Matt Moore Making Off-Season Changes to Chase Rowdy Radial Record
The eighth-mile based 235-tire (26-inch-tall x 8.5-inch-width) classes moved to another level in the 2023 season, and several racers are taking the off-season to refine or update their program for better times in 2024.
One of the competitors that made strides in 2023 is Matt Moore. Coming into the season, Matt’s best finish was a third-place in Ultimate Radial at Rocky Mountain Race Week (RMRW), on a 1989 Ford Mustang that was finished in time for its first season of drag-and-drive competition.
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Starting the 2023 season at Sick Week Presented by Gear Vendors Overdrive, Matt Moore entered the Rowdy Radial class, and used a best pass of 5.24 at 139 mph to compile a 5.37 average on the eighth-mile format for the seventh spot in a stacked class.
The top spot went to Jordan Tuck in Devin Vanderhoof’s Mustang with a staggering 4.64 average.
Matt’s next drag-and-drive would be RMRW 1.0, where instead of reverting back to the Ultimate Radial class he ran in 2022, Matt stayed in Rowdy Radial trim. “Running several eighth-mile events closer to home, we chose to stay in Rowdy Radial,” said Matt. “We learn a lot, and that allows us to use that knowledge to make improvements to customer cars.”
Despite the June heat and changing altitudes at the different tracks, Matt improved to a 5.08 average, as well as recording a best single run of 4.95, to score the class win, his first in drag-and-drive competition.
Matt continued to test and race “the shop car” in local eighth-mile competition, ending his season just a couple week ago with a win and a best pass of 4.68 at 157 mph.
And despite booming business, including hosting his first introduction to tig welding and roll cage fitment class at Moore Race Chassis & Fabrication, Matt is not losing focus of the 2024 drag-and-drive season.
The Mustang is already undergoing some changes, and with the chassis stripped of its driveline and a few items up for sale, the picture of what Matt plans is becoming a bit clearer.
“I’m changing from a cathedral port (cylinder head and intake) to a LS7-type top end,” Matt said of the LS-based combination. “A new BTR intake and Mast cylinder heads will make up the bulk of the changes, but I’m leaving a lot of it alone. The car has been super reliable the end of the year, so we hope to keep that going into Sick Week on the 235 tire.”
Written by Derek Putnam. Photos courtesy of Sick the Magazine, Rocky Mountain Race Week and Matt Moore.
If you have thoughts / feedback / ideas, please e-mail us at derek@sickthemagazine.com