Mat Williamson felt the pressure of NAPA Super DIRT Week Thursday evening.<\/p>\n
But that pressure had nothing to do with the October event. He and his Buzz Chew Racing team were 1,200 miles south of where it\u2019s even held.<\/p>\n
It was the third of five straight days of Super DIRTcar Series racing at Volusia Speedway Park during the 51st DIRTcar Nationals. And after back-to-back sixth-place finishes in the first two races, something needed to change. He knew it. His team knew. So, they treated Thursday\u2019s event like it was the Billy Whittaker Cars 200 at Super DIRT Week.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday, you would\u2019ve sworn it was Oswego, Sunday morning, trying to decide what we were going to do for a 200-lap race,\u201d Williamson said. \u201cWe took this one pretty seriously and hopefully it leads to some momentum going forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust because we haven\u2019t lived up to the expectations of how we ran last year. I think we got through the middle of September to Charlotte, we didn\u2019t run out of the top-five. Then, we had two six-place finishes. People expect things. We worked really hard over the winter to build this car, me and Spot. We tried some things we learned over the years and came here wanting to win. That\u2019s kind of what we expected. If you don\u2019t turn things around by Wednesday, you\u2019re going to have a rough week.\u201d<\/p>\n
And a rough week he will no longer have.<\/p>\n
Williamson drove like he was after his third NAPA Super DIRT Week title, wrestling with Stewart Friesen and Max McLaughlin for 30 laps, emerging the victor by the time the checkered flag was revealed.<\/p>\n
His path to collecting a third golden gator trophy looks smooth on paper \u2013\u00a0qualifying fastest in his group, winning his Heat Race and drawing the #2 pill in the Albany-Saratoga Speedway Redraw \u2013\u00a0but when it came time for the Feature, Friesen and McLaughlin showed him no mercy.<\/p>\n
The St. Catharines, Ontario driver raced side by side with fellow Canadian Stewart Friesen for the first two laps, neither showing an upper hand. On the third lap, Friesen threw an early Hail Mary into Turn 1, crossing in front of Williamson and stealing the lead by the exit of Turn 2. But the speed difference from their choice of line benefited Williamson. He crossed underneath Friesen down the backstretch and catapulted his Buzz Chew #88 back to the lead in Turn 3.<\/p>\n
\n. @DIRTVision<\/a> HIGHLIGHTS: Check out the highlights from tonight's feature!https:\/\/t.co\/F5vTMmlRlG<\/a><\/p>\n
— Super DIRTcar Series (@SuperDIRTcar) February 18, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n