Announced just a few short days ago, it is now official that Matt has locked up the Rookie of the Year title with his 4th place result in the 2018 MCR Points Championship.

"After the rough season we have had, it's really cool to be able to say I'm the 2018 Rookie of the Year with MCR. I put so much pressure on myself to perform and to compete for the championship, I actually forgot about the fact that I was a still considered a 'rookie' until about the time it was announced that I won the honor. Our goal this season was to compete for a championship, and we did just that. Now it's time to go win one in 2019."

From upside down into the wall in race one, to a heat win and a fifth place result at Springport. After some bad luck the past three races, (going back into 2017), It seems there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

To start the day, Matt didn't get any practice, and missed qualifying. Fortunately, the track ended up allowing him an attempt to qualify late. Officials only gave Matt one lap, which he used to warm his stuff up, unknowing that he was only going to get one lap. This resulted in a 12th place qualifying effort.

Soon after, the heat race rolled around and Matt would start outside pole. After they took the green, Matt drove the #4 Hoffman Motorsports entry to the inside to complete the crossover and took the lead off of turn two. A caution came out mid-way through the race, but he never looked back. Matt picked up his first heat race win of 2018!

Because of the poor qualifying effort, Matt had to start at the tail of the field. Once the green flag flew, Matt immediately started making moves on the outside. Around lap two there was a big check up, and being patient Matt backed out of the gas to allow everyone to gather it up. This set him back quite a bit, but he began picking cars off one-by-one. He worked his way to 6th, tracking down 5th, before the first yellow flag of the race came out. Matt would grab 5th of the following restart, before the final yellow flag flew. On the final restart, Matt maintained his position. Unfortunately something started leaking in the rear end and soaked the inside of the right rear tire, stalling his progress. Matt brought the #4 Hoffman Motorsports Outlaw Chassis entry home 5th!

"To come back and win that heat race, and to finish 5th in the feature from the back, it's like a win for us after last week. I can't say thanks enough to Eric and Troy Hoffman with Hoffman Motorsports for everything they have done for me in my time working with them. The fact that I'm even at the track tonight is a huge blessing. We have a lot of work to do on the 5 car, so it might be a long shot to make it out to the doubleheader weekend we have coming up in a couple of weeks. But, we're gonna give er' hell and do everything in our power not to miss a race. Thank you to all of my supporters!"

The partnership formed in 2017 between Hoffman Motorsports and Matt Kemp Racing will continue throughout the 2018 Season with the goal of pursuing a championship with the MCR Dwarf Car Series.

In 2017, the duo posted 4 top 5's and 5 top 10's in 5 feature starts, as well as two heat race wins leading to high hopes for the 2018 season.