Sheppard Takes Center Stage at DIRTcar Racing ‘Night of Champions’ in New York
Lebanon Valley Speedway honored as VP Racing Fuels Track of the Year at Promoter Meeting
VERNON, N.Y. — Nov. 21, 2011 — More than $250,000 in point fund money and related awards were distributed on Saturday night at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino during the DIRTcar Racing “Night of Champions” celebration, an annual event honoring DIRTcar competitors and teams in the Northeast Region.
After winning his second consecutive Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels Super DIRTcar Series Big-Block Modified championship in his Jeff Brownell-owned Bicknell, Matt Sheppard was also rewarded for winning the Safety-Kleen Mr. DIRTcar Big-Block Modified weekly crown. In all, Sheppard, of Waterloo, N.Y., pocketed more than $50,000 in cash and awards from the year-end DIRTcar Racing Northeast Region point fund for becoming only the sixth driver in history to win back-to-back Super DIRTcar Series Big-Block Modified titles.
“I’ll tell you what, I was watching the video behind the screen and it showed the guys who had won it before and that old footage and it really gives you the chills,” Sheppard said, referencing a highlight video that preceded him being called to the stage that showed past consecutive Big-Block champions Will Cagle, Brett Hearn, Alan Johnson, Jack Johnson and Bob McCreadie. “Those are the guys who are the heroes of the sport. They’ve won countless races, countless championships. To be part of that crowd really makes you take a step back. It’s really special. It says a lot about the Super DIRTcar Series in general. It has such a great history with so many great drivers. There are so few drivers who have won it two years in a row it just shows how steep the competition is.”
Danny Johnson, of Rochester, N.Y., received top honors for winning his fifth overall Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels DIRTcar 358-Modified Series championship in the Mike Payne-owned Bicknell. David Hebert, of St. Damase, Quebec, raced to the top of the weekly Mr. DIRTcar 358-Modified standings.
In the hugely popular Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Series, it was Tim Sears Jr., of Clay, N.Y., earning his second consecutive series crown while Bodie Bellinger, of Johnstown, N.Y., topped the weekly Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman Modified division.
Like Sheppard did in the Big-Block field, Joey Ladouceur swept the DIRTcar Pro Stock competition. Ladouceur, of Alexandria, Ontario, earned the Hoosier Tire-VP Racing Fuels DIRTcar Pro Stock Series championship for the second time in three years, while he also raced to the weekly Mr. DIRTcar Pro Stock crown.
In other awards presented during the event, the top rookies in each division were honored with Motorsports Safety Systems DIRTcar Northeast Rookie of the Year Awards. Michel Chicoine in Big-Blocks, Chris Raabe in 358-Modifieds, Chris Thurston in Sportsman Modifieds and Gaetan Amesse in Pro Stocks were the recipients of nearly $3,000 in combined cash and awards.
Tom Sears Jr. finished 10th in the Super DIRTcar Series Big-Block Modified standings and earned the Area Auto Racing News Hard Luck Award as well as the KSE Hard Charger Award, while Aussie Peter Britten, who wound up a career-best seventh in the Big-Block standings, received the Gater Racing News Special Recognition Award.
Justin Haers, sixth place in the Super DIRTcar Series standings, earned the Xtreme Lubricants Slick Move of the Season Award.

RARE AIR: Sheppard’s Second Straight Title Puts Him Among Elite
Young New York star only sixth driver in 36-year history to win championships in back-to-back seasons
WEEDSPORT, NY – Nov. 14, 2011 – By Kevin Kovac/DIRTcar Racing PR - No one had to tell Matt Sheppard why his 2011 overall DIRTcar Big-Block Modified championship holds so much significance. That fact hit him head-on as soon as he glanced at the select list of drivers who preceded him as winners of DIRTcar Northeast’s most prestigious title in back-to-back seasons.
With his second straight Big-Block points crown, Sheppard became just the sixth competitor to capture consecutive championships in the 36 years that the trophy has been awarded. He joined a group of DIRTcar Big-Block Modified immortals that features Alan Johnson (2002-2003), Brett Hearn (outright in 1996 and co-champ in ‘97), Bob McCreadie (1994-95), Jack Johnson (1984-85, 1987-88) and Will Cagle (1978-79).
