Mathews' education background is in engineering from
Kettering University in
Flint, Michigan. During his time there he also served as a contributing member of Kappa Sigma chapter of
Theta Xi fraternity. Mathews began racing in a
kart at the age fof fifteen. He moved to a mini-
sprint car at Wilmot Speedway in
Wilmot, Wisconsin, and was the track rookie of the year and fourth overall. He finished second in mini-sprint points at Wilmot in 1996, and fourth overall in the Wisconsin Mini-sprint Association (which included races at the
Calumet County Racing Association). He had five wins on the season, and recorded three wins at Wilmot in 1997. Late in 1997, he raced the one mile
dirt track at
Springfield, Illinois, in an
ARCA series event. Mathews moved to the
Mid-American SuperTruck Series on asphalt in 1998. He had three top-five finishes as a rookie, and two features wins and a pole position in 1999 and 2000. He then moved to the Super Late Models at
Slinger Super Speedway in 2001, and was the series Rookie of the Year. In 2003, Mathews quit his job as an
engineer at
Harley Davidson to race full-time. He competed in the Midwest All-Star Racing Series (MARS), and he won his fiftieth race on a short track that season. He competed in the
Slinger Nationals, and finished fifth against nationally known drivers. Another season highlight was finishing third at
Madison International Speedway ahead of
Kurt Busch and
Matt Kenseth. He moved to the
American Speed Association National Series in 2004 as well as selected Super Late Model events. In 2005. he competed in six different Super Late Model series from
Minnesota to
Florida. He earned 34 top-tens, seventeen top-fives, and one win during the 2005 season. He also finished top-five in points in three major touring series that same year. In 2006, he competed in the
ARCA series with Eddie Sharp Racing where his best finish was second at Michigan Speedway. ==NASCAR career==