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Matt Sheppard Scores First Career Ransomville Win at Summer Nationals
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Super DIRTcar Series
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Contact: Clayton Johns
DIRTcar Racing PR
(289) 314-5186 | cjohns@dirtcar.com
Matt Sheppard Scores First Career Ransomville Win at Summer Nationals
Extends Series Win Streak to Three Races
RANSOMVILLE, NY - August 8, 2017 - Matt Sheppard was the third and final leader after he took the point position from Billy Decker on lap 49 and led the remaining 52 laps to win his third straight Super DIRTcar Series race in the 33rd Summer Nationals at Ransomville Speedway on Tuesday night. The victory was also Sheppard's first career win at Ransomville and prevented rival Stewart Friesen from winning the event for the third straight year at his childhood track.
"I've won a lot of races at a lot of different racetracks, but Ransomville was never one of them," Sheppard said in Victory Lane. "We were so close last year. Me and Stewie (Friesen) had a heck of a battle (last year). It just feels great to finally get to Victory Lane here, especially in such a special event."
Billy Decker threw everything he had at Sheppard to try and retake the lead off the final restart with five laps to go, but fell 0.923 seconds short of a victory. Decker did manage to win an extended battle with Larry Wight to extend his point lead, which was just two markers entering the event. Ransomville regular Erick Rudolph and Stewart Friesen rounded out the top-five.
"Certainly, you like to win, but we'll take it," Decker said. "The Page Trucking car was pretty good. (I was ) dicing it out there heavy in lapped traffic. That was getting dicey, I'll tell ya. The fans saw a pretty good race out there. We'll take it."
The 100-lap race began with local pilot Kenny Wills III on the pole and Jimmy Phelps to his outside. Phelps led the opening lap and paced the field through a trio of cautions in the first 30 laps before Decker made his bid for the top spot. Decker seized a lap 32 opportunity when Phelps bobbled on the cushion in turn two, allowing the No.91 to race to the bottom of the track and take the lead.
It was brief, however, as Phelps retook the point the following lap, but remained under siege from Decker until the two drivers exchanged the lead again on laps 38 and 39. On lap 40, Sheppard got past Phelps for second and set out to track down Decker.
The caution waved again on lap 41 when Keith Flach slowed in turn four. When the race resumed on lap 47, Friesen jumped to third while Sheppard continued to pressure Decker. On lap 49, Sheppard made the decisive move of the race when he drove under Decker in turn four to claim the lead.
Over the final 52 laps, Sheppard pounded his No.9s against the cushion in turns one and two, but tried both the inside and outside lanes in turns three and four as he navigated through the traffic.
"It was a fine line up on the wall," Sheppard said. "It was a little closer to the wall than I like to run, but that's just part of the deal here at Ransomville. I'm just very fortunate. A lot of people got messed up on the bottom on restarts early, but my car was good enough early I could maintain and not lose any spots. It seemed like the longer the race went, the better we got."
Wight jumped into the top-three off a lap 62 restart and then spent the better part of the final 35 laps dueling side-by-side with Decker for second. Wight lost the battle on lap 86 when he went off the track in turn two trying to avoid contact with a lapped car. It was the second time in the race Wight had to take evasive action to quickly avoid serious problems. Earlier in the race, he hit the outside wall and all but destroyed the body on the right side of the car. Regardless, Wight was happy with the run.
"We're happy with it," Wight said. "That's just sheet metal. The main components of the car were fine and the car still handled alright. We can bang that out and patch it up for tomorrow and give it another run."
Sheppard was able to outpace Decker in clean air over the final 10 laps, but restarts on laps 93 and 95 forced him to hit his marks as Decker lurked within five car lengths each time.
Wight was the race's KSE Hard Charger, advancing seven positions from 10th to 3rd. Decker was the Fast Qualifier with a lap of 16.151 seconds around the 3/8-mile oval. Decker, Wight Sheppard and Max McLaughlin claimed heat race wins. McLaughlin was also the recipient of the Speedy First Aid Hard Luck Award after a he slowed on lap 57. He was able to race his way back to 14th, but lost out on a top-10 finish.
Ransomville's 358 Modified weekly points leader Ryan Susice won the Last Chance Qualifier. McLaughlin and Mike Mahaney were eligible for the 811 Dig Safely New York redraw bonus award if either could win from the eighth or eleventh starting positions, but were unsuccessful.
The Super DIRTcar Series returns to action on Wednesday, August 9 at Merrittville Speedway for the rescheduled Bob St. Amand Memorial 100. Race time is 7:00pm with Hot Laps and qualfiying taking place beforehand at 6:15pm. For additional event information, visit www.merrittvillespeedway.com.
Super DIRTcar Series Statistical Report – 33rd Summer Nationals at Ransomville Speedway – Ransomville, NY –August 8, 2017
Feature (100 Laps) – 1. 9s-Matt Sheppard [5]; 2. 91-Billy Decker [3]; 3. 99L-Larry Wight [10]; 4. 25-Erick Rudolph [6]; 5. 44-Stewart Friesen [7]; 6. 19-Tim Fuller [4]; 7. 88m-Mike Mahaney [11]; 8. 42p-Pat Ward [13]; 9. 42-Pete Bicknell [16]; 10. 21a-Peter Britten [14]; 11. 98h-Jimmy Phelps [2]; 12. 20-Brett Hearn [12]; 13. 38s-Ryan Susice [21]; 14. 6h-Max McLaughlin [8]; 15. 109-Billy Whittaker [9]; 16. 20m-Jeff McGinnis [19]; 17. 43-Keith Flach [17]; 18. 111-Allan Wills [27]; 19. 37s-Tommy Flannigan [26]; 20. 26-Rick Richner [22]; 21. 22-Brandon Walters [18]; 22. 8-Rich Scagliotta [15]; 23. 27-Jim Zimmerman [24]; 24. 56-Steve Schumacher [25]; 25. 21-Kenny Wills III [1]; 26. 7-Scott Kerwin [23]; 27. 11s-Steve Lewis Jr. [28]; 28. 55c-Steve Cotriss [20]; 29. 678-John Smith [29]; 30. DNS 7m-Mike Maresca
Qualifying Group 1 - 1. 91-Billy Decker, 16.151; 2. 88m-Mike Mahaney, 16.436; 3. 42p-Pat Ward, 16.601; 4. 19-Tim Fuller, 16.612; 5. 38s-Ryan Susice, 17.062; 6. 43-Keith Flach, 17.314; 7. 27-Jim Zimmerman, 18.622; 8. 111-Alan Wills, No Time
Qualifying Group 2 - 1. 99L-Larry Wight, 16.402; 2. 98h-Jimmy Phelps, 16.533; 3. 21a-Peter Britten, 16.663; 4. 20-Brett Hearn, 16.744; 5. 22-Brandon Walters, 17.112; 6. 26-Rick Richner, 17.519; 7. 678-John Smith, 18.119; 8. 26g-Scott George, 18.306
Qualifying Group 3 - 1. 9s-Matt Sheppard, 16.626; 2. 109-Billy Whittaker, 16.938; 3. 8-Rich Scagliotta, 16.980; 4. 21-Kenny Wills III, 17.337; 5. 20m-Jeff McGinnis, 17.413; 6. 37s-Tommy Flannigan, 17.437; 7. 7-Scott Kerwin, 17.689; 8. 7m-Mike Maresca, No Time
Qualifying Group 4 - 1. 6h-Max McLaughlin, 16.709; 2. 25-Erick Rudolph, 16.751; 3. 44-Stewart Friesen, 16.900; 4. 42-Pete Bicknell, 17.214; 5. 55c-Jesse Cotriss, 17.678; 6. 777-Tyler Willard, 17.718; 7. 11s-Steve Lewis Jr., 18.031; 8. 56 Steve Schumacher, 18.514
Heat 1 (8 Laps – Top-5 Qualify – Top-3 Redraw) - 1. 91-Billy Decker [1]; 2. 88m-Mike Mahaney [2]; 3. 19-Tim Fuller [4]; 4. 42p-Pat Ward [3]; 5. 43-Keith Flach [6]; 6. 38s-Ryan Susice [5]; 7. 27-Jim Zimmerman [7]; 8. 111-Alan Wills [8]
Heat 2 (8 Laps – Top-5 Qualify – Top-3 Redraw) - 1. 99L-Larry Wight [1]; 2. 98h-Jimmy Phelps [2]; 3. 20-Brett Hearn [4]; 4. 21a-Peter Britten [3]; 5. 22-Brandon Walters [5]; 6. 26-Rick Richner [6]; 7. 678-John Smith [7]; 8. 26g-Scott George [8]
Heat 3 (8 Laps – Top-5 Qualify – Top-3 Redraw) - 1. 9s-Matt Sheppard [1]; 2. 109-Billy Whittaker [2]; 3. 21-Kenny Wills III [4]; 4. 8s-Rich Scagliotta [3]; 5. 20m-Jeff McGinnis [5]; 6. 7-Scott Kerwin [7]; 7. DNF 37s-Tommy Flannigan [6]; 8. DNF 7m-Mike Maresca [8]
Heat 4 (8 Laps – Top-5 Qualify – Top-3 Redraw) - 1. 6h-Max McLaughlin [1]; 2. 25-Erick Rudolph [2]; 3. 44-Stewart Friesen [3]; 4. 42-Pete Bicknell [4]; 5. 55c-Jesse Cotriss [5]; 6. 56-Steve Schumacher [8]; 7. 11s-Steve Lewis Jr. [7]; 8. DNS 777-Tyler Willard [6]
Last Chance Qualifier 1 (10 Laps – All Transfer to A-Feature) – 1. 38s-Ryan Susice [1]; 2. 26-Rick Richner [2]; 3. 7-Scott Kerwin [3]; 4. 27-Jim Zimmerman [5]; 5. 56-Steve Schumacher [4]; 6. 37s-Tommy Flannigan [7]; 7. 111-Alan Wills [9]; 8. 11s-Steve Lewis Jr. [8]; 9. 678-John Smith [6]; 10. DNS 26g-Scott George; 11. DNS 7m-Mike Maresca; 12. DNS 777-Tyler Willard
CONTINGENCY WINNERS: VP Racing Fuels ($50 Cash): Pat Ward; Fast Qualifier ($100 Cash): Billy Decker; Bicknell Racing Products ($100 Product Certificate): Matt Sheppard; Cometic Gasket ($50 Cash): Jeff McGinnis; Comp Cams ($50 Cash): Peter Britten; Comp Cams ($50 Product Certificate): Matt Sheppard; Edelbrock ($50 Cash): Peter Britten; Fox Racing Shocks ($50 Cash): Erick Rudolph; JE Pistons ($50 Cash): Stewart Friesen; JE Pistons (Product Certificate): Jeff McGinnis; JE Pistons (Product Certificate): Brandon Walters; KSE Racing Products Inc. ($50 Product Certificate): Larry Wight (+7); MSD Ignition ($50 Cash): Matt Sheppard; MSD Ignition ($25 Cash): Kenny Wills III; SuperFlow Dynos & Flowbenches ($50 Cash): Jeff McGinnis; Wrisco Aluminum (Product Certificate): Matt Sheppard; JRI Shocks ($50 Cash): Max McLaughlin; Dig Safely 811 Redraw Bonus ($100 Cash): N/A; Speedy First Aid Hard Luck Award (Product Certificate): Max McLaughlin; ASi Racewear ($50 Cash): Mike Mahaney.