That’s pretty heady company for Sheppard, a DIRTcar Northeast circuit lifer from Waterloo, N.Y., who, at 29, is by far the youngest driver in history to win consecutive Big-Block titles.
“Those are the guys I grew up watching,” said Sheppard, who began attending DIRTcar races at an early age with his father, former driver Stu, and was a teenager when he debuted behind the wheel of a DIRTcar Sportsman. “They were like heroes to me. I never thought I’d be mentioned in the same breath as those guys.”
The awestruck Sheppard will receive his $36,650 check for winning the overall Big-Block Modified championship this Saturday (Nov. 19) during the annual DIRTcar Northeast ‘Night of Champions’ Awards Banquet at the Turning Stone Casino in Vernon, N.Y. Over $130,000 in points-fund awards will be distributed to the top 15 finishers in this year’s overall points standings, including an additional $1,650 to each driver from the pool of fines levied on Big-Block competitors in 2011.
“To be just the sixth guy to repeat – man, it’s just unbelievable,” continued Sheppard. “It’s really one of those things you have to let sink in. I didn’t realize it was that short of a list.
“When you look back, there have been a lot of guys who have had dominant years (in the DIRTcar Big-Block Modified division) but it’s still been tough for them to string together championships. It says a lot for the division and how competitive the Super DIRT Series is when only six guys have won it two years in a row and no one has done it three years in a row.”
Sheppard recognized just how difficult it is to repeat in 2011. He appeared primed to cruise to the title for the second consecutive year when he carried a healthy 46-point lead over Decker into the division’s marquee event, the SEF Small Engines Fuels 200 presented by Ferris & Snapper on Oct. 9 at the one-mile New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse, N.Y., but a 29th-place finish thanks to his lone DNF of the 15-race Super DIRTcar Series (broken hub) pushed him back to second in the standings.
Suddenly facing a 48-point deficit to Decker with just three races remaining on the schedule, Sheppard found himself in trouble. His dreams seemed to be further slipping away when he struggled during qualifying for the next event, the Eastern States 200 on Oct. 23 at Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown, N.Y., and became saddled with the 35th starting spot for the 50th annual race. But Sheppard scraped out a critical fourth-place finish – one spot behind Decker – that kept him in the championship hunt entering the season-ending Lowes Foods World Finals doubleheader on Nov. 3-5 at The Dirt Track at Charlotte in Concord, N.C.
“Syracuse could’ve lost it for us, but Eastern States got us back and, in the end, pretty much won it for us,” said Sheppard, who left Orange County trailing Decker by 53 points in the overall standings that are determined using a combination of drivers’ hometrack bonus points and those earned in Super DIRTcar Series events. “We started deep at Eastern States and worked our way through the field really good, and then we got a flat tire and had to fight our way back again. We were like 20th with about 20 laps to go – how we came out of there with a fourth, I’ll never know.
“But that’s what kept us close enough to have a shot at the title. We came through with a top-five when we absolutely needed one.”
One year after taking a 74-point lead into the World Finals and calmly holding on to beat Jimmy Phelps of Baldwinsville, N.Y., by 59 markers, Sheppard played the role of pursuer. As a result, he brought a different mindset to the four-tenths-mile oval.
“It was kind of the complete opposite of last year for us,” said Sheppard, who drives CC Performance-powered Bicknell cars for team owner Jeff Brownell Sr. “Last year we were trying to protect the (points) lead, so we just wanted to go down there and run solid. We were kind of in conserve mode all weekend. This year we knew we had to go down and run really good all weekend and have a little bit of help from Billy to have any shot at it.”
And “that’s exactly what happened,” said Sheppard. In Friday night’s 40-lap feature at The Dirt Track, Sheppard finished second while Decker switched to a backup car after losing an engine in hot laps and struggled to a 13th-place finish, vaulting Sheppard back atop the standings by 10 points. Another runner-up finish in Saturday evening’s 40-lapper allowed Sheppard to win the title by 15 points over Decker, who followed Sheppard under the checkered flag in third place.
It was very nearly a perfect World Finals for Sheppard, who set fast time and won a heat race for both Big-Block programs to earn crucial qualifying bonus points. He also led both features before being overtaken by Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., who swept the twinbill, but the driver known as ‘Super Matt’ had no qualms about being shut out of Victory Lane.
