(February 15, 2024) Barberville, FL – Mat Williamson demonstrated his expertise at Volusia Speedway Park once again, capturing his third DIRTcar Nationals win on Thursday night. The St. Catharines, ON driver surged from fourth to first on a restart with five laps to go, overtaking Anthony Perrego with three laps remaining to claim his first Super DIRTcar Series victory of 2024.
“I figured my only shot was to Hail Mary it,” Williamson said. “If we came out sixth, we came out sixth. If we won the race, we won the race. It’s nice to get a gator and knock the rust off, and hopefully, we’ll walk out of here with a big gator.”
Race Highlights
Jimmy Phelps and Demetrios Drellos led the field at the start of the 30-lap Feature, battling side by side for the first seven laps until Phelps pulled ahead on Lap 8. Meanwhile, Anthony Perrego moved into second on Lap 15 and quickly overtook Phelps for the lead on Lap 16.
Perrego seemed poised to win, but a red flag for Darren Smith’s flip in Turn 1 on Lap 26 changed the course of the race. On the restart, Williamson made his move, passing Larry Wight for third and then taking second from Phelps. He then closed in on Perrego, passing him on the outside of Turn 4 to take the lead on Lap 27.
From there, Williamson held on to win the $6,000 prize, marking his 23rd career Super DIRTcar Series victory.
Key Quotes
“I don’t know if we had the best car,” Williamson said. “It was the same as last year. We really needed to go hard into the corner and drive the wheels off the thing.”
Perrego finished second, matching his best DIRTcar Nationals result. “When Smith got upside down, we sat there for a while,” Perrego said. “I don’t know if the tires sealed up, but we definitely had something happen there. The car was never as good as it was.”
Larry Wight secured third place, noting the difficulty in handling his car towards the end. “I think I might’ve ran the middle too many times and sealed up the right front,” Wight said. “But after last night, this was a good run for us, and we’ll take it.”
Upcoming Event
The Super DIRTcar Series continues at Volusia Speedway Park for their third night of action during the 53rd Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals. For tickets, visit DIRTcarNationals.com. Fans can also watch the action live on DIRTVision.
Feature Results (30 Laps)
DIRTcar Nationals Night 2
- Mat Williamson [8]
- Anthony Perrego [7]
- Larry Wight [5]
- Jimmy Phelps [1]
- Erick Rudolph [4]
- Demetrios Drellos [2]
- Marc Johnson [6]
- Matt Sheppard [10]
- Peter Britten [12]
- Rex King Jr [3]
- Jack Lehner [13]
- Ronald Davis III [9]
- Dan Creeden [15]
- Billy Decker [11]
- Felix Roy [19]
- Billy Pauch Jr [22]
- Stewart Friesen [21]
- Rick Laubach [23]
- Brett Hearn [20]
- Alex Yankowski [24]
- Justin Stone [18]
- Zachary Payne [16]
- CG Morey [27]
- (DNF) Darren Smith [14]
- (DNF) Louden Reimert [25]
- (DNS) Justin Haers
- (DNS) Alex Payne
