RPW Exclusive: Mat Williamson’s Making The Most Of His Opportunity To Drive For Keith Kunz

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Column By: BOBBY CHALMERS / RPW – TULSA, OK – When you are racing the Chili Bowl and your car owner is the legendary Keith Kunz, you’re expected to produce.

However, when it’s your first time in a Midget, like this year’s edition for Mat Williamson, nobody can put any more pressure on a driver than he, or she, can put on themself.

Just ask Mat, but the defending DIRTcar Northeast standout has stepped up to the plate.

Williamson’s first attempt at a prelim night at the Tulsa Expo Raceway very nearly produced a spot in the night’s A-Main. However, he missed out by one spot which now will relegate him to an expected E-Main start on Saturday night.

Even with not qualifying for the main event, Williamson has loved working with the legendary car owner.

“Keith’s been absolutely amazing to work with,” Williamson said. “He’s such a smart man and really knows what to do with the car every time it goes on track. Not to mention the team has been great too. Cannon (McIntosh) and Kale (Drake) have been really helpful trying to make it easier for me to adapt to these cars.”

Tuesday night was Williamson’s first real test behind the wheel of a Midget and he was able to make his Northeast Modified fans proud.

“Things really got better throughout the night,” he said. “I really didn’t know what to expect at the start and I feel like after the B-Main I was comfortable enough in the car to at least go forward, pass cars and race with others.”

His heat race, however, started out rough, with the two-time Super DIRTcar Series champion winding up on his roof after just one lap. He was, however, able to get back going and charged from the rear of the field to get back to fourth at the finish.

How did Williamson’s demeanor change after the accident?

“I think it actually made things easier for me,” he said. “It would have been hard to flip it again (HAHA) so I at least got that part out of the way. I was more surprised how the officials were able to flip me back over and I just fired it back and kept racing.”

Since he’s been there, Williamson’s been outspoken about how he has to drive this car different than his Dirt Modified. Has it all been getting him acclimated to the car or has his team had to adjust things on the Midget to make things better?

“They really haven’t had to change things at all for me,” he said. “I haven’t had enough laps to tell them what is right or wrong with the car. Each lap I ran, I feel I was getting better with it and we really didn’t need to adjust the car to fit my style.”

Even with a tough finish to his night, Williamson is enjoying his time in the KKM machine.

“I still need to get way better if we ever want to chase a win in these things,” he said. “However, I am definitely more comfortable than I was when I started on Sunday.”

Wait? If we ever want to chase a win in these things? Does that mean what we think it means?

“We’re talking about the possibility of running some more races at some point,” he said. “They’re fun and this team is so amazing to work with, but nothing is really planned at this point.”

Was Tuesday a success in Mat’s eyes?

“Yes and no,” he said. “There’s 80 something cars and a lot of them race these things all the time. We were the first car out of the feature and I’ve only run about 25 laps in a midget.”

Williamson’s not giving himself enough credit though.

“The car’s obviously out-performing the driver,” he said. “However, each time we hit the track, I’m feeling better. If a few of those yellows go differently, we might have been able to get another 30 laps in last night. But, that’s racing.”

 
 
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