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Contact: Clayton Johns
DIRTcar Racing PR
(289) 314-5186 | cjohns@dirtcar.com

Matt Sheppard Dominates Super DIRTcar Series at Autodrome Granby

Sheppard Takes Early Lead and Resists Every Charge to Collect Second Win of the Season

By Martin Belanger

GRANBY, QC, CAN - July 25, 2017 - In front of a packed house and clear skies, the Super DIRTcar Series started a successful Quebec swing at Autodrome Granby as Matt Sheppard had a dominant run to get his second win of the season on the tour.

"It feels good," Sheppard said in the Winner's Circle. ''I always seem to have success when I come up in Quebec. I think these tracks are made for me and it is always fun to race in front of these great fans,'' added Sheppard in front of the packed Autodrome Granby stands as the always are for the Series' Quebec swing.

"I came close last week, but had issues with a tire but happy to be here and hats off to (Pat) Ward for his second-place (finish)."

Challenging Sheppard on a few occasions was Ward, who finished second.

"I tried but didn't have enough," Ward said. "My time will come."

Completing the podium was Brett Hearn.

"I was two pounds over limit and ran out of gas at the scale," Hearn said. ''I always have success up here. It's always great to come back here."

The original start saw Tim Fuller lead as Brandon Walters stopped in the backstretch. On the restart, Fuller remained in front with David Hebert and Larry Wight in third. Hebert was strong on the high side and grabbed the lead on lap 5. Stewart Friesen slowed and brought out the caution on the following lap.

Hebert and Fuller swapped the lead on a lap 11 restart as the driver of the No.19 was back in front with Hearn in third. Hebert was back in front on lap 20 after he made a great pass on Fuller using the inside lane. Hearn made a similar move to take second from Fuller just as the leaders got into lapped traffic on lap 25.

Hearn had a great restart on lap 29 to take the lead from Hebert as Sheppard ran in third. Hebert started to fade and gave third to Ward on lap 36. Sheppard had a dominant ride as he took the lead on lap 44 from Hearn and quickly pulled away from the field.

Max McLaughlin slowed the field down on lap 51. When the green lights were back on, Sheppard stayed on top as Larry Wight drove to fourth and Peter Britten cracked the top 5. Ward started to challenge Hearn for second and he was able to take the second spot on lap 57.

A few cautions slowed the final portion of the feature as Sheppard had to resist a few charges from Ward in the closing laps with Hearn completing the podium.

Steve Bernard won the Pole Position Raceway Fast Qualifier Award with a time of 18.399 seconds. Heats races were completed quickly with polesitters Steve Bernard, Max McLaughlin, Larry Wight and Jimmy Phelps dominating their sessions. Local runners Yan Bussiere and Kevin Hamel won the Last Chance Qualifiers

The Super DIRTcar Series returns to action Wednesday evening at Autodrome Drummond in Drummondville, Quebec. For additional event information, visit www.autodromedrummond.com. Race time is 7:00pm.

Autodrome Granby Notebook

Feature (100 Laps) – 1. 9s Matt Sheppard (8); 2. 42p Pat Ward (11); 3. 20 Brett Hearn (4); 4. 21a Peter Britten (7); 5. 99L Larry Wight (5); 6. 91 Billy Decker (12); 7. 66x Carey Terrance (15); 8. 1 David Hebert (3); 9. 43 Keith Flach (29); 10. 98h Jimmy Phelps (6); 11. 6h Max McLaughlin (9); 12. 19 Tim Fuller (1); 13. 25 Steve Bernier (13); 14. 8 Rich Scagliotta (2); 15. 73jr Mathieu Boisvert (19); 16. 47 Simon Perrault (16); 17. 109 Billy Whittaker (23); 18. 63 Dominic Dufault (25); 19. 96 JF Corriveau (31); 20. 23 Dany Bilodeau (26); 21. 37 Paul St-Sauveur (24); 22. 79 Maxime Plante (28); 23. 64 Daniel Nadeau (32); 24. 54 Steve Bernard (10); 25. 49 Francois Bernier (18); 26. 7m Mike Maresca (14); 27. 97k Mario Clair (27); 28. 21y Yan Bussiere (21); 29. 22j Gino Clair (20); 30. 44 Stewart Friesen (17); 31 13 Kevin Hamel (22); 32. 22 Brandon Walters (30)

Qualifying Group 1 - 1. 54 Steve Bernard 18.399; 2. 42p Pat Ward 18.417; 3. 20 Brett Hearn 18.736; 4. 21y Yan Bussiere 18.789; 5. 44 Stewart Friesen 18.845; 6. 25 Steve Bernier 18.918; 7. 97k Mario Clair 19.362; 8. 22 Brandon Walters 19.510; 9. 64 Daniel Nadeau 19.555

Qualifying Group 2 - 1. 6h Max McLaughlin 18.510; 2. 9s Matt Sheppard 18.543; 3. 1 David Hebert 18.833; 4. 109 Billy Whittaker 18.855; 5. 49 Francois Bernier 19.033; 6. 7m Mike Maresca 19.143; 7. 63 Dominic Dufault 19.440; 8. 91 Mathieu Laramee 19.589; 9 .43 Keith Flach, No Time

