CRAZY 8’S: Mat Williamson Moves Closer to Big Gator Championship With Eighth DIRTcar Nationals Win
One night after earning his first Super DIRTcar Series win of 2026, Mat Williamson took a giant leap toward his third Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals Big Gator trophy.
The St. Catharines, ON driver passed Matt Sheppard on a Lap 13 restart and never looked back to score his eighth career win Friday at Volusia Speedway Park.
Sheppard took the lead from Justin Stone, the SRI Performance and Stock Car Steel Pole award winner, on the race’s opening lap. However, it wasn’t long before Williamson challenged Sheppard for the lead, as they raced wheel-to-wheel on the backstretch on Lap 1.
“Super Matt” gained the upper hand on Williamson throughout the first 10 laps, holding off the three-time and defending Series champion on the race’s first two restarts using both lanes. But when the caution came out on Lap 12 for Billy VanInwegen, it gave Williamson another shot at his second Feature win of the week.
When the race resumed, Sheppard led the field through Turn 4 at a slow pace, trying to gain an advantage. However, that didn’t deter Williamson, as he powered around the No. 9S in Turn 2 after battling side-by-side through Turn 1.
Williamson quickly pulled away from Sheppard, but still had another challenger to deal with before the race was over. Alex Payne moved into second on Lap 13 and got his own opportunity to wrestle the lead from Williamson after two cautions for Bobby Varin on Lap 20 and Lap 24.
On both restarts, Payne tried the outside in Turns 1 and 2, and the bottom in Turns 3 and 4. But it wasn’t enough to catch “Money Mat,” who went on to earn the $5,000 prize for the second consecutive night.
The victory is Williamson’s 38th career Super DIRTcar Series win, moving him within one triumph of Bob McCreadie for seventh on the all-time wins list.
In Victory Lane, Williamson said he needed to get clean air to have a chance to beat Sheppard for the win.
“We fired off on that restart, and luckily I beat [Sheppard] into (Turn) 1 and got good momentum around him,” Williamson said. I thought I could keep pace with him. I was trying to roll different lines early in the race to see where I was going to be bad, and he was just a little better than I was in (Turns) 1 and 2. In (Turns) 3 and 4, I was waiting for the bottom to come in a little bit more.”
With the victory, Williamson extended his lead in the chase for the Big Gator trophy to 20 points over Payne, who crossed the line second. It’s the Hopewell, NY driver’s second consecutive podium finish after finishing third on Thursday.
“I was able to grab a spot on that (Lap 13) restart and settle in behind the 88,” Payne said. “I tried to run some different lanes, because there was no way I was going to beat him rolling the middle like he was. Overall, it was a solid night, and we’re just gaining and gaining every night.”
Jack Lehner rounded out Friday’s podium, earning his third top five in his last four Super DIRTcar Series starts. The Saratoga Springs, NY driver battled side-by-side with Sheppard for several laps, using both lanes to move into third on Lap 22.
The “Ginga Ninja” said something he tried during his Last Chance Showdown on Thursday helped him toward Friday’s podium finish.
“We knew we didn’t have anything to lose, so we tried some things we hadn’t tried yet,” Lehner said. “And I think that woke up some things that we carried over into today. I feel like we had a stellar racecar and didn’t have to change a whole lot, and just follow the racetrack. And that’s a good feeling as a racecar driver.”
Alex Yankowski finished fourth, earning his first top five of the season, and Justin Haers rounded out the top five after starting 24th.
Here is a look at the Big Gator standings with one night of Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals remaining:
- Mat Williamson 320
- Alex Payne -20
- Felix Roy -32
- Erick Rudolph -34
- Larry Wight -38
For a complete look at the DIRTcar Nationals points standings, CLICK HERE.
RACE NOTES:
JAM Performance Fastest Hot Lap Award: Justin Stone
Billy Whittaker Cars and Trux Quick Time Award: Felix Roy
Bicknell Racing Products Heat Race 1 Winner: Felix Roy
DIG Race Products Heat Race 2 Winner: Alex Payne
Wix Filters Heat Race 3 Winner: Mat Williamson
The Greatest Store on Dirt.com Heat Race 4 Winner: Peter Britten
SRI Performance/Stock Car Steel Pole Award Winner: Justin Stone
Behrent’s Performance Wearhouse One Lap to Go: Mat Williamson
UP NEXT: The Super DIRTcar Series returns to Volusia Speedway Park on Saturday, Feb. 14, for the final night of Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals. Drivers will battle in a 50-lap Feature paying $7,500-to-win. Joining the Beasts of the Northeast are the World of Outlaws Late Models presented by DIRTVision.
For tickets, visit DIRTcarNationals.com.
Where can you watch every World of Outlaws race? Live on DIRTVision.
DIRTcar Nationals Night 3 (30 Laps): 1. 88-Mat Williamson[3]; 2. 70A-Alex Payne[6]; 3. 2-Jack Lehner[7]; 4. 84Y-Alex Yankowski[4]; 5. 3-Justin Haers[24]; 6. 9S-Matt Sheppard[2]; 7. 25-Erick Rudolph[25]; 8. 21A-Peter Britten[8]; 9. 91-Felix Roy[5]; 10. 98H-Jimmy Phelps[12]; 11. 12-Darren Smith[9]; 12. 165-Rex King Jr[21]; 13. 99L-Larry Wight[11]; 14. 20-Rick Laubach[19]; 15. 5H-Amy Holland[26]; 16. 32R-Ronnie Davis III[18]; 17. 16-Louden Reimert[15]; 18. 10C-Danny Creeden[14]; 19. 15X-Justin Stone[1]; 20. 1-Billy Pauch Jr[23]; 21. 6-Matt Stangle[22]; 22. 11T-Jeff Taylor[10]; 23. 11-Matt Caprara[16]; 24. (DNF) 18V-Bobby Varin[13]; 25. (DNF) 17-Marcus Dinkins[27]; 26. (DNF) 4V-Billy VanInwegen Jr[17]; 27. (DNF) 33-Eddie Strada[20]
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