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September 9, 2008
BARNDT WINS 40-LAP LATE MODEL POINTS FINALE AT LAKE ERIE

NORTH EAST, Pa. – Matt Barndt raced to his second late model victory Saturday night in Lake Erie Speedway’s final 40-lap point race of the season. Barndt, 17, used the outside line to move up from his sixth-place starting position, took the lead around lap 10, and drove what he called “an extremely tight car” to his second win of the year at the competitive three-eighths mile oval.

“We’re just really happy, really pleased to win,” Barndt said after the triumph. “I have to thank the crew, Team Full Throttle, and all of our sponsors who help us out. We started the season off with a tough stretch, and to get a couple wins late in the season at Lake Erie gives us a lot of confidence heading into next year.”

Barndt believes the cooler Northeast weather played a factor in the handling of his No. 55 late model.

“It was definitely the coldest night of the year, and I don’t think we anticipated the cooler weather changing the car because it’s been hot up here all summer. The car got tight at the end and we were just happy to hang on. There was a caution with six to go, and I had my eye on the third-place runner because he’s really tough here. We’re happy to leave here with another win. This is a tough place to race; there are a lot of good guys and all the top runners were here tonight so to beat them means a lot,” Barndt added.

The victory marked two late model wins for Barndt in the last three races at the northwest Pennsylvania track. Barndt won one of the twin 30-lappers on Aug. 16 to record his first late model win. The win also unofficially moved Barndt to the top 10 in Lake Erie’s final late model point standings, which stands as quite a feat considering the No. 55 team missed the track’s opening month due to following the ASA North late model tour.

One race remains on Barndt’s 2008 schedule – a completion of a July 12 100-lap late model race at Western New York’s Holland Speedway. Seventy-six laps remain in the race; Barndt started 26th and moved to 15th before rain hit 24 laps into the race. He’ll restart the event 15th when racing resumes this Saturday.

Matt Barndt is a 17-year-old racer from Bethlehem, Pa. 2008 marks Barndt’s second season competing in late models. He was the MAARA Series Rookie of the Year in ’07 and has two wins at Lake Erie Speedway in ’08. Barndt drives his family-owned No. 55 and is currently in his senior year of high school.

Barndt is a member of the Team Full Throttle NASCAR Driver Development Program and is represented by Driver Development Services, Inc., Charlotte, N.C. Marketing partners for the Bethlehem, Pa., driver are Galaxy Motors, Junkyard Dog Industries, CC Inc. Construction Services, and Automotive Technicians Alliance.

Team Full Throttle is a Mooresville, N.C., based driver development program that specializes in all areas of personal and professional development, including leadership, teamwork, and communications as well as marketing, promotion, and on-track driving skills. TFT currently comprises over 30 racers who reside and race in all regions of the country.

For more information on Barndt, visit www.mdbmotorsports.com. For more information on Team Full Throttle, visit www.goteamfullthrottle.com or contact (704) 664-1755.

August 18, 2008
BARNDT GETS FIRST LATE MODEL WIN SATURDAY AT LAKE ERIE

NORTH EAST, Pa. – Matt Barndt’s 2008 late model season appears to have come full circle. Beginning in April, Barndt’s MDB Motorsports team travelled to Toledo (Ohio) Speedway for an ASA North event in which Barndt was one of the fastest cars in practice only to get rained out. The season then hit a low point when Barndt struggled at a handful of spring ASA events throughout the Midwest.

Beginning in June, Barndt and his team decided to take a break from the ASA tour, which travelled to tracks mostly over 10 hours away from their Bethlehem, Pa., shop, and focus on one of the most competitive weekly late model tracks in the Northeast, Lake Erie Speedway. Amid a string of solid top-10 finishes over the last month, it all came together Saturday night as Barndt won the first of two 30-lap features at the three-eighths mile paved oval.

“We’re really happy, and it feels great to get our first win in the late models,” Barndt said. “We fell to second on the start and ran there for the first half of the race. Bret (Guzik) was leading and he had a better car on the short runs, but when we got going for six or seven laps our car would come in good and we made the pass for the lead around the halfway point. We led from there and car worked really well. It’s great to get a win and then have Bret finish second. It’s a one-two finish for TFT guys, so that’s cool.”

Barndt started the second 30-lapper in 12th and finished 11th.

“We got shuffled back at the start and then had to make up the positions we lost. It’s tough to get much in the 30 lappers; the laps just go so fast. We got back to 11th and that’s about all we had time for. The car was still pretty good; we’re just so much better on the long runs. We need to get something figured out for the short runs because in a race with a lot of cautions we’re not able to pass a lot of cars,” Barndt added.