Qualifying Group 3 - 1. 99L Larry Wight 18.610; 2. 91d Billy Decker 18.654; 3. 21a Peter Britten 18.687; 4. 73jr Mathieu Boisvert 18.724; 5. 96 JF Corriveau 19.280; 6. 75 Maxime Michon 19.519; 7. 66x Carey Terrance 19.555; 8. 13 Kevin Hamel 19.634; 9. 25p Michael Parent 19.908

Qualifying Group 4 - 1. 98h Jimmy Phelps 18.999; 2.19 Tim Fuller 19.123; 3. 8 Rich Scagliotta 19.195; 4. 47 Simon Perrault 19.378; 5. 22j Gino Clair 19.475; 6. 37 Paul St-Sauveur 19.580; 7. 23 Dany Bilodeau19.636; 8. 79 Maxime Plante 19.649; 9 .97 Josianne Plante 20.113.

Heat 1 (8 Laps – Top-6 Qualify – Top-3 Redraw) - 1. 54 Steve Bernard; 2. 20 Brett Hearn; 3. 42p Pat Ward; 4. 25 Steve Bernier; 5. 44 Stewart Friesen; 6. 21y Yan Bussiere; 7. 64 Daniel Nadeau; 8. 22 Brandon Walters; 9. 97k Mario Clair

Heat 2 (8 Laps – Top-6 Qualify – Top-3 Redraw) - 1. 6h Max McLaughlin; 2. 9s Matt Sheppard; 3. 1 David Hebert; 4. 7m Mike Maresca; 5. 49 Francois Bernier; 6. 109 Billy Whittaker; 7. 63 Dominic Dufault; 8. 43 Keith Flach; 9. 91 Mathieu Laramee

Heat 3 (8 Laps – Top-6 Qualify – Top-3 Redraw) - 1. 99L Larry Wight; 2. 91 Billy Decker; 3. 21a Peter Britten; 4. 66x Carey Terrance; 5. 73jr Mathieu Boisvert; 6. 13 Kevin Hamel; 7. 25p Michael Parent; 8. 96 JF Corriveau

Heat 4 (8 Laps – Top-6 Qualify – Top-3 Redraw) - 1. 98h Jimmy Phelps; 2. 19 Tim Fuller; 3. 8 Rich Scagliotta; 4. 47 Simon Perrault; 5. 22j Gino Clair; 6. 37 Paul St-Sauveur; 7. 79 Maxime Plante; 8. 23 Dany Bilodeau; 9. 97 Josianne Plante

Last Chance Qualifier 1 (10 Laps – Top 3 Transfer to A-Feature) – 1. 21y Yan Bussiere; 2. 109 Billy Whittaker; 3. 63 Dominic Dufault; 4. 97k Mario Clair; 5. 22 Brandon Walters; 6. 91 Mathieu Laramee; 7. 43 Keith Flach; 8. 64 Daniel Nadeau

Last Chance Qualifier 2 (10 Laps – Top 3 Transfer to A-Feature) – 1. 13 Kevin Hamel; 2. 37 Paul St-Sauveur; 3. 23 Dany Bilodeau; 4. 79 Maxime Plante; 5. 96 JF Corriveau; 6. 25p Michael Parent; 7.97 Josianne Plante; 8. 75 Maxime Michon

CONTINGENCY WINNERS: VP Racing Fuels ($50 Cash): One David Hebert; Pole Position Raceway Fast Time ($100 Cash): 54 Steve Bernard; Bicknell Racing Products ($100 Product Certificate): 9s Matt Sheppard; Cometic Gasket ($50 Cash): 25 Steve Bernier; Comp Cams ($50 Cash): 6h Max McLaughlin; Comp Cams ($50 Product Certificate): 9s Matt Sheppard; Edelbrock ($50 Cash): 43 Keith Flach; Fox Racing Shocks ($50 Cash): 20 Brett Hearn; JE Pistons ($50 Cash): 99L Larry Wight; JE Pistons (Product Certificate): 47 Simon Perrault; JE Pistons (Product Certificate): 37 Paul St-Sauveur; KSE Racing Products Inc. ($50 Product Certificate): 43 Keith Flach; MSD Ignition ($50 Cash): 9s Matt Sheppard; MSD Ignition ($25 Cash): 54 Steve Bernard ; SuperFlow Dynos & Flowbenches ($50 Cash): 8 Rich Scagliotta; Wrisco Aluminum (Product Certificate): 9s Matt Sheppard ;JRI Shocks ($50 Cash): 25 Steve Bernier; Speedy First Aid Hard Luck Award (Product Certificate): 22 Brandon Walters; ASi Racewear ($50 Cash): 66x Carey Terrance.

SEASON WINNERS

Billy Decker - 3 (Fulton Speedway on April 29; Outlaw Speedway on June 20; Eldora Speedway on July 18)
Stewart Friesen – 2 (Utica-Rome Speedway on July 2; Weedsport Speedway on July 11)
Matt Sheppard – 2 (Five Mile Point Speedway on June 11; Autodrome Granby on July 25)
Ryan Watt – 1 (Bridgeport Speedway on May 16)
Tim McCreadie – 1 (Albany-Saratoga Speedway on June 27)
Larry Wight – 1 (Airborne Park Speedway on July 6)
Peter Britten – 1 (Sharon Speedway on July 20)