News Director 
Column By: DYLAN FRIEBEL / RPW – ROSSBURG, OH – If he wasn’t before, he is now. Mat Williamson’s a force to be reckoned with in Big Block Modified racing.
The driver out of St Catherines, ONT finished third Wednesday night in the Super DIRTcar Series event at the famed Eldora Speedway.
For the casual fan who may not have known him, Williamson bursted onto the scene during Super Dirt Week 2017 where he won the 358-Modified Series race at Utica-Rome and finished second to Matt Sheppard at Oswego in the 358-Modified Championship. Finishes like that have led Mat to the spotlight more and more and more.
With 12 wins so far this season at Merrittville, Ransomville, Lernerville, Fulton, Cornwall and Mohawk, he’s only trailing Erick Rudolph and Matt Sheppard in overall victories.
“I’ve always believed in myself,” he said. “It wasn’t that I ever thought I wouldn’t make it, I have great guys behind me who believe in me in every car I race. It’s tough sometimes adjusting between each but when you see guys like Danny Johnson jump in these guys cars and win, you don’t think it’s that hard.”
Wednesday’s third place finish marked his fourth podium this year. However, Mat knows he needs wins to compete for the Series title.
“It’s honestly disappointing sometimes,” he said. “We’ve put together good runs at Drummond, Granby and even Albany-Saratoga but yet just can’t hit victory lane. I’ve won some big Small Block series races lately but I’ve started up front in those. We might just use our stuff up too much starting so far back in the Big Block. I have great people behind me and some of the best equipment in the business, but all we seem to do is finish third.”
Mat’s big break came over the winter when he landed the ride in the potent Buzz Chew Motorsports ride and he understands the team he has behind him.
“You work hard and try to wait for things to fall in place,” he said. “Luckily we talked to Buzz and Spot over the winter and they are awesome. It makes my life easier driving a good car like this. Allows me to focus on running 100 races a year. We have some momentum right now and hopefully we can do good at Ransomville and Merrittville and hopefully get us a win or two.”
It seems Canada has once again produced a new up and coming star in Big Block Modified racing. While a top three at a track like Eldora is no easy feat, only time will tell what course Williamson’s career takes.
For the time being, though, he’s the ‘new kid’ on the tour and is proving he’s the real deal.
Hmmm, a big-time driver from Ontario, Canada. I feel like we have heard that one before.
