For the second straight night at Can-Am Speedway, the battle for a DIRTcar 358 Modified Series win came down to Mat Williamson and Billy Dunn.
And just like Thursday’s Feature, it was Williamson standing in Victory Lane at the end of 50 grueling laps.
The St. Catharines, ON driver thundered past Dunn with two laps to go to win the Showdown in September,earning back-to-back wins at the “Nasty Track of the North.”
Matt Caprara led the field to the green in the Showdown in September, aiming to win in front of his hometown crowd. But behind the Clayton, NY driver, Can-Am track champion Billy Dunn charged through the field, moving from his eighth starting position to second in two laps.
Dunn chased the No. 11 for the next 10 circuits until Brad Rouse brought out the race’s first caution on Lap 12 for a flat right rear tire.
When the race resumed, Caprara slid up the racetrack to try and take Dunn’s lane away. That only lasted two laps, though, as the Watertown, NY driver moved to the middle in Turns 1 and 2, gaining enough momentum to drive by for the lead on Lap 14.
Dunn quickly pulled away from the field, getting out to a three-second lead before another caution came out for Rouse on Lap 38.
Behind Dunn and Caprara, Williamson inched forward through the field, sneaking by Carrey Terrance for third just before the caution. “Money Mat” continued his battle with Terrance when the green flag came back out, getting by the No. 66X and setting his sights on Caprara.
That was when Williamson found a line that propelled his No. 6 car to the back bumper of Caprara with five laps to go. As he entered Turns 1 and 2, he started on the outside and dove to the bottom, allowing him to get the momentum he needed to pass Caprara by the exit of Turn 2. And after getting by Caprara, he only needed another lap to get to Dunn.
With a swift move through Turns 1 and 2, Williamson drove past the No. 49 in the middle of the track, taking the lead on the backstretch for the first time with two laps to go. That was all Williamson needed to earn his 24th career DIRTcar 358 Modified Series victory—one worth $4,000.
“I didn’t know whether that line was going to be fast or not,” Williamson said. “I just needed the top to go away a little bit, and it did. I could kind of momentum through the holes and turn down the hill and get some drive off.
“We were battling for fifth and not going anywhere, and then the track got slippery enough where we could build some momentum and be good.”
With his victory, Williamson extended his Series points lead for the second straight night to 96 points over Mike Mahaney, who finished seventh.
Dunn crossed the line second, earning a podium finish for the second consecutive night. As good as his car was on the outside line, he said he didn’t realize how good the bottom was late in the race.
“I kept watching the board waiting to see if the No. 6 was going to get the No. 11, and I guess I missed when he did,” Dunn said. “I was committed to the top, and didn’t know the bottom really came in. It’s just one of those things that when you’re out front, sometimes that happens.”
Caprara crossed the line third, earning his best career DIRTcar 358 Modified Series finish. After leading the race’s first 13 laps, he said he was happy with how his night turned out.
“Clean air is huge here,” Caprara said. “I knew when we got the lead there, I thought I was ok, and I was just hoping for no cautions. But we got a few, and unfortunately. It kind of bit us a little bit. But, you know, home track advantage seemed to help a little bit.”
Lance Willix crossed the line fourth for his second straight top five, and Carey Terrance finished fifth.
UP NEXT: The DIRTcar 358 Modified Series heads to Mohawk International Raceway on Friday, Sept. 18. They’ll be joined by the DIRTcar Sportsman Championship Series at the Akwesasne, NY oval.
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DIRTcar 358 Series Feature (50 Laps): 1. 6-Mat Williamson[6]; 2. 49-Billy Dunn[8]; 3. 11-Matt Caprara[2]; 4. 31-Lance Willix[9]; 5. 66X-Carey Terrance[1]; 6. 19-Tim Fuller[10]; 7. 35-Mike Mahaney[3]; 8. 01-Chris Raabe[7]; 9. 25R-Erick Rudolph[11]; 10. 60-Jackson Gill[5]; 11. 12-Darren Smith[13]; 12. 18W-Scott Webb[12]; 13. 23-Cameron Black[20]; 14. 7S-Shaun Shaw[4]; 15. 21R-RJ Tresidder[14]; 16. 22C-Cedric Gauvreau[17]; 17. 4K-Elliot Gamache[23]; 18. 15X-Justin Stone[16]; 19. 21A-Peter Britten[22]; 20. 17-Tyler Meeks[26]; 21. 28-Jordan McCreadie[19]; 22. 11S-Steve Lewis Jr[21]; 23. 5-Jack Butler[28]; 24. B24-Brendan Gibbons[27]; 25. 117-CJ Castelletti[25]; 26. (DNF) 18R-Brad Rouse[15]; 27. (DNF) 6D-Mike Durham[24]; 28. (DNF) 83B-Dustin Bradley[18]; 29. (DNF) 7B-Mitchell Bard[29]; 30. (DNS) 11B-Genavieve Bartlett
Hoosier Racing Tire Award (Free Tire): R.J. Tressider