SEASON WINNERS
Matt Sheppard – 4 (Five Mile Point Speedway on June 11; Autodrome Granby on July 25; Autodrome Drummond on July 26; Ransomville Speedway on August 8)
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)
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)
- Super DIRTcar Series
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Contact: Clayton Johns
DIRTcar Racing PR
(289) 314-5186 | cjohns@dirtcar.com
Matt Sheppard Continues Hot Streak With Second Straight Bob St. Amand Memorial Win at Merrittville
Earns Fourth Consecutive Series Win
MERRITTVILLE, ON, CAN - August 9, 2017 - Matt Sheppard drove past Gary Lindberg in the outside lane following a lap 81 restart to take the lead on lap 85 and then paced the final 16 laps to win his second straight Bob St. Amand Memorial 100 at Merrittville Speedway on Wednesday night.
The victory was also his fourth straight with the Super DIRTcar Series and second in as many nights after he also won Tuesday at Ransomville Speedway. Lindberg, a Merrittville weekly 358 (Small Block) Modified regular, gave everything he had to keep pace with Sheppard, but came up 1.203 seconds short of his first career Series victory.
"We have had some really good racecars and some really good luck. That's what it takes," Sheppard said of his four-race win streak. "Going back five races to Sharon, I thought we had a shot at winning that and got a flat tire late in the race. We were pretty good up in Quebec, good again last night and tonight I didn't think we were nearly as good, but we had a little bit of luck."
Sheppard's good luck was at the expense of Erick Rudolph's misfortune during the most dramatic point of the race. Lindberg and Rudolph had broken away from the rest of the pack in the top two spots. As the race reached its final quarter, Rudolph zeroed in on Lindberg amongst the lapped traffic and pulled to his back bumper after erasing a two-second deficit.
However, Rudolph's bid for the lead ended with 81 laps completed when he tried to race under Lindberg, who was running a half groove off the bottom of the track, in turn three. The two drivers made contact in the middle of the corner and the result Rudolph facing the wrong way in front of the field.
The ensuing restart moved Sheppard from third to the outside of the front row beside Lindberg. The Waterloo, NY native made the most of the outside groove and took the lead from Lindberg on lap 85 after a four-lap side-by-side battle on the icy slick track.
"The turning point of that race was when Rudolph tangled and spun around there," Sheppard said of the incident that halted a 51-lap green-flag run. "That kind of reset the field and gave me a little bit of open racetrack. That's kind of what we needed with the Big Block. We needed to keep our momentum up. I got up top and was able to get it rolling and just got it rolling well enough to get around Gary."
While Sheppard held the point, Lindberg kept within striking distance over the next 10 laps until the final caution flag of the race waved with five laps remaining when Fred Carleton rode the outside retaining wall to a stop on the frontstretch. Contrary to most situations, Sheppard was actually happy to see the yellow flag.
"That string of cautions really helped out," Sheppard said. "I would have never got around Gary without the yellow and then I didn't mind seeing that yellow with five to go. It gave me a little bit of open racetrack because I had to use every bit of it and even some more on the front stretch."
Sheppard and many of the drivers resorted to dipping the right-side wheels into the moat on the frontstretch to find grip for the straightaway which was devoid of moisture elsewhere. That same slick track played to the benefit of Lindberg and the other Merrittville Small Block regulars.
"The track conditions helped and so did starting up front," Lindberg said. "I thought I was a sitting duck up there and luckily we held on as long as we did. The guys put a good car under me this week."
Billy Decker completed the podium with a third-place finish. Decker's second top-three result in as many nights extended his point lead over Larry Wight, who finished ninth.
"We're not worried about everybody else," Decker quipped in Victory Lane. "We're just trying to take care of our own program. The Page Trucking car was pretty dogone good tonight. It was tough sledding. The boys at Mike Payne Racing work really hard and Textron's on board. We're having a pretty good year. We had a good run and had a lot of fun."
Prior to the lap 81 caution, the race had run under green conditions since a lap 30 restart. Before the extended run, the race experienced a slower pace than in the second half of the race. The initial start was slowed when Tommy Flannigan and Rich Scagliotta tangled together in turn four before the first lap was completed.
When the race got up to speed, polesitter Max McLaughlin took the lead with Lindberg quickly in tow. As the track slicked off, Lindberg was able to gain more on McLaughlin and was able to take the lead in turn two off a lap 13 restart.
The third caution of the race came on lap 22 when Brett Hearn, Pat Ward and Mark D'Ilario made contact and were collected against the inside wall in turn four. The lap 30 restart allowed Lindberg to build his lead to over three seconds ahead of McLaughlin at the halfway mark.
Rudolph, who ran inside the top-five most of the first half, entered a three-car battle for second with McLaughlin and Sanborn, NY driver Chad Brachmann. Brachmann took second initially on lap 53 before Rudolph took the spot on lap 63.
Rudolph hit his stride at that point and began to reel in Lindberg, who was working flawlessly through heavy lapped traffic. In less than 10 laps, Rudolph erased a two-second Lindberg advantage. Rudolph tried the inside lane in turn two on lap 76 and the two drivers made sight contact on the backstretch. Then, on lap 81, Rudolph's hope for the victory ended with his spin in turn three, but earned him the Speedy First Aid Hard Luck award. He raced back to a 10th-place finish.
McLaughlin was the night's Fast Qualifier with a lap of 16.692 seconds and the winner of heat two. Matt Sheppard, Ryan Susice and Billy Decker also picked up heat race winners. Mark D'Ilario from nearby Vineland, Ont. won the Last Chance Qualifier. Despite his troubles throughout the night, Larry Wight earned the KSE Hard Charger award, racing from 24th to 9th in the main event, an improvement of 15 spots.
For Sheppard, the win was another step in the right direction towards climbing up the points ladder. Entering Wednesday's event, he was 115 points back of Decker.
"All we can do is keep trying to win these races and let the rest take care of itself," Sheppard said in Victory Lane.
Sheppard will get the chance to try for his fifth straight win when the Super DIRTcar Series returns to action on Thursday, August 24 at Ohsweken Speedway for the Triple Crown Showdown.
The event also features 360 Sprint Cars and Crate Late Models with a $25,000 bonus to a driver who can win all three features or a $5,000 bonus if a driver can win the Feature in two divisions. Super DIRTcar Series driver Stewart Friesen will be one driver contending for all three victories. For additional event information, visit www.ohswekenspeedway.com.
