One might say Nancy Matter is a living, driving contradiction.

The very fact she's in the cockpit of her Top Alcohol Funny Car on the NHRA circuit is almost an oxymoron in itself, because of the time involved from her first visit to the strip.  

Careful, now, in using that term oxymoron, but since her very life and career has been one of huge contradictions, let's go with it, largely because oxy is the Greek term for "sharp."

So today, let's just say Nancy is an oxyMatter.

 

She’s done it all, and wants to do a little more

One might say Nancy Matter is a living, driving contradiction.

The very fact she's in the cockpit of her Top Alcohol Funny Car on the NHRA circuit is almost an oxymoron in itself, because of the time involved from her first visit to the strip.  

Careful, now, in using that term oxymoron, but since her very life and career has been one of huge contradictions, let's go with it, largely because oxy is the Greek term for "sharp."

So today, let's just say Nancy is an oxyMatter.
   

Consider:

* As a youngster, she was very active in gymnastics. You know - a little girl in those very pink, tight outfits doing the routines. Ironically, Nancy wound up competing in MEN'S gymnastics.  

* Not wanting to leave her early roots and schooling when her parents moved from California to Kansas, she struck out on her own -- back to California -- at the young age of 16.

* Music and later recording entered her life, and on what instrument did she break in? Flute? Piano? Maybe accordion? Nope, that old favorite of Gene Krupa, drums.

* And although her parents exposed her to drag racing, during her marriage -- and two children -- her husband, later her ex-husband, would have no part of it.

* And today Matter combines a blue ribbon recording career -- her primary sponsor on the purple, yellow, black and white 2002 Camaro is TheMusic.com / The Who -- with racing.

Enough of the oxymatters examples.

What does this working and driving contradiction's career in her own words, from childhood to the present?
     

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To Matter, first things first:

 

Gymnastics

"I never thought I would wind up in men's competition in gymnastics, because it was an untapped territory at the time," she says.

"They had a couple of girls playing high school men's soccer and baseball, but gymnastics, none. It required hard-core conditioning that the girls didn't do. They both require different physical stamina and conditioning due to the different types of equipment and physical strength required."

She had already been competing for 4 years and was scouted by a man who had a different sort of vision, Cleveland High Schools Men's Gymnastic Coach. He approached Nancy at that time to be the first girl to ever compete in Men's Gymnastics, not only in Los Angeles, but within the United States. She thought about it for a day, and said "sure, but you do know I'm a girl, right?"  

Nancy was 13 years old when this came into her life. The same age she was when she met Louie and Vicki Gasparrelli. From then, her weekends were spent helping do a variety of jobs at the track; she was actually part of a crew for an Alcohol Funny Car.

Also during this time Nancy's Mom worked for Wally and Barbara Parks at the National Hot Rod Association when it was in Toluca Lake, California, also known as Burbank.

"I worked there off and on during the summer time to make a little extra money after summer school ended, taking photo copies of driver entry forms and filing them."

During the next three years, Nancy perfected her Gymnastics craft and finished her Junior year of High School moving into fifth position within the City of Los Angeles Men's Interscholastic Gymnastics program, and, going racing on the NHRA circuit as much as possible with the Gasparrelli Race Team on the weekends.

Then came some ups and downs.

"When I was 15 years old, I was going into my senior year of high school, being scouted by universities for a full scholarship when her parents said they were relocating to Columbus, Kansas, a town that had less people in it than the Alcohol Funny Cars in the pit area." 

She tried everything she could at that age to convince them to let her stay, but they wouldn't hear of it.

The upshot of it was as soon as she reached 16 she left home on her own and headed back to California, eager to finish her senior year and get to college.

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Enter music.

"The gymnastics thing had abruptly changed, but by a fluke, a biker friend of mine taught me the basics of how to play drums," Matter explains. "I found it a new physical exertion and intellectually stimulating to me and I found a new sporting activity in music. I then played with a band for about four months, the first song I learned from intro to outro was ZZ Top's Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers. And I was only 17."

And then there was marriage and the young 'uns. Matter's eventual ex-husband didn't want anything to do with racing during their 20 years of marriage. However, she did keep in touch with the Gasparrellis during this time. For about 10 years she played with rock and roll bands around southern California and worked as an accountant.

"I walked out of my last accountant's job and went to a trade school for music, the Trebas Institute of the Recording Arts. While still there I took on another job, at a cassette, CD and vinyl duplication house in Sun Valley. I was, you might say, working on my masters degree in music, figuratively, not literally."

Then, while still raising two children, it was on to Disney Studios and while there she was encouraged to open her own studio, Moonlight Mastering, which she did and gradually built up a clientele.  

"I didn't want anyone to know the albums I had worked on in the past, because what if I failed? A person can't go around stating what albums they've worked on and then not be able to back up their work"      

Matter said she joined the Recording Academy, went to music trade shows and at the same time offering free services of one or two songs to try and win over clients. 

"The next thing I knew, I did an album for D.H. Peligro of The Dead Kennedy's, then Olivia Newton John and then the man himself, Ray Charles, Peter Gabriel, The Who and more."

That studio, Moonlight Mastering, there in Texas, is in its ninth year.

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Back to racing

"During the time I was building a business, I found my friends, Lou and Vicki Gasparrelli. They knew I was going back full circle and had so much to recover from two years of marriage, raising my kids and it was about two years when I went looking for them again."

Matter says Vicki was emailing her every week or so trying to get her to come back to the races and she eventually went to a national event with her son and his friend.

"They knew nothing of the races from my childhood and my son, who was now l8, couldn't figure out why we were going to Vegas. When I told them, their mouths dropped open."

She was hooked.

"I can't thank the Gasparrelli family enough for really getting me back into racing. I am looking forward to a very long career as an owner and in the driver's seat." 

Matter says that from her childhood, racing and music are two complete and separate businesses, they have their own personalities and she's lucky enough to incorporate them for a whole picture of who she is.

So what about the crew, and after that, her goals?

"Tom Conway is the crew chief. Jeremy Mitchell and Chris Collins are the engine builders, and Ryan, my son, is on the crew.

"They are really the backbone of keeping the car safe and work really hard on and off the track for us to compete.  I know every time I get into that car, after I check the wheelie bar when I'm suited up, I don't have to worry or think about anything else except driving because of these guys."

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Goals
   

"A Top Five division in the Alky Funny Car for '07 and a top 25 nationally would be awesome. We got a late start, but qualified for both races we first entered. Later this year I start training to drive a Nitro Funny Car.

"I do see myself moving from music eventually and racing professionally full time, possibly by 2009 or 2010.

"Meanwhile, I'm hoping I will be fortunate to win a Grammy and a Wally the same day during the Winternationals in the next couple of years. Hey, you can't blame a gal for having dreams. I'm also being interviewed for a book right now for my engineering knowledge. That will be available in September of this year."

In the meantime, look for Nancy in the Alky Funny Car pits and that purple, yellow, black and white Camaro.    

And perhaps before too long you might also catch her in the Winner's Circle. And don't be surprised if The Who or members of another top current band are also on hand.

 

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