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.