Boat repair
in El Cajon

Matthew Thompson has been around engines his entire life. His grandfather built his own outboards and raced D Hydro boats in the 1950s. His father and uncle raced NHRA Super Stock cars, and Matthew grew up at the track with his three sisters. He started racing junior dragsters at 12, but soon found he enjoyed working on the cars even more than driving them.

Working alongside his father, Matthew helped tune one of his sisters to NHRA world championships in 2005 and 2007. In his early twenties, he joined the professional NHRA tour. His career brought him into the orbit of Dale Armstrong, Tim Richards, Don Schumacher, Ron Capps, John Medlen, Tony Stewart, Matt Hagan and many others. He built engines and cylinder heads, worked on clutches and celebrated multiple NHRA national event wins.

In 2012, Matthew handled the clutch on Jack Beckman’s Don Schumacher Racing Funny Car team as it won the world championship. After more than 20 years in racing, he turned that experience toward something he had always loved: boats. Today he brings those mechanical roots to every project at Thompson Speed and Marine.