Learning Experience at Humberstone

By Dave Sully - (Pt. Colborne, NY) Following a fourth place finish at Merrittville on Saturday, the team traveled down the road to Humberstone with the small block on Sunday, as they had considered doing since the big block wasn’t working there. After winning his heat easily from the outside pole, Mat entered the dreaded redraw and wound up tenth on the grid for the feature, behind some very fast cars, mostly small blocks. In fact, there were only two big blocks on hand.

The race had a dubious start, as four cautions were recorded before the second lap was official. Mat was able to avoid the early carnage, and by the eighth lap he found himself fifth for a restart after Bill Bleich and Robbie Krull got together.

From there, it became a matter of survival, as the tightly grouped field never really got strung out because of cautions on laps 15 and 21 in the 30 lap race. The track slickened, with the only big motor able to utilize its power was eventual winner, Dale Planck, who got past small block pilot Erick Rudolph and was able to dictate his own route around the race track.

The veteran Planck was able to out power the small block on the straightaways, while losing some ground in the turns. Mat did the best he could with the slick surface and ended up a respectable seventh.

Mat conceded that that the crew is still trying to work some bugs out that have kept them from challenging for wins. They have been fast at times (witness the record breaking lap at Merrittville), but not fast enough long enough, if you get my drift.

Commenting on the course of action, and his night at Humberstone, he declared, “We’ve been struggling with our shock package and our whole combination really, and it’s nice to have this Friday off (from Lernerville, which has a three day Late Model show), so we can get back to the basics. We washed the car, and we’re going to make some major changes to hopefully get a little better. We haven’t had the right combination yet. We’ve been searching for it, but every time there’s a slick race track we’ve been struggling. We actually thought about changing the frame out, but we’re going to keep trucking.”

The bad news is that they are still looking for the right combination, and the good news is that they are still looking for the right combination. The news will be even better when they find it, which they will, because this team has a never say die attitude.

There is still a lot of time. Heck, the summer just officially started on June 21st. The team can use that as a fresh start.

 

Rugged Night at Merrittville Ends in Controversy

By Dave Sully - Thorold, ON- Following a good performance at Lernerville on Friday, resulting in a second place finish, Mat and the team found themselves still chasing the setup a little bit. After a third place finish in his heat, Mat started sixth in the feature. While Todd Gordon held sway at the front, joined later by Shayne Pierce, Pete Bicknell, and Tom Flannigan, Mat found himself in a pitched battle with Mike Bowman for fifth.

As the race in front consumed most of the interest, Mat and Bowman, who were both fast, went at it in the heavy going. At one point there was some heavy contact going down the front stretch. Mat took exception to it, and took a run at Bowman in turn two.

After that, Bowman spent the rest of the time trying to catch up to Mat, which he was unable to do, though he got close. Mat ended up fourth after Flannigan broke late, with Bowman fifth. On the cool down lap, Bowman expressed his displeasure with Mat by trying to spin him out on the front stretch. Warned by race director Bob St. Amand, not to pursue that course of action, Bowman followed Mat to the inspection area off pit road, where he reportedly exited his car, went over to Mat, still in his car. Officials quickly stopped that action, but when Mat exited his car another melee ensued, which was broken up by officials and bystanders.

Tempers still ran hot some time afterward, with no word at this time on any penalties.

Talking about the on-track incidents, Mat declared, “When you race some guys as hard as they race you, they sometimes get a little upset about it. We can take it and we can put it out. It was hard racing for sure. He (Bowman) came up on me on the front straightaway and took my left front out of my hands. Took the left front away and got by me. I got back by him and he tried to chop me going into turn one. I drove it in hard and took the wheel out of his hands. That’s one thing about racing. You’ve got to be able to take it, if you can put it out. When you can’t take it, but you want to put it out every week, you’re not going to get much respect from anybody. What happened in the pits was just emotions running high at the end of the race.”

About the race, Mat explained, “We’re trying some stuff to try and get better. Sometimes it helps you and sometime it hurts you. Tonight we were just holding on for fifth. Everybody’s racing hard.”

Fourth place is good most nights and on a hot night, literally and figuratively, with a full moon to boot, you file this in the back of your mind, and get ready for the next race. There’s still a long way to go.

