cj22carcar
Jun 12 2005, 08:05 PM
June 10, 2005
Clay Co. Speedway
I ran into Matt going to his car and asked if he would give me an interview and let me take a couple of pictures...
Matt is 24 years old and runs the #57 bomber
He started racing at the age of 22 in the Pure Stock division...He went into a bomber this year..
When I asked him what had inspired him to race He told me that he had always been a race nut and with his father, Robert Hines being a drag racer in the Benton, Illinois area it was already in his genes.....
He told me that his family and friends were a big support for him and that they are the ones that inspire him to race...
I asked him what he thought it took to be a good driver and he like so many told me Patience..
I asked him what his long term goal was and he told me just to have fun at what he was doing and not to be stupid on the track......
When asked who he thought was his toughest competitor he told me "Tim Murphy"...
I asked him if he thought there was anything in racing that needed to be changed.... He laughed and told me..."people just need to learn that they can't win a race in the first lap"...
He won his first Feature at Clay County on April 24th, 2005....
His Crew Chief is his father Robert and Ray Gray helps in the pits...
Thankyou so much for the interview Matt.... very nice to meet you...
cj
cj22carcar
Apr 29 2007, 06:43 PM
April 27,2007 Clay County
Matt Hines is 26 years old and lives in Carmi, Illinois with his wife Whtney.. They were married last year..
Matt runs the #57 street stock... It is a Chevy Monte Carlo and has a Chevy 350 engine..
His car # stands for "HINES 57".............
Matt calls Clay County Speedway his hometrack and also his favorite to run...
He started racing at age 23 in the Pure Stock division and went into the street stock three years ago..
I asked Matt what had inspired him to start racing and he told me he just has a love for racing... and then laughed and told me he was to slow and tooooo wide to play basketball...
The driver that he most admires and also feels is his toughest competitor is TIM FELDHAKE...
Matt said that he feels you need a lot of patience to be a good driver and you have to have the ability to constantly learn....
His goal is just to win races....
I asked him if he felt there was anything in racing that needed to change and he told me yes..."the awareness for safety in the pits"...
HIs highlight in racing that stands out for him is his first win at Clay County Speedway three seasons ago...
I asked Matt if he liked running the high groove or the low groove and he told me whichever was the smoothest... He likes to run on a dry slick track...
His Crew Chief is his dad Robert Hines
Team Members include his dad Robert and his step dad Richard Knight
He wanted to give out a special thanks to his mom Rhonda Knight who he said never misses a race !!! and to his dad Robert ..........he says THANKS FOR EVERYTHING!!! and to his step dad... he appreciates all the support....
Matt thankyou for the interview... got you a couple of years ago but knew you had recently got married..
Was a pleasure to talk with you..