WEEDSPORT, N.Y. – Aug. 5, 2015 – Super DIRTcar Series point leader Matt Sheppard of Waterloo, N.Y. took the lead 55 laps into the Hall of Fame 100 at Weedsport Speedway and was fast and flawless the rest of the way to earn $10,000 with his 4th win in 12 races.
Sheppard started eighth in the FX Caprara/Mohawk Northeast No. 9h, stayed patient in the early going and passed polesitter Danny Johnson to take first place after several laps of jousting in lapped traffic.
Johnson slowed on the backstretch soon after surrendering the lead bringing out the third caution. The ensuing restart dramatically changed the complexion of the race. Billy Decker, starting on the inside of row two, had a stuck throttle and spun out in the first turn, collecting Peter Britten and Brett Hearn, who had risen from 12th to 4th and was showing signs of overtaking the leaders.
Decker left on the hook while Hearn pitted, advancing Tim Fuller and Jimmy Phelps into the second row. Sheppard drove away from teammate Jimmy Phelps at the drop of the green, never to be closely challenged again.
“We were going back and forth, sort of floating around in 6th or 7th for quite a while, but then we had a pretty long green flag run and next thing you know, there we were racing for the lead,” Sheppard said. “It’s great to win here. It’s truly one of the classiest tracks in the Northeast with a lot of tradition.”
Phelps was alongside Fuller on the restart that proved to b Decker’s undoing along with Hearn and Britten.
“I was inches away from getting into it myself,” Phelps said. “Thanks to all the fans for coming out. We had a lot of great people behind us helping put this race together.
Pat Ward finished fourth after testing Fuller often for third only to have lapped traffic cut down his angles.
Erick Rudolph got better as the race went along and drove underneath Justin Haers with four laps remaining to complete the top five.
Positions 7-10 went to Larry Wight, Stewart Friesen, Billy Dunn and Britten.
Hearn, the Pole Position Raceway Fast Award Winner gained little of the track he lost after pitting for a tire following the Decker incident.
The next stop on the Super DIRTcar Series schedule is the ”Big Show 7”, which Hearn promotes, at Albany-Saratoga Speedway in Malta, N.Y. Wednesday, August 12.
Super DIRTcar Big-Block Modified Series Statistical Report; Weedsport Speedway; August 6, 2015
“Hall of Fame 100”
A-Main (100 laps): start in (*)
1. 9h Matt Sheppard – Waterloo, N.Y. (8)
2. 98h Jimmy Phelps – Baldwinsville, N.Y. (16)
3.19 Tim Fuller – Edwards, N.Y. (7)
4. 42p Pat Ward – Genoa, N.Y. (12)
5.21 Erick Rudolph – Ransomville (13)
6. 3 Justin Haers – Phelps, N.Y. (6)
7.99L Larry Wight- Phoenix, N.Y. (10)
8. 7z Stewart Friesen – Sprakers, NY (11)
9. 49 Billy Dunn – Watertown, N.Y. (22)
10. 21a Peter Britten – Brisbane, Queensland, Australia (2)
11. X Chad Phelps – Fulton, N.Y.(24)
12. 20 Brett Hearn – Sussex, NJ (12)
13. 14J Alan Johnson – Middlesex, N.Y.(3)
14. 33 Mike Mahaney – King Ferry, N.Y. (27)
15. 1s Rob Bellinger – Cicero, N.Y. (28)
16. 1x Tyler Dippel – Walkill, N.Y. (4)
17. 28p Eldon Payne Jr. – Hopewell, N.Y. (23)
18. 48T Dave Rauscher – Waterloo, N.Y. (29)
19. 02 Roy Bresnahan Fulton, N.Y. (30)
20. 43 Keith Flach – Ravena, N.Y. (20)
21. 8 Rich Scagliotta – Bound Brook, N.J. (9)
22. 91 Billy Decker – Unadilla, N.Y. (5)
23. 27J Danny Johnson – Rochester, N.Y. (1)
24. 32 Vic Coffey – Leicester, N.Y. (19)
25. 19w Justin Wright – Niagara Falls, N.Y. (17)
26. 99 Ryan Phelps – Fulton, N.Y. (14)
27. 93 Ryan Bartlett – Adams Center, N.Y. (26)
28. 16 Mike Bowman – Baldwinsville, N.Y. (25)
29. 3B Chad Brachmann – Sanborn, N.Y. (18)
30. 84 Gary Tomkins – Clifton Springs, N.Y. (21)
DID NOT START
99b Chuck Bower
63 Adam Roberts
56 Vince Vitale
26 Rich Rickner
4 Jeff Blackburn
Qualifying Heats (8 laps, top 5 transfer, top 3 redraw)
Heat 1: Hearn, Britten, A Johnson, Rudolph, Wright, Payne, Bowman, Vitale
Heat 2: Fuller, Friesen, Scagliotta, R Phelps, Brachmann, Tomkins, Mahaney, Richner
Heat 3: Wight, Sheppard, D Johnson, Ward, Coffey, Dunn, C Phelps, Bartlett, Roberts
Heat 4: Haers, Decker, Dippel, J Phelps, Flach, Bresnahan, Bellinger, Blackburn, Bowers
Consi 1: Tomkins, Payne, Bowman, Mahaney, Rauscher
Consi 2: Dunn, C Phelps, Bartlett, Bellinger, Bresnahan, Rich Richner, Jeff Blackburn
The Super DIRTcar Series and DIRTcar Racing in the Northeast Region is brought to fans by several sponsors and partners including Hoosier Racing Tire, VP Racing Fuels, Chevy Performance Parts, NAPA Auto Parts, Pole Position Raceway and Dig Safely New York. Contingency sponsors are ASI, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, Brodix, ButlerBuilt, Cometic Gasket, Comp Cams, Edelbrock, FX Caprara, Fox Shox, Impact Race Products, Intercomp, JE Pistons, JRI Shocks, KSE Racing Products, Mobil 1, Motorsports Safety Systems, MSD Performance, Racing Electronics, Superflow, TNT Rescue and Wrisco Aluminum.
