Road America has always been a highlight of the season for Westby Racing. It's a track where Dane Westby did well, and he and the team built a strong fan base at "America's National Park Of Speed." For the team's Superbike rider Mathew Scholtz, Road America is also a special place since it's the first track that Scholtz raced at when he came to the U.S. to compete in the MotoAmerica series back in 2016. Mathew's Superbike win on Saturday at Road America made the track extra-special to him and the team.

Going into the afternoon's feature event, Mathew had qualified on the inside of row two, and with three riders ahead of him at the start, he anticipated a struggle. But then, that's why you race. And race, Mathew did. On the opening lap, Jake Gagne and Danilo Petrucci made contact with each other, which sent them temporarily off the track. That left Cam Petersen to take the lead. Then, on lap five, Petersen's bike had a technical issue, causing him to retire from the race. By then, Danilo Petrucci had recovered from his off-track excursion on lap one and took the lead. Mathew overtook the former MotoGP rider on lap six, but Petrucci overtook him again. With Mathew in second, he stalked the Italian until the final lap when he executed a perfect block pass in turn five and took the lead. Petrucci tried to overtake Mathew in the final corner, but he couldn't make it stick and Mathew prevailed in the drag race to the finish line, notching the fifth Superbike victory of his MotoAmerica career.

"On the last lap, after passing Petrucci in turn five, I had a decent gap," commented Mathew. "I didn't think he could get close enough to pass me back, but he had a really good couple corners after that and caught up to me. I actually didn't realize, in the final corner, that he was going to try to pass me. I heard him turning and, out of the corner of my eye, I saw his front tire. I actually had to give it a little bit of gas to make sure that he didn't touch me and push me wide. We crossed the finish line, and I looked right, and he was right there next to me. I wasn't even sure that I had won. I think, over the past couple of races, if you combine the finishing gaps, they're both less than eight-tenths of a second. So, it's been extremely close. I'm just really happy to be up here battling with this guy. With him coming here from MotoGP, and winning a Dakar stage, it really shows how the Westby team has made the bike better, and how I'm riding better."

With the victory, Mathew now leads the 2022 MotoAmerica Superbike Championship by one point. He and the team will prepare for Superbike race two, which starts on Sunday at 3:10 p.m. CT. The race will be broadcast on Fox Sports 2 (FS2) Sunday night at 7 p.m. ET.

For all the action from Road America, as it happens, subscribe to MotoAmerica Live+, which is MotoAmerica's live streaming and on-demand service. To find out more about how to watch MotoAmerica, click HERE

Meet Mathew, Get An Autographed Poster, And More

Mathew will be available for autographs during the Dunlop Hot Pit Walk & Autograph Session, scheduled for 11 to 11:30 a.m. Sunday on pit lane at Road America. He and the team will be handing out free posters and T-shirts, so don't miss it.

Check Out The Westby Racing Sponsor Showcase

BrakeTech USA and Renthal are the featured team sponsors on display in the Westby Racing paddock area this race weekend, so be sure to stop by to say hello and learn about some of the companies that support the team.

Also, follow "Westby Racing" on your favorite social media sites.