The path to Victory Lane at Fulton Speedway is a road Mat Williamson has traveled many times in his career.
But with a $4,000 prize on the line Wednesday night, he needed almost all 60 laps to do it again.
The St. Catharines, ON driver stormed from 10th to the lead, passing Billy Dunn with five laps to go to win the Highbank Holdup, earning his second Series triumph of 2025.
“Holy moly, that was a lot of fun,” Williamson said. “Billy and I had a hell of a run. I don’t think he even knew I was there.
“Hats off to my guys. They worked hard all night. It’s a team effort, and that was a lot of fun.”
Jordan McCreadie and Dunn led the field to the green in the 60-lap Feature, with Dunn gaining the advantage through Turns 1 and 2. The two Watertown, NY drivers battled until Kyle Devendorf’s right-rear flat tire brought out the race’s only caution on Lap 3.
When the race resumed, Dunn took over the lead again, quickly pulling away from McCreadie and Ronnie Davis III, who took over second on the restart.
Dunn held onto his advantage until Lap 20 when Davis caught the back of the No. 49 car in traffic. As the two battled it out for the lead, Williamson started his charge toward the front, cracking the top five by Lap 22.
With Williamson lurking, Dunn pulled away from Davis after switching lanes from the top to the bottom on Lap 24. The 2021 Series champion continued his lead as “Money Mat” kept moving forward, driving past McCreadie on Lap 30. Williamson didn’t stop there, either. He snuck by Davis for second on Lap 36 and set his sights on Dunn for the lead.
Dunn had a two-second lead over Williamson as he battled through traffic on the 3/8-mile track. However, it wasn’t long before that lead shrunk, as Williamson cut the deficit down to just over a half-second on Lap 50.
When both drivers reached Lap 51, Williamson had his first chance to put the No. 6 into the lead, trying to find a way around Dunn on the outside. Dunn kept Williamson behind him that time. But one lap later, Williamson tried a different approach.
Mat Williamson lurks behind Billy Dunn for the lead/Joe Grabianowski
Williamson pulled a slide job on Dunn through Turns 3 and 4, but Dunn cut back underneath him, clinging to the lead as they drove down the front stretch. That wasn’t enough to keep Williamson at bay, though, as the 2023 Series champion found momentum on the outside lane on Lap 55 and stormed around Dunn to take the lead.
From there, Williamson pulled away to score his 17th career Series victory, breaking a tie with David Hebert for eighth all-time. It’s also his third Series triumph at Fulton.
After redrawing 10th, Williamson said he had no choice but to race as hard as he could.
“You had to get there,” Williamson said. “I felt like we missed it early with the carburetor, but Guillaume got it dialed in the right for the Feature, and that’s all that matters. We made the redraw, and we’re standing here on the front straightaway.”
With the win, Williamson also reclaimed the Series points lead from Mike Mahaney, who finished fourth. He has a six-point lead entering the next event at Can-Am Speedway.
Dunn crossed the line second after leading the first 55 laps. He said even with his lead, he knew Williamson was coming.
“I saw him coming with about 10 or 12 laps to go,” Dunn said. “And I saw him on the [scoreboard] before that. I tried to move around and maybe slow him down a little bit, but he was really good.
“I had a little trouble getting through traffic. I wasn’t maneuverable enough. But it was a really good run. It’s fun racing with Mat. That was a hell of a race. Congratulations to him.”
Davis finished third, earning his fourth career Series podium. The Memphis, NY driver said this run just continued his momentum at Fulton in June.
“We’ve been on the podium the last few weeks, Davis said. “We’ve had really strong cars. So, to back it up with another one tonight feels pretty good.
“I’m hoping the way the season’s going, we’ll nail down a win here by the end of the year.”
Alan Fink earned his first Series top five, finishing fifth.
UP NEXT: The DIRTcar 358 Modified Series heads to Can-Am Speedway on Wednesday, July 2, for the Pabst Shootout. Joining the 358s will be a combined event for the DIRTcar Sportsman North and Central Regions.
For more on the DIRTcar Northeast, follow the DIRTcar Facebook page and the Series’ X/(Twitter) page.
Highbank Holdup 60 (60 Laps): 1. 6-Mat Williamson[10]; 2. 49-Billy Dunn[2]; 3. 32R-Ronald Davis III[4]; 4. 35-Mike Mahaney[8]; 5. 28-Alan Fink[3]; 6. 83X-Tim Sears Jr[15]; 7. 31W-Lance Willix[11]; 8. 25-Erick Rudolph[16]; 9. 7Z-Zach Payne[6]; 10. 91-Felix Roy[14]; 11. 10C-Willy Decker[5]; 12. 5H-Amy Holland[30]; 13. 28M-Jordan McCreadie[1]; 14. 14T-Payton Talbot[18]; 15. M1-David Marcuccilli[9]; 16. 3-Chris Mackey[12]; 17. 42P-Pat Ward[24]; 18. 38J-Jarrett Herbison[28]; 19. 44-Gordon Smith[7]; 20. 31-Corey Barker[22]; 21. 21C-Brian Calabrese[17]; 22. 17G-Garrett Poland[25]; 23. 45R-Preston Forbes[29]; 24. 92-Andrew Buff[27]; 25. (DNF) 99L-Larry Wight[19]; 26. (DNF) 60-Jackson Gill[26]; 27. (DNF) 31B-Ryan Dolbear[13]; 28. (DNF) 1X-Willy Decker Jr[21]; 29. (DNF) 21A-Peter Britten[23]; 30. (DNF) 5D-Kyle Devendorf[20]
Hoosier Racing Tire Award (Free Tire): Zach Payne
