When racing is in your blood, the roar of the engines, the sight of fans in the stands and the smell of fuel give many an adrenaline rush!

Racing is a way of life for the Matus/Garvin Family.

Liz Matus Garvin said, “I was born at the end of March when racing started. My mom carried me to the track in the bab car seat and I have been there for 28 years!”

John Garvin, her husband, lived within walking distance of Lernerville and is employed at Garvin Auto Salvage in Sarver.

John said, “I went to the races with my dad, John Sr, when I was 3 1/2 -years-old to watch him race Late Models. I knew then that someday I wanted to be in a racecar! I liked watching Ed Lynch, Lynn Geisler, John Finner, Nick Jones, Mark Casella, Bob Felmlee, and Bob Wearing Sr and Jr race.”

John raced Go-carts for two years when he was 12- years old and later became a Late Model driver. During the week, Liz works at Forefront Dermatology on Route 19.

“Life was always so busy from February to October. All we knew on the weekends was racing. The COVID-19 virus quarantine has made things so different,” he said. “We had so much more time without racing, so we have been finishing up our new house.

“It’s kind of nice not to travel, but I missed the Florida beach during race week in February.”

They ride bikes on the Butler Freeport trail that is over the hill from Lernerville Speedway.

A few years ago, John decided to switch divisions and race Sprints.

“Being around my in-laws probably influenced me,” he said.

His father-in-law, Brent Matus, and brother-in-law Brandon Matus are both in the Sprint division.

When the Matus’ teams decided to race with the All Star Sprint Circuit of Champions traveling group, John elected to join them, even though he was only behind the wheel of a sprint for two years.

“I like to travel and see different tracks. I wanted to race and learn more. Racing is so positive around these faster guys.,” he said.

“Time would be a negative factor, though. “We would leave Wednesday or Thursday and wouldn’t get home until Sunday night or Monday morning.”

John was impressed with the fact that the guys were all friends with each other.

All Star Chad Kemenah became a mentor to John and he and his brother helped him with set-ups.

John said, “I learned that drivers are different and so are their set-ups. So you have to try different ones. Chad and I are different.”

They now have become a team with two separate cars. Chad is racing around his home in Alvata, Ohio and John is back in Sarver at the local tracks except for All Star events that are within proximity and the twosome attend them. Now that John is back at Lernerville, he feels different, more confident than when he left.

“I have more experience and am going faster!,” he said.

He hopes to get that elusive first win soon.

Brent says, “John is hard on himself. He hasn’t had a lot of time to get experience yet, but expects top results.”

John is happy where he is in racing but would still like to travel a little more.

John’s crew consists of Brian Hank, Casey Collins, his dad, and wife Liz. Although John is a steak and potato guy, Liz uses an air fryer to cook when they travel. John just bought his boys, J J -12 and Kane-10, two Go-carts and hopes to let them try racing.

Liz is very supportive of John’s racing endeavors.

“That is how we keep each other going and inspired. I observed my mother with my dad all those years,” she said.

Watching John, her dad and brother all race together at the track can be emotionally exhausting.

“Sometimes my nerves are shot! You just want to rip your hair out!,” she said.

The Matus racing dynasty started in the 1950s, when Brent’s grandfather John built racecars and assembled them. He hired drivers until Brent’s father, Jerry Matus, drove for him. Jerry won the Lernerville Sprint Championship in 1981 and 1983-84.

Brent has been racing for 35 years. Although he is nearing the end of his career, he is having a super 2020 season. His 25-year-old son Brandon is the fourth generation to race.

“It’s a way of life for me,” Brandon said. “I live for it. It is all I think about. It would be awesome if I could have a career racing. My wildest dream would be to be a professional racer someday. I look up to them.”

Brent shared this about the chart in the garage.

“We all keep track of our finishes each night and thus far overall in 2020, I think I have the best numbers,” he said.

What does he attribute this to?

“Over the winter I reconnected with my old crew chief, Dave Allegro and built my own chassis. We went back to old school and now I have a better feel for the set up on the track,” Brent said.

“Brandon’s car is a totally different set up from mine, yet he runs well.”

“It has come full circle,” Brent said. “I am now fabricating chassis for race cars, which is what my grandfather did. Racing is good for us; we have the background. Brandon and I work together on everything.”

From Brent’s perspective, the racing operation hinges on what his wife Jackie does behind the scenes.

“It’s pretty darn important on a couple of levels,” Brent said. “It’s a team effort, and it takes a bit from everybody. On my end, it is to keep this operation going. From her end, it’s from food in the hauler, to maps, to GPS, motel reservations, and sponsor contracts. She does it all.”

Jackie also runs a floral shop in Wampum.

From Jackie’s perspective, having Brent help guide Brandon is a critical piece of the team.

“It is extremely important to me that he is here doing this with Brent. These two get along very well and they love doing this together. He listens to Brent and expresses what he knows, not in a cocky manner,” she said.

“It means a lot to me, as a wife and mother, that they are doing this together.”

Brandon is not only learning driving and set ups, but his father is teaching him the mechanical and technical aspects of car building.

“He is mechanically inclined,” Brent said. “I teach him so much and give him time to absorb it and then go on. “

What does the jovial family patriarch, Jerry Matus think of all that is happening with his family?

“Oh they all take after their old man!,” he said.

Carol Gamble is a racing columnist for the Butler Eagle