Profile On: Matt Moro!
Sunday, November 30, 2008
360 Sprint Points Champion, Matt Moro
(Joanne Cram) What a year it has been for Matt Moro! With the last race of the season to decide the fate of the champion, Matt’s consistent driving style helped put him in the top spot. The evening didn’t start out looking favorable for Moro however. He didn’t make it out of his heat, and the B was stacked with a lot of very tough cars. With a late race pass for the transfer, Moro was able to transfer into the A. It was all downhill from there. Matt had a strong finish in the A, which gave him the Championship.
Matt has a family history in racing, in fact he calls it a family affair. His grandfather, also Matt, began the addiction back several decades ago. He raced late models until the early 70’s and was well known as a top contender across the Midwest. He could be found winning races at tracks all over Iowa. When Matt’s grandfather died in 1974, three years before Matt was born, Matt’s father, Tony Moro, wanted to keep the tradition alive. He picked up Grandpa Moro’s racing fix in 1983 racing go-karts, then late models in 1987. Tony eventually moved up to sprint cars, where he raced 360 and 410’s at Knoxville until 1996. In that same year Tony began sprint car racing in 1992, Matt began racing go-karts. He raced competitively at tracks across Iowa, w inning at least 30 races, which included the Iowa State Race, before he would trade in his karting career for a 360 sprint car.
Kenny Woodruff has also been a great influence on Matt over the years. This influence began when Matt was only 5 years old. Kenny put the five year old in the front seat of the Bobby Davis Jr. semi and took the youngster to the race shop. Over the next several hours, Matt “helped” work on the sprint car- and a driver was born! Matt has followed Kenny’s career over the years and looks up to his vast sprint car knowledge and his ability to help the drivers that he works for achieve their racing goals. Moro says that over the years he has chosen favorite drivers based on who Woodruff was turning wrenches for.
Matt has had a pretty extensive racing past that got him to this past race season. In the familiar Moro 2M, Matt began his 13 year racing career here at Knoxville back in 1995. Although the 2M has donned many color schemes and graphic adventures, the number has always been the same. Having a dad in the body shop business is very helpful for the ever-changing painting projects a sprint car demands. The number 2 is what Matt’s grandfather and dad both raced under, so Matt of course, continued the tradition.
Even though Matt earned Rookie of the Year honors in the 360 class back in 1996 at both Knoxville Raceways and Iowa State Fairgrounds, he claims he had one heck of a tim e transitioning into a sprint car! That year was a learning curve complete with wrecks, roll-overs, and a graveyard of sprint car parts behind the shop. But Matt was determined to make it work! His dad had an old chassis sitting around, and Bill Keller helped build a motor that year, and the team pulled off four 2nd place finishes that rookie year.
After a year in the 360 class, Matt decided that he would move up to the 410 class in 1997. Competition was a lot fiercer in the 410s and Matt missed the comradeship that the 360 class had both on and off the track. The 410 drivers in the late 90’s were all business and competition, and Matt struggled with the lack of social interaction with his fellow racers. Again, the sprint car graveyard grew that year.
The following year of 1998 was a much better one. Matt finished in 2nd a couple races, and had five top 5 finishes. Even with some success, Moro still added to that graveyard pile.
1999 was Matt’s turning point. He achieved 5th in overall points at Knoxville that year, even though he hadn’t met his career goal of winning a Knoxville Raceway feature.
In 2000, Matt ran 3rd in points and met his goal of winning a feature. In fact, he did it twice, and even won a feature at the 360 Nationals qualifying night. He then turned around and ran 2nd in the 360 Nationals Feature. Moro won a total of 15 races that year, traveling to tracks around the M idwest like Cresco, Donnellson, Iowa State Fair, Spencer, and Burlington. He raced in Greenwood, Nebraska, and in the states of Oklahoma, Texas, and Florida.
In 2001, Matt teamed up with Lee Nelson to race, then in 2002 Matt and his dad were teamed back up again. In 2003, Matt owned the car, and JR Motorsports owned his 360 motor that he ran up until the 1200 Pound Nationals when Moro began driving for the legendary #47, Gil Sonner car. Matt drove the 47 car up until the 2006 season. The team parted ways after 2006, but remain very good friends. In fact, Matt says he stops by the Sonner shop to check in often. Over the three years he drove the 47 car, Moro was 5th in points, 9th in points, and 11th in points, respectively. The 2007 season found Matt back in a 360. It was an easy choice for him. He enjoys driving the 360 Ostrich powered, Eagle chassis sprint, and there are more racing options to travel to. He continued with the 360 this past season as well, which proved to be a great decision!
When Matt is not racing, he is hanging out with his son, Anthony, who is an energetic and busy baseball player. Matt says that there are a lot of games and practices that keep the father and son busy together. Anthony is also becoming quite the mechanic on dad’s car. He is always helping out on the car. Matt’s day job finds him reporting to Karl Chevrolet, where he sells cars in Ankeny.
The crew is a reunited Mo ro group from across the years. The team is includes Dad, Tony as crew chief; son, Anthony; Howie Albright, a Knoxville Hall of Famer who Matt says the team won’t race without; Larry Donnellson, Grandpa Matt’s former car owner and Tony’s former crewman; Stuart Gray and Scott Sams- both good friends that Matt has worked with; and Matt’s girlfriend of five years, Tara Hageman.
Matt is very thankful for his sponsors, which include Tony Moro Autobody, Orr Trucking, Karl Chevrolet, Miller Custom Powdercoating; and American Racing Tire.
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