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It’s the Ransomville, NY driver’s 11th Super DIRTcar Series win
Photo: Joe Grabianowski
February 16th, 2025
Over the last 11 years, Erick Rudolph had finished on the podium nine times at Volusia Speedway Park. But a win had eluded the Ransomville, NY driver in 37 starts.
That changed in Saturday’s Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals finale for the Super DIRTcar Series. He drove from 11th to the lead in the first 25 laps and held on to finally break the drought and earn his first gator.
“We’ve been coming here a long time,” Rudolph said. “We’ve had everything happen from losing races late. Coming on at the end and just running out of laps. The throttle sticking and junking the car. You name it.
“Finally, it all came together. I’m proud of my guys for hooking me up with a fast car. It made the job easier. Just can’t thank my sponsors enough for getting here.”
Larry Wight thundered around SRI Performance and Stock Car Steel Pole Award winner Rick Laubach to take the lead in Turn 2 as the field began the 50-lap battle. But while Wight used the outside lane to try and pull away, Laubach wouldn’t let him out of sight.
Behind those two, Erick Rudolph stormed toward the front of the field from his 11th starting position, reaching third by Lap 20. That includes when he thundered around Jack Lehner and Mat Williamson on Lap 16 to go from fifth to a podium position.
As Laubach continued chasing Wight, Rudolph saw an opportunity to pass the No. 20 on Lap 24. Rudolph swung underneath Laubach as they entered Turn 1 and slid in front of “Scooby’s” nose as they exited the corner.
Then, he chased down Wight as they entered Turn 3, following his tracks until they reached Turn 4. That’s when Rudolph dove to the bottom, wrestling the lead from “Lightning Larry” as they crossed the start/finish line.
From there, Rudolph pulled away, but his lead went away on Lap 43 when the caution came out for Chris Curtis on the backstretch. This was followed by another yellow for Wight with a flat right rear tire, which moved Laubach to second.
Rudolph kept the lead when the race resumed, but Williamson slid in front of Laubach for the runner-up spot. However, that’s as close as the defending Super DIRTcar Series champion would get as Rudolph cruised to his 11th Series triumph.
When Rudolph saw his opportunity to get by Wight and Laubach, he said he knew it was a chance he couldn’t waste.
“I had momentum and wanted to get some track position,” Rudolph said. “If you don’t make a decisive pass, they might change up what they’re doing. I just kept going as hard as I could and hoping it would keep clicking off. You never know if your car is going away, so you have to get while the getting’s good.”
Williamson crossed the line second, earning back-to-back DIRTcar Nationals podiums. The St. Catharines, ON driver said what happened on a Lap 16 restart hurt his chances to win.
“Lehner kind of went from the top to the bottom,” Williamson said. “Not doing anything that I wouldn’t have done. It kind of killed my momentum, and I think [Friesen], him, and Erick got by me on that restart. So, I lost three spots on that restart and dropped back to seventh, and you can’t do that in these races if you want to win them.”
Matt Sheppard rounded out the podium, sneaking by Laubach in the final five laps. The Waterloo, NY driver said it was a good finish that should give him momentum toward the 2025 championship season.
“It’s nice to finish off with a strong run,” Sheppard said. “We didn’t qualify the best tonight and had to start a little further back in the field. I had a pretty good car in the Feature, and 10th to third is a pretty strong run. It’s been nice to finish the week on a solid note.”
Alex Payne drove from 15th to fourth, and Laubach finished fifth, earning his first Series top five since 2016.
With an eighth-place finish on Saturday, Alex Yankowski became the first driver from Pennsylvania to win the Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals Big Gator trophy. The Covington Township, PA driver edged Williamson by three points to win the week-long title.
Along with his top 10 on Saturday, Yankowski added a win, a third, and a fifth-place finish.
“This is huge,” Yankowski said. “I feel like we usually struggle in the early part of the year and this year we kicked off good. I’m so proud of this group effort. It takes so many people to get here.
“Starting the second year off with Tim Millman and winning this stuff means the world to me, him, and the team. I think it just gives us fuel to do more.”
Here are the top five in the final DIRTcar Nationals point standings:
- Alex Yankowski 585
- Mat Williamson -3
- Alex Payne -10
- Erick Rudolph -24
- Justin Haers -26
Click here for the full points
Up Next: The Super DIRTcar Series kicks off its 2025 championship season with a stop at New Egypt Speedway in New Egypt, NJ on Saturday, March 29, for Power in the Pines.
If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch every race live on DIRTVision – either at DIRTVision.com or by downloading the DIRTVision App.
DIRTcar Nationals Night 4 (50 Laps): 1. 25-Erick Rudolph[11]; 2. 88-Mat Williamson[4]; 3. 9S-Matt Sheppard[10]; 4. 70A-Alex Payne[15]; 5. 20-Rick Laubach[1]; 6. 84F-Stewart Friesen[5]; 7. 2-Jack Lehner[3]; 8. 84Y-Alex Yankowski[9]; 9. 12-Darren Smith[13]; 10. 1-Billy Pauch Jr[8]; 11. 98H-Jimmy Phelps[6]; 12. 3-Justin Haers[7]; 13. 4-Anthony Perrego[21]; 14. 83X-Tim Sears Jr[19]; 15. 58-Louden Reimert[16]; 16. 99L-Larry Wight[2]; 17. 91-Felix Roy[22]; 18. 21A-Peter Britten[12]; 19. 7Z-Zach Payne[18]; 20. 8-Rich Scagliotta[24]; 21. 15X-Justin Stone[20]; 22. 21M-Bob Mcgannon[25]; 23. 5H-Amy Holland[23]; 24. 30-HJ Bunting[17]; 25. 66-Corbin Millar[28]; 26. 35C-Chris Curtis[14]; 27. (DNF) 11C-Matt Caprara[26]; 28. (DNF) 16X-Danny Creeden[27]