Super DIRTcar Series Statistical Report – Bob St. Amand Memorial 100 at Merrittville Speedway – Thorold, ON
Feature (100 Laps) – 1. 9s-Matt Sheppard [6]; 2. 28z-Gary Lindberg [2]; 3. 91-Billy Decker [11]; 4. 6m-Mat Williamson [7]; 5. 3-Chad Brachmann [8]; 6. 71-Mike Bowman [13]; 7. 3rs-Ryan Susice [10]; 8. 21a-Peter Britten [9]; 9. 99L-Larry Wight [24]; 10. 25-Erick Rudolph [3]; 11. 6h-Max McLaughlin [1]; 12. 19-Tim Fuller [12]; 13. 15J-Tim Jones [5]; 14. 44-Stewart Friesen [23]; 15. 42-Pete Bicknell [14]; 16. 20-Brett Hearn [20]; 17. 1-Todd Gordon [4]; 18. 38-Scott Wood [16]; 19. 42p-Pat Ward [22]; 20. 16-Brent Beggolo [17]; 21. 43-Keith Flach [19]; 22. 109-Billy Whittaker [28]; 23. 7m-Mike Maresca [26]; 24. 37s-Tommy Flannigan [29]; 25. 96-Fred Carleton [15]; 26. 08-Mark D’Ilario [21]; 27. 98h-Jimmy Phelps [18]; 28. 88p-Shayne Pierce [27]; 29. 8-Rick Scagliotta [25]; 30. DNS 22-Brandon Walters
Qualifying Group 1 - 1. 9s-Matt Sheppard, 16.708; 2. 19-Tim Fuller, 16.904; 3. 16-Brent Beggolo 17.067; 4. 21a-Peter Britten, 17.139; 5. 71-Mike Bowman, 17.169; 6. 08-Mark D’Ilario, DQ; 7. 22-Brandon Walters, No Time
Qualifying Group 2 - 1. 6h-Max McLaughlin, 16.692; 2. 3-Chad Brachmann, 16.779; 3. 98h-Jimmy Phelps, 16.974; 4. 25r-Erick Rudolph, 17.011; 5. 42-Pete Bicknell, 17.105; 6. 44-Stewart Friesen, 17.184; 7. 42p-Pat Ward, 17.211; 8. 37s-Tommy Flannigan, No Time
Qualifying Group 3 - 1. 3rs-Ryan Susice, 17.331; 2. 15j-Tim Jones, 17.373; 3. 8-Rich Scagliotta, 17.443; 4. 1-Todd Gordon, 17.485; 5. 43-Keith Flach, 17.486; 6. 96-Fred Carleton, 17.554; 7. 88p-Shayne Pierce, 17.774
Qualifying Group 4 - 1. 91-Billy Decker, 16.823; 2. 38-Scott Wood, 17.082; 3. 99L-Larry Wight, 17.106; 4. 6m-Mat Williamson, 17.232; 5. 109-Billy Whittaker, 17.259; 6. 20-Brett Hearn, 17.312; 7. 28z-Gary Lindberg, 17.442
Heat 1 (8 Laps – Top-5 Qualify – Top-3 Redraw) - 1. 9s-Matt Sheppard [1]; 2. 19-Tim Fuller [2]; 3. 21a-Peter Britten [4]; 4. 71-Mike Bowman [5]; 5. 16-Brent Beggolo [3]; 6. 08-Mark D’Ilario [7]; 7. 7m-Mike Maresca [6]; 8. DNS 22-Brandon Walters
Heat 2 (8 Laps – Top-5 Qualify – Top-3 Redraw) - 1. 6h-Max McLaughlin [1]; 2. 3-Chad Brachmann [2]; 3. 25r-Erick Rudolph [4]; 4. 42-Pete Bicknell [5]; 5. 98h-Jimmy Phelps [3]; 6. 42p-Pat Ward [7]; 7. 37s-Tommy Flannigan [8]; 8. 44-Stewart Friesen [6]
Heat 3 (8 Laps – Top-5 Qualify – Top-3 Redraw) - 1. 3rs-Ryan Susice [1]; 2. 15J-Tim Jones [2]; 3. 1-Todd Gordon [4]; 4. 96-Fred Carleton [6]; 5. 43-Keith Flach [5]; 6. 8-Rich Scagliotta [3]; 7. 88-Shayne Pierce [7]
Heat 4 (8 Laps – Top-5 Qualify – Top-3 Redraw) - 1. 91-Billy Decker [1]; 2. 28z-Gary Lindberg [7]; 3. 6m-Mat Williamson [4]; 4. 38-Scott Wood [2]; 5. 20-Brett Hearn [6]; 6. 99L-Larry Wight [3]; 7. 109-Billy Whittaker [5]
Last Chance Qualifier 1 (8 Laps – All Transfer to A-Feature) – 1. 08-Mark D’Ilario [1]; 2. 42p-Pat Ward [2]; 3. 44-Stewart Friesen [9]; 4. 99L-Larry Wight [4]; 5. 8-Rich Scaglotta [3]; 6. 7m-Mike Maresca [5]; 7. 88-Shayne Pierce [7]; 8. 109-Billy Whittaker [8]; 9. 37s-Tommy Flannigan [6]; 10. DNS 22-Brandon Walters
CONTINGENCY WINNERS: VP Racing Fuels ($50 Cash): Peter Britten; Fast Time ($100 Cash): Max McLaughlin; Bicknell Racing Products ($100 Product Certificate): Matt Sheppard; Cometic Gasket ($50 Cash): Stewart Friesen; Comp Cams ($50 Cash): Erick Rudolph; Comp Cams ($50 Product Certificate): Matt Sheppard; Edelbrock ($50 Cash): Larry Wight; Fox Racing Shocks ($50 Cash): Chad Brachmann; JE Pistons ($50 Cash): Chad Brachmann; JE Pistons (Product Certificate): Scott Wood; JE Pistons (Product Certificate): Keith Flach; KSE Racing Products Inc. ($50 Product Certificate): Larry Wight; MSD Ignition ($50 Cash): Matt Sheppard; MSD Ignition ($25 Cash): Jimmy Phelps; SuperFlow Dynos & Flowbenches ($50 Cash): Scott Wood; Wrisco Aluminum (Product Certificate): Matt Sheppard; JRI Shocks ($50 Cash): Scott Wood; Speedy First Aid Hard Luck Award (Product Certificate): Erick Rudolph; ASi Racewear ($50 Cash): Ryan Susice.
SEASON WINNERS
Matt Sheppard – 5 (Five Mile Point Speedway on June 11; Autodrome Granby on July 25; Autodrome Drummond on July 26; Ransomville Speedway on August 8; Merrittville Speedway on August 9)
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)
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)
Larry Wight – 1 (Airborne Park Speedway on July 6)
Logan Schuchart Takes a Bite Out of Schatz for Win at Ohsweken
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World of Outlaws
Contact: Clayton Johns
World of Outlaws PR
289-314-5186| cjohns@dirtcar.com
Logan Schuchart Takes a Bite Out of Schatz for Win at Ohsweken
Schuchart Earns First Career Victory in Canada
OHSWEKEN, ON, CAN - July 25, 2017 - Logan Schuchart hunted down Donny Schatz in heavy lapped traffic and then dominated the second half of the Six Nations Showdown at Ohsweken Speedway for his fourth World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series win of 2017 on Tuesday night.
The victory was a much-needed confidence boost for Schuchart and his Shark Racing team who had struggled of late. The slick Ohsweken surface was exactly to the liking of the Hanover, Pa. native in the Outlaws only visit to Canada this season.
"I love these type of racetracks, not just because we ran well on it tonight. I love slick racetracks," Schuchart said in Victory Lane. "I love when you have to drive the car straight and smooth. I feel like it makes it fun. Obviously if you're not running good it's not fun, but if you can glide around the racetrack, be smooth and have forward drive, it's fun."
Schuchart had all of those ingredients at Ohsweken. While Schatz grabbed an early lead from the pole and drove away from the majority of the field, Schuchart was the only driver able to keep pace. The top duo wandered into heavy lapped traffic by lap nine and as Schatz was forced to give up his preferred line on the bottom to move past a slower car, Schuchart capitalized when he found room on the bottom of turn two and down the backstretch to take the lead.
"I was having trouble catching Donny when we were in an open run," Schuchart admitted. "It wasn't until we got to lapped traffic, I felt like, that some lapped cars made him go where he didn't want to. I could just move around a little bit more than he could and go through the middle. When some lapped cars took his line away, I just felt like I was able to get the forward drive off the corners to get by him."
One lap after Schuchart took the lead, the caution flag waved for Sheldon Haudenschild, who suffered a flat right-rear tire. He made the repairs in the work area and returned to the rear of the field. Schuchart held the point on the lap nine restart while Greg Wilson and Kyle Larson battled tooth and nail for the third spot.
Schuchart led the top-five into traffic again on lap 16 of the 30-lap main event, but was able to run the bottom the lane the whole time to continue pulling away from Schatz. His advantage with 10 laps to go was 2.6 seconds but grew each lap until he achieved the eventual 5.984-second margin of victory.
Schatz was openly disappointed he was not able to capitalize on his pole starting position to claim his 16th win of the season. His runner-up finish was his 40th top-five finish of the season.
"We got beat," Schatz stated bluntly. "Logan was really good. He could go all over. Obviously, we got to traffic and you have to move around. We did that a little bit and he found the better groove. Those guys rolled pretty good and I couldn't stay down there very well. I had to roll the middle and do what I could. These guys did a great job, Logan was just that good tonight."
Schuchart was ecstatic to score his fourth Outlaw win of the season and to beat the current Series point leader to achieve the feat.
"Anytime you can beat Donny Schatz on any type of racetrack, but especially a slick racetrack, it's saying something," Schuchart said. "We've had a car for a while that's given us some trouble and this is the first night on this new XXX (chassis) and it was hooked up on this slick surface. I felt like it was just gliding around the racetrack and I was just guiding it."
Wilson rounded out the podium finishers after holding off Kyle Larson in the second half of the race. It was Wilson's fifth top-five finish of the season on a surface he raved about in his post-race interview.
"We've been struggling pretty bad lately, so I can't thank the folks at Hercules Tires, Ohio Logistics, DNC Hydraulics, Gear Alloy and Weikel Sportswear for staying with us," Wilson said. "This is always an amazing show. (Track Owner) Glenn (Styres) and the whole crew gave us an excellent racetrack. It's fun. I wish some other tracks in the country would take a look at this. I realize we're not going 100mph, but there's racing all over the racetrack and that's what it's about."
Larson settled for a fourth-place finish and 19-year-old Dylan Westbrook, who was making his first career Outlaw start in his first night with a 410ci motor, rounded out the top-five after starting 16th. Jacob Allen was the KSE Hard Charger award winner after he advanced 13 positions from 24th to 11th.
Brad Sweet was the night's fast qualifier with a lap of 12.280 seconds. Sweet, Schuchart, Larson and Wilson all won heat races in some of the most thrilling qualifying action all season. Schatz won the Craftsman Club Dash from the pole, but had to take the lead back from Brent Marks midway through the race to gain the pole. Kraig Kinser came out on top of a three-car battle for the lead with Jared Zimbardi and Steve Lyons to win the Last Chance Showdown.
The World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series now has two days off before returning to competition for the Battle of Michigan at Hartford Speedway in Hartford, MI on Friday, July 28. The Outlaws will see the track's new 3/8-mile configuration for the first time. For additional event information, including advanced reserved ticket purchases, visit www.slspromotions.com.
