guess."