“We definitely ran harder this year (at the World Finals),” said Sheppard, whose 2011 Super DIRTcar Series results show four wins (at New York’s Rolling Wheels Raceway Park and Canada’s Autodrome Granby, Autodrome Drummond and Merrittville Speedway), 11 top-five and 14 top-10 finishes. “We were really good all weekend and I ran the wheels off it. Even after Timmy got by me (for the lead) on Saturday night I still ran hard because I didn’t want anybody else to get by.”
The championship capped another spectacular season for Sheppard, whose performance over the past three years has certified him as a Big-Block star. His annual feature win totals (21 in ’09, 22 in ’10 and 21 in 11) are unmatched by any other Modified driver, and the graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology has been collecting enough purse and points-fund awards to keep him driving Big-Block Modifieds for a living.
Sheppard, who earned his DIRTcar hometrack bonus points this season by winning the championship at Canandaigua (N.Y.) Speedway, will take home $46,650 in cash plus another $5,000 in VP Racing Fuels vouchers from Saturday’s Awards Banquet. That total includes the $10,000 in cash and over $2,500 in contingencies he is due for winning the Safety-Kleen Mr. DIRTcar Big-Block Modified championship, a new-for-2011 weekly-racing program that awarded drivers points for their best 16 finishes at their DIRTcar-sanctioned hometracks.
“We’ve definitely had a great three-year stretch,” said Sheppard, who lost the 2009 overall DIRTcar Big-Block Modified title by a mere four points to Brett Hearn. “We’re looking forward to making it four successful years in a row. We’d love to be the first to win the (overall) championship three years in a row.”

Tim McCreadie wins 2nd of two World Finals Super DIRTcar Series Events
Matt Sheppard captures second straight Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Title beating out Billy Decker
CONCORD, N.C. — Nov. 5, 2011 — Tim McCreadie completed a sweep of the Lowes Foods World Finals Presented by Tom’s Snacks, Coca-Cola and Nature’s Own at The Dirt Track at Charlotte Saturday night, while Matt Sheppard captured his second straight Super DIRTcar Series Big-Block Modified championship.
Having driven Vinnie Salerno’s No. 4 Teo to victory in the 2010 season finale, McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., drove the Teo back to victory lane on Friday and ran down Sheppard in lapped traffic on Saturday to win his second 40-lap feature in as many nights, earning $6,000 for his effort.
“Two in a row. Unbelievable,” said McCreadie. “This place in a modified suits my style very well.”
Sheppard of Waterloo, N.Y., entered the weekend 53 points behind Billy Decker in the race for the championship, but after Decker had engine trouble on Friday and Sheppard set the fast time for both events and finished second on Friday, he held a 10-point lead heading into Saturday’s season finale.
Decker of Unadilla, N.Y., and Sheppard each won a heat race and shared the front row for the final race of the campaign. Sheppard’s JB Motorsports No. 9s shadowed Decker’s No. 91 LJL Racing machine for the first 10 laps of the race. However, Sheppard moved to the front on lap 10.
McCreadie, who started third, got better as the race went on and eventually passed Decker (lap 18) and ran down Sheppard. McCreadie made his first bid for the lead on lap 28 and tried lap after lap as the three leaders snaked their way through lapped traffic.
When Sheppard became bogged down in traffic on lap 37, McCreadie gained momentum and carried it into the lead entering turn three on lap 38. He led the final three circuits and beat Sheppard to the checkered flag by .785 seconds to complete the weekend sweep.
“It is so hard to go out and run with those guys,” McCreadie said. “They are hard to beat. They are amazing. I kept catching Matt (Sheppard) and our car just kept getting better and better and better and I think Matt was right when he said his car was fading a little bit. When that happened, we got fortunate in traffic. Sometimes it is better to be in second when you are in traffic and it worked out for us tonight. We will take it.”
Sheppard beat Decker to the finish to claim the runner-up spot for the second consecutive night and earn his second straight Super DIRTcar Series championship by 15 points over Decker, who had led the standings the majority of the season.
“I think this is better than last year,” Sheppard said looking up at the sold-out crowd of more than 14,000. “Last year will always be special because it was the first one. This year, Syracuse turned it around. It was looking pretty bleak.
“We didn’t think there was any chance we were going to be able to get back to the front, but we were able to do it. The team was really good. They worked hard and they gave me a great race car to drive down here this weekend and it was super fast all weekend.”
Sheppard knew he had no room for error with Decker close behind.
