By Dave Sully - THOROLD, ON – After a strong recovery in the Big Block at Lernerville on Friday, June 7th, the team was determined to improve on two recent, less than stellar performances at Merrittville on Saturday. An exiting night, highlighted by a record setting lap in the heat race, saw Mat and Mike Bowman put on a great show for the fans before Bowman pulled out a close win over the S and W No. 6.
There was a positive sign in the heat race that it would be a good night. Starting on the outside pole in the second qualifier, Mat thoroughly dominated and, in the process, ripped off a lap of 14.944, which was an all-time 358 Modified lap record for the facility. That put him in fourth on the grid for the feature.
Mat pulled off a stunning move right at the start, diving into second in turn two on the opening lap to claim second. From there he steamed past Shayne Pierce to take the lead a lap later. In clean air he immediately drove out to a big lead, only to see it evaporate on lap four when Freddie Carleton spun in turn four. Another caution, a lap later, put Mat and Bowman side by side for the restart. They ran door to door for two laps, with some contact along the way, before Bowman got the upper hand and eased into the lead.
From there, it was trying to play catch up for Mat, which he did. Not more than a few car lengths behind, Mat made several charges at Bowman over the remaining laps, but he was never able to get a sustained move for the lead, despite lap traffic. The margin at the line was a couple of car lengths in a real thriller. Point leader Pete Bicknell finished third, so Mat picked up a little there.
Mat talked about his night, explaining, “We were the fastest car on the race track. That’s for sure. That feels good, but the pocketbook took a hit. Bowman out-drove me after that caution. He kind of got aggressive going down the back straightaway. I could have returned he favor in turn four, but I chose not to. I should have raced him as hard as he raced me, but I didn’t.”
“The car was good. My guys hit the nail on the head. We had the fastest car on the race track. I don’t care what anybody says. I’m just happy that we got a second out of it. It was a good points night, a good night for the S and W car.”
Regarding the record breaking lap, he added, “It feels good. It just says something for the race car. It was on a rail in the heat there. It shows how hard we worked during the week and how hard my guys worked in the off-season. It feels great. We’ve got a great motor program, chassis, and shock package. Great everything. I just get in it and drive it.
I’m happy that we got in the record books for that, but I’d rather win races.”
There’s still a long way to go, but things are looking brighter after the strong performances on Friday and Saturday. Next up- Sunday at Humberstone for their second Modified night.
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