Team Records Second Place Finish at Ohsweken Special

By Dave Sully - OHSWEKEN, ON- After the good finish at Lernerville on Friday and a welcome rainout on Saturday at Merrittville, the team traveled to Ohsweken Speedway on Monday, July 29th for the Northern Summer Nationals, with Mat recording a second place finish to Chad Brachmann in the 30 lap Modified Feature. After finishing third in his heat, Mat drew the fourth stating spot. He made it to second, but was no match for Brachmann, who was the class of the field this night.

Talking about the evening, Mat explained, “I started outside pole in the heat. Brandon Easey started on the pole and got a better start than I did. Mike Bowman was right behind him and took advantage of Brandon’s start. I ended up finishing third in the heat and that put us starting fourth in the feature. We got up to second when Chad was leading. Chad had a better car than we did. That’s for sure. He walked away from us; he beat us by about five seconds. He certainly had a dominant cat there, but it was great to be back at Ohsweken.”

Mark D’Ilario finished third, but Mat was comfortably ahead of him at the line. He added, “The top five had a good race, except for Brachmann. (Top five finish was Brachmann, Mat, D’Ilario, Chris Steele, and Erick Rudolph.). “It was a nice pay day and a good night. I’m glad we were back there.”

Glenn Styres has done a great job with Ohsweken Speedway and has been bringing in the top series, especially the sprint cars. The team was definitely happy to go there and satisfied with the result.

It’s nice to race for fun occasionally, with no pressure. Ohsweken was a good time and rewarding to boot. Now back to the task at hand. It gets busy, with races at Lernerville on Friday, Merrittville on Saturday, and the prestigious “All Canadian” on Sunday at Humberstone. The team will be ready.

 

Solid Third Keeps Lernerville Ball Rolling

By Dave Sully - SARVER, PA- The Lernerville express continued to roll on Friday, July 27th , as the team recorded a third place finish, which combined with a win in his heat and a seventh place finish for second place point man Jeremiah Shingledecker, padded the championship lead. With a win in the last outing, Mat was consigned by the handicapping to the tenth place starting position for the feature

After being shuffled back briefly, Mat pedaled forward as fast as he could, but with the race going caution free was unable to catch the leader, Dave Mudick or second place Rex King Sr, although Mat was breathing down his neck at the end. The No. 6W enters August with a 48 point lead over Brian Schwartzlander, who finished fourth this night and a 51 point lead over Shingledecker, who finished eighth and dropped to third in the standings.

Mat summarized the evening, noting, “We started outside pole in the heat and won by half a track. We started tenth in the feature because we won the week before. We ran third. There were no cautions. I think if we had a caution it would have helped us, but with no cautions that’s what we were faced with. Dave Murdick was pretty fast and so was Rex King. They definitely kept me on my toes, but I think it would have been a different story if the caution came out. I think I was faster than they were. I just couldn’t catch them through traffic.”

As for the track conditions, Mat added, “We (the Modifieds) ran last, so it was really slippery. I’m surprised that Shingledecker didn’t run as well as he usually does. He had a small block in it. He struggled.”

With five point races remaining, there is reason for optimism. Mat concluded, “We’ve got quite the point lead. We’re on our way to our first championship, as long as we can keep everything together.”



That about sums it up.

Strong Second at Humberstone Keeps the Ball Rolling

By DAVE SULLY - Pt Colborne, ON- Following that much needed win at Merrittville, it was important to follow that up with another solid performance to help build momentum. The team came up with that, as Mat finished in the runner-up spot ion the 30 lap Modified Feature at Humberstone on Sunday, July 21. After winning his heat handily, Mat started third in the feature, right behind Erick Rudolph, who has been on fire all season long. Rudolph got a great run at the start and, following a lap two caution, grabbed the lead from polesitter Chad Chevalier, from where he immediately checked out.

