So-so Night Keeps Team in the Hunt

By Dave Sully - Thorold, Ontario- On a chilly night at Merrittville on Saturday, May 25th, following a Friday night rainout at Lernerville, the team searched for answers on setup and came up a little bit short, while salvaging a seventh place finish in the Modified Feature. With only fifteen cars on hand for the feature and point leader Pete Bicknell getting wrecked in the heat, it looked like a good night to pick up some points, but, as so often happens, that wasn’t the way it worked out.

After being involved in a jingle in the heat, where he made hard contact with a spinning Mark D’Ilario, but was able to continue, Mat started eleventh after Bicknell had to go to his backup car following his mishap in the heat. On a normal night that might have been a serious disadvantage, but, with the small field, he lined up only four spots behind Mat in the car that won at Ransomville the night before.

The feature saw Chris Steele run away and hide, while Mat tried to keep Bicknell, fast as always and on the charge from the get-go, in sight. He was able to stay just behind him for most of the way, but Bicknell was able to grab two spots in the closing laps to finish in the top five, while Mat had to settle for seventh.

Mat explained, “We missed the setup a little bit. We thought the track would have a lot more bite in it than it did. It was a lot slipperier than I thought. Just made the wrong calls before the race, and it hurt us in the end. We were all right. We passed some good cars to get where we ended up, Woodsie (Scott Wood)), (Mike) Bowman, Tyler (McPherson). Pete gets lucky at the end of the race and gets a bunch of spots. One minute I’m on his bumper and the next minute, he’s two cars in front of me. It’s tough when that happens, but you have to look forward.”

Of the damage done in the heat, Mat explained, “It bent two shock towers and a right front shock. The axle is a little bent and the front bumper is trash. We had our work cut out for us after the heat to get ready for the feature, but we were fortunate it didn’t bend anything else.”

There was no time to get discouraged, as the team readied the Big Block for its debut at Humberstone on Sunday, hoping for greener pastures.

Team Rebounds on Victoria Day After Off Night on Saturday

By Dave Sully - THOROLD, ON – Following a strong performance on Friday night at Lernerville, the team had “one of those nights” on Saturday at Merrittville, when nothing seemed to work. Determined to get back on even keel, the team went back to square one and headed for Cornwall on Sunday for the first 358 Series race, ready to put the Saturday performance behind them. Rain dictated that the recovery would have to wait another day, but recover they did, with a strong effort on Victoria Day, which produced a fourth place finish against the best 358 drivers in the business.

Time trials were a harbinger of things to come, as Mat set fast time in his group, which put him on the pole for the heat. Racing against veterans Danny Johnson and Danny O’Brien, along with Saturday’s runaway winner Marl D’Ilario, Mat drove a flawless race to win going away, putting him into the redraw, where he has been famously short on luck. To his and the team’s surprise, he drew three, which guaranteed some clean air at the start.

When the green flag fell, the car was quick and the only spot he lost all night was to eventual winner Matt Sheppard. At one point he even passed Johnson, who drew the pole but fell to third behind Jimmy Phelps and Sheppard early, before the “Doctor,” who eventually finished second, got back by him. Over the second half of the event, Brett Hearn challenged for fourth, nipping at Mat’s heels after claiming fifth on lap 57. Mat took all that Hearn had to offer before Hearn surrendered fifth to Tim McCreadie with a couple laps to go. All in all, it was vindication for Saturday and reason to smile on Monday.

Talking about the night, Mat commented, “To race with Timmie and Brett through lap traffic at the end of the race and to be able to come out on top felt really good. Those guys really know what they’re doing. They’ve got their act together. It just shows how good my guys are and the pace we’re at. It makes us feel a lot better, and it’s a bit of a confidence builder to run fourth to Sheppard, Jimmy, and the Doctor.”

Regarding his race with Hearn, Mat added, “I saw him there a couple of times, especially when we got into lap traffic. He’s done this thousands of times more than I have. It feels good to hold him off. It just says something for our program. These guys have got their stuff together and I can’t thank them enough.”

“The track got slick during the race. That’s for sure. The top was still fast, but it was racy because the bottom was just as fast. When we came up on lap traffic around the top, we could pass them on the bottom, and when we came up on them on the bottom we could pass them on the top. The lap cars showed a lot of respect tonight. The track was probably the best I’ve seen it race-wise in a while. The cushion was a little heavy, but nothing to complain about. If they keep it like that, it’ll be racy all year.”

On the performance of the car, Mat observed, “Wayne Conn, Rob Sawatsky, and my dad were doing our shocks this week, and they really got our program back together. We changed the front shocks, and it got us back to normal. Saturday was a disappointing run, and I’m just happy we’re back up front again and lapping the guys we run with at Merrittville on a regular basis. It just shows how much faster we are right now. We’ve got to keep it going for next Saturday.”

Putting Saturday and Monday in perspective, Mat declared, “Like I said Saturday after the race, you can’t get discouraged from that stuff. It just gets you down. Hopefully, we can build on this. It gives us a little more experience with the slick track conditions and the new car. This BRP car is rolling right now.”

