WEEDSPORT, NY (July 26, 2026) – A quality field of DIRTcar Modifieds was on hand at Weedsport Speedway on Saturday evening and at the end of 35-laps it was Mat Williamson standing tall on Victory Hill as the winner of the night’s $3,000 to win main event.
The DIRTcar Modifieds ran in front of a packed house in conjunction with the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Cars Series as part of night one of Empire State Challenge Weekend.
Matt Sheppard and Jimmy Phelps brought the field to green with Sheppard quickly bolting to the lead; however, an early caution immediately slowed the field after a jam up in the back rows. Dave Marcuccilli and Tim Fuller found the most damage with Fuller calling it a night early and Marcuccilli utilizing the work area.
Once back to green, Sheppard again blasted to the point with Phelps and Williamson in tow at the front.
In the race’s first third troubles also found usual front runners Alex Payne, Larry Wight and Nicholas Root. A lap 9 issue for Wight and Root saw their night’s come to an end, bunching the field for another early double file restart.
After finding his way into the runner-up spot early, Williamson utilized the lap 9 restart to fire from outside of the front row and snagged away the lead from Sheppard. Phelps too was able to use the restack to work his way back into second, dropping early leader Sheppard back to the last step of the podium.
From there the race worked into its paces, with Williamson only needing to fend off lapped traffic in the late stages, which he was able to do with ease.
Williamson would cruise to the win over Sheppard, Phelps, Zach Payne and Tim Sears Jr. Filling the top ten were Tanner Vandoren, William Racine, Marcuccilli, Billy Pauch Jr. and Ronnie Davis III.
The night’s qualifying races were won by Davis III and Sheppard.
The DIRTcar Modifieds return to Weedsport Speedway for the Empire State Challenge finale on Sunday, July 26. Grandstand gates will open at 4 p.m. with cars on track by 6:30 p.m.
Visit www.weedsportspeedway.com or follow Weedsport Speedway via Facebook at www.facebook.com/weedsportspeedway and Twitter @WeedsportSpdwy for more information.
Weedsport Speedway
Empire State Challenge Night One
Saturday, July 25
DIRTcar Modifieds (35-laps): 1. 6 – MAT WILLIAMSON, 2. 98H – Jimmy Phelps, 3. 9S – Matt Sheppard, 4. 7Z – Zach Payne, 5. 83X – Tim Sears Jr., 6. 27 – Tanner Vandoren, 7. 54R – William Racine, 8. M1 – Dave Marcuccilli, 9. 176 – Billy Pauch Jr., 10. 32R – Ronnie Davis III, 11. 33 – Scott Landers, 12. 21M – Bob McGannon, 13. 88D – Dave Allen, 14. 30 – Nicholas Root, 15. 99L – Larry Wight, 16. 70A – Alex Payne, 17. 19 – Tim Fuller
About Weedsport Speedway: Officially opened for the first time on July 24, 1955 – the Weedsport Speedway 3/8 mile dirt oval has produced a legendary list of drivers and champions including Will Cagle, Danny Johnson, Bob McCreadie, Alan Johnson, Jack Johnson, and Dave Lape to name a few. In 2018, Weedsport introduced the all-new Weedsport Kartway, just outside of the Speedway’s main pit area, to begin to foster the next generation of racers, crew members and race fans. Couple the racing with state-of-the-art camping and track amenities, unmatched on-site television production capabilities, plus the ability for large scale concert productions and Weedsport is one of the marquee entertainment venues in the country.