Matt Phillips 2025 VP Racing Lubricants Small Tire Limited Champion
Last Updated on February 27, 2026 by WWTR
We celebrate an incredible journey in the Small Tire Limited class, part of the VP Racing Lubricants WWTR Heads up series. This class runs on the 1/8-mile track with an index race format, where the weekly index—4.80, 5.00, or 5.20—is determined by a chip draw. For those who know racing, those index times are blazing fast, close to dragster speeds in full-size door cars running on small tires!
Our champion, Matt Phillips, started the 2025 season with a different plan. He intended to run in the street car class with his 1989 Mustang GT Fox Body, a true street car weighing 3,300 pounds, powered by a 408 LS motor and a turbo. His brother Corey handled the tuning, and Matt average 5.15 ET at about 138 mph. By all accounts, Matt thought his car was a poor candidate for an index class where two-thirds of the possible indexes were faster than his car could run.
But racing has a way of rewriting plans. Matt kicked off the season with a win in the street car class, thanks to his lightning-fast reaction times. The win put him in first place and feeling good, until his friends and crew started pushing him to move up to the Small Tire Limited class. Matt jokes, he was “bullied” into it, but without hesitation Matt made the move.
And what a move it was! Matt won the second points race in Small Tire Limited. Two races, two wins, two different classes—pretty impressive. Race three brought a runner-up finish to Brad West, his toughest competitor, who had a 4.80 car capable of hitting any index. Matt knew the championship fight was now on.
The rest of the eight-race season was a battle between himself and Brad—trading wins and runner-up spots, with one tough outing for Matt in round two. Going into the second-to-last race, Matt led by just 20 points. Then disaster struck: a broken axle in qualifying. But here’s where the racing community showed its true spirit. Fellow racers Chad and Mike offered Matt their cars. After checking with officials and getting encouragement from competitors, including Brad, the guy who wanted victory just as bad, Matt was able to switch cars and jumped into his brother’s car. Despite never driving the car down the track before, Matt nailed a 4.80 dead-on after a couple of wild wheelies off the start. What an incredible accomplishment! That race helped secure the championship!
Matt would like to thank every racer who encouraged him to keep going. In his words, “This is a special group of guys who wanted to win the right way.” Ultimately, Mother Nature made the final call by raining out the last race, sealing Matt’s championship over Brad West.
Matt extends heartfelt thanks to his crew: his brother Corey Phillips, Chad Davis, Timothy Evans, William Sutton, his engine builder Jake Breedlove, transmission builder Tom Heaney, his parents for their unwavering support, and his girlfriend Lilly Tschudin for her patience through late nights and missed dinners. He also thanks Chris McCrossan, Jeremy Mifflin, and Jake Rose for putting on such a great program.
On behalf of WWTR, congratulations to Matt Phillips, our 2025 VP Racing Lubricants Small Tire Limited Champion!
