JACKSONVILLE, NC – Jacksonville brothers Adam and Blaine Mattice will be racing in the Jr. Mini Cup division at Goodyear All American Speedway on Saturday, a little over six months after their father was seriously injured at the track.
Brian Mattice, the patriarch of the Mattice household and a former racer himself, was struck by a Champ Kart in April when tending to another driver’s kart that had flipped over in a practice accident. The incident left Brian, 39, in the hospital for weeks – and his sons unsure if he would even survive.
Against all odds, he did.
He suffered a broken tabula fibula femur and had two rods placed in the tabular and femur. He had to have stents put in the femoral artery in his left leg and suffered a traumatic brain injury.
“He is slowly progressing each and every day,” Amanda Mattice, Brian’s wife, said. “He still has a long road ahead of him.”
In the weeks after the incident, the Goodyear All American Speedway community came together for the family. The speedway hosted a fundraiser and put the Mattice family up in a hotel near the hospital where Brian was staying for surgery and rehabilitation.
“I still have no words for the amazing support from our racing family weeks after my accident,” Brian said. “My wife kept me updated on everything everyone has done for us. All I can say is I am truly blessed to have such an amazing race family like I do. Everyone went over and beyond for my family, and I can’t thank them all enough for all the support that was given to our family in that time.”
Now, for the Mattice family, the attention will shift to racing.
“It’s really really emotional to get back in the car,” Adam said. “After the incident in April, I was unsure if my dad was going to make it or even be able to do this again with us. I’m just truly happy to have him with me.”
Those thoughts were echoed by older brother Blaine.
“It’s exciting to be back behind the wheel of my car,” Blaine elaborated. “Family having some kind of normalcy in my life feels good.”
Saturday’s 15-lap Jr. Mini Cup feature will mark the first race for either driver in 2022.
“I am really excited to be able to race this weekend,” Adam continued. “It’s been a long time since I’ve raced. It’s awesome to have some normalcy again in my life after the year we’ve had.”
Last year, Adam racked up an impressive 13 wins in 18 starts, most of them coming at Carteret County Speedway, while Blaine picked up his first victory at Dillon Motor Speedway.
Now, the younger Mattice brother hopes and believes he can return to his winning ways on Saturday.
“A win this weekend would be very emotional,” he stated. “The win would be for my dad. I feel like I will be a little off at first due to being out of the car for almost a year, but once I get a little practice in, I believe it will be like riding a bike.”
The patriarch of the Mattice household will be at the track on Saturday with the same fiery passion he has always had for racing and for his family, but also with a renewed spirit as he counts his blessings.
“I am truly blessed to be able to be here with my two boys doing what we love, which is racing, which I thought wasn’t going to happen again after my accident,” Brian explained. “Racing is something me and my boys love to do together and I hope we have a lot more racing to do in the future. As a family, we love to race, and we also love to go and watch and support others racing.”
Saturday’s race, dubbed the Pumpkin Pie 245, will also feature the Atlantic Turfscapes Super Truck Series in a championship double feature, as well as a Bomber doubleheader, Legends, Bandoleros, Champ Karts, and Sr. Mini Cups.
Tickets for the race are available at the gate on race day for $10, while kids five (5) and under are admitted free. Gates open at 12pm, and the green flag will wave at 2pm.
Goodyear All American Speedway is Jacksonville’s Action Attraction featuring racing and other events. For more information about Goodyear All American Speedway, check out the speedway’s website, like/follow “Goodyear All American Speedway” on Facebook, or follow the track on Instagram.