Ohsweken Speedway Notebook
Feature (30 Laps) - 1. 1S-Logan Schuchart [3][$10,000]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [1][$5,500]; 3. W20-Greg Wilson [5][$3,200]; 4. 57-Kyle Larson [7][$2,800]; 5. 47X-Dylan Westbrook [16][$2,500]; 6. 5-David Gravel [12][$2,300]; 7. 18-Ryan Susice [17][$2,200]; 8. 49-Brad Sweet [8][$2,100]; 9. 11K-Kraig Kinser [21][$2,050]; 10. 67X-Parker Price-Miller [9][$2,000]; 11. 1A-Jacob Allen [24][$1,500]; 12. 9-Daryn Pittman [4][$1,200]; 13. 19-Brent Marks [2][$1,100]; 14. 9X-Steve Lyons [23][$1,050]; 15. 2-Shane Stewart [10][$1,000]; 16. O-Max Johnston [6][$900]; 17. 87-Jason Barney [14][$800]; 18. 10-Mitch Brown [15][$800]; 19. 4-Paul McMahan [19][$800]; 20. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild [20][$800]; 21. 7S-Jason Sides [18][$800]; 22. OO-Dane Lorenc [11][$800]; 23. 35-Jared Zimbardi [22][$800]; 24. 13-Clyde Knipp [13][$800]. Lap Leaders: Donny Schatz 1-8. Logan Schuchart 9-30; KSE Hard Charger Award: 1A-Jacob Allen[+13]
Qualifying Flight-A - 1. 49-Brad Sweet, 14.280; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 14.295; 3. 9-Daryn Pittman, 14.573; 4. 4-Paul McMahan, 14.751; 5. 67X-Parker Price-Miller, 14.814; 6. 9X-Steve Lyons, 14.864; 7. 77X-Alex Hill, 14.961; 8. OO-Dane Lorenc, 14.986; 9. 18-Ryan Susice, 15.036; 10. 10-Mitch Brown, 15.042; 11. 13-Clyde Knipp, 15.07; 12. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 15.16; 13. 49L-Danny Lasoski, 15.193; 14. O-Max Johnston, 15.239; 15. 27H-Tom Huppenen, 15.387; 16. 97-Cory Turner, 15.563; 17. 98-Joeseph Trenca, 15.599; 18. 17X-Dain Naida, 15.641; 19. 49K-Scott Kreutter, 15.887
Qualifying Flight-B - 1. 2-Shane Stewart, 14.484; 2. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild, 14.52; 3. 57-Kyle Larson, 14.663; 4. 5-David Gravel, 14.84; 5. 35-Jared Zimbardi, 14.86; 6. 15-Donny Schatz, 14.946; 7. 19-Brent Marks, 14.95; 8. W20-Greg Wilson, 14.961; 9. 7S-Jason Sides, 15.01; 10. 47X-Dylan Westbrook, 15.133; 11. 19JK-Joe Kubiniec, 15.144; 12. 1A-Jacob Allen, 15.152; 13. 87-Jason Barney, 15.185; 14. 10C-Paul Colagiovanni, 15.267; 15. 110-Jake Brown, 15.402; 16. 91-Ryan Turner, 15.43; 17. 18S-Josh Shantz, 15.501; 18. 41-Jason Johnson, 15.662; 19. 3R-Shane Ross, 15.828
Heat #1 - Flight (A) (8 Laps) - 1. 49-Brad Sweet [1]; 2. 9-Daryn Pittman [2]; 3. 67X-Parker Price-Miller [3]; 4. 13-Clyde Knipp [6]; 5. 18-Ryan Susice [5]; 6. 49L-Danny Lasoski [7]; 7. 98-Joeseph Trenca [9]; 8. 27H-Tom Huppenen [8]; 9. 49K-Scott Kreutter [10]; 10. 77X-Alex Hill [4]
Heat #2 - Flight (A) (8 Laps) - 1. 1S-Logan Schuchart [1]; 2. O-Max Johnston [7]; 3. OO-Dane Lorenc [4]; 4. 10-Mitch Brown [5]; 5. 4-Paul McMahan [2]; 6. 9X-Steve Lyons [3]; 7. 97-Cory Turner [8]; 8. 17X-Dain Naida [9]; 9. 11K-Kraig Kinser [6]
Heat #3 - Flight (B) (8 Laps) - 1. 57-Kyle Larson [2]; 2. 19-Brent Marks [4]; 3. 2-Shane Stewart [1]; 4. 87-Jason Barney [7]; 5. 7S-Jason Sides [5]; 6. 35-Jared Zimbardi [3]; 7. 3R-Shane Ross [10]; 8. 110-Jake Brown [8]; 9. 18S-Josh Shantz [9]; 10. 19JK-Joe Kubiniec [6]
Heat #4 - Flight (B) (8 Laps) - 1. W20-Greg Wilson [4]; 2. 15-Donny Schatz [3]; 3. 5-David Gravel [2]; 4. 47X-Dylan Westbrook [5]; 5. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild [1]; 6. 1A-Jacob Allen [6]; 7. 10C-Paul Colagiovanni [7]; 8. 41-Jason Johnson [9]; 9. 91-Ryan Turner [8]
Craftsman Club Dash (6 Laps) - 1. 15-Donny Schatz [1]; 2. 19-Brent Marks [3]; 3. 1S-Logan Schuchart [6]; 4. 9-Daryn Pittman [4]; 5. W20-Greg Wilson [5]; 6. O-Max Johnston [2]; 7. 57-Kyle Larson [7]; 8. 49-Brad Sweet [8]
B-Main - Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) - 1. 11K-Kraig Kinser [5][-]; 2. 35-Jared Zimbardi [2][-]; 3. 9X-Steve Lyons [1][-]; 4. 1A-Jacob Allen [6][-]; 5. 110-Jake Brown [10][$300]; 6. 10C-Paul Colagiovanni [8][$250]; 7. 97-Cory Turner [11][$225]; 8. 98-Joeseph Trenca [13][$200]; 9. 91-Ryan Turner [12][$200]; 10. 27H-Tom Huppenen [9][$200]; 11. 49L-Danny Lasoski [7][$200]; 12. 18S-Josh Shantz [14][$200]; 13. 17X-Dain Naida [15][$200]; 14. 41-Jason Johnson [16][$200]; 15. 49K-Scott Kreutter [17][$200]; 16. 77X-Alex Hill [3][$200]; 17. 19JK-Joe Kubiniec [4][$200]; 18. 3R-Shane Ross [18][$200]
CONTINGENCY WINNERS: MSD Ignitions ($25 cash): Clyde Knipp; MSD Ignitions ($50 cash): Logan Schuchart; JE Pistons ($50 cash): Ryan Susice; VP Racing Fuels ($50 cash): Brad Sweet; Edelbrock ($50 cash): Kraig Kinser; Comp Cams ($50 cash): Jacob Allen; Extended Stay America ($50 cash): Jacob Allen; Cometic Gasket ($50 cash): Daryn Pittman; Super Flow ($50 cash): Shane Stewart; Craftsman Club Fast Five ($100 cash): Brent Marks, Logan Schuchart, Daryn Pittman, Greg Wilson, Brad Sweet; Craftsman/Sears: Max Johnston; KSE Hard Charger: Jacob Allen; Comp Cams ($50 product certificate): Logan Shuchart; JE Pistons (Set of Rings): Paul McMahan; JE Pistons (Set of Rings): Jason Sides.
SEASON WINNERS
Donny Schatz - 15 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 19, Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 19, LoneStar Speedway on March 3, The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 9, The Dirt Track at Las Vegas on March 10, Thunderbowl Raceway on March 18, Missouri State Fair Speedway on May 5, 81 Speedway on May 6, Eldora Speedway May 13, Knoxville Raceway on June 10, Granite City on June 20, Dirt Oval at Route 66 on June 27, Dakota State Fair Speedway on July 1, Eldora Speedway on July 15, Lernerville Speedway on July 18)
David Gravel - 10 (Thunderbowl Raceway on March 17, Placerville Speedway on March 29, Perris Auto Speedway on April 1, Gator Motorplex on April 13, Plymouth Speedway on April 28, Lincoln Speedway on May 17, Williams Grove on May 19, New Egypt Speedway on May 24, River Cities Speedway on June 16, Attica Raceway Park on July 11)
Brad Sweet - 4 (Stockton Dirt Track on March 25, Devil’s Bowl on April 15, Jackson Motorplex on June 3, Knoxville Raceway on June 9)
Shane Stewart – 4 (Williams Grove Speedway on May 20, Lawrenceburg Speedway on May 29, West Liberty Raceway on June 23, Beaver Dam Raceway on June 24)
Kerry Madsen – 4 (Jackson Motorplex on June 2, Cedar Lake Speedway on July 7, Cedar Lake Speedway on July 8, Eldora Speedway on July 13)
Logan Schuchart - 4 (Keller Auto Speedway on March 31, Eldora Speedway on May 12, Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 26, Ohsweken Speedway on July 25)
Jason Johnson - 2 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 17, Devil’s Bowl on April 14)
Brian Brown – 1 (Cocopah Speedway on April 7)
Rico Abreu – 1 (Arizona Speedway on April 8)
Parker Price-Miller – 1 (Tri-State Speedway on May 14)
Ian Madsen – 1 (Jackson Motorplex on June 1)
Kyle Larson – 1 (Eagle Raceway on June 13)
Kraig Kinser - 1 (Deer Creek Speedway on July 6)
Christopher Bell - 1 (Eldora Speedway on July 14)
Brock Zearfoss - 1 (Williams Grove Speedway on July 21)
Matt Sheppard Dominates Super DIRTcar Series at Autodrome Granby
Posted by: | Comments- Super DIRTcar Series
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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)
Aussie, Aussie, Aussie: Peter Britten Makes History at Sharon
Posted by: | Comments- Super DIRTcar Series
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Contact: Clayton Johns
DIRTcar Racing PR
(289) 314-5186 | cjohns@dirtcar.com
Aussie, Aussie, Aussie: Peter Britten Makes History at Sharon
Britten Dashes From 20th to Become First Australian Super DIRTcar Series Feature Winner
HARTFORD, OH - July 20, 2017 - Peter Britten created a little piece of Super DIRTcar Series history on Thursday night. Britten came from the 20th starting position and then used a slidejob in turns three and four to take the lead from Matt Sheppard following a lap 54 restart. The Brisbane, Queensland, Australia native led the final 46 laps and held off Stewart Friesen on a restart with 12 laps to go to earn the first Super DIRTcar Series win of his career in the Buckeye Ground Pounder 100 at Sharon Speedway. Britten also becomes the first Australian driver to win a Super DIRTcar Series Feature event.
"I can't believe it. It's amazing," Britten said in Victory Lane. "We had a good car, rolling around and kept picking off cars one by one. I ran the middle and I'm like "man, my car's pretty friggen good right now". I just kept picking them off and I got to (Matt Sheppard) and I'm like "this will be the real test". I was able to clear him and man, I don't know if they were close to me. It's unreal, a Super DIRTcar Series win at Sharon."
The task seemed daunting at first for Britten, who rolled off from outside the 10th row while Brett Hearn started on the pole with his Larry Wight to his outside. Hearn capitalized on the track position to grab an early advantage, bringing third-starting Billy Whittaker along to second.
Ninth-starting Friesen made quick work and rolled inside the top-five by lap 10. One lap later, Hearn found his way into lapped traffic. By lap 14, Hearn had company in the form of Friesen, who had gotten by Whittaker, Wight and Tim Fuller to claim second.
Friesen caught Hearn for the lead 20 laps into the 100-lap affair as he found momentum in the outside lane while the No.20 remained on the bottom. Friesen setup the pass for the lead and was outside Hearn on lap 24 when the first caution of the race waved for a spun Frank Cozze on lap 24.
Under the yellow, Friesen suffered a flat tire that forced him to relinquish the second spot and head to the pits for a new sneaker.
"We got squeezed a little bit on the backstretch," Friesen said of how the tire was cut down. "This Halmar team, they're tough. They threw a tire on it and it was still pretty good."
The ensuing restart gave Erick Rudolph a share of the front row and he used the outside lane position to power past Hearn and grab the point. Matt Sheppard took notice and followed Rudolph up high from fourth to second. By lap 36, Sheppard stole the top spot from Rudolph.
