There was a time when Matt Scranton’s name was drag racing household back at the turn of the century. Now he’s making a comeback behind the wheel of a Pro 632 Camaro fielded by Curt and Lisa Steinbach.

Scranton’s new story actually builds off of the story he began writing over two decades ago.

In 2001, Scranton was the NMCA Super Street champion following an undefeated season and concluded the season with both ends of the national record. A year later, he transitioned to the NHRA’s new Xplode Sport Compact series and became the first import to break the 200 mph barrier behind the wheel of the Turbonetics Toyota Celica. He completed an undefeated season and became the NHRA’s 2002 Pro Rear Wheel Drive champion. Scranton also won the 2004 series championship.

However, the series started to wane and eventually sold out to NOPI at the end of 2007. It didn’t matter to Scranton as he had already turned the page and went NHRA Pro Stock racing. Scranton made a solid first impression by qualifying No. 13 at his first race and reaching the semi-finals. Scranton raced with a car powered by KB Racing horsepower. Inexplicably, the car failed to qualify for the next six races.

Scranton, who raced with his brother Jay, and father John, attempted to do their own engine program, but that too came up short. Because Scranton had raced a Toyota in the Sport Compact series, there was a relationship intact with the manufacturer’s motorsports division. Behind the scenes, there was an interest in bringing Toyota into the NHRA’s Pro Stock division.

However, when the economic downturn hit in 2008, those talks disappeared.

“It was hard to walk away, but it was what I needed to do,” Scranton admitted.

While Scranton declined to discuss details, the family dynamic that had made the racing so strong in the prosperous years disintegrated. Later, his father’s death left him alone, apart from the rest of the family.

Scranton opted to chart a life pathway, pushing drag racing away and setting his sights on becoming a firefighter. He joined the Pasco County Fire Rescue, where he remains today.

Drag racers can take breaks, but those are usually short-lived. Scranton is ready to rebuild his name in the straight-line sport and has found what he believes is the perfect setting.

Scranton is getting his chance thanks to an opportunity provided by Curt and Lisa Steinbach, who field both a Mountain Motor Pro Stock entry as well as a Pro Stock-style Pro 632 Camaro Scranton and will soon drive in competition at the Bradenton Dragway Snowbird Nationals.

“I’ve always wanted to get back in the swing of things racing, and I’ve had a lot of opportunities to drive people’s cars, but just something with a clutchless 5-speed and that kind of car is just very appealing to me,” Scranton said. “It’s always been what we race pretty much, with Pro Stock and all that stuff, those import cars. It’s going to be hopefully an easy transition.”

The car is one thing; life is another. For the first time since the family rift sent the Scrantons to opposite ends of the spectrum, he is racing for the first time without his brother and father, who passed earlier this year from cancer.

“My dad’s the reason why my brother and I raced,” Scranton revealed. “One day, I just was sitting there; it was January 1st. I looked at my girlfriend; I said, ‘I just want to do something for once in my life that I’m not hung on anybody’s tit or whatever.

“Or anybody can say, ‘Well, you wouldn’t have done that without your brother or your dad, or whatever.”

The Steinbach opportunity has been what Scranton, who worked for his dad in the elevator business before returning to his original firefighter calling, needed to return to a sport he once dominated.

Credit the opportunity to repair a competitor’s product as the impetus for joining the two together.

“Curt owns Stellar Marine over in St. Pete, and I purchased a boat from one of his competitors and just got a pair of Yamahas on the back,” Scranton said. “I was having problems with one of the engines, and the company that I bought the boat from, the dealer I bought it from, was kind of just jacking me around, putting me off.”

Scranton called Steinbach.

“I said, ‘Listen, I know you’re a Yamaha dealer and all that,” Scranton revealed. Can I bring this boat to you, and maybe you can take a look at it and tell me what’s wrong with the one engine because it’s been acting up for quite some time.”

“And so as soon as I got there, he looked at me and said, ‘All right, well look, I’ll fix your boat, but you’re going to go racing with me in Indy and help me on the clutch.”

It took Steinbach every bit of two minutes to cure Scranton’s boat ills.

Scranton held up his end of the bargain and went to the NHRA U.S. Nationals, where he assisted Tommy Lee with the clutch.

The trip was what Scranton needed to motivate his return.

“I need to get back out there and see if I still got it, and it’d be a good way to do that,” Scranton said. “Put me in one of these cars with an engine that’s half the cost of an 825 engine so we can actually go out and run this thing and make as many laps as we need to and not break the bank.”

Scranton has had time to reflect on what he missed from drag racing, and it became abundantly clear on his first day back behind the wheel.

“The camaraderie, the no sleep for 48 plus hours thrashing to make the next race, the hate losing more than I like winning mentality are all at the top of the list,” Scranton said. “What I missed the most are the fans. Being able to interact with the fans. For example, picking up a child out of a wheelchair and setting them in the driver’s seat, and starting the car is an amazing feeling. The reaction is priceless.

“Being in a position to help someone is the most selfish thing that you can do. Why is it selfish? It’s selfish because of the feeling that you get from doing so. The self-gratification. The good feeling that I get from helping others. Nothing compares to that, just like firefighters who help others on their worst days. The feeling that they get knowing that they helped someone is a feeling that is impossible to put into words. I encourage everyone, whenever you see a firefighter walk up and shake their hand, and say thanks. They are the true heroes.”

And for Scranton, he’s a hero who gets to drive a fast race car, just like he used to back in the day.