While that was going on, Mat was racing Bill Bleich and Chris Steele for position before finally moving in to second on lap seven. By this time, Rudolph was in another time zone, but Mat set sail to try to close the gap. As he was narrowing the advantage somewhat, the caution flew on lap 16 when late arriving Dale Plack, winner of the last two modified features at Humberstone got involved in a tangle with Tom Flannigan and Steele, resulting in he and Steele retiring from the event and giving Mat a chance to start next to Rudolph when the race resumed.

Mat tried to hang with Rudolph, but after three laps the young driver, who finished second in the 200 lap ROC race at Oswego the night before, gradually pulled away. Mat had to be satisfied with second, but the car ran well and the team was satisfied with the effort.

Mat commented, “The car wasn’t too bad. Eric was certainly better than us. That showed tonight. I don’t know what he’s got, but it’s pretty good. We’re good, but we’re not quite good enough to beat Erick. I’m just happy that we came back with another good run. It was tough racing. The bottom lane was really good tonight. The top wasn’t too bad. The track was wicked fast. It was another good night, with no damage. I’m on vacation this week. I’m just happy that we’re going away after a couple of good runs, knowing we figured it out.”

“We certainly turned it around. We’ve just got to keep on trucking and get some more wins before the end of the year. We made some changes, and they were for the good. It will be interesting to see what happens at Merrittvile next Saturday when we start at the back. It we’re as good as we were last Saturday, we’ll be pretty competitive. I’m pretty excited.”

It’s a good time to take a break, especially when the team is upbeat after suffering through that prolonged funk at Merrittville. They’ll all be back with renewed vigor to tackle the second half of the season.

Merrittville Victory Drought Over

By DAVE SULLY - THOROLD, ON- After what seemed like an eternity, the team finally basked in the glory of a win at Merrittville on Saturday, July 20th, ending a winless streak there that began after the stirring duel with Pete Bicknell on May 4th. With a narrow loss to Mike Bowman on June 7th, the only other realistic chance for a win, the team had tried everything to get to Victory Lane, only to be thwarted. Last week was perhaps the most discouraging event, given a respectable finish at Humberstone, which had provided reason for optimism, with Mat admitting that they really didn’t know what to do next. He vowed they would find a solution and on Saturday, they found it.

A win in the heat, although not necessarily a guarantee of a good performance in the feature, got the team off to a good start, with the handicapping putting him in third place on the grid. When the green flag flew, polesitter Todd Gordon took off like he was shot out of a gun and opened a huge lead, while Mat sparred for position with Bill Bleich and Chris Steele before claiming second on lap 7.

By this time, Gordon was a straightaway ahead and still setting a brisk pace. Mat began to chip away at the lead, and was visibly gaining. When Gordon entered lap traffic on lap 14, Mat was rapidly closing the gap and began stalking the No. 28. On lap 21, he was able to draw up on the outside and pin Gordon behind the 108, from where he eased into the lead.

Once ahead, he drove out to a commanding lead, but there was one more hurdle, as the only caution of the event came out on lap 31. That forced a restart with Gordon and Pete Bicknell, up from tenth, ready to test him. Mat was up to the challenge, getting a great restart and then holding off a brief challenge by Bicknell, who got by Gordon, to win going away.

To say that Mat and the team were relieved would be a vast understatement. Upon reflection, Mat talked about what led to the winning performance, explaining, “We have been doing things for a while that just got outdated. We went back to basics. I’ve got to give a shout out to Matt Sheppard and Mike Payne. I talked to both those guys this week and got some information from both of them. Just some help and advice. It cleared my head a little bit. You know, ninety percent of this game is mental. It’s great to be back.  I’m just so happy to be back. It feels great. I’ve got to thank my crew for sticking it out, sticking with me when we’re running bad. It’s so mental. You get down in the dumps and you’re going to stay down there until you clear your head. It’s a different mental aspect. It’s great to be back, and I’m happy to win on Semenuk’s night.

Of the night itself, he continued, “We won the heat pretty convincingly, but we’ve been good in heats all year. To be honest, I didn’t think we’d be able to catch Todd. When I was racing with Bleich, and Steeler went by me, I figured we’d be done. The race car wasn’t really good for the first five laps. Then a tire came in, and it was like a light switch came on. It was good to catch Todd in lap traffic. We got him pinned against a lap car on the bottom and went around him on the outside. I could roll the middle really good. I had forward bite when nobody else did and just a little bit more side bite than anybody else. I could use the throttle more than they could. I think it paid off. I was not excited to see that late caution. I’m not sure how close Pete was before the caution.”

