Springfield, Vt.
Years later, he and his father, also named Matt, are now equal partners in a shared dream to get the younger Winter, 13, racing in the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup series. They’ve found a niche at the national go-kart circuit, Winter finally breaking through this season as one of the country’s top racers.
Winter’s father is convinced his son is destined for racing success.
The hard part is getting noticed. Sponsorships help fuel the production. Team Winter — family and friends, mostly — has lined up three: Beeze Tees, Vinyl Images and Pioneer Indoor Karting.
To continue to move up, Winter will need more sponsors. He also needs to continue to win.
“Money. Sponsors,” the younger Winter said during a Tuesday interview at his grandmother’s house in Springfield. “I’m still seeking for sponsors, a lot of sponsors. As long as I have sponsors to bring me there, then I can keep extending up in the series. That’s what I really want to do. … I just want a person to bring me up the ranks.”
Winter, who lives Alstead, N.H., and is entering eighth grade at Vilas Middle School this fall, was first introduced to racing by his father during their time in Missouri. The pair would go to Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55, in Pevely, Mo. just outside of St. Louis and take in races. It was there that the younger Winter was introduced to his love for speed.
“I was going to races when I was still in the stroller,” Winter said. “I love the adrenaline rush. I love going fast, even if I’m not the age to drive yet. I just love the competition and going past everyone.”
Winter’s father grew up in Alstead, went to Fall Mountain High and graduated from Keene High. He was about the same age as his son when Joe Bates, a local racer from Alstead, asked if he wanted to help out. Matt Winter joined the team.
“Nobody in my family did it,” said the elder Winter, who works as a truck driver for Cota & Cota in White River Junction. “I was helping out. My family didn’t have enough money to allow me to (drive). … I like cars, race cars, basically anything with an engine. I just like it. It’s addicting.
“(Matthew) likes the driving part,” he added. “I like the part where you’re trying to outsmart the next guy to figure out how to get yours to go faster.”
The younger Winter was 10 when he finally made his way onto the track for his first race, a local competition with the St. Louis Karting Association at I-55. The body of his kart was a rolling chassis, the metal body of a go-kart with no engine. The engine had to be installed.
His first year, in 2016, consisted of local races in Missouri and Illinois. Winter and his father moved back to New Hampshire last year, and this season has been his first on a national stage.
“At this one track in Missouri, I used to do horrible,” the younger Winter said. “I used to break a bunch of stuff there because the curbs were big. I’d hit the curbs all the time. One day, Dad asked if I wanted to go back there. I said sure. I got out there and I thought I was a different person. I was going so fast. I wasn’t breaking as much stuff.
“I think I had done it for longer and I was listening to more people,” he added. “I just started listening to everyone, and I got super fast.”
Maintaining the go-kart is a team effort, as is supporting Winter’s passion. The family spends close to $2,000 annually on expenses just to keep Winter racing. The cost increases if things go wrong.
“Two grand if everything goes well — nothing is broke, nothing happens to the truck or the trailer on the way down,” the elder Winter said. “But you also know that never happens.
“Our way to Jacksonville, wires broke and we had to stop and fix the trailer. In Ohio, the coil in the engine broke, so we had to get another one. … At national races, you need new tires for every race.”
Winter’s national presence also means more travel for the family — to Jacksonville, Fla. and Avon, N.Y. Race weekends include the family packed into a truck with the go-kart in an attached trailer and, at most, 18 hours in a car for two races. The trips, Winter said, almost feel like family vacations.
“It could be as simple as going to the hot tub at the hotel, going to the pool,” Matt Winter said. “Whenever we have spare time. It doesn’t always happen.”
The teen’s latest race was on Saturday, a local event at the Canaan Motor Club. His next national race is at the Genesee Valley Kart Club on Sept. 7 for the American Kart Racing Association nationals. Winter has put himself in good position for the grand national race later this fall, held at the Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw, S.C., on Oct. 19.
No matter what happens, Winter has found his calling. He’s just waiting to get noticed.”
“I’m confident that if he ever got that one chance (at NASCAR), he could do it,” Dad said. “I’m confident he could get in the kart today and do really well. … We’re just going to keep doing the go-kart thing and we’re just going to try to get as far as we can.”
Josh Weinreb can be reached at jweinreb@vnews.com or 603-727-3306.