Ryan Godown Wins Anthracite Assault at Big Diamond
Photo by Joe Grabianowski
POTTSVILLE, Pa.—Ryan Godown knows what it takes to get to Super DIRTcar Series Victory Lane. But for the last three seasons, he’s been unable to repeat that accomplishment.
That changed Tuesday night at Big Diamond Speedway, as the “Ringoes Rocket” led all 75 laps to win the Anthracite Assault, earning his second career Super DIRTcar Series win.
“As you get older and you run as many Super DIRTcar Series races as I have, you have to really sink it in,” Godown said. “You don’t really know how many chances you’re going to get.
“We drew the pole, but that was the luck of the draw. Our car was balanced, and on the long greens, I felt like I could run my own pace. We tried to roll it straight so we didn’t abuse the right rear tire as much, and it all worked.
Godown, the SRI Performance and Stock Car Steel Pole Award Winner, led the field to the green in the 75-lap Feature, beating Series points leader Alex Yankowski to Turn 1.
However, that advantage was short-lived, as three cautions within the first 15 laps stopped Godown from pulling away. Once drivers settled in for a long green-flag run, the Ringoes, NJ driver powered away from Yankowski and opened over a two-second lead on the No. 66 car.
Yankowski, who ran second the entire Feature, got his first of two chances to steal the lead away on Lap 49 when Godown reached lap traffic. The Covington Township, PA driver was within a car-length of Godown’s back bumper before Rick Laubach stopped on Lap 53, bringing out the yellow flag.
When the race resumed, Godown got the advantage on Yankowski again, but he wasn’t done battling with traffic. With 10 laps to do, the Garden State competitor started catching Mike Trautschold, a lap car, at the back of the field. Once he reached the No. 28’s back bumper, it allowed Yankowski to shrink the gap between the two drivers down to four car lengths on Lap 68.
Godown stayed behind Trautschold for a lap before a miscue nearly ended his chance at the win on Lap 71. As they came off Turn 4, Trautschold slid up just enough for Godown to try and sneak by down the front stretch. However, Godown went lower than expected, nearly hitting the implement tire entering Turn 1, forcing him to run a higher line in Turns 1 and 2.
That miscue was the chance Yankowski needed to take the lead, as “Kid Rocket” dove underneath Godown to try and wrestle the lead away on Lap 72. Even after being forced to run a different line, Godown had too much momentum exiting the corner, keeping the lead as they raced down the backstretch.
With one last effort, Yankowski tried going around Godown on the outside in Turns 3 and 4. But that attempt failed as Yankowski lost his momentum, allowing Godown to pull away.
From there, Godown cruised to the $7,500 prize and became the seventh different Super DIRTcar Series winner in 2025.
Despite narrowly losing the lead in the race’s final laps, Godown said he knew he needed to make an aggressive move to reach Victory Lane.
“I was afraid of Alex rolling through the rubber in the middle,” Godown said. “I thought maybe if I didn’t do it, it was going to cost me. I did it, and then I overshot [Turn 1] enough just to get out of the rubber, and it felt like an eternity to get back down into the rubber.
“After that, it was smooth sailing, because the next lap car was like 10 car-lengths away.”
Yankowski finished second, his third runner-up finish of 2025 in five championship season races. He said his redraw spot played significant role in his podium finish.
“Godown did a great job not goofing up,” Yankowski said. “Obviously, Trautschold almost got him there. We needed to be in position when he almost got into the lap car, and I felt like that could’ve been the difference between second and first.
“It is what it is; we’ll head to the next one and hope we’re good at Selinsgrove.”
By finishing second, Yankowski extended his points lead to 22 points over Mat Williamson, who finished fourth, and Erick Rudolph, who finished sixth.
Alex Payne crossed the line third, earning his third straight top 10 finish. The Hopewell, NY driver tried passing Yankowski for second on a few occasions but never got the momentum he needed to make it happen.
He also dealt with challenges from Williamson, who was underneath his No. 70A car on a few occasions.
“I didn’t know anyone was there until I saw the 88 under me,” Payne said. “I was a little kicked up sideways there. But tonight, we just held on.”
Ten-time Series champion Matt Sheppard finished fifth, earning his second consecutive top five.
UP NEXT: The Super DIRTcar Series makes its debut at Selinsgrove Speedway on Wednesday, June 4, for the Snyder County Showdown. The race at Selinsgrove will be the first Super DIRT Week Qualifier of the 2025 season, meaning one driver will leave Pennsylvania with a guaranteed starting spot in the Billy Whittaker Cars 200.
If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all of the Super DIRTcar Series action on DIRTVision, either online or with the DIRTVision app.
ANTHRACITE ASSAULT (75 Laps): 1. 26-Ryan Godown[1]; 2. 66-Alex Yankowski[2]; 3. 70A-Alex Payne[5]; 4. 88-Mat Williamson[9]; 5. 9S-Matt Sheppard[7]; 6. 25-Erick Rudolph[16]; 7. 1-Billy Pauch Jr[14]; 8. 51-Ryan Krachun[6]; 9. 35-Mike Mahaney[4]; 10. 2-Jack Lehner[12]; 11. 4M-Logan Watt[11]; 12. 21A-Peter Britten[3]; 13. 58-Louden Reimert[18]; 14. 83X-Tim Sears Jr[26]; 15. 4-Anthony Perrego[25]; 16. 15G-Duane Howard[17]; 17. 35L-LJ Lombardo[22]; 18. 98H-Jimmy Phelps[28]; 19. 91-Felix Roy[24]; 20. 15X-Justin Stone[27]; 21. 28-Michael Trautschold[19]; 22. (DNF) 44-Stewart Friesen[8]; 23. (DNF) 32-Brandon Grosso[10]; 24. (DNF) 20-Rick Laubach[13]; 25. (DNF) 27-Tanner Van Doren[23]; 26. (DNF) 12-Darren Smith[21]; 27. (DNF) 15-Todd Root[15]; 28. (DNF) 17-Marcus Dinkins[20]
Contingency Awards:
JAM Performance Fastest Hot Lap Award: Billy Pauch Jr. ($100)
Billy Whittaker Cars Quick Time Award: Matt Sheppard ($100)
VP Racing Fuels Award: Ryan Krachun ($50)
ARP Bolts Award: Matt Sheppard ($50)
ASI Racewear Award: Logan Watt ($50)
Behrent’s Performance Warehouse Award: Ryan Godown ($50)
Cometic Gasket Award: Peter Britten ($50)
Comp Cams Award: Jack Lehner ($50)
DIG Racing Products: Mike Mahaney ($50)
Fox Factory Award: Erick Rudolph ($50)
MSD Award: Matt Sheppard ($50)
Swift Springs Award: Erick Rudolph ($50)
Weld Racing Wheels Award: Alex Yankowski ($50)
Hoosier Racing Tire Award: Stewart Friesen (Free Tire)
SRI Performance/Stock Car Steel Pole Award: Ryan Godown ($100)
Post-Race Tech: Fuel samples were taken from the top three
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