Solid Second At Lernerville Keeps the Ball Rolling

By Dave Sully - SARVER, PA- It looked like win number four at Lernerville was a distinct possibility at the Mid-Season Championship, with Mat starting on the outside pole after the redraw following a strong run in his heat, which saw him come from sixth to win it easily. The feature started okay, as Mat blasted into the lead right away and was in the process of establishing a big advantage when the caution flew on lap 5, erasing the lead and bunching the field.

The man on the move was Jeremiah Shingledecker, who had switched from his Big Block to his Small Block when his crew determined the track was a little too slick for the bigger motor. Lined up fourth on the restart, after going away eighth, he bolted into second, but was thwarted when the caution flew again. It didn’t matter, as he moved steadily forward, taking second on lap 7 and then, following a lap ten caution, got inside Mat in turn four on the restart and it was all she wrote, From there, he drew out to a commanding lead, leaving Mat trying to solve turns one and two, which plagued him all night.

Mat ended up second, followed by Eric Gabany, who finished a distant third. Mat’s closest pursuer in the points, Brain Schwartzlander finished fifth, so Mat’s point lead grew. All in all, it was a good night, and I was there to see it, my first visit to the fabled facility, and it really lived up to its billing.

Mat, talking about Shingledecker’s win, observed, “You get those nights when it’s going to be slick. I’m glad Shingledecker won. It’s good for those guys. It’s kind of good for business too. It was a new BRP car. We just got to get back there one of these weeks. We won three weeks in a row, and three out of four, and now we’ve gone three weeks without winning.”

“I thought I was going pretty good until those restarts. Once they had the opportunity to catch back up to me, I was kind of playing protective. I should have just raced my own race, aimed a little higher and diamonded it. I was trying to protect the bottom lane going into the corner and drift up to the top. I just had to slow down so much that I could eat a sandwich.”

Regarding the problems in turns one and two, he added, “We (the Big Blocks) carry an extra hundred pounds to what Shingledecker had. A Small Block can wind up just as fast, if not faster, than a Big Block anyway. It’s kind of like carrying an extra person in your car that you don’t need, with less power. We have more power, but when you can’t use it, it’s technically like having less.”

“That was the only unfortunate thing. It was a good night for the car and a good night for the crew.

Along with that, I had a nice time at a new track for me. I’ll probably go again before the end of the season.

Team Short-Circuited at Merrittville

By Dave Sully - (Thorold, ON) - A strong run at Merritville on Saturday, June 15th, was short-circuited, literally, with Mat running fourth in the feature. After a dominating win the heat race after starting third, Mat sat sixth on the grid for the feature. Scott Wood established himself early, while Mat, Pete Bicknell, Bill Bleich, Tom Flannigan, and Mike Bowman all battled hard for positions near the front

As the race progressed, Mat and Pete swapped positions several times, with plenty of action all around them. On lap 17, the lights went out for the No. 6 when the engine suddenly quit as he exited turn two, causing a logjam behind him. Fortunately, there was no serious contact, though Bowman was right on his tail when it happened. So, what looked like a probable good finish ended up with a push to the pits and a sixteenth place in the books, upping the challenge for the coming weeks.

Mat explained, “We had a good race car tonight. There’s no doubt about that. We were racing with Pete there. Got by him. Then he got by me, and I got by him again. It was a good race going on and then that last caution before I went off the race track (lap 9), we started having some ignition problems. It wouldn’t fire at the end of the straightaway. It started losing its power and it went dead off of two there, completely gone. It wouldn’t fire because there was no spark there.”

“We got pushed in and the crew tried really hard to get it back out there for the points, but not so lucky tonight. We don’t race tomorrow, so we’ve got a long weekend to get this thing back on track.”

Upon further review, it seems that the problem was the battery, which, if so, s a fairly easy fix. The challenge is to find out if another condition caused it. The team will do that and the car will be back stronger than ever, with a little more of a hill to climb, but a lot of time to do it.

Go For Broke Move Produces Fourth Place Finish At Lernerville

By Dave Sully - SARVER, PA- It was a case of shoulda, coulda, woulda for the Williamson Racing at Lernerville on Friday, June 14th, when Mat put himself in position to go for the win, gave it a shot, and ultimately ended up a respectable fourth. With other contending drivers having problems in the race, won by Brian Schwartzlander, the point situation saw little significant change.

All things pointed to a good night, but in racing, as we’ll know, nothing is for certain. If it was, there wouldn’t be any need to run the race.

