MALTA, N.Y. — In front of a packed Albany-Saratoga Speedway crowd, Mat Williamson delivered a massive performance.
After starting ninth, “Money Mat” took advantage of contact between Matt Sheppard and Demetrios Drellos to take the lead, holding on for the final 16 laps to win Saturday’s Malta Massive Weekend finale.
Along with earning his eighth Super DIRTcar Series win of 2024, the three-time defending Billy Whittaker Cars 200 winner earned a guaranteed starting spot at Super DIRT Week 52.
“What a race,” Williamson said. “Lyle (Devore, Albany-Saratoga track promoter) gave us a track that was really racy with a big block. That was one of the best races I’ve ever been a part of.
“It’s awesome coming to Malta.”
Super DIRTcar Series veteran Danny Johnson took the lead on lap 1 of the 100-lap feature, beating Billy Decker through Turns One and Two.
Behind the “Doctor,” Drellos charged forward on the outside lane, moving from fifth to third by lap 3. Drellos kept his momentum going on the top, quickly catching the back bumper of Johnson’s No. 27J on lap 13.
The two battled side-by-side for five laps until the race’s first caution came out for Ryan McCartney on lap 18.
When the race resumed, Johnson went back to the lead, stopping all of Drellos’ challenges until another caution flew on lap 23 for Jeff Taylor, who spun in Turn Four.
However, Johnson wasn’t as good on the next restart, as Drellos took the lead as the two drivers raced into Turn One. The Queensbury, N.Y. driver, looking for his second Malta Massive Weekend victory, quickly drove away from his competition, getting out to over a three-second lead on multiple occasions.
But as Drellos set the pace out front, four cars were battling for positions three through six. Tim Sears Jr. was holding off challenges from Felix Roy, Peter Britten, and Sheppard, who started 11th.
Sears broke away from that pack, taking second away from Johnson on lap 48. And it wasn’t long before Johnson faced another challenge from Roy and Sheppard.
On lap 53, Roy tried going around Johnson on the outside in Turn One, but Johnson slid in front of the No. 91, stopping his momentum. That allowed Sheppard to drive past both on the inside to take over third as they entered Turn Three.
The 10-time Super DIRTcar Series champion then switched lanes to the outside and closed in on Sears on lap 67 before going around him for second on lap 69. However, six laps later, Sears snuck back around the No. 9S, with Williamson, who started ninth, closing behind them.
With Sheppard moving back to the bottom, Williamson moved to the extreme outside line, thundering around Sheppard for third on lap 76. And he didn’t stop there. Williamson kept his momentum rolling on the top before he crossed over to the bottom at the start/finish line to storm past Sears on lap 77.
Sheppard followed Williamson on the bottom to get by Sears on the next lap. But as Williamson returned to the outside, his momentum was stopped by Jeff Taylor, a lap car, who was running the same line.
That allowed Sheppard to pass Williamson back for second as they completed lap 82.
Drellos looked destined to win his second Super DIRTcar Series Feature, but a yellow for Larry Wight on lap 83 brought the field back together.
Restarting third behind Drellos and Sheppard, Williamson watched Sheppard slide in front of Drellos as they drove down the backstretch on lap 83. That’s when Williamson made a bid for the lead.
The three drivers entered Turn One three-wide with Williamson on the bottom, Drellos in the middle, and Sheppard on the top. As they entered the apex of Turns One and Two, Drellos tried to slide in front of Sheppard but clipped his left front tire with his right rear. That contact was enough for Williamson to drive past both on the inside to take the lead as they entered Turn Three on lap 84.
From there, Williamson drove away in the final 16 laps to score his 30th career Super DIRTcar Series victory.
According to Williamson, the track was different than it was when the series last visited in June, a race he also won.
“I thought our car was a lot freer than it’s been in the past,” Williamson said. “I was spinning my tires tonight more than I probably would. But we knew the track had more grip in it than the last time we were here. Maybe at the end, it was similar to last time, but it still had a curb, and you still had to rotate.”
Sheppard settled for second, earning his eighth consecutive top-five finish and third podium in his last four races.
The Waterloo, N.Y. driver said he thinks he might’ve been able to earn the win if he stayed in the lead after passing Drellos.
“I feel like I had a little too much gear late,” Sheppard said. “I feel like I couldn’t get the miles per hour I needed to run up top. It would’ve been interesting if I could’ve gotten the lead. Well, I did get the lead, but Demetrios kind of knocked me in the left front a little bit with a slider that didn’t quite clear.
“Matty had good speed at the end, but I think it would’ve been interesting if I was leading and he was trying to pass me, and I was running his preferred line.”
With six races remaining in 2024, Sheppard holds a 27-point lead over Williamson in the series standings.
After hitting the inside wall on lap 20, Sears finished third with a left front flat tire. From that point forward, he said the car struggled in traffic.
“I started to catch the leaders with it, but then it was hard on starts,” Sears said. “When you’re in traffic, it was a little harder to drive.
“We’ve had the same stuff on the car since Drummond, and it really doesn’t matter what package we put where. It just seems to work.”
Anthony Perrego finished fourth after starting 20th and 2024 Albany-Saratoga Track Champion Peter Britten rounded out the top five.
Drellos faded to sixth in the race’s closing laps.
The finish: 1. 88-Mat Williamson[9]; 2. 9S-Matt Sheppard[11]; 3. 83X-Tim Sears Jr[6]; 4. 4-Anthony Perrego[20]; 5. 21A-Peter Britten[3]; 6. 111-Demetrios Drellos[4]; 7. 91D-Billy Decker[1]; 8. 91-Felix Roy[5]; 9. 2-Jack Lehner[26]; 10. 35-Mike Mahaney[18]; 11. 70A-Alex Payne[25]; 12. 98H-Jimmy Phelps[14]; 13. 3G-Matt Delorenzo[17]; 14. 99L-Larry Wight[21]; 15. 27J-Danny Johnson[2]; 16. 21C-Brian Calabrese[22]; 17. 87-Neil Stratton[15]; 18. 2RJ-Ronnie Johnson[13]; 19. 12-Darren Smith[23]; 20. 20-David Schilling[12]; 21. 28-Michael Trautschold[7]; 22. 14B-Brendan Darrah[16]; 23. (DNF) 11T-Jeff Taylor[19]; 24. (DNF) 18-Ryan Macartney[8]; 25. (DNF) 3J-Marc Johnson[24]; 26. (DNF) 15X-Justin Stone[27]; 27. (DNF) 19-Tim Fuller[10]