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[/media-credit]Should have, could have, would have. It’s a saying that many have heard in racing and it’s one that NASCAR Canadian Tire Series competitor Steve Mathews is right now playing through his mind multiple times following this past weekend’s Wahta Springs 300 at Barrie Speedway.
“We had a great car and set it up to come off the bottom and conserve tires for the long run,” Mathews comments.
Mathews would start the day off strong, winning the pole for the 300 lapper on the .333 mile oval in Barrie, Ontario. After playing some strategy in the middle of racing by taking tires 100 laps later than most, Mathews found himself in contention with Mathews restarting second with seven laps to go.
Mathews would run side-by-side with Scott Steckly for an entire lap, however the next lap, contact between the two would send Steckly for a spin in turn four.
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[/media-credit]“Made a crossover move on Steckly where we got up to his door in turn three,” Mathews explains. “Unfortunately, he did not see me and made contact.”
The final restart would present a green-white-checkered with the race now running past its scheduled distance. Mathews would restart the leader, with J.R. Fitzpatrick to his inside. There’d be more contact as coming out of turn four, Fitzpatrick pushed Mathews up into the outside wall, allowing Pete Shepherd III to sneak by them both.
“I knew J.R. would lose his cool like usual to end the race,” Mathews comments. “He jumped the restart as the leader has to the first to the line. Then I had him clear out of turn two. Next thing you know he used me as brakes into turn three, I saved it, and then he drove me right into the turn four wall.”
There would then be contact between Fitzpatrick and Andrew Ranger in the final corner with Fitzpatrick going for the spin cycle. Mathews would slow up a bit, allowing Dowler to get underneath him. The result was a fourth place finish for Mathews. The fourth place finish marks the first top five and second top 10 finish for the New Liskeard, Ontario native in his fifth start on the season.
“I would like to thank Race Time Radio, Bill Mathews Motors, and Jack Mathews Body Shop,” he says. “Also the fans for sticking out the rain and my crew for their continued effort and support.”
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[/media-credit]While many question whether small teams can survive in the major series, the 22-year-old driving for the family backed team, proved on Saturday that short track action can showcase how well they can put their equipment together. As many drivers said before the race – it was all about survival. Mathews kept out of the trouble and found himself in contention through his own talent and driving skill.
From late models to the NCATS, Mathews has showed that he can drive, scoring six top 10s and two poles in 19 NCATS starts. With more experience, the talent pool can only grow more. The only question is whether sponsorship will come, which certainly good runs like this present that opportunity.
With their current situation, Mathews Motorsports will miss Nova Scotia this weekend, however Mathews is looking forward to Kawartha Speedway to finish off the season after winning the pole and leading over 80 laps before finishing seventh after being spun under caution.
