What's in a Name?
Digdady. It's not a random word — it means something. For almost 20 years, Matt has been operating Excavators, bulldozers, dump trucks — if it moves dirt, he's operated it. That's the Dig part. Then in 2012, he became a dad. That's the Daddy part. Put them together and you've got the man behind the brand: Digdady.
Racing in the Blood
The love of racing didn't come from nowhere. Growing up, Matt watched his late uncle tear up the speedway circuit — and when he turned 19, he wasn't just watching anymore. He was in the pits, spanner in hand, part of the crew. Racing was in the blood from the start.
Life had other plans for a while. Work took him away, and somewhere along the way he fell into the boy racer scene — not exactly the racing roots he'd grown up with. But time moves on. Work got busy, friends came and went, and eventually Matt became a husband and a dad. A move to a new city brought a fresh start — and a beat-up AE101 Levin that opened the door back to real racing.
Building Something Real
It wasn't easy. Starting out with an old, banged-up car and learning the ropes of circuit racing from scratch takes grit. But year by year, the car got better and so did the results. The 2022/23 season was the best yet — coming second in class for the speed championship was a genuine highlight. The kind of result that makes all the late nights in the garage worth it.
The Defeat
But racing gives and racing takes. That same season, the engine gave up. Not a small fix — a full engine-ending failure that stopped everything in its tracks. What followed has been two and a half years of fighting to rebuild, and it hasn't gone to plan.
A sponsor stepped up, believed in the project, and helped fund what they could. Then they closed their doors. Gone. The funding dried up, the help didn't come, and the engine build — the heart of the whole comeback — became the biggest battle of all. Every step forward seemed to come with two steps back.
Where We Are Now
The rebuild isn't finished. The car isn't back on track yet. But Digdady Racing is still here, still pushing, still finding a different way forward when the original plan falls apart. That's what this store is — part of the solution. A way to keep the dream alive while the hard work continues in the garage.
It won't always be stickers. When we're racing again, this store will grow with us. Until then, every purchase that's made goes directly to the Levin to make its comeback.
Thanks for being here for it.
— Matt, Digdady Racing