Mat concluded, “The car was pretty good tonight, but we’ve still got some improving to do. It’s not perfect yet, but we’re getting there.”

With plenty of racing left, it was important to get things turned around ASAP. One race does not make a season, but Saturday was a step in the right direction at a critical time.

Woes Return at Merrittville

By DAVE SULLY - THOROLD, ON- The elation of the Friday night win at Lernerville lasted less than twenty-four hours, as a disappointing finish at Merrittville on Saturday, July 13^th, had the team scratching their collective heads again. An outside pole start in the heat set Mat up for an easy win, providing reason for optimism, but at the drop the green for the 50 lap feature, with a seventh place starting spot, the car struggled, and Mat ultimately finished tenth. 

 

To say Mat was dejected would be an understatement. He offered, “I knew the first lap we were no good. Last night (at Lernerville), we put the shocks on and lap one you get good side bite and drive off the corner real good. You know pretty much whether you’re going to be good or not. Tonight, I knew I wasn’t gong to be very good.”

 

“It’s so frustrating to know that you should be running better than you’re doing. You put the work and the effort in, and your guys work hard. Everybody thinks about it throughout the week. Then we come out, change everything around, trying to get better, and it doesn’t change a thing.”

 

“Mike (Bowman) ran great tonight and last we week we were battling for last. Those guys got their stuff changed around. Obviously, we haven’t. So, that aspect of it is frustrating. That’s racing. There’s a lot of nay-sayers, but this is racing. This is the game we play.”

 

Sometimes, a driver can make changes during a caution to improve the car, such as the brakes and panhard bar. However, with no cautions Mat couldn’t try and he suggested that it wouldn’t have made any difference, noting, “There wasn’t enough adjustment in the cockpit that I could have done to make the car any better. I could have changed it a little bit and maybe gone from a tenth place car to a ninth place car, but, as I said, it’s just frustrating. I hope we can get it turned around some time.”

 

“There’s two different race cars we’ve got here. They’re pretty much the same. The only difference is the motor. I ran the identical four shocks tonight that I did last night.”

 

“It’s so disappointing when you work throughout the week. You put your heart and soul into it and then come out and run like crap. We’ve just got to keep at it, and hopefully we’ll get it turned around one of these weeks.”

 

It’s doubly hard to have a tough night after the success the night before, but it’s precisely that sweet smell of success that will keep the team striving to end the misery at Merrittville.

Fourth Lernerville Win Renews Confidence

By DAVE SULLY - SARVER, PA- After winning three of the first four races at Lernerville, the team was in a bit of a slide, as they had to settle for from some seconds and a fourth, but on Friday, July 12th, things came together nicely for a convincing win and an increased the point lead in the Big Block Modified division. A heat win and a good draw (done by track officials) put Mat on the outside pole for the feature and at the drop of the green he was hammer down.

Mat explained, “The night started well. We started fourth in the heat, but we were in the lead by the end of the first lap. Brian (Schwartzlander) and I kind of walked away with it for the win. It was a good race. I’m happy to win the heat, especially with the heat points (which very few tracks award). Then they drew the outside pole for the feature for us, and we didn’t look back.”

“I knew Jeremiah (Shingledecker) was there. I saw him a couple times. I knew Brian would be right there too. Those guys are wicked to race with. I’m just happy to win and happy to be up front, and happy to increase the point lead.”

“We changed a few things, nothing major. I’m just happy we had a good run. It’s good for the confidence. Hopefully, it’ll be the end of the bad streak we had going. I just hope we figured it out.”

It was nice to get the “W” at Lernerville, which always makes the four hour return trip enjoyable. Now, it’s back to Merrittville to see how far they’ve come.

