Cornwall Proves Profitable for the Williamson Racing Team

By Dave Sully - After a strong second place finish in the John Spencer Memorial at Merrittville on Saturday, Sep. 1, the Williamson Racing Team traveled to Cornwall on Sunday, September 2nd, for the 125 lap 358 Dirtcar Series event. The trip produced some unintended consequences, as a tire blew on the hauler near Joyceville, but with a truck full of mechanics, it proved only an irritating delay. The tire was changed with all due speed. Unfortunately, that delay put them behind schedule and when they arrived at the track, the road was lined with haulers waiting to enter. Ultimately, forty-two 358s and 37 Sportsman were on hand.

As it turned out, the tire problem became a distant memory as the team came away with a banner performance, finishing third and assuming second place in the overall standings behind Dale Planck.

Mat timed fourth in his group, started fifth in the 5th heat and finished third, one spot out of the redraw. He ended up starting 17th on the grid. He patiently moved forward in the race, which was broken into two segments, 75 laps and 50 laps. In the first segment, he cracked the top ten on lap 70. Following the mandatory ten minute break, during which the team changed shocks and made adjustments for the 50 lap final segment, Mat continued his steady climb on the physically demanding, quarter mile Cornwall oval. After restarting ninth, he briefly lost a spot, but was up to eighth by lap 100, fifth by lap 108, and fourth by lap 113. With a mere four laps to go, he snuck past Carey Terrence to claim his podium finish.

Though the track seems narrow, and being a quarter mile, it is tight. Mat said that passing really isn’t the biggest problem at Cornwall. He was actually able to make a pass between two cars racing top and bottom. The problem is the physical challenge of racing a long distance there. He noted, “Because the shortness of the track, you’re turning all the time. (NASCAR driver Mark Martin has said that the almost round track at Dover is the toughest track for him for the same reason.) Over 125 laps, your arms get sore. It’s the only track I go to where that happens. It’s a real challenge. My arms actually started to get numb, so it’s good to have the break at the halfway point.”

Mat thought the car, which was the same one they ran the night before at Merrittville, was peaking at the end. After he got by Terrence, he said he was actually under the second place car of Danny O’Brien, when they ran out of laps. Mat felt so good about the car he thought that, if they had about ten more laps, he could catch the ultimate winner of the race, Dale Planck.

The bottom line is, it was a great night. The team is on the right page at the right time. As of now, Mat lies only 38 points behind Planck in the standings, with plenty of time to close the gap. He also enjoys a 61 point advantage over third place Carey Terrence, with Erick Rudolph, who is coming on strongly in the dirt ranks, 24 points in back of Terrence.

Next up is the 358 Series race at Grandby on Friday, September 7th, where the team hopes to keep up the momentum.