A FRIESEN FINISH: Stewart Friesen Closes SummerFAST With Utica-Rome Victory, Alex Yankowski Clinches Second SummerFAST Title
The fifth annual SummerFAST finished exactly how it started, with Stewart Friesen standing in Victory Lane.
After passing Mat Williamson for the lead on Lap 28, the Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON driver never looked back to win Wednesday’s Super DIRTcar Series stop at Utica-Rome Speedway.
Friesen’s victory bookends the 2026 edition of SummerFAST, backing up his win in Sunday’s opener at Weedsport Speedway.
Darren Smith, the SRI Performance and Stock Car Steel Pole Award winner, led the opening circuit of the 60-lap Feature, using the inside lane to nose ahead of Mat Williamson at the start/finish line. That lead didn’t last long, though, as Williamson gained momentum on the outside lane and stormed around the No. 12 to take the lead on Lap 2.
Behind Williamson, Friesen started inching forward, passing Matt Sheppard and Alex Yankowski on the outside to get to third on Lap 16. He only needed one more lap to take over second, relegating Smith to third with another outside lane pass.
But just as Friesen set his sights on Williamson, he made a rare mistake, driving off the banking in Turns 3 and 4, dropping him back to fifth on Lap 18.
Friesen didn’t let that mistake deter him, though, as he drove by all three of them again within four laps, reclaiming second on Lap 23. That’s when he set his sights on Williamson, putting his right rear on Utica-Rome’s cushion, and closing in on every lap.
While Williamson dealt with traffic, Friesen closed quickly on the Buzz Chew Racing No. 88. But like the three cars behind him, Friesen used the outside lane to get a run on “Money Mat” in Turns 3 and 4, driving around the three-time Series champ to take the lead for good on Lap 28.
From there, Friesen went untouched to earn his 58th career Series victory, breaking a tie with Alan Johnson for fifth on the Series all-time wins list.
“The 44 team is rocking and rolling right now,” Friesen said. “It was a great track at Utica-Rome tonight; we just made one mistake. Mat (Williamson) was kind of getting held up in lap traffic, and I was like, let’s go up and try that top again in (Turns) 3 and 4. I got a little too far and got in the slime, and it made it interesting, I guess.
“Just a great race car. I can’t thank my supporters enough. It takes so much to do this.”
Williamson settled for second, earning back-to-back SummerFAST podiums, while Smith crossed the line third.
Alex Payne, the race’s hard charger, moved up 14 spots to finish fourth.
Meanwhile, Yankowski rounded out the top five, earning enough points to win his second SummerFAST title by 19 points over Jimmy Phelps. The Covington Township, PA driver finished in the top five in all four events and said his championship was a testament to how well his team is clicking.
“We have really good racecars, and really fast engines,” Yankowski said. “We’re just kind of building a notebook. We’re going to these places for the second, third, fourth time, which is huge. I think to win something like this, it really shows we have a really good maintenance program, and some really fast racecars.”
“Kid Rocket” also leaves SummerFAST with an 84-point lead over Williamson, with nine races remaining in the 2026 season.
UP NEXT: The Super DIRTcar Series returns to Weedsport Speedway for the final time in 2026 for the Cavalcade Cup 100 on Sunday, Sept. 6. Joining the Series will be the DIRTcar Sportsman Championship Series for the Sportsman Classic.
How can you watch the Super DIRTcar Series? Live on DIRTVision.
RACE NOTES:
JAM Performance Fastest Hot Lap Award: Jack Lehner
Billy Whittaker Cars and Trux Quick Time Award: Matt Sheppard
Bicknell Racing Products Heat Race 1 Winner: Stewart Friesen
DIG Race Products Heat Race 2 Winner: Jack Lehner
Wix Filters Heat Race 3 Winner: Darren Smith
The Greatest Store on Dirt Heat Race 4 Winner: Jimmy Phelps
SRI Performance/Stock Car Steel Pole Award Winner: Darren Smith
Behrent’s Performance Warehouse One Lap to Go: Stewart Friesen
SummerFAST at Utica Rome (60 Laps): 1. 44-Stewart Friesen[3]; 2. 88-Mat Williamson[2]; 3. 12-Darren Smith[1]; 4. 70A-Alex Payne[18]; 5. 84Y-Alex Yankowski[8]; 6. 98H-Jimmy Phelps[4]; 7. 2-Jack Lehner[5]; 8. 21A-Peter Britten[11]; 9. 91-Felix Roy[15]; 10. 25-Erick Rudolph[16]; 11. 83X-Tim Sears Jr[7]; 12. 19-Tim Fuller[20]; 13. 4M-Logan Watt[10]; 14. 35-Mike Mahaney[25]; 15. 3H-Justin Haers[22]; 16. 27-Tanner Van Doren[21]; 17. 6-Matt Stangle[24]; 18. 1-Tyler Dippel[19]; 19. 29-Ryan Krachun[17]; 20. 21C-Brian Calabrese[14]; 21. 91JR-Jeremy Roy[13]; 22. 15X-Justin Stone[26]; 23. (DNF) 9S-Matt Sheppard[6]; 24. (DNF) 26-Ryan Godown[9]; 25. (DNF) 11T-Jeff Taylor[23]; 26. (DNF) 4-Anthony Perrego[12]
