RPW Exclusive: Eastern States Weekend Puts On A Show; Yankowski and Perrego Capture Big Wins

Exclusive By: JOE PHILLIPS / RPW – MIDDLETOWN, NY – Those who didn’t attend this year’s edition of Eastern States at Orange County Fair Speedway missed out on the opportunity to see some great racing action.

On Saturday, the wingless sprint cars and 358 Modifieds took to the hard clay for a day featuring plenty of close racing.

In the wingless sprint cars, it was Brian Krummel who emerged victorious during the 25 lap feature. Invader Alex Bright finished in the second position, while Jonathan Swanson rounded out the podium finishing in third place.

After a brief break in the action and some last chance races, the focus then shifted to the 358 Modified 100 Lap headliner.

Emerging as the early favorite of the race, Mat Williamson seemed to be the dominant car of the evening. This quickly changed, as he had to pit around the halfway mark in the race due to a flat tire. This relegated “Money Mat” to the rear of the field on the ensuing restart.

After the incident, Williamson was a driver on a mission as he set a blistering pace, using the outside to work his way back to the front. Like him or not, it was great entertainment watching how he could navigate the top of track. After falling back as far as 32nd, Williamson was able to work his way all the way back up to the front of the pack.

The “Ant Man” Anthony Perrego was another driver that had to advance through the pack after starting in the 9th position. He took the lead on Lap 65 after slowly and steadily making his way forward. In the last few laps of the race, Williamson made his presence felt and was applying the pressure to Perrego. Williamson caught Perrego on the last lap, but Perrego was able to hold on to the lead and win the race. The gap at the finish was only .056, but it was enough for Perrego in the Vinny Salerno #4* car to take home the victory and the $10,000 prize. Williamson settled for the second place finish, while Jessica Friesen rounded out the podium with an impressive third place performance which was the highest finishing spot for a female driver in Eastern States History.

Sunday morning saw some housekeeping duties on the track and on the race cars. Drivers did have a brief break around noon, for a Finish Line Chapel Service at the scales.

After the service, the drivers who had locked in already had an autograph session for those in attendance. The track provided posters featuring last year’s winners so fans could gather autographs of their modified racing heroes. The event was well attended, with a line stretching down to the main grandstand.

The first feature of Sunday was the 25 lap Pure Stock/Street Stock race. Qualifying events were a little rough with attrition, which whittled the field down for the feature.

On hand was a young driver named Olivia Hedges, who was a rookie in the Street Stock division at the Accord Speedway this year. Olivia is a 19 year old driver and has been steadily improving in her #19 Burnout Nationals Camaro. Her Dad, Pat Hedges, is a long time campaigner in the street stocks. Olivia unfortunately did not qualify for the feature, but she did gain valuable track time and experience.

The feature itself took a bit to get the rhythm going. Cautions were numerous at first. Many cars were badly damaged, and a couple suffered some mechanical issues. At the end, it was Jayden Sleight who prevailed in his Chevy Camaro to take the checkered flag.

Finally, it was time for the famous Eastern States 200. A grid walk of the starting drivers and the National Anthem by the Middletown HS Middies band kicked off the festivities.

Once the race started, it took a few laps before a long green flag run developed. There were no major wrecks, but suspension and tire issues were problematic. The tire problems were not due to track conditions, as the track was fairly smooth. Some drivers had brushed into one another or contacted the wall causing the issues.

After his strong run the previous night, all eyes were again on Mat Williamson. Sadly for his fans, Williamson broke a left rear shock bolt and slowed down early on in the race. A caution was thrown, which would lead to some discussions on the restart. The caution was thrown for Mat, but he said he was maintaining speed and did not need caution. Needless to say, Williamson restarted at the back, ahead of the lapped cars.

This race did feature a break at lap 100. While many crews made adjustments and put on fresh tires, Tyler Dippel and Frank Cozze gambled and stayed out to restart at the front of the pack. This did pay off for Dippel, as he would be in contention for the rest of the race. Cozze held out for a 9th place finish. Cozze is a former long time driver at OCFS, and he offered some entertainment during the break. During the caution stop, Cozze was asked if he remembered the time he won Eastern States without stopping, and Cozze said “No I don’t, I am old now.”

On the restart, Alex Yankowski filling in for the injured Stewart Friesen emerged at the front of the pack. Williamson was trying his best to get back up front, but suffered another mechanical issue around Lap 150.

Yankowski went on to set the pace the rest of the way and capture perhaps the biggest victory of his young career. The #84Y also took the halfway bonus for leading at the halfway mark. Dippel held on to finish 2nd, and Peter Britten rounded out the podium with a solid 3rd place run. Jack Lehner and Matt Sheppard finished 4th and 5th to close out the Top 5.

Speaking of Dippel, his crew had an interesting pit board. It had Dippel’s name and car number, and it was illuminated. It resembled an old fashioned neon gage sign on a high pole.  The crew could change the signs colors to communicate with Dippel on the track. Green meant pit, red meant stay out, etc. Many other crews may start using this idea next season at ESW, or at SDW.

All in all, the 2025 edition of Eastern States was a success. The fans got to see excellent racing, and the track was in very good condition. And perhaps the best news of all, announcer Tim Pitts stated in the pre-race ceremonies, that the 2026 season schedule will be available soon.

106 years and counting, and Orange County Fair Speedway continues to amaze and put on a show for those of all ages!