After winning his second Super DIRTcar Series championship, navigating a doubleheader isn’t anything new for Mat Williamson.
But as the Series prepares for the Heroes Remembered 100 at Weedsport Speedway on Sunday, May 25, and the Natural 77 at Thunder Mountain Speedway on Monday, May 26, the St. Catharines, ON driver has more on his mind than a checkered flag.
“I feel like we need to get some redemption,” Williamson said. “Last time we were (at Weedsport) with the Series, we hurt the motor, and that would’ve been a bunch of wins in a row. Redemption is on my mind for there right now, and I feel like we have the car and team to go and win with the extra edge on your back.”
A win at Weedsport would be “Money Mat’s” fourth win in the last five Series events at the 3/8-mile track, including last year’s Heroes Remembered 100. But Weedsport isn’t the only track where he wants redemption. He finished second at Thunder Mountain last season, where he said a costly mistake kept him out of Victory Lane.
“We went to [Weedsport and Thunder Mountain] last year and probably should’ve won both, but I’ll put it on me,” Williamson said. “I got out of the rubber at Thunder Mountain, and Jimmy (Phelps) got by me, and that was the end of going back-to-back.
“I feel like we’re going to have as good a car as ever. We’re rolling in the right direction, and I have some confidence. So, I don’t see why we can’t get a couple of wins here.”
That confidence comes from four wins over the past two weekends. Williamson hasn’t lost a race at Ransomville Speedway in his 358 Modified in 2025 and added wins at Lernerville Speedway and Land of Legends Raceway.
While he’s celebrating every victory, Williamson said the Land of Legends win boosted his confidence the most after going winless in the first six Super DIRTcar Series events.
“When we went to Florida and didn’t win any races, [our confidence] definitely took a hit,” Williamson said. “[Land of Legends] is essentially a Series race every Saturday night. You can win at all these other tracks and not get too much confidence, but when you win at Canandaigua, I feel like that’s a little bit of a booster.”
Entering the Memorial Day Weekend doubleheader, Williamson is within striking distance of the Series points lead. He enters Weedsport 11 points behind Alex Yankowski, who’s finished second in both points-paying events. But even with early-season consistency, Williamson described his two Series starts as good, but not great.
“New Egypt, I felt like we had a good enough car to win,” Williamson said. “(We) executed well right from the start. Fast time overall. Won the Heat Race. We just made the wrong decision on a tire, and I think that’s what bit us in the ass. That tire was canvassed at the end, and I was hanging on, but there wasn’t much passing, so we didn’t really fall back as far as we probably could’ve.
“[Albany-Saratoga] was probably a bigger disappointment for me than most places. We had the opportunity to win the most races in a row there on the Series. We drew a good number and timed pretty well. We won our Heat Race again, but didn’t execute in the Feature. The track was pretty weird for earlier in the year, and we didn’t pay attention enough to it, I don’t think.”
That disappointment from Albany-Saratoga only fuels his desire for redemption in Super DIRTcar Series competition at Weedsport and Thunder Mountain.
The two-time and defending Series champion and the Super DIRTcar Series return to action with a Memorial Day Weekend doubleheader. First, the Series stops at Weedsport Speedway on Sunday, May 25, for the Heroes Remembered 100.
Then, the Series rolls into Thunder Mountain Speedway for the second annual Natural 77 honoring Dale Planck on Monday, May 26.
If you can’t make it to a Super DIRTcar Series event, watch all the action live on DIRTVision, either online or with the DIRTVision app.