It’s not June yet, but early indications are that things are coming together, and that strong showing on Victoria Day bodes well for the future.

Merrittville Finish Presents Challenges

By Dave Sully - (Thorold, ON) After a good finish at Lernerville the previous night, the clock struck twelve on Saturday at Merrittville, where slick conditions made passing a premium and Mat had to settle for a twelfth place finish, right where he started. The conditions were such that of the top six starters, five of them finished in the top five. Only Shayne Pierce, who started fourth, was not near the front at the end, and that’s because he broke early.

Ultimately, Mark D’Ilario was able to sneak past polesitter Todd Gordon and went on to win by a big margin. For Mat, who started sixth in his heat and finished second, it was a night when it became obvious that, as the track dried out, it would be tough to move forward.

He explained, “It wasn’t the night we were looking for. That’s for sure. We’ve run better here before a whole lot of times, and you can’t let it get you down. Hopefully, we can turn it around. We’re going to go home, scale the thing and get it back to square one. (Tonight) It was the car in general. The shocks weren’t very good. That’s for sure. We had good tire wear tonight, so I don’t think it was that. I think it was a combination of everything. The track got a whole lot slicker than we thought it would. We were expecting more out of the race car than it gave us. It is what it is, but you can’t look back on it.”

“It takes a driver to win on tracks like this. I think it was more starting position than anything. It was so slippery that everybody was fast. It’s tough to pass when it’s like that. There’s not really a lane to miss, because there wasn’t really a lane out there, but we’ll get it. Pete (Bicknell) was right in front of us (he ended up eighth), so it wasn’t like anybody was really moving.”

With Series races at Cornwall on Sunday and back at Merrittville on Monday, it’s important not to dwell on tonight, but to roll up the sleeves and keep things in perspective. As the Carpenters famously intoned, “We’ve only just begun.”

Good Finish at Lernerville Keeps Williamson Racing Team on Top

By Dave Sully - (Sarver, PA) If you don’t win, second is the next best thing you can do, and that’s what Mat accomplished on Friday, May 17th at Lernerville Speedway. After soldiering to a fifth place finish in the heat, after starting eighth, Mat was able to come from tenth on the grid to record the runner-up spot behind Brian Schwartzlander. In so doing, he maintained the point lead.

Talking about the night, Mat commented, “I think we were faster than Brian, for sure. I just needed longer green flag runs. He was a lot better than me on restarts. I really didn’t need a restart with three or four to go. On the last restart he got away from me by half a straightaway, and at the line I was right on his bumper. We were faster than him when we were reeling him in, but he was better on the short runs. I needed the track to stay green and we’d have been fine. It was tough because it was so fast on the bottom. If I could have gotten to Brian, I don’t know if I could have passed him or not, just with it being so fast on the bottom.”

“I just have to get better on those restarts. Maybe next week, when we start toward the front, depending on the redraw, we’ll capitalize on it. Starting position is a big thing there. It’s tough to come from the back. We took advantage of it tonight, and we did all right.”

Lernerville mixes the order for their features, with the Mods the first one this night. Talking about that, Mat shared, “I liked going out first tonight, because the track was a little bit faster, but it still got slick. I think when we run last, it takes a driver to race instead of a race car, so we’re going to find out next week. I like it slipperier. Certainly with a Big Block, it helps to go out first, but I like it later on because you can pass, and it’s not so much one lane on the bottom.”

Each week is a learning experience, and the result was positive this night. With three races in the next three days (Merrittville, Cornwall, and Merrittville), there are challenges ahead.

Fifth Place Finish at Merrittville Keeps Team in the Hunt

By Dave Sully - Even though it’s early in the season, it’s important to record good finishes every week. After winning the previous week from the pole, it was going to be tough to do it from 12th. Mat gave it his all and soldiered to a top five finish on a cool night with a lot of contact on a tacky race track, which produced some frayed nerves during the evening.

Because of the handicapping, Mat started last in his heat. By the time he worked his way past the slower cars, he was unable to catch the leaders who had checked out by the time he got there. He still finished a solid fourth, which put him in that 12th spot on the grid for the feature.

The action was pretty frantic in the feature, with the aforementioned tacky conditions giving some cars speed they wouldn’t normally exhibit. Mat moved up a couple of spots. Then he got shuffled back, but with a concerted effort, moved into sixth. A late pass of Scott Wood produced the top five finish.

Talking about the night, Mat observed, “People were racing like it’s the beginning of the year, and that’s to be expected. There were lots of wrecks. We ran good last week and came out with a top five tonight. The car was pretty good. We just missed the boat on shocks. The track slicked off more than we thought it would, and I was lacking a little bit. It’s nice to come out with a top five after we struggled a bit.”

“The handicap killed us tonight, and we’ll be starting from 12th on back from now on. When the top’s that fast in one and two, you can’t pass. We were running with Pete (Bicknell). He got a good jump on that last restart and he ended up second. It’s the luck of the draw when you get to races like tonight. If you catch a break and somebody slows down or somebody runs into somebody else and you can get under him, it’s a real benefit. It’s tough coming from the back.”

