In the past year, no one has been able to beat Stewart Friesen in a Super DIRTcar Series Feature at Weedsport Speedway.
That didn’t change Saturday night, either, as the Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON driver thundered by defending Series champion Mat Williamson on Lap 57 to win his second consecutive Hall of Fame 100.
It’s Friesen’s 52nd career Series win, one he said was fitting in Victory Lane because of a familial tie.
“The 52 was the track champion here in 1972 with my (grandfather),” Friesen said. “So that’s pretty cool.”
Williamson, the SRI Performance and Stock Car Steel Pole Award Winner, led the field to the green in the 100-lap Feature, driving away from Todd Root and Darren Smith.
While Williamson got away from the No. 12, who took over second, Jack Lehner tried to drive underneath Smith as they battled around the racetrack. The two waged war for the runner-up position while Matt Sheppard, Stewart Friesen, and Tim Sears Jr. gained positions behind them.
However, that battle halted when the race’s first caution came out on Lap 5. With Root on the bottom, Friesen switched lanes to try to go around him. But as he moved to the top, he slid into the left front of Sears’ Troyer chassis, sending the No. 83x into the outside wall and ending his night.
When the race resumed, Williamson continued his lead, while Lehner wrestled second away from Smith.
Behind them, Friesen and Sheppard started moving forward together, catching Smith on Lap 28 and turning the race for third into a three-car battle. Sheppard followed Smith on the bottom, allowing Friesen to move to the top of the track. That opening was all he needed, driving around them both to take over third on Lap 29.
Once he grabbed third, Friesen started catching Lehner and Williamson as the two drivers reached lap traffic. First, Friesen had to get by the “Ginga Ninja,” who was trying to find the right lane to pass Matt Stangle, a lap car. As Lehner went to the top, it opened the bottom for Friesen, who stormed past the No. 2 down the frontstretch on Lap 37.
Right after Friesen made the pass, Stangle slowed, causing the race’s second caution and lining Friesen up next to Williamson.
When the green came back out, Williamson pulled away from Friesen until the St. Catharines, ON driver reached the tail of the field again on Lap 55. Williamson moved to the outside to try to put Justin Stone a lap down. However, that opened the bottom for Friesen. And like he passed Lehner for second, Friesen dove to the bottom, making it three-wide with Stone in the middle, and Williamson on the outside. With a burst of speed on the bottom, Friesen drove by Williamson as they exited Turn 4 to take the lead on Lap 57.
From there, Friesen went untouched to win his third straight Super DIRTcar Series Feature at Weedsport and the $10,000 prize.
The NASCAR Trucks Series star said he didn’t start the race with a good car, but that wasn’t his plan.
“We wanted to be good on Lap 80, 90, and 100,” Friesen said. “It worked out. Mat got out there and set a good pace, and we lost a couple of spots on the start. Once the track cleaned off, we started picking them off and it got rolling pretty good there at the end.”
Williamson crossed the line second after leading the race’s first 54 laps. While “Money Mat” was quick early, he said Friesen was the better car, especially in traffic.
“At the beginning, I tried to take it easy and not beat up the tire,” Williamson said. “In the end, he was just better than we were. In clean air, I was probably as good as he was, but he was probably more conservative on the tire, and I think it showed at the end.”
With Friesen locked into Super DIRT Week 53 with his win at Selinsgrove Speedway, Williamson earned the guaranteed starting spot in the Billy Whittaker Cars 200 as the next highest finisher. He also took another step toward a third Super DIRTcar Series championship, cutting his deficit to two points behind Alex Yankowski, who finished fourth.
Sheppard finished third, earning his second points-paying podium of the 2025 season. The Waterloo, NY driver said he was happy with his finish and that he feels his team is going in the right direction.
“I’m ecstatic,” Sheppard said. “As much as we’ve struggled here the past two years, I don’t even know if we’ve had a top five. These two have obviously been dominant. So, to get up to third and be able to see these guys is a big step for us.”
Alex Payne rounded out the top five.
UP NEXT: The Super DIRTcar Series heads to Autodrome Drummond in Drummondville, QC, on July 28-29 for King of the North. Both nights will Feature a 75-lap Feature paying $10,000-to-win and offering a guaranteed spot in the Billy Whittaker Cars 200 at Super DIRT Week.
If you can’t make it to the track, watch all the action live on DIRTVision, either online or with the DIRTVision app.
Hall Of Fame 100 (100 Laps): 1. 44-Stewart Friesen[6]; 2. 88-Mat Williamson[1]; 3. 9S-Matt Sheppard[7]; 4. 84Y-Alex Yankowski[12]; 5. 70A-Alex Payne[11]; 6. 2-Jack Lehner[5]; 7. 4-Anthony Perrego[9]; 8. 19-Tim Fuller[15]; 9. 35-Mike Mahaney[4]; 10. 99L-Larry Wight[10]; 11. 25-Erick Rudolph[19]; 12. 3RS-Dalton Slack[21]; 13. 7Z-Zachary Payne[14]; 14. 98H-Jimmy Phelps[17]; 15. X-Chad Phelps[24]; 16. 12-Darren Smith[3]; 17. 91-Felix Roy[16]; 18. 6-Matt Stangle[25]; 19. 5H-Chris Hile[22]; 20. 21A-Peter Britten[13]; 21. 30-Nicholas Root[23]; 22. 15X-Justin Stone[18]; 23. 15-Todd Root[2]; 24. M1-Dave Marcuccilli[20]; 25. 83X-Tim Sears Jr[8]; 26. 17-Marcus Dinkins[26]
Post-Race Tech: Torque Arms, Locker Rear Ends and MSD Wiring were checked on top 3. All passed.
Contingency Awards:
JAM Performance Fastest Hot Lap Award: Alex Payne ($100)
Billy Whittaker Cars Quick Time Award: Todd Root($100)
VP Racing Fuels Award: Tim Fuller ($50)
ARP Bolts Award: Alex Yankowski ($50)
ASI Racewear Award: Erick Rudolph ($50)
Behrent’s Performance Warehouse Award: Stewart Friesen ($50)
Cometic Gasket Award: Erick Rudolph ($50)
Comp Cams Award: Erick Rudolph ($50)
DIG Racing Products: Mike Mahaney ($50)
Fox Factory Award: Jack Lehner ($50)
MSD Award: Alex Payne ($50)
Swift Springs Award: Jack Lehner ($50)
Weld Racing Wheels Award: Mat Williamson ($50)
Hoosier Racing Tire Award: Alex Yankowski (Free Tire)
SRI Performance/Stock Car Steel Pole Award: Mat Williamson ($100)
