PORT ROYAL, Pa. – Mat Williamson added another big payday to his resume with a victory in Saturday’s Short Track Super Series Speed Showcase 200 at Port Royal Speedway, which earned the Canadian driver $53,000.
The event started with Alex Yankowski pacing the field to green alongside Danny Bouc. An early caution waved for the No. 2 of Billy Van Pelt, with Williamson taking the lead shortly after the restart on lap 16 of the 200-lap event.
On lap 42 disaster struck for Billy Pauch Jr. as the throttle hung on his No. 96 modified entering turn three. His car pounded the outside wall and flipped. The race was red flagged for more than an hour as crews worked to fix a section of the guard rail. Pauch was unhurt in the crash.
One the race resumed Williamson got back on the gas, but Anthony Perrego stayed with him and motored around him on the outside to take the lead on lap 86. He stayed at the front until the halfway break at lap 100.
“I told him (Perrego) I thought it started to take rubber on the bottom,” Williamson said. “I was being conservative on the bottom and he was rolling around the top. He had bigger nuts than I did.”
When the race resumed after the 10 minute break, it was Andy Bachetti who paced the field back to green with 39th place starter Stewart Friesen fourth as he pitted at lap 87. However it didn’t take the driver of Halmar International No. 44 long to take the lead, with Friesen snatching the top spot away six laps later.
Friesen stayed at the front until a restart with 17 laps left. Friesen protected the bottom on that restart, opening the door for Williamson to take the top and steal the lead.
“I was surprised he gave me the top,” Williamson said. “I got good runs on the bottom of two and I crossed him up there. I didn’t know what to do in three and four as I felt like I was average. I rolled the middle and that was that.”
Williamson wasn’t out of the weeds yet. A restart with four laps to go once again put Friesen to his outside, but he pulled away and went on to take the checkered flag.
“We needed this win,” Williamson said. “The border guys give me a little bit of a hard time but I’ve been eating ramen all summer. Been going for 500 here or there and it doesn’t pay the bills. Me and my girlfriend want to get a house here soon so this win means a lot. The hardest part is being away from my friends and family and on the road. They watched up north tonight and I hope they enjoyed the show.”
Briann Krummel picked up the win in the companion 602 Crate Sportsman 50-lap feature.
The finish:
Mat Williamson, Stewart Friesen, Matt Sheppard, Anthony Perrego, Larry Wight, Max McLaughlin, Ryan Godown, Andy Bachetti, Alex Yankowski, Billy Decker, Erick Rudolph, Mike Mahaney, Ronnie Johnson, Tim Fuller, Mike Gular, Ryan Susice, Josh Hohenforst, Ryan Watt, Tyler Dippel, Billy Dunn, Jimmy Horton, Brandon Grosso, Brett Haas, Jordan Watson, Ryan Riddle, Peter Britten, Alan Johnson, J.R. Heffner, Rick Laubach, Matt Delorenzo, Danny Bouc, Michael Maresca, Danny Johnson, Jeff Strunk, Tyler Siri, Rocky Warner, Billy Pauch Jr., Demetrious Drellos, Neal Williams, Richie Pratt Jr., Brett Tonkin