{"id":89582,"date":"2023-09-20T21:18:42","date_gmt":"2023-09-20T21:18:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/paralympic-gold-medalist-matt-stutzman-the-armless-archer-discusses-sub-four-second-pass-and-drag-racing-future\/"},"modified":"2023-09-20T21:18:42","modified_gmt":"2023-09-20T21:18:42","slug":"paralympic-gold-medalist-matt-stutzman-the-armless-archer-discusses-sub-four-second-pass-and-drag-racing-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/drag-racing\/uncategorized\/paralympic-gold-medalist-matt-stutzman-the-armless-archer-discusses-sub-four-second-pass-and-drag-racing-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Paralympic Gold Medalist Matt Stutzman, the Armless Archer, Discusses Sub-Four Second Pass and Drag Racing Future"},"content":{"rendered":"

Drag racing is an inherently dangerous sport, with drivers fighting to maintain control of vehicles boasting hundreds, if not thousands, of horsepower. Now imagine doing that\u2026without arms.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s exactly what Matt Stutzman \u2013 better known as the Armless Archer \u2013 has been doing since 2014. A professional archer by trade, the 40-year-old from Eddyville, Iowa, has won a litany of medals and championships at events all around the world, including at the Paralympic Games. Most recently, he won the World Para Championship in Dubai. He even holds a Guinness World Record for the longest, most accurate shot with a bow and arrow. Yet his true passion lies in the automotive world.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n

\u201cA lot of people know me as the Armless Archer,\u201d Stutzman said. \u201cBut the reality is, when I was eight or nine, I told my dad I was going to be a professional race car driver. He tossed me the keys to our farm truck and said, \u2018Figure it out.\u2019 I learned how to drive tractors and trucks, and even a motorcycle. I\u2019ve always had the love of cars and racing; it just took a little while to get to where I\u2019m at.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Where he\u2019s at currently is running Top Sportsman at local events in his 1968 Camaro, powered by a 540ci big block Chevy with a 10-71 High Helix blower running on alcohol. It\u2019s the result of nearly a decade of work, learning how to race by driving with only his feet \u2013 from diesel trucks to street cars, to now piloting what he says is essentially a Pro Mod.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe reason I picked drag racing and archery, and fell in love with them, is because both sports don\u2019t care that I have no arms,\u201d said Stutzman. \u201cThe car doesn\u2019t care. It just wants to be driven. I can get in a car, go compete against people with hands, and do well at it. I feel kind of normal. And everyone I have met at the track has been amazing. They see me as a racer, not a guy without arms.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The combination of Stutzman\u2019s determination and unique talent was rewarded recently when he ran his first sub-five second pass in the 1\/8 mile, clocking a 4.97 at 145 mph at Central Illinois Dragway in Havana, Illinois.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t planning on getting into the 4\u2019s right away,\u201d Stutzman said, laughing. \u201cBut it was a good track. I was ecstatic. Honestly, I didn\u2019t even realize it right away. I only ran 7 lbs. of boost, and I thought I would go out there and run another 5.0 pass. It was crazy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

After posting in-car video footage of the pass on Facebook, Stutzman has gained a bit of celebrity status. The video<\/a> has currently been shared over 4,000 times, something even he didn\u2019t see coming.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI expected it to do a little bit, but I didn\u2019t expect it to do what it did,\u201d said Stutzman. \u201cSome people know about me locally, but to the level we\u2019re taking it now, it\u2019s just now getting some attention. It\u2019s been amazing.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And while the overwhelming majority of comments have been positive, Stutzman admits there are those that have concerns about what he\u2019s doing, and whether it\u2019s actually safe to compete at such speeds. While he understands their trepidation, he says he has taken every precaution to maintain safety.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI know what I\u2019m capable of,\u201d Stutzman said. \u201cIt\u2019s not like one day I woke up and said, \u2018Hey, I\u2019m gonna run four seconds.\u2019 I\u2019ve been racing a long time, and driving with my feet forever. I\u2019ve thought everything out strategically with my team. But I want people to know I\u2019m doing it safely. I want the guy beside me to feel safe. That\u2019s important to me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Stutzman is hoping to get the car down into the 4.70\u2019s by the end of this year, and from there, continue to push his limits. If both he and the car seem comfortable running 70\u2019s, he\u2019d like to drop into the 4.50\u2019s within three years. And from there? Well, he\u2019s got even bigger plans in mind.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI want to run NHRA stuff,\u201d said Stutzman. \u201cI want to travel and go to other tracks. I\u2019m not content with just racing at local tracks for points. I want to race big events like the Million Dollar race. Who knows if I\u2019ll ever win it, but I want to try. That\u2019s where I see Matt Stutzman in the next 5-10 years.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The next race fans can see Stutzman at is the Builder\u2019s Brawl, where he has received an official invitation by promoter Joe Zolper. The event will be held at Ozark Raceway Park in Rogersville, Missouri, on Oct. 20-21.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The post Paralympic Gold Medalist Matt Stutzman, the Armless Archer, Discusses Sub-Four Second Pass and Drag Racing Future<\/a> first appeared on Drag Illustrated | Drag Racing News, Opinion, Interviews, Photos, Videos and More<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Drag racing is an inherently dangerous sport, with drivers fighting to maintain control of vehicles boasting hundreds, if not thousands, of horsepower. Now imagine doing that\u2026without arms.\u00a0 That\u2019s exactly what Matt Stutzman \u2013 better known as the Armless Archer \u2013 has been doing since 2014. A professional archer by trade, the 40-year-old from Eddyville, Iowa, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-89582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89582","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89582"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89582\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racepages.com\/Videos\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}