One lap later, the caution waved again at lap 37 for Hearn, who has a flat right-rear tire. Sheppard held the lead on the restart, but fans were quickly dazzled by Britten who darted from fifth to pass Rudolph for second on lap 47.
When the halfway mark rolled around, Friesen had found his way back into the top-five, despite his earlier woes, while Sheppard still led Britten by over a second. That advantage, however, was eliminated on lap 54 by a caution when Keith Flach and Kevin Bolland collided. The incident landed Flach the Speedy First Aid Hard Luck award.
Sheppard chose the outside for the restart, but Britten powered around the bottom and drove low into turn three before sliding up in front of Sheppard in turn four to take the lead. From that point, Britten was able to built some momentum and click off laps with impressive speed through the slick middle of the track.
The restart on lap 75 was another strong one for Britten as Sheppard immediately settled into the second spot. Sheppard's goal of a podium finish was wiped away shortly after when the right-rear tire on his no.9s went flat. That forced Sheppard to pit return to the rear of the field.
The final restart of the race with 12 laps to go put Britten alongside Friesen, who had passed Rudolph for second six laps earlier. Britten was flawless on the return to green and ran a perfect line in the final dash to the finish. Britten's smooth and patient style allowed him to claim the win.
"The yellow came out and they were right on my butt again," Britten said, lamenting the yellow flag. "It's a little nerve wracking, but I just had to concentrate and keep hitting my marks. I knew I had a good racecar and I knew I was driving well, so at that point I felt like it was my race to lose. They were going to have to do something pretty incredible to try and get around me."
Rudolph found another gear late in the race and was able to muscle under Friesen to take second away with three laps to go and grab the runner-up finish.
"It took maybe a few laps to find what the car wanted, but it liked being on the bottom," Rudolph explained. "I ran most of the race there. Peter ran a great race. I don't know if we had a shot at him if there was a late race caution. If we did it was a small chance. We had a really nice car and drove a really nice race. A top-three in this league of competition is nothing to be ashamed of."
Friesen looked like the car to beat in the first half of the race after he soared to the front of the field before a flat tire derailed his effort. Regardless, he was happy with the run given the circumstances.
"It was good. We'll take it," Friesen said. "I had an awesome battle there at the end. Hats off to Peter and those guys. I'm happy for our team and to leave here with a top-three."
Billy Decker, who failed to transfer to the race from his heat, but won the Last Chance Qualifier, finished in fourth. He was one spot ahead of 11th starting Pat Ward.
The victory for Britten was particularly special given how he earned it. Britten's drive from 20th to victory also made him the KSE Hard Charger.
"These races are damn near impossible to win from the front row, so to come from 20th and do it, words can't even describe it," Britten said. "That just shows how good our racecar is. I was in the groove tonight and did my job as a driver."
"I passed Matt running a different line than what he was running and got by him," he added about the winning pass. "To be able to drive by basically every good car that there is in Northeast Dirt Modified racing for the first win is pretty incredible."
Britten's win is also a victory for the so-called 'Little Guy'. The driver of the No.21a owns his own equipment and team this year. He has teamed up with Rich Scagliotta to get his single-car, single engine team to the track for each race.
"It's pretty satisfying getting the first win as a very small operation," Britten concluded. "Rich (Scagliotta) gets my car to the racetrack. We don't have a major sponsor. We have one car, one motor. We're going to keep doing our best to make all the races and getting a win here is a motivating factor to get back and keep working."
Fuller, Friesen, Ward and Sheppard were qualifying heat race winners on the night while Fuller was also the Pole Position Raceway Fast Qualifier. Decker and Mike Maresca won the pair of Last Chance Qualifiers.
Britten and the rest of the Super DIRTcar Series stars will be back in action next week with the Series' first swing through Quebec. The Series visits Autodrome Drummond on Monday, July 24 and Autodrome Granby on Tuesday, July 25. For additional information on either event, please visit www.autodromedrummond.com or www.autodromegranby.com. Advanced reserved tickets are available for the Autodrome Granby event on July 25 at www.autodromegranby.com/vente-de-billets-en-ligne.
Sharon Speedway Notebook
Feature (100 Laps) – 1. 21a-Peter Britten [20]; 2. 25r-Erick Rudolph [5]; 3. 44-Stewart Friesen [9]; 4. 91-Billy Decker [22]; 5. 42p-Pat Ward [11]; 6. 99L-Larry Wight [2]; 7. 6h-Max McLaughlin [16]; 8. 109-Billy Whittaker [4]; 9. 9s-Matt Sheppard [10]; 10. 20-Brett Hearn [1]; 11. 19-Tim Fuller [6]; 12. 98h-Jimmy Phelps [8]; 13. 83-Brian Swartzlander [17]; 14. 22-Brandon Walters [3]; 15. 8-Rich Scagliotta [19]; 16. 165-Rex King Jr. [7]; 17. 14-CG Morey [18]; 18. 9-Will Thomas [24]; 19. 13-Rick Regalski Jr. [29]; 20. 29e-Erik Martin [31]; 21. 32-Jim Rasey [13]; 22. 14w-Ryan Watt [28]; 23. 00-Rob Kristyak [30]; 24. 7m-Mike Maresca [21]; 25. 18b-Dave Blaney [26]; 26. 43-Keith Flach [27]; 27. 777-Kevin Bolland [23]; 28. 65-Rex King [15]; 29. 35-Frank Cozze [14]; 30. 6m-Mat Williamson [12]; 31. 37md-Jeremiah Shingledecker [25]
Qualifying Group 1 - 1. 19-Tim Fuller, 16.866; 2. 6m-Mat Williamson, 17.084; 3. 32-Jim Rasey, 17.141; 4. 7m-Mike Maresca, 17.272; 5. 20-Brett Hearn, 17.307; 6. 83-Brian Swartzlander, 17.342; 7. 43-Keith Flach, 17.474; 8. 777-Kevin Bolland, 17.501; 9. 21-Justin Rasey, 17.879; 10. 96b-Bob Warren, 17.947
Qualifying Group 2 - 1. 44-Stewart Frisen, 17.274; 2. 99L-Larry Wight, 17.276; 3. 25r-Erick Rudolph, 17.389; 4. 37md-Jeremiah Shingledecker, 17.306; 5. 14-CG Morey, 17.425; 6. 35-Frank Cozze, 17.507; 7. 13-Rick Regalski Jr., 17.675; 8. 46-Jeremy Smith, 17.676; 9. 00-Rob Kristyak, 18.130; 10. 29e-Erik Martin, 18.248
Qualifying Group 3 - 1. 42p-Pat Ward, 17.148; 2. 98h-Jimmy Phelps, 17.272; 3. 65-Rex King, 17.375; 4. 17m-Skip Moore, 17.548; 5. 22-Brandon Walters, 17.667; 6. 9-Will Thomas, 17.933; 7. 8-Rich Scagliotta, 18.050; 8. 69-Tom Mattocks, 18.185; 9. 25b-Steve Barr, 18.584
Qualifying Group 4 - 1. 9s-Matt Sheppard, 17.066; 2. 165-Rex King Jr., 17.226; 3. 6h-Max McLaughlin, 17.472; 4. 109-Billy Whittaker, 17.594; 5. 31-Jim Weller Jr., 17.768; 6. 18b-Dave Blaney, 17.790; 7. 21a-Peter Britten, 17.808; 8. 91-Billy Decker, 17.813; 9. 14w-Ryan Watt, 17.952
Heat 1 (8 Laps – Top-5 Qualify – Top-3 Redraw) - 1. 19-Tim Fuller [1]; 2. 6m-Mat Williamson [2]; 3. 20-Brett Hearn [5]; 4. 32-Jim Rasey [3]; 5. 83-Brian Swartzlander [6]; 6. 7m-Mike Maresca [4]; 7. 43-Keith Flach [7]; 8. 777-Kevin Bolland [8]; 9. 21-Justin Rasey [9]; 10. 96b-Bob Warren [10]
Heat 2 (8 Laps – Top-5 Qualify – Top-3 Redraw) - 1. 99L-Larry Wight [2]; 2. 44-Stewart Friesen [1]; 3. 25r-Erick Rudolph [3]; 4. 35-Frank Cozze [6]; 5. 14-CG Morey [5]; 6. 13-Rick Regalski Jr. [7]; 7. 37md-Jeremiah Shingledecker [4]; 8. 46-Jeremy Smith [8]; 9. 29e-Erik Martin [10]; 10. 00-Rob Kristyak [9]
Heat 3 (8 Laps – Top-5 Qualify – Top-3 Redraw) - 1.42p-Pat Ward [1]; 2. 98h-Jimmy Phelps [2]; 3. 22-Brandon Walters [5]; 4. 65-Rex King [3]; 5. 8-Rich Scagliotta [7]; 6. 9-Will Thomas [6]; 7. 17m-Skip Moore [4]; 8. 69-Tom Mattocks [8]; 9. DNS 25b-Steve Barr [9]
Heat 4 (8 Laps – Top-5 Qualify – Top-3 Redraw) - 1. 9s-Matt Sheppard [1]; 2. 165-Rex King Jr. [2]; 3. 109-Billy Whittaker [4]; 4. 6h-Max McLaughlin [3]; 5. 21a-Peter Britten [7]; 6. 18b-Dave Blaney [6]; 7. 91-Billy Decker [8]; 8. 31-Jim Weller Jr. [5]; 9. 14w-Ryan Watt [9]
Last Chance Qualifier 1 (10 Laps – Top 3 Transfer to A-Feature) – 1. 7m-Mike Maresca [1]; 2. 777-Kevin Bolland [5]; 3. 37md-Jeremiah Shingledecker [4]; 4. 43-Keith Flach [3]; 5. 13-Rick Regalski Jr. [2]; 6. 46-Jeremy Smith [6]; 7. 29e-Erik Martin [8]; 8. 21-Justin Fasey [7]; 9. 96b-Bob Warren [9]
Last Chance Qualifier 2 (10 Laps – Top 3 Transfer to A-Feature) – 1. 91-Billy Decker [4]; 2. 9-Will Thomas [1]; 3. 18b-Dave Blaney [2]; 4. 14w-Ryan Watt [7]; 5. 00-Rob Kristyak [8]; 6. 69-Tom Mattocks [5]; 7. 31-Jim Weller Jr. [6]; 8. DNS 17m-Skip Moore [3].
