Williamson Earns Runner-up Spot At Merrittville

By Dave Sully  - Following a great win the his new car on Friday, May 18^th, Mat came back the next night to take second in the 35 lap Mod Feature at Merrittville, a finish which didn’t seem likely during much of the race.  As Chad Chevalier left the field in his wake, Mat, who started fifteenth, was basically holding his own during the early laps, swapping positions with several cars before beginning to inch his way forward.


On lap 29 the complexion of the race changed when the caution flew for the first time, as Rob Pietz suffered a broken torsion arm. After that caution and another one on lap 30, the No. 6 came to life. Mat, who had moved up to fourth by the second restart was slotted on the outside behind Pete Bicknell, who had seized the lead from Chevalier on the first restart, Chevalier, who was now second, and Tim Jones.


At the drop of the green, Jones spun his tires allowing Mat to claim third, and then on lap 32, he got past Chevalier.  He tried to catch Bicknell over the final laps, but was unable to close the gap enough to challenge for the lead.


Mat explained the late race change in fortune, noting, “It was tough. Up until those cautions came out, I was no good. I like the cautions.  I don’t know what happens, but after a caution comes out, I get better and better.  We were just there at the end. We were lucky to be there.”


Double file restarts helped Mat gain positions, but it can be a double-edged sword. Mat explained, “It’s nice to have a double file restart. It makes more of a race out of it, but sometimes it’ll hurt you.  Jonesy spun his tires, and I was fortunate to get him on the bottom. I would have liked to see it go 50 (laps). I think I could have given Pete a pretty good run for his money.”


All in all, it’s been a good start for the four race holiday weekend, with Series races coming up on Sunday at Cornwall and Merrittville on Monday.