![\"Mat](\"https:\/\/cdn.dirtcar.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/24232807\/SDS_WilliamsonFatherSon-1024x629.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThirteen-year-old Randy Williamson never missed a chance to hitchhike to his local dirt track every Saturday night.<\/p>\n
He went to watch. He went to help. He went because he loved it.<\/p>\n
Never did he think that would be the starting line for a more than 30-year career in dirt racing with Bicknell Racing Products \u2013 building chassis and wrenching on cars \u2013 and a path to the Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n
Williamson, of St. Catharines, ON, along seven other key figures in Northeast dirt racing, are part of the 2023 Hall of Fame induction \u2013 set to be honored Thursday night.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very thankful to be acknowledged by the group there at the Hall of Fame,\u201d Williamson said. \u201cVery thankful. It doesn\u2019t go unnoticed for sure. I\u2019m very privileged to get into there too. I\u2019ve been fortunate throughout my years to be involved with a lot of great owners and a lot of great race cars and, naturally, a lot of great drivers. I think back being able to work with probably the best of the best of race car drivers.<\/p>\n
\u201cFortunately for us, our business has gotten good in the last five years, seven years. So, yeah, it\u2019s good. But it is a lot of work on the other side of the phone or at the racetrack, talking with customers. But that\u2019s still what I love to do and what I still admire, seeing people at the racetrack.\u201d<\/p>\n
Through his adventures of hitchhiking to the racetrack every weekend, Williamson met racer Pete Bicknell \u2013 an eventual Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Famer himself. Their relationship started with Bicknell giving the young enthusiast a ride home and grew into creating one of the most successful businesses in dirt motorsports.<\/p>\n
Williamson hung around Bicknell\u2019s garage, helping paint bumpers and sweep the floor. With each year he learned a new trait, how to work on engines and how to build roll cages. Eventually they started building their own cars out of Bicknell\u2019s shop. At first, they were just for Bicknell. But one person bought a car. Then, two people bought a car. Then, three, and a business started to take shape.<\/p>\n
In 1988 Bicknell Racing Products was born with Williamson as a partner in the business.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe built parts and cars and stuff like that,\u201d he said. \u201cI took over the chassis end of it, building the cars and designing the cars, the [research and development] \u2013 as far as try this, try that. Working with Alan Johnson one time\u2026 one thing with Alan Johnson was he was never afraid to try major changes. We tried some changes that were bad, and we tried some changes that were good.<\/p>\n
\u201cThings really changed for us working with Jamie Mills and Walt Breeding. In 2015-16 we came up with a different design car that Jamie Mills had debuted down in Delaware. That was that left side Panhard Bar (designed car) that is out now adays. Some people like that car, some people don\u2019t like that car. It made our business a lot better. And my partner Bob Slack, now adays, he has things very good, production-wise. We have two robotic welders; we have two laser machines for cutting tubing. Everything is all pre-done pre-notched, pre-rigged. It\u2019s like putting together a 10-piece puzzle. We\u2019re, on average, producing 10 to 12 cars a week. We\u2019re building 375 cars a year the last few years. It\u2019s been good.\u201d<\/p>\n
Through the business, Williamson has worked with a plethora of dirt Modified and Super DIRTcar Series stars; some already in the Hall of Fame and others on their way.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe started our business in \u201988 and got set up with Dougy Hoffman in \u201989,\u201d Williamson said. \u201cI still have a great relationship with other racers like Donny Scarborough, Mitch Gibson, customers that came in during the early years with us. Back then, with Randy Glenski, all taking chances in the mid-80s, late-80s, taking chances on a new company there. As we moved along, working with people like Alan Johnson, Danny Johnson, Bob McCreadie and people like that. Bob came in late in his career but he did win his last race in a [Bicknell Racing Product] car which was good for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Williamson worked on Bicknell\u2019s car up until 2007 before transitioning to helping build his son, Mat Williamson’s, racing career.<\/p>\n
They started off fielding their family #6 car in the Small Block Modified and Big Block Modified ranks before Mat\u2019s talent started catching the eyes of others and landed him with the Buzz Chew Racing team, leading to the 2019 Super DIRTcar Series championship and two Super DIRT Week Billy Whittaker Cars 200 wins.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne thing I\u2019ll tell you is he has a drive I\u2019ve seen a lot of great other drivers have,\u201d Randy Williamson said about his son. \u201cRaces are won and lost in the garage at home. Naturally, you have to be a good race car to get that done. He\u2019s been very fortunate and surrounded himself with great teams.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Mat, to see his dad get inducted into the Hall of Fame, it\u2019s an honor that couldn\u2019t come soon enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m happy for him,\u201d Mat Williamson said. \u201cVery happy for him. There\u2019s a lot of people in there who are very deserving, and he is more than deserving of it. It\u2019s cool. It\u2019s probably overdue. He should probably have his picture on the wall with how influential he\u2019s been with Northeast dirt Modified racing. It\u2019s a cool honor.\u201d<\/p>\n
The father-son duo still run their #6 Small Block Modified \u2013 currently leading the DIRTcar 358 Modified Series points \u2013 but Randy Williamson said he\u2019s learning as much from Mat now as his son first did from him.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was on a spring smasher before I was on a spring smasher,\u201d Randy Williamson said. \u201cWhen it came to consulting with customers, I didn\u2019t have time to get on the spring smasher because I was on the phone all day. So, I would bounce off of him of what I should do for static loads and stuff like that. He\u2019s been very helpful for me to where the spring cars are more successful every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Relationships like that, like the one he has with his business partner Bob Slack, who has taken over more of the shop work, like the ones he\u2019s had with the roster of drivers he\u2019s worked with, and like the one he formed with Bicknell are the key reasons for the success he\u2019s garnered, he said. And, to him, it’s why he\u2019s been able to build a Hall of Fame worthy career.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you don\u2019t surround yourself with good people, you\u2019re never going to be successful yourself,\u201d Randy Williamson said. \u201cMy wife has put up with me still going to the racetrack a lot. I still travel to all the tracks in the Northeast and Charlotte and Florida. I\u2019m not home very much. Naturally her and my son and my daughter \u2013I have two grandkids now\u2026 I try to take more time off now than I have before for the family.<\/p>\n
\u201cNaturally, anybody in racing knows it takes a lot of effort in the garage. It\u2019s not just a Friday and Saturday night deal. I\u2019m very thankful to be acknowledged in the Hall of Fame for sure. But, again, those people I\u2019ve had, whether it is race car drivers or owners, you know, my employees at the shop, it wouldn\u2019t be as successful as it was.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 31st annual Northeast Dirt Modified induction ceremony will take place at the Northeast Dirt Modified Museum and Hall of Fame (in front of Weedsport Speedway) on Thursday, July 13 at 7 p.m. Joining Williamson as a 2023 inductee are Tim Fuller, Bob Cameron, Danny O\u2019Brien, Glenn Hyneman, Paul Kuhl, Patrick Donnelly and Laurie Fallis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Thirteen-year-old Randy Williamson never missed a chance to hitchhike to his local dirt track every Saturday night. He went to watch. He went to help. He went because he loved it. Never did he think that would be the starting line for a more than 30-year career in dirt racing with Bicknell Racing Products \u2013 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":42887,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[576],"tags":[263,547,1577,1578],"division":[1709],"series":[],"regions":[1725],"class_list":["post-42885","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-big-block-modified","tag-mat-williamson","tag-northeast-dirt-modified-hall-of-fame","tag-randy-williamson","division-dirtcar-big-block-modifieds","regions-northeast"],"yoast_head":"\n