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.
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