Matt Gould is a 19-year-old, second-generation driver from Mooresville, North Carolina. He is the son of Phil Gould, Niece Motorsports’ winningest crew chief, who calls the shots for the No. 45 team. When there is an off week for the Truck Series, Gould competes in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series, where he races his family-owned Late Model.

Having been born into the sport, Gould naturally began his driving career at a young age. Starting out on the dirt in Outlaw Karts, Gould won over 80 feature races at Millbridge Speedway from 2011-2019.

As he progressed through the ranks, Gould transitioned into racing on asphalt. In 2021, he won his first Late Model Stock Car race at Orange County Speedway, and quickly followed up with victories at Florence Motor Speedway and Hickory Motor Speedway.

In 2022, at age 16, Gould made his ARCA Menards Series debut with Niece Motorsports at the Milwaukee Mile Speedway, and later made an additional start in the season finale at Toledo Speedway. In both of these races, he earned a top-10 finish.

The next year in 2023, he produced five runner-up finishes at the famed short tracks of Hickory and Caraway Speedway. Gould broke, and currently holds, the LMSC track record at Tri-County Speedway.

Awaiting his first big opportunity, Gould made his NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series debut in 2024 at Milwaukee. He later made his second start for the team at Martinsville Speedway, where he earned his best-career finish.

Following in his father’s footsteps, Gould began working as a mechanic in the Niece Motorsports shop while still in high school. Since graduating last year, he joined the team full-time on the road crew, while pursuing his associate’s degree in Mechanical Engineering.

Known around the shop as “LP” (Little Phil), Gould has wrenched on several of the team’s trucks over the past few seasons. From working on interior fitting to underneath preparation, Gould has quickly become a well-versed mechanic.