Team Finishes Good Week on a High Note

By DAVE SULLY - Starting with a decent finish at New Egypt on Wednesday in the Dirt.car Big Block series event, the excitement built, with a second place finish at Lernerville and ended with a crescendo, as Mat took the feature at Merrittville on Saturday. It put the team in a justifiably euphoric mood,which was richly deserved.

The team's first visit to New Egypt was eventful, as a slew of cars were there to attempt to qualify for the A Main. Mat finished fifth in the first heat, which relegated him to the first B Main, which he won. That put him 21st on the grid for the feature. Against a very talented field and mired toward the rear at the start, Mat clawed his way to 15th at the checkered flag.

On the night, he observed, “We were a top ten car. We started twenty-first and were racing with Stewie (Friesen). We raced with good guys. We raced with Tomkins for a long time. If we could have gotten by some of them, I think we would have been up there. It's one of those deals where we started twenty-first. If we would have started tenth, we would have been a top ten car. We were holding our own, but there was that stag position, and it's tough to pass there.”

Two days later, the team journeyed to Lernerville and came away with a second place finish, which keeps the team in the hunt in what has become a very competitive field. Asked if he was satisfied with the result, Mat answered, “No. We've got a program where we can win every race. That's our expectation, and we hold ourselves to that expectation. When we don't win, we're disappointed. We work harder than anybody. We like to win. That's what it comes down to. I started fourth and any other time it would have been good enough to win, but we just lacked a little bit of motor. We're there. We haven't been out of the top five, and everybody down there has stepped up their games, so it's not as easy to win races there as it was last year.” Still, in all, the second place finish with a motor a little down on power is a plus.

Fast forward to Saturday at Merrittville, where it all came together in great fashion. After winning the first heat easily, Mat lined up seventh for the feature. While Ryan Susice grabbed the early lead, Mat soldiered into second on a lap 10 restart and then began stalking Susice. He tried several moves, both high and low, but was unable to mount a serious bid for the lead.

On lap 20, things changed. A caution flew, putting Mat next to Susice for the restart. Susice chose the outside, where his car had been performing well. Mat was able to get a good jump on the bottom and executed a perfect slide job going into turn two to take the lead. From there, he drew away and at the end was close to a straightaway ahead.

Talking about the result, Mat declared, “I'm very happy tonight. We needed it. It's good to be here.” About the race, he explained, “I knew when the caution came out, that was my only opportunity to do it. I knew I was faster than he was, and if I didn't do the slider in one and two, I wouldn't have gotten him. I actually like it slicker. If the cushion were gone we would have been even better. We relied on it (the cushion) tonight, but if it was gone we'd have been better.”

Of the duel with Susice, he added, “I tried a couple of times, and I'd lose ground, so I really had to time it good. When the restart came out, he gave me the bottom, and I knew it was game over. You know you can run with Ryan. You know he's not going to screw up. When you get a restart you've got to take advantage of it because he's pretty talented and deserves to be up front. You have a lot of respect for him. I'm certainly happy with the outcome tonight, and hopefully we'll do this every week.”

Any time is a good time to round into shape, but with the heavy part of the schedule coming up, it behooves the team to maintain the high that they are on now, and you know they won't be outworked.

Solid Father's Day Weekend Buoys the Spirits

By DAVE SULLY - After a previous week, where the team suffered a couple of uncharacteristic finishes, the team rallied to score two impressive efforts on Father's Day Weekend. After a fifth place finish at Lernerville, which, though solid, was not up expectations, and a tenth place finish the next night at Merrittville, which was definitely not acceptable following a twelfth the previous week, the team needed to have a couple of good runs to restore some confidence. Father's Day weekend provided the needed result.

A third place finish behind winner Dave Murdick and Rex King Jr. on Friday the 13th, kept the team in the hunt, with Mat currently lying fifth in the standings, forty-nine points behind Rex King Jr. With four good drivers in front of him King, King Sr, Murdick, and Jeremiah Shingledecker, it won't be an easy hill to climb, but being fairly evenly matched, it doesn't appear anybody is going to run away and hide like Mat did last year.

