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.