Mat explained, “The car was fast right off the bat. We started at the back of the heat and finished third. We had a great shock package and the motor was running good. The track was wicked.

Mat talked about the feature, noting, “Any time you finish fourth, it’s good. We should have finished second, maybe first. I don’t know if I could have gotten Schwartzlander, but I was going for the lead, racing hard with him, trying to put myself in a position to win the race going through (turns) one and two on the last lap.”

“Jumped the cushion and kept my foot into it, trying to drive it hard, harder than what she could take and popped the left rear bead off the wheel. I got passed by two guys going down the rear straightway with a left rear flat. We were fortunate that was all we lost, and it was the last lap. I’m happy about that.”

“It was a good night. That big cushion hurt us a little bit and just have to avoid that the next time.”

The outlook is still bright at Lernerville, but the season still has a long way to go, so there is no time to rest on the current laurels.

Team to Rethink Car Choice After Latest Visit to Humberstone

By Dave Sully - (Pt Colborne, ON) - The intention to run the Big Block exclusively at Humberstone for its series of Modified shows may be altered, after it became apparent on Sunday, June 9th that the 358s are clearly superior there. After a dominating run from the pole in the heat, Mat started eighth in the feature as a result of the redraw and got into immediate trouble, with contact between himself and Bill Bleich going into turn one of the initial lap costing him a few positions.

From there, it was a case of trying to out perform the Small Blocks in a race with plenty of rubbing by all concerned, which ultimately resulted in a ninth place finish in the field of nineteen cars.

Regarding the start of the race, Mat explained, “I just hopped my right rear. You couldn’t really see much. The track was dusty, and that happens on tracks like this. It’s tough to pass to begin with, and then you go and put nine hundred horsepower on it, and it makes it even tougher. That was the only hard part. Other than that, it was pretty good.”

“We should have had our Small Block. It’s tough when you’re running for points. We’ve got to get that out of our heads and run for wins. We’re just going to bring the Small Block the next time and not worry about it. It was a good night. I can’t complain.”

It’s always dicey when you have to decide between the Big Block and the Small Block. Anticipating track conditions, which guides that choice for the most part, is not an exact science, but it seems apparent that, at Humberstone, at least, the Small Block is the way to go. The Big Block program is still a work in progress. The key is to learn something every time out. Rest assured that the team is doing just that.

Strong Showing at Merrittville Comes Up Just Short

By Dave Sully - THOROLD, ON – After a strong recovery in the Big Block at Lernerville on Friday, June 7th, the team was determined to improve on two recent, less than stellar performances at Merrittville on Saturday. An exiting night, highlighted by a record setting lap in the heat race, saw Mat and Mike Bowman put on a great show for the fans before Bowman pulled out a close win over the S and W No. 6.

There was a positive sign in the heat race that it would be a good night. Starting on the outside pole in the second qualifier, Mat thoroughly dominated and, in the process, ripped off a lap of 14.944, which was an all-time 358 Modified lap record for the facility. That put him in fourth on the grid for the feature.

Mat pulled off a stunning move right at the start, diving into second in turn two on the opening lap to claim second. From there he steamed past Shayne Pierce to take the lead a lap later. In clean air he immediately drove out to a big lead, only to see it evaporate on lap four when Freddie Carleton spun in turn four. Another caution, a lap later, put Mat and Bowman side by side for the restart. They ran door to door for two laps, with some contact along the way, before Bowman got the upper hand and eased into the lead.

From there, it was trying to play catch up for Mat, which he did. Not more than a few car lengths behind, Mat made several charges at Bowman over the remaining laps, but he was never able to get a sustained move for the lead, despite lap traffic. The margin at the line was a couple of car lengths in a real thriller. Point leader Pete Bicknell finished third, so Mat picked up a little there.

Mat talked about his night, explaining, “We were the fastest car on the race track. That’s for sure. That feels good, but the pocketbook took a hit. Bowman out-drove me after that caution. He kind of got aggressive going down the back straightaway. I could have returned he favor in turn four, but I chose not to. I should have raced him as hard as he raced me, but I didn’t.”

“The car was good. My guys hit the nail on the head. We had the fastest car on the race track. I don’t care what anybody says. I’m just happy that we got a second out of it. It was a good points night, a good night for the S and W car.”