With Lake Erie off this weekend, the MDB Motorsports team will return to Jennerstown (Pa.) Speedway for their Saturday night program. Barndt hasn’t raced at Jennerstown since a fourth-place finish on June 7.

August 11, 2008
BARNDT FAST, STILL LOOKING FOR EXTRA EDGE AT LAKE ERIE

NORTH EAST, Pa. – Matt Barndt returned to the track Saturday at Lake Erie Speedway after a rain-out and an off-week kept the 17-year-old Bethlehem, Pa., racer out of the drivers’ seat for a few weeks. With twin 30-lap late model features on the card, Barndt started the first 30 lapper 13th and made his way up to seventh before the checkers flew. The second 30-lap feature was rained out and will be rescheduled for later in the season.

Barndt believes that most of the pack being stacked up for a number of laps kept him from moving forward any further.

“I don’t think I got into the open until about Lap 10,” Barndt admits. “We were double-file and stacked up for about 10 laps until we finally spread out a bit. I made some passes and got up to seventh, so it’s not too bad for only being a 30 lapper. It could have been better; there’s no denying that. It’s too bad the second (feature) got rained out.”

Barndt has raced his No. 55 late model regularly at Lake Erie for most of the season. He has a number of top-10 finishes but is still looking for little more to break the top five.

“We’re fast, but we’re missing it just a little bit,” says Barndt. “We’re going to make some more changes for this week and try to get that extra edge that a few teams seem to have on us.”

Barndt and his MDB Motorsports team will travel back to Lake Erie this Saturday for another double-feature night. Both features will be 30 laps in length.

Matt Barndt is a 17-year-old racer from Bethlehem, Pa. 2008 marks Barndt’s second season competing in late models. He was the MAARA Series Rookie of the Year in ’07 and is competing at Lake Erie Speedway in ’08, in addition to other Northeast and Midwest ovals. Barndt drives his family-owned No. 55 and is entering his senior year of high school in the fall.

July 21, 2008
BARNDT FINISHES 6TH IN STRONG LAKE ERIE LATE MODEL FIELD

NORTH EAST, Pa. – Matt Barndt continues to knock down solid finishes in late model competition at Lake Erie Speedway. Starting third in Saturday’s Lake Erie 150 presented by Dodge, Barndt battled within the top five for the entire 150 laps, ultimately finishing sixth in the competitive 29-car field.

“It was a real clean race,” says Barndt. “Usually in these longer races there are a couple wrecks but we only had a few simple spins and it gave us all a chance to race cleanly. We were third for a while, and then we were fourth for a while, and we ended up running fifth on a restart with 18 laps to go. The third and fourth-place cars got together ahead of me and I went high to try to pass them and the guy behind me got under me and that put me back to sixth. We wanted the top five, but sixth still makes us pretty happy.”

Barndt believes he had a car capable of a better finish, but lap traffic played a factor throughout the race.

“It seemed like every time we got a run on someone a lapped car would be low and we’d have to get single file to go around it. It’s just one of those things; we’re just hungry for a top five. We’re going to go back next time with a completely different front shock setup and give it a try. If it doesn’t work, then we’ll go back to what we have now, but we want to try something because there are a couple of cars that are just glued to the track and we’re not quite to their caliber yet,” Barndt admitted.

Barndt will be off this weekend. He’ll return to Lake Erie Aug. 2 for a regular show at the three-eighths-mile paved oval.

July 15, 2008
BARNDT GOES FROM 26TH TO 15TH BEFORE RAIN HITS AT HOLLAND

HOLLAND, N.Y. – Matt Barndt used the open week on the Lake Erie Speedway schedule to travel to Western New York’s Holland Speedway for the Kayak Pools Late Model 100. The 17-year-old racer started scratch in the 26-car field and advanced to 15th position before rain moved into the Buffalo area, stopping the race on Lap 24.

“We struggled early in practice and the heat race but we found something good for the feature. It’s too bad the rain hit when it did because we had a good car and I think we were in line for a pretty good finish. We’ll take it and move on to next week,” Barndt said.

The remaining 76 laps have been tentatively scheduled to be run on Saturday, August 30 as a prelude to the Late Model Budweiser 100, says the Holland Speedway Web site.

Barndt will return to Lake Erie Speedway Saturday for the Lake Erie 150 presented by Dodge. Barndt is currently 16th in Lake Erie Late Model point standings after missing the first few races of the season at the three-eighths-mile northwest Pennsylvania oval.

