CONCORD, N.C. — Three months after winning their third Super DIRTcar Series championship, Mat Williamson and Buzz Chew Racing didn’t wait long to add another milestone to their résumé.
With two wins and four top fives during Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals, the St. Catharines, Ontario, driver earned his third Big Gator Championship in the last four years, tying Larry Wight for the most all-time.
It’s an accomplishment, “Money Mat” said he and his team are proud of.
“There’s a lot of history with all of the races down in Florida,” Williamson said. “We really only get one week to really make everything right. And if you want to win a championship in a week, you definitely need to unload fast and finish fast. It says a lot about the team with no DNFs and no heartache, or no real problems throughout the week.”
Williamson started the week with a fourth-place finish, the only time the No. 88 finished off the podium during the four-race miniseries. Then, he scored back-to-back wins, putting him in a position to win the week-long title.
One of the factors Williamson said was key to finding victory lane at Volusia was where drivers lined up on a restart.
“If you were off the front row, you definitely needed to be on the outside,” Williamson said. “I think it showed with [Stewart Friesen] on the last night. He went from fourth to second. And that’s lady luck. Sometimes the cautions will fall when you’re in the odd numbers, and sometimes they’ll fall when you’re in the evens. That was the unique thing about Volusia this year, and it definitely made for an interesting week for sure.”
Following his win on Friday, Williamson had a 20-point cushion over Alex Payne entering the final night of DIRTcar Nationals. And while he only needed to finish 12th or better to clinch the event title, he knew any problem could take him out of contention, something he learned in 2025 after missing out on a championship by three points.
“When we look back at the last few years, a flat tire is really what cost us a fourth gator and probably fourth in a row,” Williamson said. “Anything can happen down there, and those four nights it’s really crucial that you do finish each night and finish well each night.”
Williamson’s third Big Gator gives him and Buzz Chew Racing momentum entering their chase for a fourth title during the Championship Season opener at Georgetown Speedway for the Delaware Diamond, on Saturday, March 28. However, whether that momentum translates to March won’t be determined until they reach the “First State.”
“I think we’re definitely off to a better start than last year,” Williamson said. “I don’t know if it’ll make anything easier or not, because you can’t really control how other people prepare. I’m sure there’s a lot of other people that get better every year, whether it’s Alex (Yankowski) or Alex (Payne), or Felix (Roy), the younger generation coming up. Or Matt (Sheppard) with the changes he went through this year.
“There’s a lot of other people working hard, and we’re going to continue to work hard. But that certainly doesn’t make it easy.”
Part of that work ethic includes Big Block Modified Racing’s crown jewel, the Billy Whittaker Cars 200 at Oswego Speedway Oct. 5-10.
Despite winning the race for the fourth time last October, it hasn’t stopped the team’s desire to do it again.
“We’re going to work really hard on Oswego again like we always do,” Williamson said. “We’re going to start earlier than last year, which I don’t know if that’s a good thing for everybody else. But we’re going to put a pretty big emphasis on Oswego. I know Billy (Mathes, from Billy the Kid Engines) has been doing a great job, working really hard on [engines]. And (Ron “Spot” Ste. Marie, Mat’s Crew Chief) has been working hard in the shop all Winter.
“Championships aren’t won from being lazy, so the harder you work, the easier they’re going to come. And we’re trying to check all those boxes.”
