Team on the Brink After Good Finish at Merrittville

By DAVE SULLY - A somewhat momentous week was capped off by a strong run by Mat in the semi-final point night at Merrittville on Saturday, August 23rd, setting up a final push next Saturday for the team's ultimate goal, the championship. It was not easy, as some shivers went up the team's collective spines at Humberstone in the Tri-Track Modified event the previous Sunday, after the Saturday event at Merrittville was rained out. While looking very good in winning his heat, the car began smoking, and it was feared that something had gone wrong with the motor. Upon further review, it was determined that the smoke was caused by a loose valve cover. The condition also soaked enough of the engine that the team decided not to take any chances by running the feature, so they packed it in and began prepping for Saturday.

They went into Saturday's race, now down to two point shows after the rain-out, with a thirteen point lead over Chad Brachmann, with the goal of staying close enough to Brachmann to ensure that they would be in the lead going into the final night.

Mat came from last to finish third in his heat, and because he won the previous race, started twelfth, while Brachmann went off eighth. After initially dropping back to let things sort out, Mat was able to utilize the top to make his way forward. He was able to catch and pass Brachmann midway through the race, reaching third after a lap 29 restart. Then a heart-stopping moment ensued when Mat clipped the guard rail in turn four and the front of the car jumped into the air. Fortunately, no damage was done and Mat was able to right the ship without losing too much valuable track position.

He actually nosed into second and was poised to make a run for the lead held by Tim Jones, when a caution erased that move and forced him to restart from third. After dropping back to fourth, he was able to reclaim third from Tom Flannigan in the final accounting. Brachmann ended up fifth, giving Mat and the team a seventeen point lead going into next week's finale.

Talking about the race and the early strategy, Mat declared, “I was simply trying to stay out of trouble. We had a good race car. In traffic I wasn't as good as I needed to be, but when I could get out and run my own lane, and when I got to third there and smashed the guard rail, I was good. I think we were good enough to get by Jonesie, but it was my own mistake. I smashed the guard rail, and it set us back two spots. It was a bad deal there, but we're focused on the big picture right now.”

Regarding his pursuit of Brachmann during the race, he added, “Once I passed him I didn't worry about it. It didn't matter if he was right behind me, or two behind me, or five behind me. As long as we didn't lose any points tonight, we put ourselves in a good position. I'm looking forward to next week because we don't have to start twelfth.”

Thus, the moment the team has been waiting for is at hand. As we all know, there are no sure things in racing, but the goal is in sight. The last chapter will be written next Saturday.

Mat Williamson & Team Back in the Driver's Seat After Win

By DAVE SULLY - The ups and downs of the 2014 Merrittville season continued on Saturday, August 9th, this time on a high, as Mat made a determined run from his seventh place starting spot to win the Modified Feature, vaulting him back into the point lead, with three point races remaining. It was a night when everything came together, and with a great race car under him, Mat made the most of it, turning an 11 point deficit into a 13 point advantage.

The night didn't start too well, as Mat, who has a notorious record in pill draws, drew fifty out of fifty, putting him at the rear of his heat. He got up to third, one spot out of the redraw, (“We were fast, just ran out of laps,” Mat noted), putting him in that seventh place starting position.

Of the race, Mat explained, “ I got rolling on the outside, just kept my momentum up, passed cars, one or two a lap. Before we knew it we were in third. (Brandon) Easey and (Tom) Flannigan had quite a lead. I think they were a half straightaway in front of me. I reeled them in and just got by them both. Then the caution came out with three laps to go, and the car was a rocket ship.”

Mat did most of his work on the outside, but was able to go to the bottom when he entered lap traffic.

Mat continued, “We were good right off the bat. I knew we were going to be a force to be reckoned with. I had a good race car. That's for sure.”

With the win and the realization that there are three point shows left, the question of strategy enters the picture. It would be easy to say that you just go all out and let the points fall where they may, but Mat will certainly be aware of where his chief opposition, Chad Brachmann, is running. Mat explained, “It's certainly in the back of your mind. I'm going to try to zone it out as much as I can. That way I don't worry about it until the last points night, and then just know where we have to finish and where Chad has to finish. The way I'm looking at it right now is that we have a good enough hot rod to win two more races at Merrittvile and go into the last race with a good point lead. That's the way I'm hoping it's going to turn out. We've got to make sure we cross our Tees and dot our I's.”

As we've noted before, nothing is for sure in racing. Witness the battery failure that put the team behind the eight ball in the St. Amand Memorial. Barring mechanical failure or some other unexpected development, like getting caught up in a wreck or suffering a flat tire, the goal is within reach. It won't be long before we find out if the stars line up correctly.

Mixed Bag for Team at Two Race Merrittville Weekend

By DAVE SULLY - Two races at Merrrittville, a point race on Saturday, August 2nd and the Bob St.Amand Sr, Super Dirt Series 100 lapper on Monday, August 4th, produced some encouraging results and some disappointment when the dust settled. The Saturday race produced a seventh place finish, which saw Mat drop to second in the standings with three point races left, while the non points Series race saw Mat make a gallant charge through the field after earlier entanglements forced him to utilize a track provisional to get into the Feature.

On Saturday, Mat started twelfth and was able to soldier to a seventh place finish on another night when it was tough to pass, which is becoming the norm at Merrittville because of the quality of the competition.

Mat summed it up, saying, “We were decent. We were going for fourth and just got caught up in other people's messes, I guess.”

The upshot of the Saturday finish is that, with the three remaining points races, Mat trails Chad Brachmann, who won the race, by eleven points, hardly insurmountable, but it will require due diligence by the team to bring about the desired outcome- the title.

On Monday, things were going swimmingly for a while. Mat, driving his Small Block, timed second and started outside Larry Wight, who had a Big Block under the hood, in the heat. The two bolted into the lead and quickly separated themselves from the rest of the ten car field. However, on the fourth lap the caution flew for a spin, necessitating a restart. Wight started inside and Mat started outside on the front row. When the green flew, things went awry.

Mat explained, “I went into turn one, and of course, I had a Small Block and Larry's got a Big Block. He was trying to protect the bottom. He did nothing wrong. I went in a little harder because we're a hundred pounds lighter. We can drive it in harder and the car is going to stick. I drove it in like I normally would in a heat race, not thinking that Larry was going to protect the bottom, and I got into his left rear. It was unintentional, but it was my own mistake. That basically set the night up for us.”

“We got two flat tires and a bunch of damage. We actually got the tires changed and got out on the lead lap and then cut another one down because it was rubbing on the sheet metal.”

The end result of the heat race was Mat had to start tenth in the consi, where only three cars would qualify. Mat was able to get up to sixth, but wasn't able to race his way in. Fortunately, he qualified for the Feature by way of the track provisional, along with Scott Wood, and ended up starting 29th in the 30 car field.

By any account, Mat had a great run, clawing his way to an impressive 12th place finish, which Mat actually thought could have been higher. He observed, “We looked forward to that race. We put so much effort in running good in it. We had a good race car. In a hundred laps it shouldn't matter where you start. I got up to about 13th or 14th and got door slammed going into turn three in the middle of the race. I don't know if it caused us to have a slow leak or what happened, but after that we didn't have as good a race car as we did the first 50 laps. It was just unfortunate, but we just have to move on to this week.”

To sum it up, Mat added, “We had a good race car the first 50 laps when it was slippery. The car was tight actually, so it would have been nice to see what it would have done the last 50 laps. A couple more cautions might have helped us, but to come from 29th to 12th, I'm happy, but I'm not happy.”

So, the die is cast, with three more point races, starting this Saturday. Mat and the team know what they have to do. Now they need to execute.