Matt Barndt is a 17-year-old racer from Bethlehem, Pa. 2008 marks Barndt’s second season competing in late models. He was the MAARA Series Rookie of the Year in ’07 and is competing at Lake Erie Speedway in ’08, in addition to other Northeast and Midwest ovals. Barndt drives his family-owned No. 55 and is entering his senior year of high school in the fall.

Barndt is a member of the Team Full Throttle NASCAR Driver Development Program and is represented by Driver Development Services, Inc., Charlotte, N.C. Marketing partners for the Bethlehem, Pa., driver are Galaxy Motors, Junkyard Dog Industries, CC Inc. Construction Services, and Automotive Technicians Alliance.

July 7, 2008
BARNDT PASSES OVER HALF THE FIELD TO FINISH 7TH AT LAKE ERIE

NORTH EAST, Pa. – Matt Barndt endured another eventful night at Lake Erie Speedway Saturday. The 17-year-old Bethlehem, Pa., racer started eighth in the 40-lap Late Model feature and was involved in a Lap 2 incident that caused him to go to the back of the 23-car field. Barndt regrouped and made his way back to the top 10, ultimately finishing seventh.

“We’re happy, but a little disappointed at the same time,” says Barndt. “The deal on Lap 2 really hurt us. There were cars checking up in front of me and I checked up and the guy behind me didn’t and spun me out. We restarted at the back, and passed a bunch of cars and made our way back to seventh.”

Barndt is encouraged with his second consecutive top-10 finish at the northwest Pennsylvania oval, but believes the result would have been better if it weren’t for the early-race incident.

“We showed that we have a real good car. I’m not sure about winning, but I believe we had a car capable of finishing inside the top five. I’m glad we brought it home in one piece; we’ll bring it back to the shop, make a few adjustments, and try it again next week. Things are starting to turn around for us; we’re running pretty well,” Barndt said.

Barndt will make the trip to Western New York Saturday for the Kayak Pools North East Late Model Racing Series 100 at Holland Speedway, a one-third-mile oval outside of Buffalo.

Matt Barndt is a 17-year-old racer from Bethlehem, Pa. 2008 marks Barndt’s second season competing in late models. He was the MAARA Series Rookie of the Year in ’07 before moving the ASA North series in ’08. Barndt drives his family-owned No. 55 and is entering his senior year of high school in the fall.

Barndt is a member of the Team Full Throttle NASCAR Driver Development Program and is represented by Driver Development Services, Inc., Charlotte, N.C. Marketing partners for the Bethlehem, Pa., driver are Galaxy Motors, Junkyard Dog Industries, CC Inc. Construction Services, and Automotive Technicians Alliance.

June 23, 2008
BARNDT FAST AT LAKE ERIE BEFORE RAIN HITS

NORTH EAST, Pa. – After an impressive run that saw him move from 21st to 11th in less than 20 laps, Matt Barndt could only watch as rain washed out the remainder of Lake Erie Speedway’s first of two Twin 30-lap Late Model features Saturday night.

“We had to start in the back because they set the lineup by points at Lake Erie and we hadn’t been there all season,” Barndt began. “The car was on a rail. I could put it anywhere on the track and it would stick. It felt good to go to a speedway we haven’t raced on and run so well.”

Barndt, a regular on the ASA Late Model Series North tour, decided to take June and race at Jennerstown (Pa.) Speedway. He finished fourth at Jennerstown June 7 before being rained out June 14. Barndt admits he and his father, Tim, aren’t sure where they will race this Saturday.

“It’s a tough decision. We like both tracks. Jennerstown is a couple of hours closer, but it’s hard to not go back to Lake Erie because of how we ran the other night. I guess we’ll sit down and figure it out Monday or Tuesday. We’ve ran well at both tracks, so I guess either way it will work out,” Barndt said.

Barndt’s team still plans on going back to the ASA North tour starting with the July 5 race at Odessa, Missouri’s I-70 Speedway.

Matt Barndt is a 17-year-old racer from Bethlehem, Pa. 2008 marks Barndt’s second season competing in late models. He was the MAARA Series Rookie of the Year in ’07 before moving the ASA North series in ’08. Barndt drives his family-owned No. 55 and is entering his senior year of high school in the fall.

Barndt is a member of the Team Full Throttle NASCAR Driver Development Program and is represented by Driver Development Services, Inc., Charlotte, N.C. Marketing partners for the Bethlehem, Pa., driver are Galaxy Motors, Junkyard Dog Industries, CC Inc. Construction Services, and Automotive Technicians Alliance.

