MATT LUX AND SCOTT BIDWELL FORM THE NEWEST E MOD POWERHOUSE
by Brian Spaid

June 3, 2005 

   Over the last five years, the E Mod division at Tri-City Speedway was dominated by Empire State hotshoe Brent Rhebergen and his car owner Bruce Steadman of Centerville. Prior to the 2005 season, Steadman sold his team ending the most potent driver-car owner combination in the business.

   As a result, the E Mod division would see more winners and less dominance, right? Wrong!

   Enter Franklin driving ace Matt Lux and Meadville car owner Scott Bidwell. Together, they have formed the new team to beat in the E Mod division, and not just at Tri-City. Entering this weekend, they have won six out of eight races entered, including three at Tri-City, two at Sharon Speedway and one at Mercer Raceway Park.

   And they’ve done it with the youngest pit crew to boot.

   Bidwell, 33, is a well-known E Mod car owner. Relegated to a wheelchair after a high school football injury at age 15, he entered the racing scene nine years ago with good friend Dwayne Pond. The two Crawford County men acquired a Pro Stock and raced it for two years with limited success. After two victories, they decided to purchase an E Mod.

   “Dwayne and I didn’t like the different rules at all the tracks,” recalls Bidwell. “The E Mods rules were generally the same at all the area tracks.”

   Eventually, Pond dropped out of racing and Bidwell hired Jim Frontz of Cambridge Springs to race his cars. For five seasons, Frontz and Bidwell were a fixture. They won eight races together. Then, in 2004, Bidwell sought out Lux.

   “I befriended Matt at Raceway 7 in Ohio. I liked the way he drove his Late Model and I told him that he could drive my car sometime. He agreed and we just waited until the time was right.”

   In July, Bidwell and Lux joined forces for a night when Frontz was sick. Lux then became Frontz’s teammate, but Frontz decided to venture on his own within a few weeks. Lux and Bidwell won two races together in 2004 before barnstorming the E Mod class in 2005. In less than half a year, Lux and Bidwell have won the same number of races that Frontz won with Bidwell in five seasons.

   “Matt is a good racer. He never gets rattled. He’s smooth and his driving style really suits the E Mods.”

   Lux, 30, enjoys driving the cars too. The former Pro Stock star won the 1999 Applefest 100, which then propelled him into a successful Late Model career. The E Mods may be considered a step down for some drivers, but they are a nice break for Lux.

   “They are fun to drive and I feel so much more relaxed in them,” comments Lux. “I put a lot of pressure on myself racing Late Models with some of the competition out there now. With the E Mods, the drivers and teams have fun and its enjoyable to race against a bunch of good drivers and car owners.”

   Lux, who was the 2004 Late Model track champion at Gambler’s Raceway Park in Clearfield, also credits much of his success to Bidwell and his teenage crew.

   “Scott is a great car owner. He gets me whatever I need to get the job done. There are always fresh tires on the car. He’s got a group of young guys working with him that are amazing. They want to race all the time, especially when the Late Model isn’t running well for me. I’m really impressed with them.”

   Bidwell, who is paralyzed from the chest down, is a high school math teacher in Saegertown. He knows a number of kids at the school and some of them learned about his interest in auto racing. Gradually, they joined the race team. Now, they form his entire crew.

   “These kids are absolutely amazing. They’re out there winning races against guys twice their age with twice the experience. They’re really into it. They’ve gone to seminars, studied tire pressures and fuel issues. It’s so much fun to watch them work.”

   The team consists of Conneaut Lake brothers, Tim Latta, 16, and Matt Latta, 12, and two Saegertown teens, Jake Pieffley, 16, and Tom Houck, 16. The foursome may remind racing movie fans of the Kenny Rogers film “Six Pack.” Although not as young as the six kids on the country singer’s fictional dirt late model crew in the 1982 flick, their experience is just as incredible.

   “These teens are working with one of the best drivers in the area winning races in the car they’ve worked on,” states Bidwell. “They are gaining such confidence and having a lot of fun. It’s an incredible life experience for these guys. With my neck injury, I have limited use of my hands, so they keep the car on the track. They do everything.”

   “I admire Scott and those guys,” adds Lux, who works as a mill operator at Tapco Tube in Meadville. “Scott does things that some say he can’t, and he’s a hard worker. He’s got a ton of sponsors on his race car and he and his crew are the best in the pit area right now.”

   That says a lot coming from Lux, who has 46 career feature wins and one track title in three classes combined. The sponsors on the Pierce No. 21 include Fame RV Center and Saegertown Hardware of Saegertown, Maloney Tool & Mold, Eddie’s Foot Long Hot Dogs, The Bolt Place, Talbar Inc., Rich Johnson Electric and Barrickman Radiator of Meadville, KCB Motorsports and Butch’s Pub of Blooming Valley, Finck Tire of Cambridge Springs, Wedge Motorsports of Hartford, Ohio, and Marvin and Jan Metzler of Conneaut Lake.

   “I’m a little surprised how well we’ve gelled as a team,” notes Lux. “I never thought we’d have this many wins so fast.”

   Neither did many pit observers. It should be no surprise though. When you put a skilled driver in top notch equipment fielded by a dedicated crew and car owner, you get a winner regardless of age or ability.