Seventh Place Finish at Merrittville Concludes Less Than Stellar Weekend

By Dave Sully - (Thorold, Ontario) Following a disappointing run on a one lane track on Friday at Ransomville, which relegated them to a tenth place finish, the Williamson Racing Team was anxious for some home cooking, but it wasn’t to be, as Mat ended up seventh.  Starting eleventh on the grid, he seemed poised to make things happen, but a combination of factors doomed the effort. 

 

First, and foremost, the car was once again a tick off, and in the highly competitive field of modifieds at Merrittville, even a tick can relegate a car from being a contender to a pretender.  Not that the seventh place finish didn’t have some benefit, as Mat picked up a few points on Pete Bicknell, who finished tenth, but it wasn’t the finish they had hoped for.

 

Second, the race, which was a dandy at the front, highlighted by a battle between winner Mike Bowman, Tim Jones, Rick Richner, and Travis Braun, went caution-free, usually not a good thing when you’re starting outside the top ten. A caution or two are needed to stay in contact with the leaders. With the green flag flying throughout, Mat was faced with watching the race ahead of him and then suffering the indignity of seeing Ken Cosgrove steal sixth place away in the closing moments.

 

Mat talked about his night, observing, “The track was really slick. That was surprising. I thought it would have more bite, but we just missed the setup again a little bit. It’s a fine line to get the “Ws” here. When you’re on it, you’re on it. We kind of experimented, trying new stuff. If it pays off, you win, but when you finish seventh it doesn’t really help.”

 

The car was really good, but it was missing just a little bit. I wasn’t able to catch (Tom) Flannigan there in the closing laps and Kenny (Cosgrove) passed me with one to go. He kept digging down low and finally got by. We were a fifth place car. It would have been nice to be up there battling with the leaders, but with no cautions, it’s tough.  By the time I got by the cars that I could, it was ten or fifteen laps to go, and I just couldn’t close. The racing was good tonight, and I hope we put on a good show for the fans.”

 

As of this race, Mat lies third in points, six behind the very fast Tim Jones, and eight behind leader Pete Bicknell.  It’s still early, and the fun has just begun.