One week after narrowly missing out on two DIRTcar 358 Modified Series victories, Billy Dunn bounced back Friday night at Mohawk International Raceway.
The Watertown, NY driver passed Mat Williamson on a Lap 10 restart and never looked back to score his first Series win of the season and 13th career victory.
One factor in Dunn’s win was his experience at the track and knowing how to save his equipment throughout the race.
“What an awesome racetrack,” Dunn said. “Every time we’ve been here it’s been just so much fun to race on. I don’t race here every week, but I still like when we come here; we have a home-field advantage.
“I tried to save my tire for the first 10 laps or so, and when I had a shot at it, I just went to the top and tried to make it happen.”
Defending Series champion Mat Williamson and Ryan Stabler led the field to the green in the 50-lap Feature, with Williamson wrestling the lead away through Turns 1 and 2. The St. Catharines, ON driver, looking for his third consecutive Series win, led the first nine laps before back-to-back cautions, including one for track champion Chris Raabe slowed the field.
That’s when Dunn, who started third, made his move for the lead. When the green came back out, Dunn found his way by both Stabler and Williamson to take the lead, putting the $5,000 prize in his sights.
Dunn led Williamson on a chase for the next 35 laps before a caution came out with three laps to go, right when Mike Mahaney snuck by the No. 6 for second. The single-file restart gave Dunn clean air when the race resumed, and the breathing room he needed to win his first DIRTcar 358 Modified Series event since 2022.
“We’ve been racing a lot lately, so this will give us some momentum for the next couple of weeks,” Dunn said.
Mahaney crossed the line second, earning his first podium finish since finishing second at Utica-Rome Speedway in July.
“We’ve had some issues through the season,” Mahaney said. “Points are less in our favor here, and we’ve been trying to win races. Billy was really fast tonight. He was fast in the Heat Race, and in the Feature, he made great moves. I kind of followed him up through and did some of the similar moves to get to second.
“Great run for our team.”
With his second-place finish, “Smooth Shoe” also cut Williamson’s points lead to 88, after “Money Mat” fell back to sixth in the final three laps.
Carey Terrance crossed the line third, while William Racine and Tim Fuller rounded out the top five.
UP NEXT: The DIRTcar 358 Modified Series heads to Albany-Saratoga Speedway on Friday, Sept. 25, for night one of Malta Massive Weekend. Joining the 358 Modifieds is the DIRTcar Sportsman Championship Series, kicking off the two-night event.
For more on the DIRTcar Northeast, follow the DIRTcar Northeast Facebook page.
DIRTcar 358 Modifided Series (50 Laps): 1. 49-Billy Dunn[3]; 2. 35-Mike Mahaney[10]; 3. 66X-Carey Terrance[7]; 4. 35R-William Racine[9]; 5. 19-Tim Fuller[18]; 6. 6-Mat Williamson[1]; 7. 44-Johnathon Ferguson[6]; 8. 77E-Ryan Stabler[2]; 9. 18JR-Louis Jackson Jr[8]; 10. 31-Lance Willix[14]; 11. 28M-Jordan McCreadie[23]; 12. 3M-Franklin Mackin[13]; 13. 04-Dale Gonyo Jr[12]; 14. 47S-Corey Wheeler[11]; 15. 21A-Peter Britten[22]; 16. 4K-Elliot Gamache[16]; 17. 22C-Cedric Gauvreau[5]; 18. 18-Kalen Draper[20]; 19. 92-Andrew Buff[15]; 20. 5-Jack Butler[28]; 21. 18R-Brad Rouse[17]; 22. 23-Joey Ladouceur[25]; 23. 11S-Steve Lewis Jr[30]; 24. 14-CG Morey[29]; 25. 117-CJ Castelletti[32]; 26. (DNF) 74-Lucas Fuller[24]; 27. (DNF) 83D-Dustin Bradley[31]; 28. (DNF) 151K-Brian McDonald[19]; 29. (DNF) 94-Gabriel Cyr[26]; 30. (DNF) 90-Dany Gagne[21]; 31. (DNF) B24-Brendan Gibbons[27]; 32. (DNF) 01-Chris Raabe[4]
Hoosier Racing Tire Award (Free Tire): Louis Jackson Jr.
