DeatschWerks’ new technical director began his career at an iconic performance industry giant, honing his expertise across the spectrum of aftermarket products and systems

For Matt Patrick, the decision to leave his position as vice president of product development for Edelbrock Group to join fuel system manufacturer DeatschWerks in January of this year was laced with emotion. He’d joined COMP Cams 26 years ago with an Automotive Engineering Technology degree from Minnesota State University at Mankato and was there when private equity firm Industrial Opportunity Partners, owner of Edelbrock LLC, acquired COMP Performance Group in 2020. 

Patrick’s journey in the high-performance industry began during childhood. “I was into cars, and I had an engineering mind,” he explained. “My parents gave me things to help encourage that. They bought me a LEGO set, and the next thing you know, I’m mounting electric motors to LEGO dragsters and figuring out how to hook up my toy train transformers to them.”

Born and raised in Edina, Minnesota, Patrick recalled getting hooked on truck and tractor pulling after first seeing it at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. At 14, he attended his first NHRA national event in Brainerd. “That became my passion, although I have an appreciation for all motorsports,” he said.

PRI: If you were to pick one, what would be the most important tech innovation you’ve seen in this field in the last 20 years?

Patrick: Without question, it’s been easy-to-use, stand-alone fuel injection systems. Everything about precision fuel control and what EFI stand-alones have done has brought the greatest of performance gains and fundamentally helped the industry grow.

PRI: How have the positions you’ve held throughout your career thus far prepared you for this role?

Patrick: One of the COMP Group companies was FAST, which was EFI systems. I also was a product manager and engineer at Zex Nitrous Systems. So, for virtually my whole career, I’ve been designing around fuel systems and hardware.

PRI: You hold some patents, if I’m not mistaken. What would you say is the most important one?

Patrick: The one I’m most proud of was the Zex Perimeter Plate nitrous oxide system, where it injects the nitrous from points around the perimeter of the plate, as opposed to a spray bar in the center. Billy Godbold, a cam designer and a brilliant mind, co-developed it. 

PRI: How would you describe your approach to innovating? 

Patrick: I’m more of a designer than an engineer. I’d always struggled with math, to be honest. When I was younger, I thought that was a weakness. I later realized it was really a strength, because it forced me to build relationships with people who were extremely good at math. I found I got better designs collaborating with smart, creative people. 

PRI: What inspires your best ideas?

Patrick: When I recognize there’s a need in the market, that begins the process of thinking, “How can I best help performance enthusiasts get the solution to this problem?” You start floating ideas on finding that solution, and then you collaborate with others. That’s when the fun creative process begins.

PRI: What key value do you bring to your new role at DeatschWerks?

Patrick: I would say it’s two things. The first is a comfort with creating different product lines. Working for COMP Performance Group, we had a full spectrum of products—fuel injection, valvetrain, cylinder heads, intake manifolds, nitrous, and a tool division. We had to go into new markets, analyze them, understand them, and create relevant products for each. That’s how I’ve worked for many years.

The second one is my experience building teams of talented people who work well together. 

PRI: Who has inspired you, professionally or personally?

Patrick: In many ways, the leadership of COMP made me who I am today. I got hired out of school at 24 years old. It was only later that I fully appreciated the iconic owners we had with Scooter Brothers and Ron Coleman. They have been amazing mentors.

PRI: Is there any mistake or misstep you’ve made that you feel you’ve learned from, or that has helped shape who you are?

Patrick: Early on, I thought that the ideas and the products—‘making a better mousetrap’—was all that mattered. I later learned that focusing on building strong relationships, and building teams of people that complement each other, that’s where the magic happens. 

PRI: Is that the kind of advice you might give to budding engineers?

Patrick: I would. And I would add work ethic to that. That’s something that I give credit to the COMP Group leadership. They put in the work and never gave up. Every single one of us can control how much work we want to put into something. I would tell young people that if you outwork the competition, you’re going to win. 

PRI: Aside from your cell phone, tablet, or computer, what’s one thing you can’t live without?

Patrick: Fundamental to who I am as a person is my relationship with Jesus Christ. It’s the center of my life, and everything flows from that.

PRI: Do you have any cars that you’ve built, or is there a dream car that you’d like to put in the garage?

Patrick: I’ve built and raced cars over the years. I bought a 2005 Mustang GT new off the showroom floor. It was my daily driver for about 100,000 miles, and then it became the toy. I built my own turbo system for it and modified the whole car. It makes about 700 horsepower. For dream cars, I think an Audi R8 would be my ultimate daily driver, and a 1963 Pro Mod Vette would be an awesome race car to have.

Matt Patrick

TITLE:
Technical Director

ORGANIZATION:
DeatschWerks

HOMETOWN:
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

FAST FACT:
Matt Patrick picked up a new hobby during the COVID-19 pandemic: making pizza. “I’ve developed my own perfect pizza. I make my own dough and sauce from scratch. And, as an extension of my first job at age 15, I also started making bagels at home.”