On Saturday, after winning his heat handily, Mat started fifth and was able to claw his way to second by lap 21, right behind leader Tommy Flannigan, who found the outside to his liking and had grabbed the lead on a lap 14 restart. A lap 25 caution put Mat right behind Flanniga, setting up an epic struggle for the lead, as Mat tried everything he could to get a run on Flannigan. Once on lap 27 he drew alongside and seemed to have the momentum to take the lead, but a caution killed that chance.

The two man battle continued for several more laps before it became apparent that this was Flannigan's night. However, the night seemed to put an end to the slump for now, and the close second gives the team some impetus for the future.

Of the night, Mat observed, “We made wholesale changes this weekend. The car was good, just not good enough. That's exactly what it came down to. Tommy was a little better driving off the corners than I was. I've just got to make some minor changes this week and get a little better. I'm certainly happy with the S and W car. It was good. Congrats to Tommy. Couldn't ask to finish second to anybody else. I'm happy for those guys, just as happy as we are for second. It's nice to finish second after the couple of weeks we've had. A win certainly would have been a lot nicer, but to finish second to Tommy, I'm not too upset about it. You know you can race him clean, and he's going to race you the same way you race him. That's the kind of racing you want every week. If there were twenty-four guys like Tommy Flannigan out there, we'd have a lot of fun every week.”

So, putting things into perspective, the team has two competitive cars, and should be in the hunt for the win each night. There are a lot of teams that would like to be in that position.

Positive Week for Team Ends on a Bit of a Downer

By Dave Sully - The team's week started early as they made the trek to Brockville for the DIRT.car Big Block Series event. It was a very positive night, as Mat came from tenth to record a top five finish. He was able to run with the big dogs all night long, ultimately holding off Danny Johnson for his fifth place finish behind winner Justin Haers, Brett Hearn, Billy Decker, and Matt Sheppard.

Mat explained, “It was great. We went up there, got in a tough group and we were nervous about qualifying, just holding our own in a Series race, but we've come a long way. We can run with those guys a little bit at most of the places we go to. It feels great to do it. We started fourth in the heat and finished third and got the last spot in the redraw. We drew tenth and were just kind of biding our time. Toward the end, the car came on and we were a lot better than most. We raced with Sheppard a little bit and Danny. We raced with some big names and it helps my confidence. Those guys race for a living. This is just our hobby. I'd like to get to the point in my career where I can do this for a living. I've just got to keep working hard at it. I'll put everything I've got into it.”

As to how many Big Block Series races the team will run, Mat said that their plans were up in the air. They are going to New Egypt in two weeks, a nine hour drive. They plan on going to all of them until they have a bad run. The plan was to go to New Egypt if they ran in the top five at Brockville, which they did. He explained that if they say in the top ten in points, they'll go to the next one. They'll just play it by ear.

On another note, the team used the bargain basement motor they used to win at Lernerville, prompting Mat to observe, “We've got two thirds of it paid off after two races.”

Following the midweek show at Brockville, the team ventured to Lernerville on Friday and turned in another solid performance, finishing second after once again starting tenth. Mat explained, “Rex King started on the pole and we started tenth. We had a great race car. That motor was stout again. The track was slippery, and that plays in my favor. Those guys down there don't see a lot of tracks that get that slippery. We race like that every Saturday night. We weren't very good until the first caution came out, then made some adjustments and kind of stayed out of trouble and picked my way to the front. When I got there, it was just two laps too late. I really like racing with those guys.”

On Saturday, reality reared its ugly head at Merrittville and showed that nothing is going to be easy. After winning his heat, Mat started eleventh, but was making some progress when he was involved in a scrum with Tim Jones and had to restart at the rear. He made a nice recovery, but the twelfth place finish left the team searching for answers.

Talking about the night, Mat said, “Guys weren't driving normally tonight and that's going to cause more wrecks. A lot of people were driving into the side of each other, but we'll regroup and get ready for next week. We can't get down on our luck. It' really one bad smash. We've just got to keep on keeping on.” Mat added that the car wasn't hurt enough that he could notice in the incident with Jones, but that it didn't really feel right all night. He concluded, “We'll be back. We're not really point racing. We're just trying to get the “W.”

All in all, it was a good week and Saturday's misfortune at Merrittville won't dampen the team's enthusiasm.