June 9, 2008
BARNDT FINDS SUCCESS AT JENNERSTOWN
JENNERSTOWN, Pa. – Team Full Throttle NASCAR Driver Development racer Matt Barndt decided to take a step back in order to take a step forward after Toledo Speedway’s ASA North race June 1. The decision proved to be a good one Saturday at Jennerstown Speedway where Barndt finished fourth in the Super Late Model 40-lap feature.

“We had a good day, hopefully this will turn things around for us,” Barndt said. “We actually missed the setup for the feature; we didn’t free the car up like we should have. It was pretty tight in the race, but we were able to hang on for a fourth. We’ll take it after the start to the season we’ve had.”

Barndt, 17, has had a difficult time so far in 2008. He was fast in practice at the ASA North opener at Toledo in April before the race was rained out. Since then, the team has struggled in the ASA North races before deciding to switch to weekly competition at Jennerstown for the month of June.

“We want to run at Jennerstown to try to turn the season around before it gets too late. If the car was freed up Saturday I think we would’ve been right there for the win. The competition is really good at Jennerstown so it’s an accomplishment to do well there. We’ll live and learn and go back next week,” Barndt added.

Barndt’s MDB Motorsports team plans to run two more races at Jennerstown before heading back on the road to race the ASA North event at Missouri’s I-70 Speedway July 5.

Matt Barndt is a member of the Team Full Throttle NASCAR Driver Development Program and is represented by Driver Development Services, Inc., Charlotte, N.C. Marketing partners for the Bethlehem, Pa., driver are Galaxy Motors, Junkyard Dog Industries, CC Inc. Construction Services, Automotive Technicians Alliance and Team Full Throttle.


June 5, 2008
BARNDT SWITCHING FOCUS TO JENNERSTOWN
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Team Full Throttle NASCAR Driver Development racer Matt Barndt will race his Howe chassis No. 55 late model at Jennerstown (Pa.) Speedway for their next three races before returning to the ASA North tour July 5 at Missouri’s I-70 Speedway.

Barndt, 17, believes this is the right decision in order to get his team’s season back on the right track.

“It’s been a tough start to the year, he said. “We just think our team needs to improve everywhere. Running Jennerstown makes sense because it’s closer to home and it’s the same track every week so we won’t have to worry about different setups for different tracks and everything that goes along with that. We think this decision can help get our team in a better frame of mind before going back to the ASA in July.”

At the ASA North series race at Ohio’s Toledo Speedway on Sunday, Barndt was running inside the top 20 before a power steering hose blew on lap 100 of the 125-lap race. He managed to keep the car off the wall before bringing it to the pits and retiring from the race.

“We probably would’ve ended up about 15th if the hose didn’t blow. It’s just one of those things. We can’t look back at that; we need to focus on the future and that starts with this week at Jennerstown. We’re looking forward to it.”

Matt Barndt is a member of the Team Full Throttle NASCAR Driver Development Program and is represented by Driver Development Services, Inc., Charlotte, N.C. Marketing partners for the Bethlehem, Pa., driver are Galaxy Motors, Junkyard Dog Industries, CC Inc. Construction Services, Automotive Technicians Alliance and Team Full Throttle.

Matt Featured in Area Auto Racing News (AARN)
Click here for .pdf of pg 42 of April 1st edition.

MATT BARNDT FAST BEFORE RAINS WASH OUT TOLEDO ASA NORTH OPENER

TOLEDO, Ohio – Team Full Throttle (TFT) NASCAR Driver Development racer Matt Barndt had to play to the tune of Mother Nature Saturday at the ASA Late Model Series (ASALMS) Northern Division’s season-opening Glass Breaker 125 at Ohio’s Toledo Speedway.

After encouraging practice sessions for the 17-year-old Bethlehem, Pa. racer, ASALMS officials decided to postpone the race due to continued showers and winter-like conditions in the northwest Ohio area.

“We didn’t want to see the rain, but it came anyway,” Barndt said on Sunday. “We were really fast in practice – ending up eighth on the speed charts out of 33 cars. It definitely was encouraging to be as quick as we were in our first ASA event. I just wish the rain would have held off so we could have tested our speed in the race.”

The ASALMS race at Toledo has been rescheduled for Saturday, May 3.

Barndt’s next late-model race will be the ASALMS Northern Division’s Gunbroker.com 100 on Friday, April 25 at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Clermont, Ind.

Matt Barndt’s marketing partners are Galaxy Motors, Junkyard Dog Industries, CC Inc. Construction Services, Automotive Technicians Alliance and Team Full Throttle. Matt is a member of the Team Full Throttle NASCAR Driver Development Program and is represented by Driver Development Services, Inc., Charlotte, N.C.