 

Top Five Showing At Humberstone Restores A Glimmer Of Hope

By Dave Sully - PT. COLBORNE, ON- After suffering through a disappointing Saturday at Merrittville, the team regained a measure of respect and renewal with a solid performance at Humberstone, capped off by a top five finish. The most significant development on the night was that the car actually contended for positions, without Mat having to perform Herculean efforts just to pass somebody.

Mat got pinched off while making a move early in his heat, after a bad draw put him in a tough starting position, but worked his way up to a qualifying position for the feature. Starting ninth, it was evident that the car was going to be competitive, as he stayed with the pack as it accelerated at the start. He passed Scott Wood, Chris Steele, Robbie Krull, and Chad Chevalier during the race, and ended up in a spirited battle with Todd Gordon for the fourth spot which lasted a number of laps, with Gordon holding the spot by half a car length at the line. Dale Planck won the race.

It was definitely an encouraging sign, giving the team something on which to build. Mat felt a lot better than he did the previous night. Though still not doing handsprings, he noted, “We changed some stuff today, put it on the scales. We went back to basics and changed some little things around. It seemed to make a difference. I can’t complain about it. We went forward tonight, instead of backwards. I’m just happy we’re back in the ball park.”

“(This week) we’re going to keep getting back to basics. It’ll be good.”

Sometimes, you say things to make the listener feel good, even though you may not be totally convinced yourself. Other times, you say those things when you really sense something good is going to happen. I’m leaning toward the latter here.

Team’s Struggles Continue At Merrittville

By Dave Sully - THOROLD, ON- The Williamson Racing Team’s fortunes at Merrittville continued to suffer, even with a new frame and a host of changes. Entering the night with some anticipation after gutting out a twelfth place finish in the “Battle of the Border” on Wednesday, the hope was that they had a plan to shrug off their recent woes at their home track. However, it didn’t turn out that way, as a fourth place finish in his heat, right where he started, put Mat in the tenth starting spot for the feature.

Any thought about moving up was lost at the drop of the green, and Mat eventually found himself just trying to stay on the lead lap as he and arch rival Mike Bowman were at one time battling for fifteenth in the race won by Tim Jones. Bowman was lapped, just before a caution on lap 30 saved Mat from the same fate. Only some late race heroics by Mat salvaged a disappointing twelfth place finish.

The most disconcerting part of the finish was that the car never showed any signs that it could move forward and Mat had to drive the wheels off it to salvage the finish that he got.

Mat’s bewilderment was evident, as he observed, “We worked on the car all week. I don’t know what the heck we’re doing wrong. I never felt so bad. It just keeps getting worse and worse. We’re working on the car more than ever. We’re doing more maintenance than ever. We’re doing more tire work than ever. We’re working on the thing three times more than we used to, and we’re going three times slower. I just don’t understand it.”

“The racing game is tough. If it was easy, everybody would do it, but I don’t know any more.”

“We’re definitely not going to give up. We’ll keep working on this thing all summer until we win one of these races. It’s frustrating when we can go and race the best guys in the Northeast and come in second, and come from the back and have a chance to win those races given a decent starting position. Then we come to our home track and race some of the best guys in the Niagara region, and they’re tough to beat, but we can’t get out of our own way. We can’t be that way at our home track, when we can go six hours down the road to a track we see twice a year and contend for a win. That’s the frustrating part. We know we should be winning. My program is top notch. My guys work as hard as anybody else and it’s tough not to win.”

There are all kinds of clichés that apply here to solve the dilemma, perhaps the most appropriate being, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” A little luck might help as well. Look at it this way. When you’re down, there is only one direction you can go, and when it does, the smell of success will be much sweeter.

Team Puts Ransomville in Rear View Mirror After Muddled “Battle of the Border”

By Dave Sully - (Ransomville, NY) Perhaps it was the threat of bad weather, or maybe it was residual effects of the celebrated Dave Just incident from last year, but things did not go according to plan for the team at the “Battle of the Border,” (more truth than poetry here). However, at the end of the night, the team recorded a respectable 12th place finish, which could have been a lot worse, and is ready to move on.

