In third grade, Tim Sears Jr. said he dreamed of winning a Super DIRTcar Series Feature. And after years of trying, that dream became a reality Monday night during SummerFAST at Brewerton Speedway.
The Hastings, NY driver charged from eighth to take the lead on Lap 49 and never looked back to score his first Series triumph just minutes away from his hometown.
“Wow, this is awesome,” Sears said. “In front of the home crowd, too? How much better can you get?
“I knew the track was going to slow down a lot, and I just wanted to make sure I didn’t use my tire up on the cushion. The cushion was very tempting at the beginning, and I just wanted to save my stuff up there for the end.”
Peter Britten, the SRI Performance and Stock Car Steel Pole Award winner, picked up where he left off on Sunday by taking the early lead. The Brisbane, QLD driver quickly pulled away from Chris Hile, gaining separation from the field throughout the first 10 laps.
Behind him, drivers were moving forward, including Jimmy Phelps, who passed Alex Yankowski for third on Lap 8, and Hile for second on Lap 16. The Baldwinsville, NY driver continued gaining momentum on the bottom of the track, inching toward the “Batman” and a chance to take the lead.
After the race’s first caution for Larry Wight on Lap 18, Britten continued his lead on the outside. But this time, Phelps stayed with the No. 21A as they raced off Turn 2. But as those two drivers started their battle for the lead, Sears began moving forward, jumping up three spots on the restart to take over fourth on Lap 23.
Back at the front, Phelps finally got the momentum he needed to pull even with Britten as they completed Lap 32. That was the first lap the “Baldwinsville Bandit” led, as the two drivers traded the lead over the next five laps while in lap traffic. Phelps tried to pull away from Britten on multiple occasions, but Britten used Erick Rudolph, a lap car, as a pick to drive back in front of the No. 98H.
Phelps was forced to go to the outside to get around Rudolph, opening the door on the inside line for Sears, who stormed past Phelps as they raced down the backstretch on Lap 44.
Once Sears got to second, Britten started protecting the top, trying to keep the No. 83X behind him. However, it allowed Yankowski, who passed Phelps for third, to drive through the middle of the track in Turns 3 and 4, making it three-wide as they completed Lap 45.
But just as Sears tried to pass Britten again in Turn 1, Ryan Behrent slowed in front of Britten, bringing out the race’s final caution.
When the race resumed, Britten stayed on the bottom through Turns 1 and 2, allowing “Timmer” to roll the top. That was all Sears needed to drive by Britten in Turns 3 and 4 and take the lead on Lap 49.
From there, Sears stayed out front and held off a late charge from Mat Williamson to earn the $7,500 victory, becoming the 196th winner in Super DIRTcar Series history.
Sears said he took a lesson from last Friday’s Feature at Brewerton that helped him reach Victory Lane on Monday.
“We finished third, but we got beat by Chad (Phelps) when he rolled us right on the bottom and the track slowed down at the end,” Sears said. “I was one of the guys on the top trying to knock the wall down, and I learned my lesson there. We just made the car too tight.
“We came back with a little different game plan tonight. Didn’t tighten it up or over-adjust it for the racetrack and let it come to you.”
Williamson crossed the line second, earning his third straight Super DIRTcar Series podium and second consecutive runner-up finish. The St. Catharines, ON driver extended his points lead to 88 points over Alex Yankowski, who finished sixth.
“Money Mat” said he had a lot of fun racing on Brewerton’s surface, and that the best driver won the Feature.
“That was a really good race to be a part of,” Williamson said. “Obviously, we would’ve liked to have been one better tonight. But the best driver and car won tonight, he deserves all the credit for sure.
“I made some mistakes, probably with 15 to go. I probably should’ve just stuck to the bottom. But I knew I wasn’t going to pass him on the bottom. So, I tried to build some momentum on the top, tried to get the middle going. I just did a lot of things where I probably should’ve been more patient.”
Phelps crossed the line third, earning his best Super DIRTcar Series finish of 2025.
“It was great to be in the mix,” Phelps said. “We’re starting to creep our way back to the front, but we really haven’t been in contention. And I felt like tonight, we were. I thought we might’ve got a little too free there about midway and it was creating a situation where I was living or dying by the bottom.
“Hats off to Timmer. He had the best car, and he’s had the best car here all year long. It’s well deserved and this one’s been long overdue.”
Amy Holland crossed the line fourth, earning her best career Super DIRTcar Series finish after starting 27th with a track provisional.
Anthony Perrego rounded out the top five.
After two nights of the 2025 edition of SummerFAST, Mat Williamson leads the event points standings by eight points over Peter Britten.
Here are the top five in the SummerFAST Points Standings:
- Mat Williamson 300
- Peter Britten -8
- Tim Sears Jr. -9
- Alex Yankowski -9
- Jimmy Phelps -12
Click Here For Full SummerFAST Points.
UP NEXT: The Super DIRTcar Series returns to action for night three of SummerFAST with a stop at Land of Legends Raceway in Canandaigua, NY, on Tuesday, Aug. 19.
If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all of the Super DIRTcar Series action on DIRTVision, either online or with the DIRTVision app.
SummerFAST At Brewerton (75 Laps): 1. 83X-Tim Sears Jr[8]; 2. 88-Mat Williamson[12]; 3. 98H-Jimmy Phelps[4]; 4. 5-Amy Holland[27]; 5. 4-Anthony Perrego[11]; 6. 84Y-Alex Yankowski[3]; 7. 70A-Alex Payne[7]; 8. 2-Jack Lehner[5]; 9. 21A-Peter Britten[1]; 10. 35-Mike Mahaney[9]; 11. 5H-Chris Hile[2]; 12. 91-Felix Roy[17]; 13. 44-Chris Hulsizer[6]; 14. 4M-Logan Watt[23]; 15. 27J-Danny Johnson[22]; 16. 19-Tim Fuller[15]; 17. 12-Darren Smith[24]; 18. JS98-Rocky Warner[16]; 19. 25-Erick Rudolph[25]; 20. 9S-Matt Sheppard[20]; 21. 30-Nicholas Root[10]; 22. 9X-Tyler Trump[18]; 23. (DNF) 3B-Ryan Behrent[13]; 24. (DNF) 6-Matt Stangle[26]; 25. (DNF) 99L-Larry Wight[21]; 26. (DNF) 15-Todd Root[28]; 27. (DNF) 32R-Ronnie Davis III[14]; 28. (DNS) 5D-Kyle Devendorf
