Hi everyone, my name is Matt Wheeler, and I’ve been a NASCAR fan since 1998. The moment that hooked me was the 1998 Daytona 500, as an 8-year-old. I remember thinking you couldn’t get any cooler than Dale Earnhardt.

I started collecting early on and had a room full of stuff – mainly 1/64 die-cast cars, posters, and magazines. Unfortunately, everything was stolen when I was 15 years old. I lost the passion and interest for years because of how hard it was to deal with losing part of my childhood.

Something changed when the pandemic hit. I caught myself falling in love with NASCAR again, and I had a brother buy me a Dale Earnhardt 1/24-scale die-cast car for my birthday. He told me I should start collecting again and that it would help me in coping with my loss. 

Now, I have been able to replace a great portion of what was lost, and I have been able to make some amazing friends along the way.

Thank you, Daily Downforce for letting me share my story!

Editor’s Note: Shoutout to Dogleg Media for connecting us with Matt.