“I gave it everything I had,” Sheppard explained. “I could feel my car was dying and I knew that if I didn’t drive the wheels off of it there was a good chance that Billy (Decker) and maybe somebody else would get by me and then I wouldn’t win the championship. I probably ran harder than I normally would have. I could feel it dying a little bit and I drove it as hard as I could. That’s all I had.”
While Decker basked in championship glory at the four-tenths-mile dirt track, Decker finished the season with the bitter taste of defeat lingering in his mouth.
“I’m very disappointed,” said Decker, who previously won the Super DIRTcar Series championship in 1998 and 2008. “We had a bad night last night and it cost us. We got back on our game tonight. We had two races where we finished out of the top five and one of them was last night. We had a great series.”
Jimmy Phelps of Baldwinsville, N.Y., and Tim Fuller of Edwards, N.Y., rounded out the top five in the race, which was completed without a yellow flag.
Sheppard won four races and racked up 11 top-five and 14 top-10 finishes in 15 starts, while Decker won twice and managed 13 top-five and top-10 efforts.
Sheppard will be honored at the Super DIRTcar Series banquet Nov. 19 at the Turning Stone Casino and Resort in Verona, N.Y.
For more information on the Super DIRTcar Series, click www.SuperDIRTcarSeries.com.
Super DIRTcar Series Statistical Report; Lowes Foods World Finals Presented by Tom's Snacks, Coca-Cola and Nature's Own; The Dirt Track at Charlotte; Nov. 4, 2011

Feature (40 laps)
1. Tim McCreadie, Watertown, N.Y.
2. Matt Sheppard, Waterloo, N.Y.
3. Billy Decker, Unadilla, N.Y.
4. Jimmy Phelps, Baldwinsville, N.Y.
5. Tim Fuller, Edwards, N.Y.
6. Justin Haers, Phelps, N.Y.
7. Brett Hearn, Sussex, N.J.
8. Pete Britten, Brisbane, Australia
9. Gary Tomkins, Clifton Springs, N.Y.
10. Larry Wight, Phoenix, N.Y.
11. Danny Johnson, Rochester, N.Y.
12. Jimmy Horton, Neshanic Station, N.J.,
13. Carey Terrance, Hogansburg, N.Y.
14. Kenny Tremont, Jr., West Sand Lake, N.Y.
15. Billy Dunn, Watertown, N.Y.
16. Jerry Higbie, Goshen, N.Y.
17. Rick Laubach, Hellertown, Pa.
18. Tom Sears, Jr., Clay, N.Y.
19. Billy Pauch, Frenchtown, N.J.
20. Randy Chrysler, Tuscarora, N.Y.
21. Rob Bellinger, Dexter, N.Y.
22. Rich Scagliotta, Bound Brooks, Pa.
23. Tim Kerr, Picton, Ontario
24. Matt DeLorenzo, Cropseyville, N.Y.
25. Dave Rauscher, Waterloo, N.Y.
26. Tim Currier, Auburn, N.Y.
27. Rex King, Jr., Bristolville, Ohio
28. Roger Chrysler, Tuscarora, N.Y.

Heat Races
First Heat (8 laps): Sheppard, Britten, D. Johnson, Pauch, Bellinger, Kerr, Roger Chrysler. Did not start: Rex King.
Second Heat (8 laps): McCreadie, Haers, Laubach, Dunn, Tremont, DeLorenzo. Did not start: Mike Adderley, Corey Ziegler.
Third Heat (8 laps): Phelps, Fuller, Horton, Tompkins, Scagliotta, Terrance, Currier, King, Jr.
Fourth Heat (8 laps): Decker, Hearn, Higbie, Wight, Sears, Rauscherm, Randy Chrysler.

