In a battle between the last two DIRTcar 358 Modified Series champions, Mat Williamson got the upper hand Thursday night at Airborne Park Speedway.
After passing Jarrett Herbison for the lead, the St. Catharines, ON driver held off a hard-charging Felix Roy to win the Battle of Plattsburgh, his first victory at the 1/2-mile oval.
Adam Pierson and Jordan McCreadie led the field to the green in the 75-lap Feature, with McCreadie grabbing the advantage as they completed Lap 1.
As the Watertown, NY competitor drove away, Herbison moved forward, sneaking past Pierson for second on Lap 9. It wasn’t long before the Brockville, ON driver caught McCreadie for the lead, moving within striking distance of the No. 28 by Lap 10.
With a burst of speed on the inside lane, Herbison drove past McCreadie as they raced down the backstretch on Lap 13. But as Herbison took the lead, Williamson wasn’t far behind.
The 2023 DIRTcar 358 Modified Series champion drove to third by Lap 11 and swung around the outside of McCreadie to take over second on Lap 16. For the next 10 laps, Williamson tried to find a way around Herbison but wouldn’t get his chance until back-to-back cautions slowed the field.
When the race resumed following the second caution on Lap 45, “Money Mat” used the outside lane to pull ahead of Herbison down the backstretch. However, Roy, who started fifth, was closing in on the No. 6.
Roy stayed within a second of Williamson, looking for the right moment to strike. However, his momentum was stopped when the red flag was displayed on Lap 63 for a power issue at the track.
“Hollywood’s” last shot at Williamson came when the race resumed on Lap 64, but Williamson drove away from the No. 91, gaining over a second lead.
From there, Williamson cruised to the $5,000 victory, earning his 16th career DIRTcar 358 Modified Series triumph.
In Victory Lane, Williamson said he was worried about being out front because he wasn’t sure what line was the best.
“There were so many lanes,” Williamson said. “Airborne was really good tonight. That was the best I’ve ever seen it. Felix has got a lot younger eyes than I’ve got, so when the lights went out, I knew I was in trouble. It was cool to get the win. The guys worked hard all day to get this thing turned around.
“It was a lot of fun racing tonight.”
Roy, Airborne’s current points leader, settled for second after trading the spot with Mike Mahaney in the last five laps.
Despite finishing second, the Napierville, QC driver said he’s happy with his performance.
“Mat is one of the best, so getting beat by him, I’ll take second any day,” Roy said. “That was an awesome race and an awesome track. You could go everywhere. I found something at the end in (Turns) 3 and 4.
“We were confident, so a podium is nice. We’ll go home and be happy.”
Mahaney charged from 25th to third to round out the podium. The Elizabethtown, NY driver, who races weekly at Airborne, said he had a lot of fun driving through the field.
“We were able to pass a lot of cars and put on a good show,” Mahaney said. “I really stepped on it in time trials and had a flat and just put ourselves way behind. Track position wasn’t in our favor. But 25th to third is nothing to shake a stick at. I knew we had a shot there if things went our way.”
Herbison finished fourth, and Jeremy Roy rounded out the top five.
UP NEXT: The DIRTcar 358 Modified Series returns to action on Sunday, June 22, for a stop at Glen Ridge Motorsports Park.
For more on the DIRTcar Northeast, follow the DIRTcar Facebook page and the Series’ X/(Twitter) page.
Battle of Plattsburgh (75 Laps): 1. 6-Mat Williamson[7]; 2. 91-Felix Roy[5]; 3. 35-Mike Mahaney[25]; 4. 38J-Jarrett Herbison[3]; 5. 90JR-Jeremy Roy[13]; 6. 25P-Michael Parent[4]; 7. 31-Lance Willix[19]; 8. 92-Andrew Buff[24]; 9. 28-Jordan McCreadie[2]; 10. 24F-Jordan Fornwalt[8]; 11. 5H-Amy Holland[20]; 12. 35R-William Racine[11]; 13. 26-Dave Camara[26]; 14. 66X-Carey Terrance[10]; 15. 24-Thomas Cook[22]; 16. 01-Chris Raabe[14]; 17. 215-Adam Pierson[1]; 18. 45R-Preston Forbes[27]; 19. 9-Tyler Meeks[16]; 20. 21R-RJ Tresidder[28]; 21. 97-Bobby Hackel IV[23]; 22. 117JR-CJ Castelletti[29]; 23. 11S-Steve Lewis[30]; 24. 17G-Garrett Poland[18]; 25. 11-Matt Caprara[12]; 26. 60-Jackson Gill[21]; 27. 21A-Peter Britten[15]; 28. 61-David Hebert[9]; 29. 15X-Justin Stone[6]; 30. 19-Tim Fuller[17]
