Before this weekend, Alex Payne hadn’t run any Feature laps at Georgetown Speedway. But after racing at the track on Friday, he knew what was needed to win the track’s Super DIRTcar Series return.
The Hopewell, NY driver thundered past Tim Sears Jr. coming to the white flag and held on to win the Delaware Diamond 75, his second Series win of 2025.
Tears were flowing from Payne’s eyes in Victory Lane, as he was overcome with emotion from his win.
“There is nothing in this world like this,” Payne said. “This is all I’ve ever dreamed of. If you’re a kid in the stands, keep dreaming, because I was there. I get emotional, and I’m proud of it because I love everything I do. I just never stopped fighting.”
Erick Rudolph, the SRI Performance and Stock Car Steel Pole Award winner, led the field to the green in the 75-lap Feature. However, it was Tim Sears Jr. who led the opening lap, powering around the outside of Rudolph in Turn 2 to take the lead.
Payne, who started third, started moving forward behind the leaders. He used both lanes to try to pass Rudolph, before eventually settling on the inside. He snuck underneath the No. 25 in Turn 4 on Lap 13 for second and set his sights on Sears.
Once he got to second, Payne started reeling Sears in as the Hastings, NY driver reached lap traffic and got within a second of the lead before the race’s first caution came out for Matt Stangle on Lap 26.
Sears held the lead for the next two restarts, but a caution for Brandon Grosso, who spun in Turn 3 on Lap 33, gave Payne the opportunity at the lead he needed.
When the race resumed on Lap 36, Payne slid in front of Sears in Turn 1 to take the lead and quickly pulled away from him down the backstretch. Payne held the top spot until a caution on Lap 52 for Peter Britten’s flat left rear tire gave Sears another chance.
After using the bottom to take the lead on the last restart, Payne chose the inside line again. However, that proved costly. Sears, like on multiple restarts early in the race, used his momentum to re-take the lead on the outside. But unlike the beginning of the race, Payne stayed with the No. 83X.
With six laps to go, Sears caught heavy lap traffic as Anthony Perrego and Ryan Krachun were racing for position in front of him. “Timmer” tried driving through the middle, but it left the outside lane open for Payne. Using his momentum on the top, Payne tried driving around the outside of Sears through Turns 1 and 2. But as they exited the corner, Payne jumped the cushion, allowing Sears to get away.
Payne wasn’t out of it yet, though. Sears still had trouble in traffic, as Perrego was battling with H.J. Bunting ahead of him. That gave Payne one more shot with two laps to go.
With a burst of momentum on the backstretch, Payne got within a car length of Sears as they entered Turn 3 on Lap 73. Payne watched Sears choose the top and decided to go to the bottom. As they drove through the corner, Payne ducked underneath Sears in the apex of the corner. But as they exited, Payne slid up, made contact with Sears, and took the lead.
From there, Payne held on to score his third career Super DIRTcar Series win, and his richest Series triumph, earning $12,075. He also moved back into third in the Series standings after Matt Sheppard finished 15th.
“From the start to the finish, it was just crazy,” Payne said. “You don’t know what choice is right with tires, and there’s so many variables that go into it. I had a hard time getting going, and I was really glad I had the track position. Once we got some heat in the tires, I felt a little better.”
Sears settled for second after leading 60 laps. He said lap traffic played a vital role in keeping him out of Victory Lane for the second time this season.
“We’re leading and they’re two-wide in front of us, and we just had nowhere to go, unfortunately,” Sears said. “It let [Payne] close in on us, and eventually he got us. It’s always better to be the one doing the chasing than being chased.
“I honestly didn’t even have a plan. The top is where I started, and when we went green, the top was just so fast. It was just the place to be, and I felt like rolling around on the bottom of the racetrack trying to pass lap traffic; we couldn’t keep the speed.”
Rudolph crossed the line third, earning his first podium since Land of Legends Raceway in July. The Ransomville, NY driver said he made the most with what he had.
“Early on in the first third of the race, I was struggling a little bit,” Rudolph said. “It took me several laps to get going. Once I got going, I kind of leveled out. Third-place car, I think that’s what we had.”
Defending Series champion Mat Williamson finished fourth, extending his Series points lead with three races remaining. The St. Catharines, ON driver has a 109-point lead over Alex Yankowski, who finished eighth.
Mike Mahaney rounded out the top five after starting 16th.
UP NEXT: The Super DIRTcar Series heads to North Carolina for World of Outlaws World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte Nov. 5-8, where the 2025 champion will be crowned on Saturday, Nov. 8.
If you can’t make it to the track, watch every lap live on DIRTVision.
Delaware Diamond 75 (75 Laps): 1. 70A-Alex Payne[3]; 2. 83X-Tim Sears Jr[2]; 3. 25-Erick Rudolph[1]; 4. 88-Mat Williamson[4]; 5. 35-Mike Mahaney[16]; 6. 12-Darren Smith[11]; 7. 26-Ryan Godown[7]; 8. 98H-Jimmy Phelps[5]; 9. 84Y-Alex Yankowski[12]; 10. 4M-Logan Watt[6]; 11. 15X-Justin Stone[19]; 12. 1-Billy Pauch Jr[13]; 13. 21A-Peter Britten[8]; 14. 32-Brandon Grosso[18]; 15. 9S-Matt Sheppard[10]; 16. 4-Anthony Perrego[9]; 17. 30-HJ Bunting[14]; 18. 51-Ryan Krachun[17]; 19. 05-Sean Metz[21]; 20. 6-Matt Stangle[15]; 21. 2-Jack Lehner[24]; 22. 17-Marcus Dinkins[23]; 23. 26M-Matt Ellery[22]; 24. (DNS) 91-Felix Roy
