Matt Jensen
Humboldt, SD
Driver Information
My Grandfather Glenn Anderson started the #98 racing bloodline in 1954 when Huset's Speedway opened up by owning and building the car for his race team. A few years down the road and many victories later he met Dan "Ironman" Jensen, my father. Whom he soon passed the driver position to 1985 after Dan was done with his 8 year stint in drag racing he stepped up to circle track.
So starts my legacy and really really big foot steps to follow in...
I have been in and around racing my entire life, beings I was born in 1984! So every summer my life revolved around a dirt track, whether it was Lake County Speedway, Rapid Speedway, Red Devil Speedway, and Huset’s Speedway and so on, I have been focused on this sport. When I was just tall enough to see over the steering wheel I was driving. Until dad built me my go cart and boy did the city of Humboldt love that...ha-ha. I was 5 or 6 when dad built that, needless to say never obeyed many speed limits or rules. So my father, got after me and told me to save it for the track and my response was dad I want to race like you. After that kept asking and he would always tell me maybe next year cause when your lil you don't know or care what it cost or takes to get into racing, well dad is still winning races and points championships, kind of hard to support both plus we would of had to race at two different tracks on the same night, never gonna work! So a few years had passed and I kept asking to race go karts with my friends from the track, but dad kept saying no because we will put you in a real car in few years. Well I was now 12 and feeling the need for speed and dad finally, finally, finally let me drive the car from the shop to the ball diamonds for season beginning pictures and man that was a rush! Then the next year at test and tune I was able to drive the car on actual race track! Wow and I thought couldn't get any better till he let me use his provisional for one of the nights when I was 14 and he had broken his foot in an accident. Watch out racing world next Rusty Wallace, nope got loose coming out of two and spun out. Crushed my world, so I had thought, until dad gave me a speech of a lifetime and boosted my spirits. Those words were like magic, "Wow son I didn't think you would have the balls to actually step on the gas, not bad!" So in the off season of 2000 my father and few of his racing community friends built me a chassis and the next thing I know I actually have a race car and I will be competing in a full season race series at Hartford Speedway!!! In that 2001 series I took 8th out 24 cars my first race and proceeded to finish in the top ten for 7 weeks till' one magical night and one big wreck on the back stretch. I had started the race in the 21st position and worked my way up to about 15th when the red came out and we all stopped. Everyone was all good and we were lining up they put me in my spot I was in 9th with 8 laps to go, took the green and the rest was history. The track dried out, my specialty thanks to some coaching, I went to the high side and let her fly and winning by almost a straight away!!! Only win that year but finished sixth in season points with Rookie of the Year Trophy and Race Team of the Year with my father. The next year I won three features back to back to back and got rookie of the year at another track and placed in the top five in the season points at both tracks. The following season I did well by winning the season opener at Hartford, and got a couple really good sponsors to run full time at both Hartford & Huset's , but as time went by I just kept getting tore up and wrecked one chassis towards the end of the season so I had to park it and wait till next year. My father did really well though winning both Track Championships at Huset's & Hartford. By the next season I was revved up and ready to go wide open! But totaled the car in corner one of the mid-season championship and that was my career...Blah ending right? Well Let’s CHANGE That, I have been looking to redeem myself at racing for many years, let me tell you!!! I have now been on my father’s crew for 8 years, went from grunt and scraping mud to his setup man, scaling his car & his Crew Chief!!! I have worked on hobby stocks, street stocks, late model street stocks, late models & sprint cars. Drove them all too, I prefer dirt but I would never turn down a chance to race anything...
Career Highlights
Took 8 races to get my first victory in 2001 which in the end was it that year for victories but we did get race team of the year and i received rookie of the year for i90 speedway also. From there i went on to get a few more victories at i90 speedway and one huge victory at the hall of fame night at Huset's speedway....then had to go and do the college deal so since 2004 I have not raced until the end of last season "2013" which so far has been the pinnacle of my career! Getting to Race 3 times against your own father and even getting lucky enough to beat him a couple time...every kids dream, right?
Now my career goals for this year (2014) is Rookie Of The Year in Late Model Street Stocks at Huset's Speedway & I90 Speedway and would love to win at least one feature in LMSS and finish in the points in the top five at both tracks...
Hobbies
kids, family, friends, darts, golf, vacationing, bow hunting, and whatever can keep my attention span...hahaha
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