Williamson shines at Merrittville for 1st Super DIRTcar Series win
Local driver earns $6,000 with Bob St. Amand Sr. Memorial 100 victory
Thorold, ON – August 3, 2015 – Local favorite Mat Williamson of St. Catharines, Ontario weaved through heavy lapped traffic in pursuit of Matt Sheppard, took the lead from him on lap 56 and went on to his first-ever Super DIRTcar Series win Monday at Merrittville Speedway.
Williamson, driving the S&W Service Center No. 6, held off runner-up Brett Hearn on a restart with 22 laps to go and drove off to victory. Sheppard withstood a determined challenge by Stewart Friesen to claim third place and retain the Series point lead. Mike Bowman, another Merrittville regular, rallied late to finish 5th.
After taking over the second spot from Hearn at the halfway point, Williamson closed quickly on Sheppard, who was reaching the rear of the field. By lap 70, the track was slicking up, Hearn was running in second, Sheppard was coming under attack from Stewart Friesen and Mike Bowman (5th) was making a late rush top side.
The yellow was out after a spin by Jimmy Phelps on lap 78, but Williamson was unfazed at having lost a straightaway lead.
“This is awesome to win on home soil,” Williamson said. “I’m glad we could keep it local. “We’re going to tear this place up.”
Pat Ward, Pete Bicknell, Chad Brachmann, Tommy Flannigan (from 23rd) and Danny Johnson completed the top ten.
Sheppard retained the series point lead with his 3rd-place effort. His closest competitor at the start of the night, 2014 Series champion Billy Decker placed 14th.
“I tried to get some momentum off the top on the restart,” Hearn said. “We’re trying to get back in the points race. Now it’s August and everybody’s tongue is hanging out, but we’re after it.”
The Super DIRTcar Series moves to Ransomville Speedway for the Alex Friesen Summer Nationals 100 Tuesday, August 4.
Bob St. Amand Sr. Memorial
A Main (100 laps): start in (*)
1. 6m Mat Williamson – St. Catharines, ON (3)
2. 20 Brett Hearn – Sussex, N.J. (5)
3. 9h Matt Sheppard – Waterloo, N.Y. (2)
4. 7z Stewart Friesen – Sprakers, N.Y. (1)
5. 71 Mike Bowman – St. Catharines, ON (10)
6. 42p Pat Ward – Genoa, N.Y. (7)
7. 41 Pete Bicknell – St. Catharines, ON (11)
8. 3 Chad Brachmann – Sanborn, N.Y. (22)
9. 37 Tommy Flannigan – Port Robinson, ON (23)
10. 27j Danny Johnson – Rochester, N.Y. (9)
11. 108 Bill Bleich – Port Robinson, ON (4)
12. 98 Jimmy Phelps – Baldwinsville, N.Y. (12)
13. 99L Larry Wight – Phoenix, N.Y. (8)
14. 91 Billy Decker – Unadilla, N.Y. (6)
15. 08 Mark D’Ilario – Smithville, ON (29)
16. 96 Fred Carleton – Niagra, ON (16)
17. 19 Tim Fuller – Edwards, NY (13)
18. 21a Peter Britten – Brisbane, Australia (14)
19. 38 Scott Wood – Thorold, ON (19)
20. 41 Boyd MacTavish – St. Catharines, ON (15)
21. 8 Rich Scagliotta – Broad Brook, N.J. (30)
22. 43 Keith Flach – Ravena, N.Y. (25)
23. 28 Todd Gordon – St. Catharines, ON (20)
24. 19c Erick Rudolph – Ransomville, N.Y. (21)
25. 3r Billy Dunn – Watertown, N.Y. (17)
26. 15j Tim Jones (27)
27. 93 Gary Tomkins – Clifton Springs, N.Y. (28)
28. 21k Randy Chrysler – Tuscarora Nation (18)
29.777 Tyler McPherson – St. Catharines, ON (26)
30. 37 Jeremiah Shingledecker – Polk, PA (24)
Qualifying Heats (10 laps, top 5 transfer, top 3 redraw)
Heat 1: Bicknell, Williamson, Bleich, Fuller, Dunn, Rudolph, T Flannigan, D’Ilario, Rouse, Miller
Heat 2: Wight, Decker, Bowman, Britten, Chrysler, Jones, Flach, Wright, Pierce, Roberts
Heat 3: Friesen, Phelps, Sheppard, MacTavish, McPherson, Shingledecker, Scagliotta, Clarke
Heat 4: Johnson, Ward, Hearn, Carleton, Gordon, Brachmann, D Flannigan Jr., Bellamy, Tomkins
Consi 1: Rudolph, T Flannigan, Flach, Jones, D’Ilario, Wrigh, Pierce, Miller, Rouse
Consi 2: Brachmann, Shingledecker, McPherson, Tomkins, Scagliotta, D Flannigan Jr., Roberts, Clarke, Bellamy.
The Super DIRTcar Series and DIRTcar Racing in the Northeast Region is brought to fans by several sponsors and partners including Hoosier Racing Tire, VP Racing Fuels, Chevy Performance Parts, NAPA Auto Parts, Pole Position Raceway and Dig Safely New York. Contingency sponsors are ASI, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, Brodix, ButlerBuilt, Cometic Gasket, Comp Cams, Edelbrock, FX Caprara, Fox Shox, Impact Race Products, Intercomp, JE Pistons, JRI Shocks, KSE Racing Products, Mobil 1, Motorsports Safety Systems, MSD Performance, Racing Electronics, Superflow, TNT Rescue and Wrisco Aluminum.
