WALK-OFF WIN: Mat Williamson Closes 2025 Season with World Finals Victory
Mat Williamson had one goal when he arrived at The Dirt Track at Charlotte on Saturday. Win the season finale.
The 2025 Super DIRTcar Series champion accomplished that goal on Saturday night, passing Alex Yankowski on Lap 28 to earn his fifth World of Outlaws World Finals victory.
With the title already clinched, Saturday’s win was a feat he wanted for his team to end the season on a high note.
“To be able to put a show on at the end was what I wanted to do for these fans,” Williamson said. “Hats off to my guys. It’s really tough to win these races. But to win on Saturday night and finish with the championship is unbelievable.”
Felix Roy, the SRI Performance and Stock Car Steel Pole Award Winner, led the field to the green in the 40-lap finale, aiming for his first Super DIRTcar Series victory. The Napierville, QC driver held off challenges from Alex Yankowski for the first 10 laps with ease. But when he reached the tail of the field, his chances at a victory slipped away.
As Roy drove off Turn 4 on Lap 17, he hooked his front bumper on Louden Reimert’s rear bumper while trying to put him a lap down. That sent the two cars spinning down the frontstretch and knocked Roy out of contention for the win, giving the lead to Yankowski.
When the race resumed, Yankowski grabbed the advantage over Tim Fuller, while Williamson and Darren Smith battled for third behind them. Williamson and Smith traded third for the next six laps until a red flag came out for Matt Caprara, who flipped in Turn 4 on Lap 23.
Williamson was in fourth at that point, which put him on the outside lane for the first time on a restart. That’s the moment in the race where Williamson started his charge toward the front.
When the green came back out, Williamson quickly cleared Smith for third and put his Buzz Chew Racing No. 88 on the outside lane.
It wasn’t long before Williamson’s momentum brought his Bicknell Chassis to Fuller’s back bumper, giving him a chance to wrestle second away. He swung to the outside of the Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Famer on Lap 25 and took over the runner-up position as they exited Turn 2.
Then, he set his sights on Yankowski for the lead. Entering Turn 3 on Lap 28, Williamson dove underneath the No. 84Y for the lead and slid his car in front of Yankowski’s nose in the middle of the corner. Yankowski tried the crossover move to regain the lead in Turn 4,1 but couldn’t get the momentum he needed to make the pass.
From there, Williamson cruised to the $15,000 win—his 38th Series triumph. The win brings him within one victory of Bob McCreadie for seventh on the Series all-time wins list.
While in Victory Lane, the three-time Series champ said the outside lane was vital to earning his fifth Series win of the season.
“When Smith went back by me, I really wanted the caution,” Williamson said. “But, in those situations, you never know when they’re going to come. You don’t know if it’s going to come in 15 laps or five. Thankfully, it came right away, and I was able to get that outside on the restart and get by Tim.
“I was on Alex, and he kept sliding up in (Turn 2), and I figured my only shot was sliding him across the racetrack.”
Yankowski crossed the line second, finishing off his 2025 season with a podium. With his 17th top five, the Covington Township, PA driver earned second in the Series standings.
“We had control of the race and felt really good,” Yankowski said. “But the 88 has been lights out here the last couple of months. We’re definitely bummed, but we’re going to go to work.
“We got second in points, which is great. It’s a good chunk of change. But chasing that 88 is definitely going to give me some energy in the wintertime.”
Jack Lehner rounded out the podium, matching his best career Series finish. The Saratoga Springs, NY driver said the finish was a huge positive at a track he’s struggled at.
“This track has always been a bit of a thorn in my side,” Lehner said. “We just never seem to run all that good here and never seem to figure it out. And some of that comes from me as a driver.
“We had a really good racecar all week long, and I screwed some things up in Qualifying that set us back on the first night. The second night, we made some changes we shouldn’t have made. And that kind of put it all together for tonight. It feels really good to run where it feels like we should be running.”
Darren Smith finished fourth, and Ryan Godown crossed the line fifth.
UP NEXT: The Super DIRTcar Series kicks off its 2026 season with the chase for the “Big Gator” trophy at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, FL, on Feb. 11-14, as part of Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals.
If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision.
World Finals Night 4 (40 Laps): 1. 88-Mat Williamson[6]; 2. 84Y-Alex Yankowski[2]; 3. 02-Jack Lehner[12]; 4. 12-Darren Smith[4]; 5. 26-Ryan Godown[15]; 6. 6-Matt Stangle[14]; 7. 4M-Logan Watt[20]; 8. 98H-Jimmy Phelps[13]; 9. 11T-Jeff Taylor[10]; 10. 25-Erick Rudolph[7]; 11. 8B-Peter Britten[16]; 12. 3-Justin Haers[21]; 13. 35-Mike Mahaney[11]; 14. CRAZ8-Max McLaughlin[19]; 15. 83X-Tim Sears Jr[9]; 16. 9S-Matt Sheppard[5]; 17. 15X-Justin Stone[17]; 18. 151KB-Brian McDonald[26]; 19. 91-Felix Roy[1]; 20. 22J-Jason Reome[28]; 21. 66-Corbin Millar[27]; 22. 17-Marcus Dinkins[30]; 23. (DNF) 0-Glenn Styres[25]; 24. (DNF) 99L-Larry Wight[18]; 25. (DNF) 19-Tim Fuller[3]; 26. (DNF) 11C-Matt Caprara[22]; 27. (DNF) 44G-Sebastien Gougeon[23]; 28. (DNF) 70A-Alex Payne[8]; 29. (DNF) 58-Louden Reimert[24]; 30. (DNF) 4-Anthony Perrego[29]
