TULSA, O.K.- The last time Shane Golobic or Ryan Bernal raced a midget was the Chili Bowl back in 2024. But the pair and teammate Landon Brooks pulled off a remarkable feat for Matt Wood Racing (MWR) on Saturday (Jan. 18) night, scoring a trio of top-fives finishes in third, fourth and fifth. .
The team’s stars have said all week long that midget racing isn’t their day job. Golobic, Brooks and Bernal, along with teammates Colby Copeland and Daryn Pittman, are all sprint car drivers who once a year jump back in a midget for the Chili Bowl.
MWR puts the cars at the back of the shop. Around a month before race time, pulls them all back out to prep for Tulsa.
This year, they took the Expo Center by storm.
The week kicked off with Golobic running second to Kyle Larson on Monday (Jan. 13) night. Brooks went on to win Tuesday (Jan. 14) night’s prelim and Bernal finished second behind Tanner Thorson on Thursday (Jan. 16). The results locked all three drivers into the big show.
When Saturday’s track turned into a rip the fence, run the wall kind of curb, the Matt Wood trio was right at home. Channeling their California roots, the group put on an incredible performance in the A-main.
Brooks challenged Larson and Daison Pursley early on before sliding back to fifth, while Golobic and Bernal climbed to third and fourth. That secured the trio of top fives for the group.
“All in all, it’s a great week for this whole team,” Brooks said post-race. “Me, Shane and Ryan locked it in, and to be three of the top five is really good.
“(We’re) a bunch of sprint car guys, so it’s cool to come out here and compete with these midget guys who race 100 times a year.”
Bernal snuck past Brooks late to steal fourth away from his young teammate and felt at home running the wall like he does often through the year.
“It was hard, it was awesome,” Bernal told Frontstretch. “I love it though. Shane, myself and Landon run Tulare on a regular basis at home and that’s what you’ve got to do. You’ve got to get that right front plugged in there and just get on the throttle and get it turned down.”
Through all the chaos, Golobic was able to work his way up to a podium spot in the closing laps. The same guy that preached big picture on Monday took the same approach on Saturday. A podium as a driver and three top fives as a crew chief was nothing to be ashamed of for the 33-year-old, who also turned the wrenches on all three cars this year.
“Top three is my best finish” Golobic told Frontstretch. “That’s a success for me. Then to have three out of the top five is just something that you couldn’t ask for much better, especially for Matt [Wood] and everybody on this team. It’s super special, it’s definitely a year we’ll never forget.”
The feature provided a unique twist for Golobic. Not only was he racing his teammates, but cars that he himself set up.
“It’s weird,” Golobic admitted. “I mean I’ve helped crew chief alongside my brother and stuff before so like a lot of times, sometimes in my mind I’ll say well, Dustin’s crew chief on that one, just kind of clear it out that way.
“But tonight it was weird. Like, Ryan is my best friend aside from my brother, so you’re racing your best friend, he’s driving a car that you wrenched. You’ve got Landon, who is a heck of a kid who just works his tail off. I want him to succeed just as much as I want Ryan to succeed just as much as I want to succeed, so it’s like really a weird balance.”
In a year that Keith Kunz Motorsports showed up with 16 cars, CB Industries brought six and Paul Silva even brought an extra car, Matt Wood Racing not only proved they could hang with the best of them, but managed arguably the best showing of any team in the building.
Not bad for “a bunch of sprint car guys.”
Chase began working with Frontstretch in the spring of 2023 as a news writer, while also helping fill in for other columns as needed. Chase is now the main writer and reporter for Frontstretch.com's CARS Tour coverage, a role which began late in 2023. Aside from racing, some of Chase's other hobbies include time in the outdoors hunting and fishing, and keeping up with all things Philadelphia sports related.
Heck of a good showing for that whole team.