Regarding the record breaking lap, he added, “It feels good. It just says something for the race car. It was on a rail in the heat there. It shows how hard we worked during the week and how hard my guys worked in the off-season. It feels great. We’ve got a great motor program, chassis, and shock package. Great everything. I just get in it and drive it.
I’m happy that we got in the record books for that, but I’d rather win races.”

There’s still a long way to go, but things are looking brighter after the strong performances on Friday and Saturday. Next up- Sunday at Humberstone for their second Modified night.

Near Miss at Lernerville Gets Team Back on Track

By Dave Sully - After a disappointing night at Rolling Wheels on Wednesday, the team roared back at Lernerville, narrowly missing its fourth win of the year, but solidifying the point lead with a strong effort on Friday, June 7th. Buoyed by a familiar racing surface and a known setup, Mat came from last in his heat to finish second and then came from tenth in the feature, narrowly losing out to Rex King Jr in the 25 lap feature on a very fast race track.

The team felt that the main reason for the problems at Rolling Wheels and the success at Lernerville centered around the torsion bars. Mat explained, “Torsion bars give new life to a race car. In the modern era, we’re all running torsion bars. They go bad because you’re twisting them up, beating and banging them. They just end up going bad and you can never really tell until you go to a race track and don’t run well. We put all new bars in it this week and ran a whole lot better than we did at Rolling Wheels. That’s for sure.”

Of the night, he explained “We’re comfortable with the race track. We went out in the heat and ran second from last. It was definitely a tough heat. Schwartzlander, King, and other fast guys were in it. I finished second to Shingledecker. Actually, I was catching him. I ran out f tear-offs and couldn’t see a darn thing, so I had to back off a little bit to be able to finish the race.”

“That was kind of an eye opener, so I put 20 tear-offs on for the feature and used all of them too. It was a hammer-down race track for sure. It was tough to pass. You had to almost use the lap cars to your advantage, to pin guys up against them to gain spots. It was another good night for the S and W car. I’m just happy to be up front.”

I was under King when the caution came out with two laps to go. Once the caution came out, I don’t know if I could have beaten him or not, but I think I had a better chance if the caution hadn’t come out. He was faster. When the caution came out, he pulled me down the front straightaway, and then he pulled me down the back straightaway just as much. I think he beat me by three or four car lengths.”

“It was a good run for him. I’m happy for those guys. You can’t meet a nicer bunch of people if you have to lose. Though he started from the pole, you still have to be fast and he definitely was.”

It’s always nice to rebound strongly and the team did that. Now a good showing at Merrittville on Saturday in the 358 would put some icing on the cake.

Big Block Learning Experience at Rolling Wheels

By Dave Sully - (Elbridge, NY) What started out as a promising evening turned into frustration for the Williamson Racing Team’s first foray into the Big Block Super Dirt Series at Rolling Wheels Raceway on Wednesday, June 5th. Following a strong hot lap session and a good time trial effort, things went from bad to worse in the heat and consi, leaving the team scratching their collective heads to figure out what caused the reversal of fortunes.

The car was fast off the trailer, as Mat was second quick to Bobby Varin in his hot lap session, actually being the first one to break 20 seconds. In the group time trial, Mat clocked 20.704, which placed him third on the grid behind Varin and Alan Johnson for the first heat. However, when the green flag fell, the car went backward, ultimately finishing seventh.

It didn’t go much better in the consi, where Mat started sixth and once again slid backward, ultimately finishing 10th. In both races, it almost appeared as if Mat was running on seven cylinders, but, until the car is checked, there is no way to know if the cause was mechanical.

Mat put things in perspective, noting, “It was a tough field of cars, and we didn’t bring our “A” game tonight. It’s tough when you get to big races like this. The Big Block carries so much more speed through the corners than what I’m used to in the 358. I’ve got a lot of learning left to do. That showed tonight.”

“The car hurt us tonight too. We think a bar went bad. It was really good when I was in the brown. It just seems that when we’re out of the brown it doesn’t go anywhere. It just slides. I told my dad that I’ve never had a car that ran that bad. I think there’s something wrong somewhere, something went wrong, or the shock’s wrong.”

“We’re just going to go back tomorrow and regroup all day. Hopefully, we can get it back and check it for Lernerville on Friday. It’s discouraging when we get to races like this and we don’t qualify. It was the same as when we went to Florida and didn’t qualify there at first. We’ll get over it and, hopefully, we’ll run good at Lernerville. We need to just get our stuff together and put this behind us.”

