Clash at Charlotte: Sheppard, Hearn and Decker duel for Super DIRTcar Series championship
World of Outlaws World Finals kicks off Nov. 6 with feature races set for Nov. 7 and 8
WEEDSPORT, N.Y. – October 31, 2014 – A heated Super DIRTcar Series points battle will round out the season as the series heads into its final two feature races with the top two in point standings, Matt Sheppard and Billy Decker, within just one point of each other.
The World of Outlaws World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, N.C., kicks off Thursday, Nov. 6, with qualifying events for the Super DIRTcar Big Block Modified Series, World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series and World of Outlaws Late Models Series. Racing Friday and Saturday, Nov. 7 and 8, includes a feature event for each series and champions will be crowned after the races Friday.
Sheppard, of Waterloo, N.Y., leads in Super DIRTcar Series points after an impressive run at Orange County Fair Speedway took him from a 43rd starting spot to second place. However, Decker’s one-point disadvantage could be quickly overcome in Charlotte, where each feature race is worth 150 points.
“We’re looking forward to going down there and trying to get this championship,” said Sheppard, who claimed the Super DIRTcar Series title in Charlotte three years in a row: 2010, 2011 and 2012. “It’s awesome. It’s an unbelievable feeling, an unbelievable atmosphere. The way this series has shaken up with the points and everything at the end of the year, the fans should be in for quite a treat.”
No stranger to the limelight at Charlotte, Sheppard is prepping for the finale races and hoping to win his first championship trophy with the new race team. Sheppard began racing this year under the Heinke-Baldwin Racing banner earlier this season.
“It’s going to go right down to the wire,” Sheppard said. “It’s going to be exciting in Charlotte.”
Decker, of Sidney, N.Y., has returned to full-time competition in the Super DIRTcar Series and hasn’t missed a beat. Before Orange County Fair Speedway’s Eastern States 200 earlier this October, Decker was leading in series points. He already has a total of three series wins to his name, and with the point lead within a few points, Decker is hoping for a strong run at Charlotte.
“It’s a hell of a racetrack,” Decker said of Charlotte‘s 0.4-mile clay oval, where the driver, in 2011, lost his series point lead and his shot at the championship after mechanical failures in the first feature. “We went down there and had bad luck, broke an engine and just flat out missed it.”
Also in contention for the series championship is eight-time Super DIRTcar Series Champion Brett “the Jet” Hearn. After a win at Orange County Fair Speedway, Hearn is third in series points and just 52 points behind leader Sheppard.
“It’s become such a highlight for so many people’s seasons,” Hearn said of racing at the World of Outlaws World Finals. “In front of that crowd, and in front of people from all over the country, to me, that event has no rival.”
The World of Outlaws World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte is one out of only two events this season at which fans can watch the Super DIRTcar Series, World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series, and World of Outlaws Late Models Series at the same track, and it is the only chance during the season to see feature races for all three on the same night.
For more information and the latest updates about the Super DIRTcar Big Block Modified Series, clickwww.superdirtcarseries.com, follow @SuperDIRTcar on Twitter or “like” the DIRTcar Racing Facebook page atwww.facebook.com/DIRTcar.
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, and Safety-Kleen. Contingency partners include the University of Northwestern Ohio, ASI, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, Brodix, ButlerBuilt, Cometic Gasket, Comp Cams, Edelbrock, Integra Shocks, Intercomp, JE Pistons, JRI Shocks, KSE Racing Products, Mobil 1, Motorsports Safety Systems, MSD LLC, Fox Shocks, Pole Position Raceway, Racing Electronics, Superflow and Wrisco Industries.