The night started out on a sour note, when the track refused to honor the crew’s dirt cards when they signed in at the pits, an obvious slight for what is a common practice at most facilities. It got worse when the timing loop malfunctioned, forcing the heats to be determined by a “feast or famine” pill draw instead of time trials, at which Mat has been strong lately. The draw put him near the back in the heat, from where he was shuffled to the rear on the start, where he ultimately finished.

Starting tail in the consi, from which three would qualify, Mat struggled to a fifth place finish, forcing him to use a provisional to get into the race. He ended up starting last (30th). As for the consi, Mat observed, “I knew we had a provisional. I was planning on taking it at the start of the race.” By battling and clawing, avoiding wrecks and other mayhem, he was able to make up eighteen spots to salvage the 12th place finish, after being tied for the Series point lead going into the event, when Mat Sheppard was DQ’d after winning at Cornwall on Monday night, losing a hundred points in the process.

To cap it all off, the skies opened up just as the Sportsman Feature ended, drowning the pit area, perhaps a fitting conclusion to a frustrating night.

Mat put it in perspective, noting, “It’s nice when you go to a dirt show and you go to a professional race track, to have everything organized where you can time trial, and it’s not the luck of the draw. That put us behind the eight ball right at the start. This place isn’t known for passing. If I was watching the race, I’d be disappointed, but to be in it was another thing. When you’re sitting back and you can’t pass race cars, even when you know you’re faster, it puts you in a tight spot.”

So, we took the provisional, started 30th and got to twelfth. We moved up on a race track where there wasn’t much passing going on. I’m just glad we don’t have to come here every Friday night.”

Mat concluded, “The car was decent. You had to really play the race track. You had to hope a guy made a mistake and take advantage of it. To sit out there for 75 laps, it’s the most boring race I’ve ever been in. I’m just glad it’s over. We salvaged a good run from it. I’m glad that we’ve got this place off the schedule, and we can move onto the next show.”

To quote the old R and B tune, “Mama said there’d be days like this.” However, the team survived; the car rolled onto the hauler in one piece, and they’re still in the hunt. Coming off two good performances at Cornwall, there’s reason to be optimistic about the future.

Strong Showing in Small Block Series Race Caps Good Weekend at Cornwall

By Dave Sully - (Cornwall, ON) – Following a gutty performance in the Big Block Tour race on Sunday, the team came back with an even stronger effort on Monday, July 1st in the Small Block event, as part of a two day holiday show at Cornwall. This time, a good qualifying effort put them in the redraw and Mat drew the sixth starting spot.

Mat observed, “We timed third fastest in our group (which determined the starting spot for the heat. The bottom lane was certainly the place to be, timing third was really a better avenue than timing second. The first couple laps (Chris) Raabe got in front of me on the restarts. It was kind of like a battle for the bottom. Then, on another restart, he hit his right rear on a bump kind of shot out, and I squeezed into the hole. He tried to squeeze me down the back straightaway and made me lift. I held my lane and that got us into the redraw.”

In the hundred lap feature, strategy played out. Mat explained, “You certainly have to put yourself in a position to win at the end of the race. We got forked on a couple of restarts. I dropped back to eighth on the original one. After that everybody went to the bottom and I ran the top, got the car square. I think we got by Brett (Hearn), Bowman, and two other guys in two laps, so that put us up to fourth. Then we had another restart and I got up beside MacDonald and kind of waited for him to screw up and then I took advantage of it and that put us in third. Once I got up to third I was kind of paying protection, just running around the bottom because the track was really rough. I didn’t want to break and get a DNF. We were just kind of idling around in third and I caught up to Matt (Sheppard) and Jimmy (Phelps). Then on the last lap, Jimmy kind of blew it in for the win and almost spun out. I got under him and beat him to the line. “

It doesn’t get any easier, as the team prepares for the “Battle of the Border,” at Ransomville on Wednesday and then re-doing the car on Thursday and Friday, changing the frame for the next shot at Merrittville. “We’re going to try something different. I just don’t think we have the right package for the frame right now. We plan on experimenting and put something different. We’re going to go back with what we had from last year.”

