The Vault
MIKE MATTSON – REMEMBERING AN UPPER PENINSULA RACING LEGEND
Posted on: Tuesday November 14, 2023
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(The following is a chapter from the 2019 release ‘Racing In The 906’ and can be purchased at this website by clicking on the ‘books’ tab.)
When conversations around the water cooler in the Marquette area pop up regarding top-flight drivers in Sands Speedway history the name Mike Mattson is almost certain to be in those chats.
The Marquette native has perhaps won more late model features and track championships than any other at the quarter-mile bullring. Now 76-years-old as this book goes to print in late 2019, Mattson estimates he’s won well over 50 features in his career, many of them coming at Sands.
Mattson actually began working on and building race cars as a teenager. At the age of 14 Mattson was constructing roadsters and had a knack for wrenching on hot rods. “For some reason I was able to do mechanic work right away,” Mattson said. “I didn’t spend money on engines or anything else. I made the cars run smooth. To me the handling part of a race car that all was more important to me.”
Mattson started out racing at Sands when the track opened in ’69. “I remember I was a rookie racing against a guy like Allen Yelle who’d been running for years already and had a leg up on me,” Mattson said.
Mattson poses with his Mustang at Wisconsin International Raceway in Kaukauna in the mid 1970’s. (Vercauteren family photo)
A race car that handled well at Sands oval was a must of a driver was to have any success. “It was a tough one because it’s built up on a hill,” Mattson explained. “Up by the flagstand, it’s 15 feet higher than the backstretch is on the bottom. It’s a tough track to run on. Iverson and those guys would come from Escanaba like Duke Gardiner once in a while. Gene Coleman ran here a bit, too. You’ve got to really be smooth at Sands when you hit the corners. If you’re leading a race there the only way you’re going to win is to hang on the inside on the corners.”
Having worked at Olson Motors in town Mattson was a diehard Ford campaigner in the early part of his career. Sometimes though he’s experienced bad luck with motors, blowing a powerplant on occasion. “One Memorial day weekend I remember blowing a motor in hot laps well before the races,” Mattson said. “The motor was junk. It was the first race of the year. I ran into town to Olson’s where I worked. They had a lot of junk cars out back. I went to Bill Everaet and asked “is there anything back there I could use for a replacement motor?” Nothing that was out back would have worked. Bill was wiggling a cigar in his mouth and pointed to a brand new car out in the lot. I said “you’re kidding right?” He replied, “nope take it.” We yanked the engine out and got back in time to race. We barely made it back in time. We ran that night and it was double features, too.”
Mattson at WIR in Kaukauna in the mid 1980’s. (Bob Bergeron photo)
Mattson and his crew returned the motor and dropped it back into the car back on the lot the next day. “We made it back to the track with the motor change and what not in under three hours,” Mattson said.
Even with all of his success at Sands perhaps his biggest victory in his career came at Norway in 1985 when he beat the nation’s winningest short track driver, Dick Trickle, in the Stateline Challenge race. “That year I beat Trickle he had twice the car I had,” Mattson said. “He had this tricked out, light weight stuff with a cheated up V 6 motor under the hood. I was running an old, tired motor I had to borrow from Bruce Honkala just to make the race. We had a yellow with 15 laps to go when I was leading. I saw him lined up behind me and thought “Oh boy I’m not gonna win this one.”
Mattson scored the upset win in front of a packed partisan Michigan crowd. Afterwards at the local watering hole the Thirsty Whale Trickle approached Mattson and asked him “Who the hell are you?” Mattson replied, “I’ve raced against you many times in Kaukauna” and their paths crossed years earlier – another tale Trickle forgot about.
Mattson had plenty of success with this black and gold Firebird in the mid 1980’s. (Bob Bergeron photo)
Mattson relives the story:
“One time we went racing in Central Wisconsin and we blew a clutch in my hauler. Paul Smith was with me and said he “sort of” knew who Trickle was and we broke down not far from his shop. Smith called Trickle and explained their predicament. “Trickle not only borrowed a clutch for us to use he let us use his racing shop,” Mattson said. “He left his shop open to us and said “I’ve gotta bail it’s my anniversary. I’ve gotta take the wife out for dinner. He said just lock the shop up when you’re done.” Even after we told him the story he didn’t remember it. Beating Trickle was by far the biggest accomplishment of my career.”
Mattson was also a threat to win at paved tracks in Norway and Escanaba and won his share of features at those ovals. When the 1980’s rolled around Mattson reluctantly switched from running Ford to Chevy motors. “We were blowing motors and it was just hard to keep them together.”
The Marquette racer had earned his stripes at WIR’s D-shaped, half-mile paved oval in the ‘80’s and came oh-so-close to winning a 100 lapper one year. “I remember leading most of the race when somebody crashed with 10 laps to go,” Mattson recalled. “It was really hot that day. On the restart the car quit. I had to pump on the gas a few times and it started going again. By that time a couple of guys passed me including the race winner J.J. Smith. I wound up second to him. A couple of more laps I think I could have repassed him.”
Having worked in the auto body business Mattson’s machines often sparkled, even late summer during the dog days of the race season. “For that reason, we always tried to go above and beyond with how our cars looked,” Mattson said. “It was a nice career. We’d run the Soo in Canada, too. The WIR competition was tough and Bob Iverson I’d say was the closest thing to a true “rival” I guess. Bob was very talented but also spent some money, so we always took great pride whenever we were able to beat him. Norway was a good track too. Relatively flat but it seemed very easy to drive on compared to Sands.”
A Marquette area contractor named Jim Nelson spotted Mattson’s talents early on. He thought Mattson had “the goods” just a few years into his career and offered to support Mattson financially if he wanted to try racing for a living in NASCAR. “Jim wanted to sponsor me to go NASCAR, but I didn’t follow up with him at the time,” Mattson admitted.” I had young kids at home and just couldn’t pull the pin. After I raced against some of them years ago, I realized they were just human like I was.”
Mattson has seen a change in the sport in the Marquette area with dwindling fan attendance and driver participation. When he hung up his helmet, he was still active as a race car owner, as his grandson Reece Cavin and daughter Carrie Mattson also took their turn behind the wheel driving Mattson’s cars. “I used to have late models and four cylinders but I’m down to just the four-cylinder Reece runs now,” Mattson. “The sport sort of died off up here over the years. I bought this track at Sands with my friends and sometimes I wish I never would have done it. Years ago, we’d get the Norway and Escanaba guys to travel. Other tracks are having the same problem. We’re having to dig into our pockets and pay bills we never had to before. The money just doesn’t come in like it did. I blame a lot of it on cell phones. People get those cell phones and they talk all sorts of shit about a driver or track on social media. We’d be better off without (cell phones) in my opinion.
“Overall though my own racing I won a lot more races than I should have and have no regrets as far as that goes,” Mattson said. “It was a great ride!”