Rookie of the Year contender Matt Latino will continue his debut season in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series by carrying the backing of FASS Diesel Systems at this weekend’s NHRA Reading Nationals presented by Nitro Fish.
Latino, who drives one of the KB Titan Racing Pro Stock Chevrolets, has already claimed round wins and reached a final round in his first year of competition. FASS will sponsor Latino throughout the Countdown to the Championship, including stops in St. Louis, Dallas, Las Vegas, and Pomona.
“It means a lot to me, personally, to have a company like FASS Diesel Systems get behind me in my rookie year,” Latino said. “It’s been a learning experience but I feel like I’ve learned quickly, and I’m proud of our accomplishments already. I know that there’s more to come, and I couldn’t be more excited to get back in my KB Titan Racing Camaro and go FASS.”
Latino’s path to Pro Stock began long before 2025. He started racing go-karts at age five and moved into door cars at 16, while gaining experience working on race cars as part of his father Eric’s Pro Mod program. Eric Latino, a Canadian Drag Racing Hall of Fame inductee, is one of the principals in KB Titan Racing and a former NHRA national record holder.
The younger Latino licensed in Pro Stock earlier this season and will make his eighth career start at Maple Grove Raceway. From the beginning, he has maintained that his career would be built on earning his own opportunities rather than relying solely on his family’s name.
Latino has shown steady growth since his debut. In his second national event he qualified and scored his first round win, then reached the final round at the Four-Wide Nationals in Las Vegas. He has since been a top-half qualifier at each event, earning at least one round win in all but one start.
His adaptability has been underscored by personal best performances. Latino reset his career-best elapsed time to 6.495 seconds in Seattle and qualified a career-best No. 6 at Sonoma, his most recent race.
“Once you start to see the results that you’ve been working so hard for, you want to build on it,” Latino said. “We’ll have a chance to do that now thanks to FASS Diesel Systems and our great partners.”