CONTINGENCY WINNERS: VP Racing Fuels ($50 Cash): Billy Whittaker; Pole Position Raceway Fast Time ($100 Cash): Tim Fuller; Bicknell Racing Products ($100 Product Certificate): Erick Rudolph; Cometic Gasket ($50 Cash): Brandon Walters; Comp Cams ($50 Cash): Brandon Walters; Comp Cams ($50 Product Certificate): Peter Britten; Edelbrock ($50 Cash): Brandon Walters; Fox Racing Shocks ($50 Cash): Stewart Friesen; JE Pistons ($50 Cash): Pat Ward; JE Pistons (Product Certificate): Mike Maresca; JE Pistons (Product Certificate): Dave Blaney; KSE Racing Products Inc. ($50 Product Certificate): Peter Britten (+19 - 20th to 1st); MSD Ignition ($50 Cash): Peter Britten; MSD Ignition ($25 Cash): Mike Maresca; SuperFlow Dynos & Flowbenches ($50 Cash): Brandon Walters; Wrisco Aluminum (Product Certificate): Peter Britten; JRI Shocks ($50 Cash): Rich Scagliotta; Speedy First Aid Hard Luck Award (Product Certificate): Keith Flach; ASi Racewear ($50 Cash): Max McLaughlin.
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)
Ryan Watt - 1 (Bridgeport Speedway on May 16)
Matt Sheppard - 1 (Five Mile Point Speedway on June 11)
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)
Billy Decker Dominates at Eldora For Tuesday Night Tailgate Win
Posted by: | Comments- Super DIRTcar Series
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Contact: Clayton Johns
DIRTcar Racing PR
(289) 314-5186 | cjohns@dirtcar.com
Billy Decker Dominates at Eldora For Tuesday Night Tailgate Win
Veteran Driver Earns Third Win of 2017, 68th Career Series Victory
ROSSBURG, OH - July 18, 2017 - Billy Decker started on the pole and dominated all 75 laps on a very fast track to win the Super DIRTcar Series Tuesday Night Tailgate at Eldora Speedway. Decker had to outrun second-starting Pat Ward on a number of mid-race restarts and a final one with 12 laps remaining to earn his Series-leading third victory of the season. The win was also the 68th in Decker's Super DIRTcar Series career.
"I really wanted a win at one of the marquee speedways," Decker said following the win. "It's big, It feels really good."
Ward had to be strong in his own right to hold off Matt Sheppard who survived a furious and chaotic battle inside the top-five to claim the final spot on the podium. Brett Hearn and Peter Britten rounded out the top-five.
Decker was strong from the drop of the green flag and chose the outside lane for the start of the race, a rare occurrence. However, the Unadilla, NY native was tough right away and jumped out to an early advantage.
"They tilled the track a little bit, but I think (the racing groove) was going to end up there anyhow," Decker said of the preferred groove. "When you pull a good number and...you're going to have a forgiving racetrack and you couple that with a fast racecar, it feels pretty good."
After Decker worked his way into traffic on lap eight, there were some tense moments. On lap 11, Decker got stuck behind CG Morey's No.14 as he tried to put him one lap down. He got past Morey in the next corner, but lost half of the advantage he had built over Ward.
"Early on, I thought I found a line where I was gaining a little bit before we hit that heavy lapped traffic," Ward said. "Then, I think it got so top-fast that the bottom wasn't working and I couldn't get anything. [Decker] started pulling away, he was running the cushion a lot better than I was."
The first caution of the race waved shortly afterwards on lap 14 when Erick Rudolph slowed to a stop in turn two. Shaun Pangman suffered a flat tire on the restart, which slowed the race again. Pangman's night ended when he hit the outside wall in turn one on lap 33.
"The lapped traffic was getting a little bit dicey," Decker said. "A couple of guys would run a line and move in the next turn, which makes it hairy and I thought I fired really good on the restarts. Given that I restarted so well, I didn't mind the cautions."
Ward knew he didn't have ability to get by Decker on the restart as did his best to work the inside lane.
"Once he got to the top in one and two, I could almost drag up even with him out of four a couple of times, but you lose your momentum when you try to run down on the bottom," Ward explained. "He just started to pull away after that."
The restart on lap 39 saw Peter Britten positioned in third ahead of Sheppard and Stewart Friesen. Britten held the spot solidly as he also found speed in the outside lane behind Decker and Ward. That changed, however, on a lap 49 restart following a caution for debris when Sheppard and Brett Hearn both got a better jump out of turn four and shuffled Britten back to fifth.
Two more caution followed on lap 56 and lap 63 and each time Decker was up to the challenge. The lap 56 caution came for Tim Fuller, who earned the Speedy First Aid Hard Luck award, after he suffered mechanical issues while running inside the top-10.
On the final restart, Hearn ducked to the bottom of Sheppard for the third spot, but couldn't keep the same momentum in the lower lane. The final 12 laps allowed the field to fall single-file and Decker to cruise off to the victory ahead of Ward, Sheppard, Hearn and Britten.
The restart were chaotic behind the two frontrunners with drivers often ducking low to try and get a run out of turn four. The end result was often three- and four-wide battles into turns one and two.
"t seemed like row two and row three were a free for all on those restarts," Sheppard explained. "I got up to third early there and I think I fell back to fourth and I might have been back to fifth at one point. Luckily I got a good restart on one of the restarts and I was able to stay there until we went single-file.
The track was wide, with the cushion about a half lane off the outside wall, but still heavy and fast after the track crew added water to the racing surface before the main event. It created a physically demanding task for each driver on track.
"It was like time trialing for 75 laps," said Sheppard. "That's about what it felt like."
The victory helped Decker take a 26-point leader over Larry Wight in the championship standings. It also offers his team a morale boost, but Decker isn't going to get too comfortable.
"Winning fixes a lot of things, but it doesn't fix everything," Decker said. "You can't get that stuff back that you giveaway. We've had a couple of tough Series races ourselves, but when you come back and you win it helps you look forward rather than look back."
Sheppard, Friesen and Decker won the qualifying heats. Billy Whittaker won the Last Chance Qualifier. Keith Flach earned the KSE Hard Charger Award advancing 19 positions from 27th to 8th. Larry Wight was the Pole Position Raceway Fast Qualifier with a lap of 16.382 seconds, just 0.002 faster than Decker.
Wight, however, hit the turn three wall on the first lap of his heat. He suffered right-side damage to his No.99L and has to qualify through the Last Chance Qualifier. Wight drove to a ninth-place finish in the main event.
The Super DIRTcar Series returns to action on Wednesday, July 19 at Eldora for the all-star race at the Eldora Dirt Derby alongside the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. For additional event information and to purchase advanced reserved seating, please visit www.EldoraSpeedway.com.
The series then travel to eastern Ohio for a return trip to Sharon Speedway in the Buckeye Ground-Pounder 100 on Thursday, July 19.
"Hopefully we can build a little bit of momentum on it," Decker said of his victory. "Maybe we can get over that hurdle too. We just look at it one race at a time. We're looking forward to going to Sharon. We had a solid run there last year. Hopefully we can do that again this year."
For more information on the Super DIRTcar Series event at Sharon Speedway, visit http://www.sharonspeedway.com/events/super-dirtcar-big-block-modified-series/.
Eldora Speedway Notebook
Feature (75 Laps) – 1. 91-Billy Decker [1]; 2. 42p-Pat Ward [2]; 3. 9s-Matt Sheppard [5]; 4. 20-Brett Hearn [8]; 5. 21a-Peter Britten [3]; 6. 44-Stewart Friesen [12]; 7. 43h-Jimmy Horton [7]; 8. 43-Keith Flach [27]; 9. 99L- Larry Wight [22]; 10. 14w-Ryan Watt [18]; 11. 22-Brandon Walters [20]; 12. 7m-Mike Maresca [4]; 13. 8-Rich Scagliotta [25]; 14. 6m-Mat Williamson [6]; 15. 23-Kyle Coffey [23]; 16. 6j-Josh Hohenforst [16]; 17. 98h-Jimmy Phelps [13]; 18. 5h-Chris Hile [14]; 19. 109-Billy Whittaker [19]; 20. 165-Rex King Jr. [21]; 21. 34h-Cody Bleau [24]; 22. 29e-Erik Martin [29]; 23. 6h-Max McLaughlin [11]; 24. 19-Tim Fuller [10]; 25. 34p-Shaun Pangman [26]; 26. 25r-Erick Rudolph [9]; 27. 35-Frank Cozze [17]; 28. 84-Gary Tomkins [15]; 29. 14-CG Morey [28]; 30. DNS 17j-Matt Janiak [30].
Qualifying Group 1 - 1. 99L-Larry Wight, 16.382; 2. 9s-Matt Sheppard, 16.386; 3. 19-Tim Fuller, 16.410; 4. 34p-Shaun Pangman, 16.529; 5. 6h-Max McLaughlin, 16.536; 6. 43-Keith Flach, 16.821; 7. 98h-Jimmy Phelps, 16.980; 8. 6j-Josh Hohenforst, 16.991; 9. 109-Billy Whittaker, 17.104; 10. 43h-Jimmy Horton, 17.425.
Qualifying Group 2 - 1. 44-Stewart Friesen, 16.537; 2. 7m-Mike Maresca, 16.546; 3. 35-Frank Cozze, 16.617; 4. 6m-Mat Williamson, 16.818; 5. 5h-Chris Hile, 16.907; 6. 21a-Peter Britten, 16.984; 7. 165-Rex King Jr., 17.120; 8. 8-Rich Scagliotta, 17.177; 9. 34h-Cody Bleau, 17.403; 10. 29e-Erik Martin, 18.341.
Qualifying Group 3 - 1. 91-Billy Decker, 16.384; 2. 25-Erick Rudolph, 16.669; 3. 42p-Pat Ward, 16.726; 4. 20-Brett Hearn, 16.733’ 5. 14w-Ryan Watt, 16.875; 6. 23-Kyle Coffey, 17.077; 7. 22-Brandon Walters, 17.272; 8. 84 Gary Tomkins, 17.813; 9. 17j-Matt Janiak, 17.917; 10. 14-CG Morey, 18.332; 11. 46-Jeremy Smith, NT.
Heat 1 (8 Laps – Top-6 Qualify – Top-4 Redraw) - 1. 9s-Matt Sheppard [2]; 2. 19-Tim Fuller [3]; 3. 6h-Max McLaughlin [5]; 4. 43h-Jimmy Horton [10]; 5. 98h-Jimmy Phelps [7]; 6. 6j-Josh Hohenforst [8]; 7. 109-Billy Whittaker [9]; 8. 99L-Larry Wight [1]; 9. 34p-Shaun Pangman [4]; 10. 43-Keith Flach [6].
