Strong Second Place Finish at Merrittville Keeps Momentum Rolling

By DAVE SULLY - THOROLD, ON- Following the title clinching run at Lernerville on Friday, the team came back with another good effort, a runner-up finish at Merrittville on Saturday, August 24^th, as the late season push continues in earnest. With a near perfect performance last week, which saw the S and W No. Six win going away, the task was a little harder this night, as Mat started eleventh, while point leader Pete Bicknell and other fast cars went off ahead of him. A good run in the heat, where he started last and was nipping at the heels of third place finisher Tommy Flannigan at the wire, boded well for another strong performance, and Mat didn’t disappoint.

 

Things got a little dicey at the beginning, when Brandon Easey, Tyler McPherson, and Fred Carleton got together in turn four on lap five, with Mat just able to avoid being caught up. From there, he moved up steadily, claiming fourth on a lap 12 restart, third, from Mike Bowman on a lap 17 restart and second from Scott Wood on lap 29, just as Pete Bicknell was clearing Wood for the lead. Mat kept Bicknell honest over the last six laps, but couldn’t get close enough to make a move for the top spot. So, he settled for second, but was definitely the hard charger in the race.

 

Talking about the night, Mat offered, “The car was certainly good. Pete was fast. I think I could have given him a run for his money if it had been fifty laps or so, but he got to the front faster than I did. It was certainly a good night to start toward the front. He had the advantage there. He started seventh. If we would have started closer to the front, it would have been good.”

 

“It was tough coming from he back to do what we did. I used everything I had. It would have been a dream come true if I had passed him for the win. Jumping the cushion (on lap 21), I got out of my rhythm. I was overdriving, trying to go for it. That’s what you have to do. I wasn’t comfortable in second place. I wanted to win. We did as much as we could to do it. The team put a great car under me, and it was another top three. I can’t complain.”

 

Next Saturday, the 50 lap Merrittville finale will be a heads-up start, which should give Mat a decent shot at going out with a win.

 

Mat concluded, “We’re getting hot at the right time of the year. We’ve just got to keep it rolling into all the tour races and go from there.”