In front of a packed crowd at Mohawk International Raceway, Stewart Friesen delivered another masterful performance.
The Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON driver passed Alex Yankowski in traffic on Lap 29 and never looked back to win Monday’s Summer Shootout 75, his fourth Super DIRTcar Series victory of the season.
“We had a great racecar tonight,” Friesen said. “Thanks to the whole Halmar team. Tommy Conroy, my crew chief, is going into the Hall of Fame this year, and he earned this one tonight.
“This was a great racetrack. We could race all over it.”
Yankowski, the SRI Performance and Stock Car Steel Pole award winner, drove away from Friesen at the start of the 75-lap Feature, trying to earn his first points-paying win of 2025. While the No. 84Y stayed out front, Friesen started reeling him in on the outside lane on Lap 8.
As Friesen closed on Yankowski, he switched lanes in Turns 1 and 2 on Lap 9, pulling even with Yankowski on the corner’s exit. But that time, Yankowski was strong to the challenge, finding momentum on the outside of Turns 3 and 4 to hold the lead.
“Kid Rocket” drove away from Friesen in the first third of the race. But once he reached lap traffic, it allowed Friesen another opportunity to strike.
On Lap 27, Yankowski tried to maneuver underneath Michael Parent, a lap car, to give himself more separation. However, when they reached Turn 4, Friesen found a burst of momentum on the inside lane, nosing his No. 44 ahead and beating Yankowski to the start/finish line.
The two drivers waged war on the backstretch, racing side-by-side with neither driver giving an inch. But as they drove through Turn 4 again, it was Friesen who was ahead on Lap 28. This time, though, Yankowski’s momentum faltered through Turns 1 and 2, as Friesen drove away from the Covington Township, PA driver down the backstretch.
With Friesen in the lead, it wasn’t long before Mat Williamson, who started seventh, challenged for a podium position. After passing Matt Sheppard for third on a Lap 38 restart, Williamson set his sights on Yankowski for second.
“Money Mat” found some bite on the outside of Turn 2 on Lap 42 and drove past Yankowski, taking over second with 33 laps to go. He kept his momentum up through the next ten laps, reeling Friesen in while the NASCAR Craftsman Trucks Series star dealt with traffic.
But just as Williamson got within striking distance, Friesen found another gear, pulling away from the No. 88 in the race’s closing stages.
Williamson had two more chances during restarts on Lap 62 and 63, but didn’t have enough to catch Friesen, who went on to earn his 51st Super DIRTcar Series triumph.
Even though Yankowski was Friesen’s most formidable opponent, the two shared notes before they battled for the $7,500 prize.
“It was a lot of fun,” Friesen said. “I knew what Alex had, and I knew what we had, but we were a little more aggressive. So, we bounced some stuff off back and forth and he went a little conservative for the points game. If we missed and we backed up, then no harm, no foul.
Williamson finished second, driving to his third consecutive Super DIRTcar Series podium. The two-time Series champion said his only shot to win was probably in lap traffic.
“I could rip the lip in (Turns) 1 and 2 and gain some ground on Stew to get to second,” Williamson said. “I felt like I was reeling him in, and then the caution came out, and I was kind of licking my lips. But he fired off better than I did in clean air.”
For the second straight night, Williamson cut down the deficit in the Series standings between himself and Yankowski, who finished fourth. Yankowski leads Williamson by 16 points after eight points-paying events this season.
Peter Britten crossed the line third, earning his second podium finish of the 2025 points-paying season.
The Brisbane, QLD driver dropped out of the top five early in the race, before using the inside lane to drive back to the podium, and almost to second.
“The outside was faster, so I kind of went back to sixth on the initial green, “Britten said. “At one point I was pulling [Williamson] in. But he was running the same line I was running in Turns 3 and 4, so that made it a little bit difficult. I thought maybe if I could get alongside him coming out of [Turn 2], I could get there.”
Matt Sheppard, the 10-time Series champion, rounded out the top five.
UP NEXT: The Super DIRTcar Series makes its first stop of 2025 in the Finger Lakes with a visit to Land of Legends Raceway in Canandaigua, NY for the Stars and Stripes Spectacular on Thursday, July 3.
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.
Summer Shootout (75 Laps): 1. 44-Stewart Friesen[2]; 2. 88-Mat Williamson[7]; 3. 21A-Peter Britten[5]; 4. 84Y-Alex Yankowski[1]; 5. 9S-Matt Sheppard[3]; 6. 19-Tim Fuller[11]; 7. 4-Anthony Perrego[18]; 8. 25-Erick Rudolph[15]; 9. 83X-Tim Sears Jr[10]; 10. 15X-Justin Stone[25]; 11. 70A-Alex Payne[14]; 12. 49-Billy Dunn[16]; 13. 12-Darren Smith[13]; 14. 4K-Chris Raabe[19]; 15. 2-Jack Lehner[8]; 16. 91-Felix Roy[20]; 17. ONE-David Hebert[12]; 18. 35-Mike Mahaney[6]; 19. 35P-Jessica Power[26]; 20. 17-Marcus Dinkins[24]; 21. (DNF) 98H-Jimmy Phelps[4]; 22. (DNF) 28-Michael Trautschold[17]; 23. (DNF) 28M-Jordan McCreadie[21]; 24. (DNF) 25P-Michael Parent[22]; 25. (DNF) 66X-Carey Terrance[23]; 26. (DNF) 6-Matt Stangle[9]; 27. (DNF) 11-Matt Caprara[28]; 28. (DNF) 15-Todd Root[27]
Contingency Awards:
JAM Performance Fastest Hot Lap Award: Stewart Friesen ($100)
Billy Whittaker Cars Quick Time Award: Mat Williamson ($100)
VP Racing Fuels Award: Erick Rudolph ($50)
ARP Bolts Award: Alex Yankowski ($50)
ASI Racewear Award: Alex Payne ($50)
Behrent’s Performance Warehouse Award: Stewart Friesen ($50)
Cometic Gasket Award: Darren Smith ($50)
Comp Cams Award: Justin Stone ($50)
DIG Racing Products: Justin Stone ($50)
Fox Factory Award Peter Britten ($50)
MSD Award: Matt Sheppard ($50)
Swift Springs Award: Anthony Perrego ($50)
Weld Racing Wheels Award: Mat Williamson ($50)
Hoosier Racing Tire Award: Jack Lehner (Free Tire)
SRI Performance/Stock Car Steel Pole Award: Alex Yankowski ($100)
Post-Race Tech: Tire Samples were taken