Positive Weekend Has Team Optimistic

By DAVE SULLY - After a slow start at Lernerville due to mechanical issues to start the season, the team rebounded nicely. Following a much needed win at Merrittville on Saturday, May 17th, Mat scored a hard-earned fourth in the 100 lap DIRT.car 358 Series on Monday, May 19th, after winning his heat, but drawing twelfth for the feature. He actually got as high as third, passing Tim McCreadie, but McCreadie fought back for the position at the end.

Fast forward to last weekend which started with a bang, as Mat parlayed a seventh place starting spot and a bargain basement motor to win on Friday night at Lernerville. To say the win was unlikely under the circumstances would be an understatement. After the primary Big Block motor was damaged two weeks in a row at Lerrnerville, it was suggested that they try a motor which Randy had picked up at Super Dirt Week last year.

Mat picks up the story, explaining, “We didn't even know if it ran. We stole the motor, basically, and went out and ran good with it.” Mat actually got in a few laps with it at Humberstone the previous Sunday after their show was over. Mat noted, “It ran good at Humberstone. It stayed together, which was what we wanted. We took it down to Lernerville. Lernerville's a little bit bigger. In the heat race, we lacked a little bit of power, but in the feature, we were good. The race car was great. The motor was great. It was just our night.”

The following night, back at Merrittville, Mat was looking for two in a row, but it wasn't to be. After winning the previous week, the handicapping put Mat in eleventh on the grid in a very competitive field of cars. He got what he could out of the car, given the conditions, ending up sixth. Chad Chevalier, who started on the pole and was very fast, picked up the win, holding off a late charge by Pete Bicknell.

Mat observed, “It was tough. Guys were racing really hard tonight. The car wasn't that good, but it was just the case that we started eleventh and Chad started on the pole. It might have been a different scenario if we had started on the pole (Keep in mind that to start on the pole, your previous week has to be a disaster.) or up toward the front. Pete came through pretty good. We weren't a good enough race car to go from eleventh to first. I would have liked to have got Jonesy to get in the top five, but it's a case where everybody's fast right now. Everybody got new stuff over the winter. It's only the second or third race. You can't get that advantage like you used to get. There's twelve guys that can win any night. That will keep it interesting.

With renewed enthusiasm following the win at Lernerville, and solid runs at Merrittville, including a win, the team needs to build on their successes, which they will make every effort to do.

Williamson Gets Redemption Win at Lernerville Speedway

It was redemption Friday at Lernerville Speedway.

Mat Williamson and Mike Pegher Jr. overcame troubles of the past few weeks to earn victories in their respective divisions.

Williamson won the V-8 Modified feature with a backup motor and Pegher responded from, two DNFs to win the Late Model feature. The features were two of the better races so far this season.

Williamson, the defending track champion, recorded his sixth career victory at Lernerville by finishing in front of Jeremiah Shingledecker in second, Steve Feder in third, Dave Murdick in fourth and Rex King Jr. in fifth.

Williamson started seventh, took the lead from Tommy Winkle on lap 10 and never relinquished the lead.

“We broke the motor the second week and the third week,” Williamson said. “So, we just put the motor in and came on down. We wanted to come down and do some testing. It was the same motor that we broke two weeks in a row.

“Absolutely, it has been frustrating because last year we had a perfect season, and this has been a nightmare start,” Williamson added. “This is a tough sport. You can be down in the dumps one week and be right back in it the next. Tonight I just rode the bottom and found the bite. Plus, we were good in lapped traffic.”

Shingledecker, the 2009 and 2011 track champion, was pleased with his car despite a few problems and had his best finish of the season.

“I thought the car was pretty good all night, but we had a little bit of trouble with the carburetor,” Shingledecker said. “But I'd say this was probably the best setup we have had this season for the track conditions.”

For Feder, the night started out with a scare as he avoided trouble in his heat race and then worked out some bugs in the car's setup to have his best finish of the season. His top two finishes at Lernerville are a pair of seconds.

“We were having some trouble with the car, turning, and after that it was just staying out of trouble,” Feder said. “We had Randy Williamson (Mat's father and partner) come up and give us some ideas. 

The track seemed a little slick tonight, but we kept it going pretty good tonight.”

Thomas Zuck is a freelance writer. 

