Local Man Races Toward National Championship

by Nathan Lasher

After a race which will take place next weekend at Wayne County Speedway in Orrville, Ohio, Kittanning resident Matt Schaeffer will know whether or not he is a national champion.

Finishing third in the nation in the 16-24 age class and seventh in the nation in Pro-AM last year, Schaeffer has quickly moved up the ranks racing quads in the AMA Extreme Dirt Series. This year, continuing his competition against riders from all over the United States, Schaeffer is ranked #2 in the nation and is poised to receive the title of national champion.

“The whole family has raced go-carts and stuff like that,” said Matt. “My brother moved into sprint cars, and I’ve always had an interest in ATVs. I used to trail ride quite a bit. I thought it would be kind of cool to be able to race them, and I’ve been doing it ever since.”

Matt’s older brother Kevin currently runs 410 Sprint Cars and is a three-time track champion at the Lernerville Speedway.

Riders in the AMA Extreme Dirt Series are grouped according to age as well as ability. “The C Class riders are beginners; people that might just be having their first year on the circuit,” said Schaeffer’s mother Chris. “The B Class riders are more experienced, and have more time under their belt. The A Class riders are supposed to be the best riders in whatever age group they’re running. They also have the pro classes which are Pro, Pro-lite, and Pro-Am Unlimited. Matt runs 16-24 year-old, 25+, and he also runs Pro-AM Unlimited which are some of the best riders in the Country.”

The AMA Extreme Dirt Track National Championship series consists of seven races which take place on courses all over the Country. “Most of them are permanent courses, and what he does is called TT racing which is Track and Trail,” said Chris. “Part of it will be out on an established racetrack, and then they will do what I would call moderate jumping. It’s not like motocross; they are lower jumps. It’s all about speed. It’s as fast as you can get around the course in as little time as possible. Four of the races this year were held at brand-new tracks. They try to do that so that nobody has an advantage. Everybody is seeing a place for the first time. ” Races for the series took place this year in states including Virginia, North Carolina, New York, South Dakota, Ohio, and Missouri.

When he is not on the track, Matt owns his own business, Matt Schaeffer Excavating. He can also be found in his garage working on his quad. “I usually work on it for at least three or four hours every evening trying to get it ready to go and just doing general maintenance on it,” said Matt. “It’s definitely a full-time job just keeping stuff like that maintained.”

He also dedicates a lot of his personal time to staying in race shape. “He just rides continually,” said Chris. “We live in the country out in the woods and he does a lot of riding just to keep in shape. Plus, he rides mountain bikes. He and his fiancée ride miles and miles on the weekends. They’ll ride 15 or 20 miles.”

With strong family support, and a love of racing, Matt is looking forward to trying his best on August 28. Other than that, race fans can catch him throwing some mud at local race events. “He just goes anywhere there’s a race, basically,” said Chris. “If there’s a race locally that he can get to or he’s not called out on an emergency for work, he’s there.”

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