Heat 2 (8 Laps – Top-6 Qualify – Top-4 Redraw) - 1. 44-Stewart Friesen [1]; 2. 7m-Mike Maresca [2]; 3. 6m-Mat Williamson [4]; 4. 21a-Peter Britten [6]; 5. 5h-Chris Hile [5]; 6. 35-Frank Cozze [3]; 7. 165-Rex King Jr. [7]; 8. 8-Rich Scagliotta [8]; 9. 34h-Cody Bleau [9]; 10. 29e-Erik Martin [10].
Heat 3 (8 Laps – Top-6 Qualify – Top-4 Redraw) - 1. 91-Billy Decker [1]; 2. 25r-Erick Rudolph [2]; 3. 42p-Pat Ward [3]; 4. 20-Brett Hearn [4]; 5. 84-Gary Tomkins [8]; 6. 14w-Ryan Watt [5]; 7. 22-Brandon Walters [7]; 8. 23-Kyle Coffey [6]; 9. 14-CG Morey [10]; 10. 17j-Matt Janiak [9]; 11. DNS 46-Jeremy Smith.
Last Chance Qualifier (8 Laps – All Transfer to A-Feature) – 1. 109-Billy Whittaker [1]; 2. 22-Brandon Walters [3]; 3. 165-Rex King Jr. [2]; 4. 99L-Larry Wight [4]; 5. 23-Kyle Coffey [6]; 6. 34h-Cody Bleau [8]; 7. 8-Rich Scagliotta [5]; 8. 34p-Shaun Pangman [7]; 9. 43-Keith Flach [10]; 10. 14-CG Morey [9]; 11. 29e-Erik Martin [11]; 12. DNS 17J-Matt Janiak [12].
CONTINGENCY WINNERS: VP Racing Fuels ($50 Cash): Keith Flach; Pole Position Raceway Fast Time ($100 Cash): Larry Wight; Bicknell Racing Products ($100 Product Certificate): Billy Decker; Cometic Gasket ($50 Cash): Rich Scagliotta; Comp Cams ($50 Cash): Ryan Watt; Comp Cams ($50 Product Certificate): Billy Decker; Edelbrock ($50 Cash): Larry Wight; Fox Racing Shocks ($50 Cash): Brett Hearn; JE Pistons ($50 Cash): Peter Britten; JE Pistons (Product Certificate): Jimmy Phelps; JE Pistons (Product Certificate): Max McLaughlin; KSE Racing Products Inc. ($50 Product Certificate): Larry Wight; MSD Ignition ($50 Cash): Billy Decker; MSD Ignition ($25 Cash): Erick Rudolph; SuperFlow Dynos & Flowbenches ($50 Cash): Erick Rudolph; Wrisco Aluminum (Product Certificate): Billy Decker; JRI Shocks ($50 Cash): Rich Scagliotta; Dig Safely 811 Redraw Bonus ($100 Cash): N/A; Speedy First Aid Hard Luck Award (Product Certificate): Tim Fuller; ASi Racewear ($50 Cash): Jimmy Horton.
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)
Ryan Watt – 1 (Bridgeport Speedway on May 16)
Matt Sheppard – 1 (Five Mile Point Speedway on June 11)
Tim McCreadie – 1 (Albany-Saratoga Speedway on June 27)
Larry Wight – 1 (Airborne Park Speedway on July 6)
Donny Schatz Dominates 34th Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway
Posted by: | CommentsWorld of Outlaws
Contact: Clayton Johns
World of Outlaws PR
289-314-5186| cjohns@dirtcar.com
Donny Schatz Dominates 34th Kings Royal at Eldora Speedway
Makes History as First Back-to-Back Winner of the Prestigious Event
ROSSBURG, OH - July 15, 2017 - Donny Schatz turned in a perfect score card and walked away with a $50,000 check after dominating the 34th annual Kings Royal for the World of Outlaws Craftsman® Sprint Car Series at Eldora Speedway on Saturday night. Schatz set fast time in qualifying and then won his heat from the fifth starting position following the traditional Kings Royal heat race inversion.
Schatz's win in Heat 1 put him sixth on the starting grid. He wasted no time at all jumping forward. He took the lead from polesitter and Kings Royal rookie Cole Duncan on lap 14 and never looked back. Schatz lead was as big as six seconds and he crossed the finish line 3.966 seconds ahead of teammate Christopher Bell.
"I just tried to play it cautious, but I seemed to be a little better than the guys in front of me while I tried to search out and find the right line," Schatz explained of his early race strategy. "I got (to the front) fairly quick. "Brad (Sweet), I didn't know if he would keep getting better, he looked okay. He didn't really slow down, we just seemed to get a little bit better towards the end of the race as the fuel came off. That comes to the three guys that work on this car. They take it with the utmost pride and passion and it's those sort of things that get us in these positions."
Schatz took the lead from Duncan and third-starting Brad Sweet followed him to take the second position. From there, Schatz found his way into traffic and seemingly got faster as worked around the slower cars.
"I was better in dirty air and that's something this race team works hard on," Schatz said. "It seems like I can get my car to stick when I'm behind somebody else. Why that is, I don't know. I seem to be better in dirty air than I am in open air."
The proficiency of Schatz No.15 in traffic left podium finishers Christopher Bell and Sweet a bit befuddled.
"It just goes back to car handling," Sweet said. "That really shows your car, how good you are in dirty air. That's where the No.15 tends to shine. Once he got there, we started getting some bad air and the car wasn't feeling as good behind some of those lapped guys and that's when Donny just drove by and that's when I knew we were in trouble."
Despite his dominance, Schatz said he never let up or felt he good relax.
"I've raced the same way for the last 20 years: the race isn't over until it's over," Schatz said. "You can clearly be the best car some nights and force yourself into a mistake. I probably pushed the issue with a lapped car and I got myself in a spot where I could have been the fence. It's never over until you roll under that checkered flag."
Bell put on a show on his own as he raced from the 20th starting spot after he qualified into the race as one of the two-fastest qualifiers who did transfer to the Feature from the heat races. The starting position wasn't too much of a hindrance to Bell, other than to track down Schatz at the end of the caution-free race.
"That was a ton of fun running up there right around the fence," Bell said following the race. "For me, I was just trying to run smart and take my time. I knew I had a really good car. Looking back at it, if I had known it was going to go green to checkered, I probably could have made a couple more moves to get through the field faster to give me more time to run down Donny. To come from 20th to second on a green to checkered race is something that I'm pretty proud of."
The Norman, OK driver suffered damage to his car's no wing when he hit Jac Haudenschild ,who was a lapped car, in the rear bumper in turn two in turn two while in the rear bumper with less than two laps to go,. The damage, however, didn't seem to inhibit Bell at all.
"I don't think it really mattered," Bell said of the damage. "I was worried about it when it first happened. It hurt me whenever I was in dirty air because the nose kept coming up, but as far as running by myself, I don't think it really affected me."
The Tony Stewart/Curb Agajanian Racing teammates raced to their second straight 1-2 finish. Sweet was a strong third-place finishers and was on the podium for the third straight night at Eldrora. Still, Sweet feels like his team can find another gear.
"We have a lot of consistency in our car, just some of these races we haven't hit it exactly right for the main event," Sweet said. "Donny was just a good bit better. He just drove by us and checked out. I searched around on the racetrack and just never found a spot where it was super good. I think we kind of know where we missed it. There's a lot of human element in decision-making before these races and you have to make the right decisions if you want to win them. We'll learn from this and try to keep getting better."
After claiming the VP Racing Fuels checkered flag, Schatz was crowned King Donny the 34th in traditional Kings Royal Victory Lane. This year, the King of the Outlaws and original Kings Royal winner Steve Kinser, presented Schatz with his winning crown.
"I think more than anything, this probably isn't going to happen a whole lot that I'm going to get to stand next to the real King," Schatz said of Kinser. "That means a lot to me. He's always been a hero, he's been the ambassador of our sport, he's the best thing our sport's ever seen. I'm damn proud to stand next to that guy tonight."
Schatz refused to acknowledge his new accomplishment as the first back-to-back winner of the Kings Royal. Instead, Schatz is happy he becomes a statistical footnote.
"Anytime you can do anything that Steve Kinser hasn't done is incredible," Schatz said of his victory.
Earlier in the night, Schatz set quick time with a lap of 13.197 seconds, identical to Kerry Madsen's quick time in Hot Laps. Schatz then used a late restart in Heat 1 to take the lead and claim the sixth-starting spot in the Feature. Tim Shaffer, Sheldon Haudsenchild, Jac Haudenchild, Brad Sweet and Cole Duncan all won earlier qualifying heats. Clyde Knipp earned the C-Main win while David Gravel made a last lap pass to edge Shane Stewart for a win in the Last Chance Showdown.
Despite Bell passing 18 cars to finish second, Ryan Smith took home the KSE Hard Charger award as he advanced from 24th to 5th behind Duncan, who finished fourth in his first-ever Kings Royal start.
The World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series now continues its travel back east with a stop of Lernverville Speedway in Sarver, PA on July 18 for the $20,000-to-win Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup.
Eldora Speedway Kings Royal Notebook
Feature (40 Laps) - 1. 15-Donny Schatz [6][$50,000]; 2. 14-Christopher Bell [20][$20,000]; 3. 49-Brad Sweet [2][$15,000]; 4. 12N-Cole Duncan [1][$12,500]; 5. O7-Ryan Smith [24][$10,000]; 6. 81-Lee Jacobs [7][$7,500]; 7. 10H-Chad Kemenah [8][$6,500]; 8. 9-Daryn Pittman [14][$6,000]; 9. 11K-Kraig Kinser [17][$5,500]; 10. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild [4][$5,000]; 11. 24-Rico Abreu [13][$4,750]; 12. 1S-Logan Schuchart [10][$4,500]; 13. 2M-Kerry Madsen [9][$4,000]; 14. 18-Ian Madsen [23][$3,750]; 15. 2-Shane Stewart [22][$3,500]; 16. 71-Joey Saldana [15][$3,450]; 17. 5-David Gravel [21][$3,400]; 18. 21-Brian Brown [11][$3,350]; 19. 39-Sammy Swindell [18][$3,300]; 20. 7S-Jason Sides [19][$3,250]; 21. 3H-James McFadden [12][$3,200]; 22. 17-Jac Haudenschild [3][$3,150]; 23. 19-Brent Marks [16][$3,100]; 24. 49X-Tim Shaffer [5][$3,000].