Of the tacky conditions early, he added, “It makes everybody fast. I don’t know if it was my car, but the track seemed to slick off there later in the race. The cushion went away in three and four and made it racy. I could watch those guys ahead of me. It was nice to watch. I wish I could have had a little better finish. I’m just going into next week like it’s a new week. Hopefully, we run good.”

Mat also shared that they’ll be moving into their new shop this week, so they’ll be able to wash the car at home. The new digs will certainly help with a very busy week coming up, with a potential four races in a row, including two tour events.

You can be sure it will be all hands on deck for the task ahead.

Mat Sweeps Weekend With Win At Merrittville

By Dave Sully - Following an impressive effort at Lernerville on Friday, where the team recorded its second win, the team returned home to Merrittville to take on the talented group of weekly 358 pilots. Following a win in the heat, Mat made his pole position starting spot pay off, sparring early with Chad Chevalier, withstanding a strong challenge from Larry Lampman, and then holding off the acknowledged master of Merrittville, Pete Bicknell, to make it two for two on the weekend. You can’t get any better than that.

Mat caught a break in his heat when leader Erik Rudolph suffered transmission problems, which allowed Mat to take the lead after moving up to second from his sixth place starting spot. He wound up winning the heat, which put him on the pole for the feature. At some tracks, the pole is not the most advantageous position, but it was good this night. Mat explained, “It was very important. The bottom was really good. I think this was the first time I’ve started on the pole in about two years, so I had to take advantage of it.”

“You don’t want to go backward when you start on the pole. You need to hit your marks and make sure the car’s really good. We made the right choice on shocks tonight. . I think we screwed ourselves last week on that. My dad and Rob Sawatsky put a real good package together.”

Mat and Chad Chevalier, who started outside him on the front row, swapped the lead a few times in the early going before Mat was able to pull ahead. “I knew the top was fast early,” Mat noted, “I knew it would go away. It was just a matter of time. I just couldn’t let him get ahead of me on the bottom. We had a good race going. It’s good to race with Chad. These guys are all pretty good.”

As the race progressed, Larry Lampman and Pete Bicknell became Mat’s chief tormenters. Larry, driving for Mike Bowman this season, was especially fast on the outside. Bicknell, always on the prowl, moved past Lampman into second on lap 26, with plenty of time to do his thing. A caution on lap 27 put the two side by side for the restart.

Mat got a great run and cleared Bicknell by two car lengths going into turn one. It looked good at that point, but on lap 29 there was another caution, which proved to be a carbon copy of the previous one. Mat got the same great run, cleared Bicknell and this time was able to increase his lead over the remaining laps, putting the opening point night in the win column.

Talking about the restarts, Mat observed, “BRP builds one helluva race car. I get forward drive like nobody else. I can almost flat foot it on the restarts. ERD builds a great motor, so it’s good when you get a couple car lengths going into one. You can give yourself some room for a slip up or two.”

Mat concluded, “You have to take advantage of those opportunities. I’d like to thank my crew. They did a great job.”
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As they say, “You can’t win them all if you don’t win the first one.” Well, they did that. It’s king for a week. It’s time to re-cinch and go for more.

Williamson Racing Team Two For Two At Lernerville

By Dave Sully - Make that two in a row for the Williamson Racing team at Lernerville Speedway in Sarver, PA on Friday, May 3rd. Using information gleaned from last week, Mat used a late race pass of veteran Jim Weller to win the Big Block Modified Feature, after taking the opening week win when Brian Schwartzlander came up 25 pounds light at the scales.

Mat didn’t need anybody’s help this week, as he started scratch in his heat and improved to third, placing him tenth on the grid for the feature. From there he picked his way forward, putting himself in position for the final push.

Mat explained, “We weren’t exceptional in the heat but we were pretty good. I think we were the fastest car in the heat, but we started too far back, so they kind of checked out on me in the heat. They were gone.”

“We didn’t make a lot of changes between the heat and the feature. We started tenth, got into a jingle early, bounced back and ended up catching the guy with two to go and passed him with two to go, so it was a good night. The track had a little more bite than last week. I don’t know if the Late Models laid down rubber, but it was pretty good. There were some bitey spots. The car was on a rail.”

I’ve got to thank Pat at Bilstein Shocks. He and my dad worked all week on the shocks and I think we’ve got it figured out now. The only sad part of it is we only had one set of them. We were planning on putting them on for Merrittville, but when we got into that wreck we bent the shock.”

We ran the Big Block, and I think Weller was running an open small block (as Schwartzlander did the previous week).I still think the Big Block is the way to go here. It’s kind of hit and miss. If we run last (in the order of events) I don’t know if I’m going to bring my small block or not. It’s still very much up in the air. We’ll learn more as the season goes on. Two weeks from now, our division runs first, so I think the Big Block will be the way to go. The week after, well have to think about running the Small Block. I’m not sure.”

There’s no question that the locals at Lernerville realize that Mat is a force to be reckoned with. Whether that changes their approach remains top be seen, but Mat plans to race them the way they race him, noting, “I’m racing them with respect and trying to earn my keep. Hopefully we’ll race them like that all year.”

Mat concluded, “I’d like to thank my crew and everybody for getting us here. They did a helluva job.”