By Ben Deatherage
COBURG, Ore. (Oct. 27, 2025) — Kevin Williamson’s 2025 season was nothing short of career-defining. Competing in the Friesen Performance IMCA Modifieds, the Coburg chauffeur pieced together the best year of his racing life — winning the Shaw Race Cars Western Region championship by a slim seven points, along with his first Cottage Grove Speedway and Douglas County Dirtrack titles, and capturing the Oregon State championship for the first time. It marked a breakthrough campaign that elevated him from local contender to regional powerhouse, making him the only other driver from Oregon to capture the Western Region crown since Bricen James accomplished the feat in 2019.
Williamson, the younger brother of standout Jesse Williamson, also added a top-ten finish on the national stage, placing sixth in the final Friesen Performance IMCA Modified national standings — his best points result to date.
“I never thought at the start of the year that we would be running for the Western Region,” Williamson admitted. “But halfway through the season we were 25 races in and had around 20 top fives. I’ve never raced so much before because normally I would just come out maybe eight or ten times a year and call it good. This year we were loading up and racing anywhere it didn’t rain in Oregon and hitting all the different tracks.”
Behind the wheel of the Superior Fuel Cells–owned DK&J Construction/Jerry Robinette Carburetors/Jessi Ellen Photography no. 42 SDMF Race Car, Williamson made the most of his first full campaign in the car. In 41 starts, he recorded three wins, 17 podium finishes, 31 top-fives, and 39 top-tens, all while logging thousands of miles up and down the Pacific Northwest. All three of his victories came at Cottage Grove Speedway — July 3, July 30, and August 23. He entered 2025 with just two career wins to his name, one coming in 2019 and the other in 2024.
Williamson’s season came alive in the spring, with an incredible stretch of 18 straight top-10 finishes from mid-May through early July, highlighted by podiums at Cottage Grove, Douglas County, and Grays Harbor. He turned heads on May 24–25 with back-to-back top-three finishes at Grays Harbor Raceway, then returned home for the Independence Day weekend at Cottage Grove, where he captured the July 3 feature and followed it up with another strong top-five finish the next night.
“We ran for points at Roseburg and went there pretty much every Friday night,” he said. “It was fun to go straight from work to the track. A couple of times we ran two tracks in one night because one track would get done early. This whole season went by like a flash, always focusing on the next race in the next three to five days.”
The level of commitment was new territory for the 42 car’s driver.
“The most I ever raced was 15 times one year, so this season felt like three years in one,” Williamson said with a grin. In 2017, I did the whole IMCA Wild West Speedweek, and at the end of it I was rethinking if I should ever be racing again. I didn’t make a single main event, maxed out my credit card, needed a new engine and birdcages, and I knew I had to be a better driver. But I kept going.”
That perseverance paid off eight years later.
“Paul Culp came up with our goals this year at winning some track championships, and he really has a lot of confidence in me,” he said. “We definitely didn’t have winning the Western Region on our list, so that was a bonus.”
“Paul and Maria are amazing car owners — them and all the guys at the shop believe in me and they’re fun to hang out with. It’s such a good ride and I never would’ve imagined being in this position. It’s not like going to work and getting a job done; it’s going racing with all your friends.”
Feature Wins 3
Total Top Five’s 31
Total Starts 41
His Crew: Paul and Maria Culp, Jerry Robinette, Matt King, wife Kaylee Williamson
His Sponsors: Superior Fuel Cells, SDMF Race Cars, DK&J Construction, Jerry Robinette Carburetors, Jessi Ellen Photography, Coburg Distillery, and Custom Powder Works