Anybody who switches from the Small Block to the Big Block will tell you that the differences in handling characteristics are more significant than you would think. Couple that with a fast 5/8 mile like Rolling Wheels, racing against the best Modified drivers in the Northeast and the variables become more pronounced. The learning curve just became steeper, but it’s certainly not insurmountable. The team will stay focused and keep its eyes on the prize.

Third Win in Four Starts Keeps Team on Top at Lernerville

By DAVE SULLY - Sarver, PA- Following a rainout the previous week, the team went back to Lernerville loaded for bear on Friday, May 31st and made the most of it, chalking up its third win in four starts and increasing their point lead. Starting fourth in the heat, Mat clawed his way to second with two of the top runners, Dave Murdick and Brian Schwartzlander starting on the front row. Starting fourth on the grid for the feature, Mat was able to battle his way past Murdick, who started inside Mat in the second row. Mat got into the lead and wound up battling Murdick the rest of the way.

Mat explained, “Schwartzlander switched cars and started tail, while Murdick started inside of me. We went out and had a great race going. Murdick was certainly faster than I was on the outside. We just benefited from a couple of restarts and took the lane away from him. Since we started fourth, we were on the outside. I got out front about three laps into it. Then I plugged around the bottom, and I think I got somewhat of a lead going and then the caution came out with about ten to go. Murdick started outside and actually got by me with ten to go. I was running the bottom and he was on the top. I actually got by him on another restart, with about six laps to go. Through three and four I took the outside lane.”

“It was a great race. It’s still mind-blowing how great the racing was last night. Murdick was really fast. Those guys keep me on my toes. We thought about taking the Small Block, but the Big Block was definitely the way to go. I’m glad we stuck with it, and it’s been running really good.”

Any win is a good one, but when it comes after a tight race against some fast cars, it’s even more satisfying. When you’re also on top in the points, it’s even better. The challenge is to avoid complacency and keep the hammer down. With close to a five hour drive to Lernerville, you can be sure they’ll be prepared every time they make the trip.

Next up is the Big Block Series race at Rolling Wheels on Wednesday, June 5th, where Mat will see how he stacks up against the best of the best, including his unofficial teammate, the red hot Matt Sheppard.

Stay tuned.

Runner-up Finish at Humberstone Helps Confidence

By DAVE SULLY - Pt. COLBORNE, ONT- Following the seventh place finish at Merrittville the previous night, the team put in a solid performance in the first Modified show at Humberstone on Sunday, April 26th, finishing second to the red hot Erick Rudolph, who started the season well and has kept it going wherever he has raced. Mat drove the Big Block this night, although with the Humberstone format, drivers can opt to campaign either a Big Block or a Small Block if they so choose.

A somewhat disappointing turnout of nine Modifieds were on hand for the show, with several cars that most likely would have been there not in attendance due to prior commitments, broken motors, or other attendant mechanical issues. With Rudolph, who has a Merrittville win this year, Chris Steele, who also has won at Merrittville, Robbie Krull, who has been stout lately in the Harry Sittler-owned No. 37S, Chad Chevalier, and Tommy Flannigan among those who were there, it wasn’t going to be a cake walk.

Mat wound up starting scratch in the heat and worked his way up to fourth. In the feature, Rudolph, starting on the outside pole, next to Steele, grabbed the lead on the outside and immediately checked out, while Mat ultimately raced his way into second at the checkers.

Commenting on the evening, Mat observed, “I started last in the heat and got up to fourth. Steeley started on the pole, but he was having some carburetor problems. I got by him early and Rudolph kind of checked out on me. His car is certainly rolling pretty good right now. He walked away from me. I had as much bite as I could get with the Big Block, but he still pulled me. I don’t know how he did it, but you’ve got to give him credit.”

“Our car was good. We were turning some good lap times all night. I was going on top in three and four and two and bottom in one and two. He was going on top all the way around. He was good.”

Regarding future modified events at Humberstone, he added, “I’ve thought about running the Small Block, but I’m going to stick with the Big Block all the way through, because I want this Big Block deal around here to keep going, and try to get car counts up. Hopefully we can knock off a “W” before the end of the year.”

Any podium finish is a good one, especially if it’s the first time out in the Big Block at a track like Humberstone. The next chore is to keep the ball rolling at Lernerville.