Eatons find PASS tour unifying Little Deer Isle family teams up for success

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Matt Eaton’s wife, Tina Gray, is his crew chief. His oldest daughter, 21-year-old Tiffany, and a friend, Curtis Lyman, comprise his pit crew. His other two daughters (17-year-old Jaimmie and 9-year-old Kennady) help keep score and handle other chores and 7-year-old son Broddie also is involved.

Racing is very much a family affair for the Pro All-Stars Series rookie from Little Deer Isle.

Despite the fact he had only four pro stock races in 13 years of racing entering the season, Eaton has run respectably so far. He has run six of the seven PASS races and has four top-15 finishes: two 11ths, a 13th and a 14th.

“We had won championships at Unity [super sportsman] two years in a row so we wanted to do something new,” Eaton said. “Once we did the first PASS race, we said this is where we want to be.”

His first PASS race was at White Mountain Motorsports Park in New Hampshire.

“We went from last to sixth but then we broke a brake caliper,” said Eaton, who finished 21st.

He admitted the race was an eye-opener, saying it required an “ungodly adjustment.

“I’ve had to change gears every other week [to adapt to the different tracks]. That brings the thrill of racing back all over again,” said Eaton.

He said he’s getting “more relaxed now” but continues to struggle with time trials.

“I’m not good at time trials. There’s no incentive when you aren’t chasing anybody,” said Eaton.

Eaton and his family are enjoying the PASS tour although it means leaving Little Deer Isle at 2 a.m. some Saturdays to get to the track.

“We love it. It’s been more enjoyable than I thought it would be,” said Tina. “Everyone seems to be friendly. We’ve met a lot of new people and been to places we’ve never been before.”

“It’s like a large family,” said Eaton. “And the kids love it.”

Eaton added that there isn’t the favoritism sometimes evident at local tracks. Everyone is treated fairly on the PASS tour and he has found that refreshing.

“Everyone gets the same treatment whether you’re a rookie in your first week of racing or a 30-year guy,” said Eaton.

He said drivers may lean on each other and swap paint during a PASS race but drivers don’t purposely try to spin others out like at the local tracks from time to time.

He also has found the PASS administrators, drivers and teams to be helpful.

When he raced in Nova Scotia last weekend, he had to fill out tax forms.

“I had never done it before but they [PASS officials] helped me with it,” said Eaton.

He enjoys the longer races on the PASS tour that range from 100 to 300 laps, compared to the 35-lap pro stock features at local tracks.

He admits the longer races have required an adjustment and have taken their toll on his body.

“I’m always black and blue under my arms [after a PASS race] and I almost passed out last week. The heat was so intense,” said Eaton.

Since he is only 5-foot-6, Eaton has a special chassis set-up to fit “my short legs.”

The money on the PASS tour isn’t bad, either.

“You make as much for last place [$350] as you do for second place at the local tracks,” said Eaton. “And instead of racing the same guys over and over again, you get to race some new guys every week [along with the PASS regulars],” said Eaton, who drives a Chevy Monte Carlo that he bought last season.

“I’ve been real happy with the car,” he said.

Eaton, a lobster fisherman, had a breakthrough year in 2001 when he won the super street points championship at Hermon’s Speedway 95.

He followed that up with the back-to-back super sportsman points titles at Unity in 2003 and 2004.

What expectations does he have for the PASS tour the rest of the season?

“We’d like to run at least one of the PASS races at every track. We need to find out how to get to them. We’d like to win a heat. We’ve been second in a heat already. And we’d like to finish in the top five in at least one race,” said Eaton.

The PASS tour heads to Oxford Plains Speedway on Sunday for the New England Dodge Dealers Firecracker 150. Racing begins at 5 p.m.