With his second Super DIRTcar Series championship, Mat Williamson reached a milestone only eight other drivers have accomplished.
The St. Catharines, ON driver became the ninth multi-time Series champion at World Finals, joining Will Cagle, Jack Johnson, Alan Johnson, Danny Johnson, Brett Hearn, Billy Decker, Bob McCreadie, and Matt Sheppard.
It’s an accomplishment, Williamson said, that is just starting to set in.
“During the (championship) night, we were so focused on trying to take in the moment,” Williamson said. “The last time we won, we didn’t really know what to expect. This time, we really knew what we were in for and really wanted to enjoy it.
“We celebrated a little too hard. And it took us a few days to recover to get our minds back to normal, but I’m sure the banquet will be another celebration, and we’ll be able to really enjoy it.”
Williamson finished the season with eight points-paying victories, 14 top fives, and 17 top 10s. However, a mechanical failure at Weedsport Speedway in July left him 15 points out of first with three Features to go.
He stayed consistent by finishing fourth on night one and reclaimed the points lead after Sheppard finished 28th. After that race, Williamson said nerves started to set in.
“Going down there, we didn’t have any nerves,” Williamson said. “We knew if we didn’t win all three races, we probably weren’t going to win the points championship. It was probably out of reach for us to win it as long as Matt stayed as consistent as he did. With his DNF, it pretty much evened out our DNF from earlier in the year.
“But the nerves started on Thursday once we knew we had to get through Friday. And with the unique format at Charlotte where Saturday is set off your two previous finishes, it makes the DNF even larger there. Matt got to start third in the Heat Race which wasn’t huge, but if he didn’t rebound with a good run, it would’ve been a huge hole to dig out of.”
Williamson backed up his fourth-place finish with his eighth points-paying win on Friday, giving him a 30-point lead. With that advantage, he took a different approach to Saturday’s Feature, even with an opportunity to win back-to-back nights.
“We had a really good car all week,” Williamson said. “I look at the mentality the night I won at Volusia (Speedway Park). I was sitting fourth on the restart, and I knew the middle was the preferred lane for people running in front of me. And when we took the green, I was like, screw it, I’m going to go up to the cushion and win this race.
“I felt like that opportunity presented itself at Charlotte. The cushion was low on the racetrack. Anthony (Perrego) and Tim (Fuller) were kind of sliding into it. I had lined up in fourth and kind of licking my chops. But I didn’t want to get up off the cushion and pop my tire off the bead or put ourselves in a position where we had to crawl to a 15th-place run to win the title. It was tough to be conservative, but obviously, the risk versus reward wasn’t worth giving up a championship for a win like that.”
That risk and the decision to be conservative on the final night are just one part of why he said winning the Super DIRTcar Series championship is challenging.
“Everybody talks about how Modified racing is stagnant and how it isn’t what it used to be,” Williamson said. “The points championship race was pretty close, considering we won eight points-paying races. [Sheppard] certainly makes us go to the next level to be able to win things like this, and it shows how hard it is to win.”
Williamson’s nine total victories in 2024 have tied him with Jack Johnson for ninth on the Series all-time wins list with 31 victories. Entering the top 10 and becoming the ninth multi-time champion are statistics he said he respects more each season.
“There’s probably a reason there’s not a ton of multi-time champions,” Williamson said. “The second one is way harder to win. The first one, when you win it, you don’t expect it. But when you do win it you expect it every year after. To win the second one is really hard. That’s why the list is really short.
“I’m not sure how many have won three of them, but hopefully, we’ll compete for it next year. We get smarter and smarter every year, and the notebook gets bigger. We should be able to go out there next year and strive to the level we were this year.”
Williamson will celebrate his 2024 championship at the DIRTcar Northeast Night of Champions banquet on Saturday, Nov. 23. Then, “Money Mat” and the Buzz Chew Racing team will gear up for the 2025 season opener on Feb. 12-15 at Volusia Speedway Park during Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals.
TICKETS: DIRTcarNationals.com
If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all of the action on DIRTVision, either online or with the DIRTVision app.
