Race Car Driver... as a kid, that's all I ever wanted to be. It was my childhood dream. Growing up watching Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, and other great drivers, they inspired me. There was nothing I wanted more than to climb into a stock car and hear that engine roar. That fire inside me never subsided, and today it burns even hotter.

This quest to "live my dream" of being a race car driver rekindled the fire inside me after the death of my mother, Peggy Poole, on January 6th, 2003. Mom died suddenly from a heart attack, which devastated our family and left my father alone and suffering from Parkinson's Disease. My mother was the rock solid foundation of our family, and as I walked away from her funeral, my only desire was to honor her memory in some way. I had a new goal. I was going to become  a race car driver and I was going to win. As a kid, I always told Mom "I want to be a race car driver".

Then on May 5th, 2005, my world was again shattered when one of my dearest friends, Tonya Schultz, was brutally murdered by her husband, in front of their two young children. Yet another tragedy only fueled the desire to make this racing dream come true.

But without a golden resume and a long list of racing accomplishments to my credit, the word "NO" has been a very popular word during my pursuit of the dream. But it hasn't stopped the desire and the drive. All I needed was "my shot" at the dream, one chance to show what I can do behind the wheel. Carl Edwards handed out business cards that said "If you're looking for a driver, you're looking for me", and look where he is today. He got a shot, and he made the most of it. I have attended racing school at several tracks, and did well, but turning laps at racing school just did not feed the burning desire to race, and win. Bottom line, you will NOT find anyone else with the same desire to win that I have. My hero, 2-time NASCAR champion Tony Stewart, said it best... "I'm just a simple boy from Indiana, I don't want to be a legend or an icon or anything. I just want to be a race car driver, pure and simple" I feel the same way... I'm just a simple boy from Maryland, I don't want to be a legend or an icon or anything. I just want to be a race car driver, pure and simple.

To find out more, please visit my website:

www.chasingtheracingdream.com

www.crossbowmotorsports.com

www.mattpooleracing.com