Meet the Team- Cliff Warner

Cliff Warner is no stranger to the racing wars. Starting his career at the age of sixteen, the now sixty-four year old resident of Port Colborne was a legitimate star before technology began taking over the sport. His career began in the mid-fifties, piloting first Bombers and then 358 Sportsman. He was a familiar figure on both sides of the border, winning races and title at places like Perry Speedway, Canandaigua Speedway, and Freedom Raceway, in New York, along with Canadian tracks. He did make an excursion to the pavement, racing at Cayuga in the Bomber. He observed, “I think there were forty or fifty up there. We ran good for that first time, and that was it. The dirt was better.”

As noted, Cliff competed at a time when racing was far more affordable. He recalled, “The car was built with wrecking yard parts. No race parts at all. We had stock motors in the car. We had a Chevette, Acadian, and a Malibu. They were all stock. Nothing was done to those motors.”

Following his racing career, Cliff became a fixture at Gasport Speedway, which has now reverted to its original name, Humberstone, working for Al and Edith Wagner. He ran all the track grooming machinery, except the grader. “I didn't want anything to do with that,” he intoned. He mentioned how track prep was (and still is) a real challenge, especially when it came to watering. “Gasport was different. You had to water on Friday and Saturday. Then you had a good racing surface on Sunday. If you didn't look after the watering and maintenance on Saturday, you had a real dust bowl on Sunday,” he explained.

Warner, who has a tenure of 35 years at PC Forge in Port Colborne where he works in the maintenance department, tries to arrange his schedule so that he can travel with the team as often as possible, a valuable asset to any racing team that is on the road as much as the Williamson team.

His relationship with the Williamson Racing Team began in the early stages of Mat's career. He noted, “I hooked up with Mat when he first started racing, and I've been following him ever since. We've been to a lot of big shows. It's been good on the road. Going on the road with those guys, I have a ball. Going on the road was a real problem there for awhile because I was working fifty or sixty hours a week. Then Mat wanted to go on the road trips, so I had to put more hours in to get days off. Now, I'm looking to plan ahead to take more trips.”

Cliff contributes his time and energy to the team wherever its needed, including the arduous task of removing and installing motors, including, at his suggestion, the big block that was victorious at Lernerville on May 23rd, after the team's A motor suffered damage two weeks in a row.

He works at Merrittville on Saturday nights, so he is unable to participate on race nights there, but Cliff's contributions at the shop, and now, especially, on the road make him another of the much appreciated members of the Williamson Racing Team.

Meet the Crew- Adam Williams

Adam Williams, a resident of Grimsby, who will be twenty-six on June 1st, is no stranger to racing, having watched his uncle, Rick Book race for over 20 years and participating himself since the age of sixteen. He noted, “When I turned sixteen, I got my license, got a truck, got a trailer, and I've been racing four cylinder cars ever since then.

His crew experience began before he met Mat. He explained, “I started helping my buddy BJ Willard and then got introduced to Matty and then BJ kind of stopped racing. I just came over and started helping Matty every chance I could. Since I got hooked up with Matty about three years ago I haven't raced my car, but I've been helping Matty make his way to the front. I'll still race every once in a while, but I've mostly put it aside to help Matty go after championships and make sure his career is going the right way.”

As for his occupation, Adam is a pipeline inspector for Sun Canadian Pipeline. His work zone is from Sarnia to North Toronto, which keeps him in the area most of the time, which allows him to work with the race team. His job entails managing a high pressure petroleum pipeline in the ground and making sure that when anyone is working in the area of the line, he and his colleagues mark the area so that they don't hit the line. He also responds to accidents and makes sure that an accurate account of the occurrence is forthcoming.

He added that he spends as much time racing as time allows. As he put it, “That's for making money. This is for having fun. Sometimes you have to have fun too.”

Not all of the crew is able to travel, but Adam will try to go on the road a soften as possible. He observed, “I've already booked my holidays for North Carolina (for the Dirt.car event at Charlotte) and Super Dirt Week. Any time I get a free minute, I'll be hooked on with the trailer and head on wherever it's going.”

Adam has no special duties on the team. He does whatever needs to be done, from washing the car, scaling the car, grinding tires, or seeping the floor. He is just happy to contribute any way he can. He laughed, “I do whatever nobody else wants to do, getting dirty, all the fun stuff.”

As for his own racing future, he concluded, “Right now I've had my fill of it. I'm just having a fun time helping Matty.” With that outlook and his willingness to to do anything to help the team succeed, Adam Williams is the kind of guy every race team would love to have and the Williamson Racing Team is the beneficiary of his dedication.