Williamson Racing Team Finishes Speed Weeks in Florida on a High Note

By Dave Sully - (Barberville, Florida) The Williamson Racing Team peaked on the final night, turning in their best performance of the week in their big block debut in Florida. Buoyed by a strong 11thplace finish on Friday, when Mat won his consi and then moved up from his twenty-first place starting spot, he outdid himself on Saturday, timing fourth overall, which put him on the front row in his heat. Concerning that qualifying effort Mat revealed, “Just a combination in the setup. We changed the carburetor, and I learned the track a little bit more by the time we got to time trial on Saturday.

He grabbed the lead at the drop of the green and wound up holding off none other than Danny Johnson for most of the race, crossing the line in first, for his second checkered flag of the week. Mat noted, “Actually, I didn’t sense that Danny was back there. I didn’t know how close he was. That was good.”

Mat drew six in the redraw, and, after being shuffled back at the start, reasserted himself and finished a solid seventh, putting him 16th in points, despite not qualifying on Thursday. Mat explained, “We struggled early. I was trying to putt around the bottom, but I kept getting tight off, so I started to roll the middle there and then got past a couple cars that got past me earlier. We just got a good race going.” It was a fine performance for the whole team, and Mat thanked them profusely whenever he could.

As has been stated often, the trip was meant to be a learning experience, and it certainly was. It gives them a leg upon the competition when the season starts, especially in the big blocks. Mat put it this way, “It was a good end to the week. It felt good to get our stuff together before anyone else at home.”

Of the overall experience Mat concluded, “It was great. I loved it. It was a great experience. I’m pretty happy with the way everything went down.” After the initial success on opening night, things went down hill on Thursday. What turned things around? Mat responded, “We put Matt’s (Sheppard) setup in, and we figured out that I don’t drive like him, so we put our setup back in and started running better. It felt good.”

Things stay busy, as Mat noted that they have to get back to St Catharines to put a small block car together for a car show coming up. You can bet they’ll be in a good mood for the task, following their success in the Sunshine State.