It certainly helps the psyche to go into a race coming off of a good performance. Hopefully, that will translate into a good finish at Ransomville on Wednesday. Time will tell.

Nice Recovery at Cornwall Big Block Series Event

By Dave Sully - (Cornwall, ON) – What difference a day makes. After a frustrating night at Merrittville on Saturday, the team hustled home, re-worked the car and headed for the Big Block Series race at Cornwall on Sunday morning, June 30th, with the Small Block. Mat offered, “We found a little bit of a problem after Merrittville, and we addressed that. Then we just went back to square one. It’s just one of those things where you use the “KISS method” (Keep it simple, stupid). It’s basically that theory all wrapped up in a race car.”

There were two reasons for taking the Small Block. First, the tight quarter mile Cornwall oval is more conducive to less horsepower, and second, there was a Small Block Series race the next day, as well, and it’s impossible to transport two cars. Thus, the Small Block was the order of the day.

Fifty-eight cars, including all of the heavy hitters, were on hand, meaning there would be a number of cars that wouldn’t make the field, adding to the anxiety. “There were ten in the heat, and I timed eighth (where he started),” Mat noted. Things brightened when Mat was able to move up to finish fourth in the heat, which relegated him to the B Main, since only three qualified for the feature out of each of the six heats.

The fourth place finish in the heat allowed Mat to start on the outside pole in his B Main, and he wound up winning it and qualifying for the A Main. Things really came together in the feature, as starting in twentieth, he was able to record a fine seventh place finish, ahead of the likes of Danny O’Brien, Dale Planck, Danny Johnson, Brett Hearn, and Billy Decker, to name a few.

Mat explained, “I like Cornwall. That’s the start of it. I always run good there. I’ve got a lot of laps there. I’ve been up there for regular nights and all the tour shows over the last few years. I’ve probably got over a thousand laps there. It certainly helps in that aspect.
We were rolling pretty good. I got up beside Sheppard there and then he got on the gas, but if the right rear tire hadn’t chunked out we would have been a top five car. It seemed like I got up to the front and used everything I had to get there. When I got there, I couldn’t really race with those guys.”

As for the breakdown between Big Blocks and Small Blocks, Mat thought there were three or four ahead of him. He noted, “It was kind of even. There were seven Big Blocks and eight Small Blocks in the top fifteen. I don’t think it was an advantage or a disadvantage to have a Small Block. They’ve got the rules pretty wrapped up so that a Small Block can compete on the Big Block Tour at these small tracks.”

It was important to come back with a good performance, after the team struggled once again at its home track. It was good to get the Big Block points and puts them in a good frame of mind going into the Small Block event on Monday.

Team Still Chasing Merrittville

(Thorold, ON) – The team went back to the drawing board after last weekend’s frustrating runs at Merrittville and Humberstone, making wholesale changes to the car, and believing they had uncovered the problems that have been plaguing them. Unfortunately, it didn’t show up in the results on Saturday, June 29th, as Mat struggled to a fourth place finish in the heat, which put him tenth on the grid for the feature.

It looked promising at first, as Mat moved up as high as fifth, but then slipped backward before making a couple of late passes put him in ninth at the line, just nosing out Brandon Easey.

Talking about Merrittville, Mat declared, “We’ve been struggling this year at Merrittville. There’s no doubt about it. I still don’t think we’re where we need to be. We’re still planning on changing frames this week (a possibility Mat mentioned the previous week), get back to things that have been successful before and see what happens. It just sucks to struggle at your own track like that.”

There is no relief as the team has Sunday and Monday dates at Cornwall for Series races, before returning for the midweek “Battle of the Border” at Ransomville, another 358 Series event. Who knows? Sometimes going on the road can change the dynamic, especially going to a track that Mat likes and has many laps on.

On a positive note, Mat talked with Mike Bowman after the nasty confrontation in the pits last week, and they also met. Mat feels the situation has been resolved.

Complacency never solves anything, and the team will continue to search for the answer at Merrittville. Maybe the new frame and going back to basics will be the formula they have been seeking.