Lap Leaders: Cole Duncan 1-13, Donny Schatz 14-40;
KSE Hard Charger Award: 07-Ryan Smith[+19]
Qualifying - 1. 15-Donny Schatz, 13.197; 2. 7S-Jason Sides, 13.463; 3. 14-Christopher Bell, 13.478; 4. 41-Jason Johnson, 13.558; 5. 11K-Kraig Kinser, 13.58; 6. 5-David Gravel, 13.655; 7. 24-Rico Abreu, 13.655; 8. 2-Shane Stewart, 13.67; 9. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild, 13.671; 10. 4-Paul McMahan, 13.723; 11. 1A-Jacob Allen, 13.762; 12. 7K-Cale Conley, 13.77; 13. O7-Ryan Smith, 13.778; 14. 9-Daryn Pittman, 13.782; 15. 2M-Kerry Madsen, 13.82; 16. 19-Brent Marks, 13.821; 17. 21-Brian Brown, 13.829; 18. 39-Sammy Swindell, 13.886; 19. 99-Brady Bacon, 13.889; 20. 10H-Chad Kemenah, 13.909; 21. 71-Joey Saldana, 13.932; 22. 17-Jac Haudenschild, 13.938; 23. 49-Brad Sweet, 13.947; 24. 12N-Cole Duncan, 13.963; 25. 81-Lee Jacobs, 13.982; 26. 49X-Tim Shaffer, 14.028; 27. W20-Greg Wilson, 14.048; 28. 1S-Logan Schuchart, 14.061; 29. A67-Brandon Wimmer, 14.067; 30. 3H-James McFadden, 14.103; 31. 13-Clyde Knipp, 14.105; 32. 45-Trevor Baker, 14.106; 33. 1ST-Gary Taylor, 14.109; 34. 18-Ian Madsen, 14.114; 35. 55XM-Dale Blaney, 14.131; 36. 16-Chris Andrews, 14.135; 37. 41S-Dominic Scelzi, 14.17; 38. 2X-Parker Price-Miller, 14.198; 39. 5T-Travis Philo, 14.209; 40. 11N-Craig Mintz, 14.234; 41. 19P-Paige Polyak, 14.28; 42. 17XX-Danny Holtgraver, 14.304; 43. 44-Trey Starks, 14.307; 44. 17X-Josh Baughman, 14.367; 45. 33M-Max Stambaugh, 14.399; 46. 21AU-Jordyn Brazier, 14.454; 47. 22M-Dan McCarron, 14.531; 48. 49D-Shawn Dancer, 14.625; 49. 7J-Joe Swanson, 14.796; 50. 71M-Paul May, 14.854; 51. 83C-Adam Cruea, 14.882; 52. 17M-Max McGhee, 14.932; 53. 45T-Bob Tucker, 15.192
Heat 1 (10 Laps) - Top 3 Transfer - 1. 15-Donny Schatz [5]; 2. 81-Lee Jacobs [1]; 3. 24-Rico Abreu [4]; 4. O7-Ryan Smith [3]; 5. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [7]; 6. 44-Trey Starks [8]; 7. 13-Clyde Knipp [6]; 8. 7J-Joe Swanson [9]; 9. 99-Brady Bacon [2]
Heat 2 (10 Laps) - Top 3 Transfer - 1. 49X-Tim Shaffer [1]; 2. 10H-Chad Kemenah [2]; 3. 9-Daryn Pittman [3]; 4. 2-Shane Stewart [4]; 5. 7S-Jason Sides [5]; 6. 45-Trevor Baker [6]; 7. 71M-Paul May [9]; 8. 17X-Josh Baughman [8]
Heat 3 (10 Laps) - Top 3 Transfer - 1. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild [4]; 2. 2M-Kerry Madsen [3]; 3. 71-Joey Saldana [2]; 4. W20-Greg Wilson [1]; 5. 1ST-Gary Taylor [6]; 6. 5T-Travis Philo [7]; 7. 33M-Max Stambaugh [8]; 8. 83C-Adam Cruea [9]; 9. 14-Christopher Bell [5]
Heat 4 (10 Laps) - Top 3 Transfer - 1. 17-Jac Haudenschild [2]; 2. 1S-Logan Schuchart [1]; 3. 19-Brent Marks [3]; 4. 18-Ian Madsen [6]; 5. 41-Jason Johnson [5]; 6. 4-Paul McMahan [4]; 7. 11N-Craig Mintz [7]; 8. 17M-Max McGhee [9]; 9. 21AU-Jordyn Brazier [8]
Heat 5 (10 Laps) - Top 3 Transfer - 1. 49-Brad Sweet [2]; 2. 21-Brian Brown [3]; 3. 11K-Kraig Kinser [5]; 4. 55XM-Dale Blaney [6]; 5. A67-Brandon Wimmer [1]; 6. 19P-Paige Polyak [7]; 7. 1A-Jacob Allen [4]; 8. 22M-Dan McCarron [8]; 9. 45T-Bob Tucker [9]
Heat 6 (10 Laps) - Top 3 Transfer - 1. 12N-Cole Duncan [2]; 2. 3H-James McFadden [1]; 3. 39-Sammy Swindell [3]; 4. 5-David Gravel [5]; 5. 49D-Shawn Dancer [8]; 6. 16-Chris Andrews [6]; 7. 7K-Cale Conley [4]; 8. 17XX-Danny Holtgraver [7]
Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps) - Top 4 Transfer - 1. 5-David Gravel [6][]; 2. 2-Shane Stewart [2][]; 3. 18-Ian Madsen [4][]; 4. O7-Ryan Smith [1][]; 5. W20-Greg Wilson [3][$2,000]; 6. 5T-Travis Philo [15][$1,750]; 7. 41S-Dominic Scelzi [7][$1,500]; 8. 55XM-Dale Blaney [5][$1,250]; 9. 41-Jason Johnson [10][$1,000]; 10. 1ST-Gary Taylor [9][$750]; 11. 4-Paul McMahan [16][$650]; 12. 71M-Paul May [14][$600]; 13. 11N-Craig Mintz [21][$600]; 14. 33M-Max Stambaugh [20][$600]; 15. 44-Trey Starks [13][$600]; 16. 16-Chris Andrews [18][$600]; 17. 49D-Shawn Dancer [12][$600]; 18. 17M-Max McGhee [23][$600]; 19. 22M-Dan McCarron [24][$600]; 20. 45-Trevor Baker [8][$600]; 21. 19P-Paige Polyak [17][$600]; 22. 13-Clyde Knipp [19][$600]; 23. A67-Brandon Wimmer [11][$600]; 24. 7J-Joe Swanson [22][$600]
C-Feature (10 Laps) - Top 6 Transfer - 1. 13-Clyde Knipp [1][]; 2. 33M-Max Stambaugh [3][]; 3. 11N-Craig Mintz [4][]; 4. 7J-Joe Swanson [7][]; 5. 17M-Max McGhee [9][]; 6. 22M-Dan McCarron [10][]; 7. 45T-Bob Tucker [14][$500]; 8. 83C-Adam Cruea [8][$450]; 9. 17X-Josh Baughman [2][$400]; 10. 1A-Jacob Allen [5][$375]; 11. 7K-Cale Conley [6][$350]; 12. 17XX-Danny Holtgraver [11][$350]; 13. 99-Brady Bacon [12][$350]; 14. 21AU-Jordyn Brazier [13][$350]; 15. 2X-Parker Price-Miller [15][$350]
CONTINGENCY WINNERS: MSD Ignitions ($25 cash): Brent Marks; MSD Ignitions ($50 cash): Donny Schatz; JE Pistons ($50 cash): Chad Kemenah; VP Racing Fuels ($50 cash): Daryn Pittman; Edelbrock ($50 cash): Kraig Kinser; Comp Cams ($50 cash): Sheldon Haudenschild; Extended Stay America ($50 cash): Logan Schuchart; Cometic Gasket ($50 cash): Logan Schuchart; Super Flow ($50 cash): Shane Stewart; KSE Hard Charger: Ryan Smith; Comp Cams ($50 product certificate): Donny Schatz; JE Pistons (Set of Rings): Jason Sides; JE Pistons (Set of Rings): James McFadden.
SEASON WINNERS
Donny Schatz - 14 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 19, Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 19, LoneStar Speedway on March 3, The Dirt Track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 9, The Dirt Track at Las Vegas on March 10, Thunderbowl Raceway on March 18, Missouri State Fair Speedway on May 5, 81 Speedway on May 6, Eldora Speedway May 13, Knoxville Raceway on June 10, Granite City on June 20, Dirt Oval at Route 66 on June 27, Dakota State Fair Speedway on July 1, Eldora Speedway on July 15)
David Gravel - 10 (Thunderbowl Raceway on March 17, Placerville Speedway on March 29, Perris Auto Speedway on April 1, Gator Motorplex on April 13, Plymouth Speedway on April 28, Lincoln Speedway on May 17, Williams Grove on May 19, New Egypt Speedway on May 24, River Cities Speedway on June 16, Attica Raceway Park on July 11)
Brad Sweet - 4 (Stockton Dirt Track on March 25, Devil’s Bowl on April 15, Jackson Motorplex on June 3, Knoxville Raceway on June 9)
Shane Stewart – 4 (Williams Grove Speedway on May 20, Lawrenceburg Speedway on May 29, West Liberty Raceway on June 23, Beaver Dam Raceway on June 24)
Kerry Madsen – 4 (Jackson Motorplex on June 2, Cedar Lake Speedway on July 7, Cedar Lake Speedway on July 8, Eldora Speedway on July 13)
Logan Schuchart - 3 (Keller Auto Speedway on March 31, Eldora Speedway on May 12, Charlotte on May 26)
Jason Johnson - 2 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 17, Devil’s Bowl on April 14)
Brian Brown – 1 (Cocopah Speedway on April 7)
Rico Abreu – 1 (Arizona Speedway on April 8)
Parker Price-Miller – 1 (Tri-State Speedway on May 14)
Ian Madsen – 1 (Jackson Motorplex on June 1)
Kyle Larson – 1 (Eagle Raceway on June 13)
Kraig Kinser - 1 (Deer Creek Speedway on July 6)
Christopher Bell - 1 (Eldora Speedway on July 14)