Time Trials (Held Nov. 3)
1. Matt Sheppard, 15.617
2. Jimmy Phelps, 15.625
3. Pete Britten, 15.665
4. Tim Fuller, 15.747
5. Billy Decker, 15.774
6. Tim McCreadie, 15.777
7. Billy Pauch, 15.794
8. Brett Hearn, 15.837
9. Rick Laubach, 15.880
10. Jimmy Horton, 15.959

Tim McCreadie Charges to Lowes Foods World Finals Victory
Sheppard overtakes Decker for Super DIRTcar Series points lead heading into Saturday night's finale By Mike Kerchner
CONCORD, N.C. — Nov. 4, 2011 — Tim McCreadie (top right) earned his second consecutive Super DIRTcar Series Big-Block Modified triumph in Friday’s Lowes Foods World Finals presented by Tom’s Snacks, Coca-Cola and Nature’s Own at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, but Matt Sheppard vaulted into the point lead heading into Saturday night’s season finale. (Mike Petrucci Photo)
McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., passed Sheppard on lap 19 and led the final 22 laps to win Friday night’s Modified portion of the tripleheader event at the four-tenths-mile oval, banking $6,000 for his first Super DIRTcar Series triumph of the season.
Having won last year’s season finale at the World Finals driving for Vinnie Salerno, McCreadie returned to the seat of the No. 4 Bicknell and raced to the front from eighth starting spot.=
“Anytime you can race in front of this many people it is fun,” said McCreadie. “Most of us here are sports fans and we go to the big time events to be part of the atmosphere and I know what some of those players go through because when we come here it is a big-time atmosphere.”
Tim Fuller took the early lead from the pole, but Sheppard, who was the fast qualifier on Thursday, zoomed to the front on lap four and led until McCreadie made his winning move past Sheppard’s JB Motorsports Bicknell No. 9s on lap 19.
Sheppard said it was his mistake that helped McCreadie to the lead.
“We got right to the lead quick and I think that actually hurt me a little bit because I didn’t know that top lane in three and four had come in and Timmy drove right around me up there,” Sheppard said. “Then I moved up there and I said to myself, ‘You dummy if you had been running up there in the first place you might have won this race.’”
McCreadie said he was simply picking the lane his competitors left open.
“You can’t follow all night,” McCreadie said. “I started eighth and I had to go where they weren’t and the cushion is always fast if you can get up on it and bend through it. It is a matter of getting your car right and we were really too tight to be up there.”
From there Sheppard of Waterloo, N.Y., chased McCreadie through lapped traffic for the remainder of the 40-lap race, finishing .981 seconds behind the second-generation hotshoe.
But at the end of the day Sheppard, who entered the race 39 points behind Billy Decker in the race for a second consecutive Super DIRTcar Series championship, was the big winner.
After Decker of Unadilla, N.Y., blew an engine in hot laps and went to a back-up car, he struggled to a 13th-place finish and Sheppard grabbed a 10-point (2,399 to 2,389) heading into Saturday night’s program, which will include heat races and another 40-lap feature.
“Whatever (lead) we got is a lot better than what we came in here with,” said Sheppard. “We came in here 53 behind and now it is pretty much a one-race shootout.
“It changes it a little bit. We came down here to win and not hold anything back and that is what we have been doing. Now, that we have the point lead, we still have to run hard because Billy (Decker) will be right up there tomorrow night. We need to be either right in front of him or right behind him, one or the other.”
Fuller of Edwards, N.Y., finished third with Neshanic Station, N.J., veteran Jimmy Horton rolling from 16th to finish fourth. Fifth went to Jimmy Phelps of Baldwinsville, N.Y.
The Lowes Foods World Finals Presented by Tom’s Snacks, Coca-Cola and Nature’s Own continues Saturday night with features for the Super DIRTcar Series Big-Block Modifieds, World of Outlaws Late Model Series and World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series.
Remaining tickets can be obtained by clicking www.CharlotteMotorSpeedway.com or calling 1-800-455-FANS.
For more information on the Super DIRTcar Series, click www.SuperDIRTcarSeries.com.
Super DIRTcar Series Statistical Report; Lowes Foods World Finals Presented by Tom's Snacks, Coca-Cola and Nature's Own; The Dirt Track at Charlotte; Nov. 4, 2011

Feature (40 laps)
1. Tim McCreadie, Watertown, N.Y.
2. Matt Sheppard, Waterloo, N.Y.
3. Tim Fuller, Edwards, N.Y.
4. Jimmy Horton, Neshanic Station, N.J.
5. Jimmy Phelps, Baldwinsville, N.Y.
6. Justin Haers, Phelps, N.Y.
7. Gary Tomkins, Clifton Springs, N.Y.
8. Kenny Tremont, Jr., West Sand Lake, N.Y.
9. Billy Dunn, Watertown, N.Y.
10. Brett Hearn, Sussex, N.J.
11. Larry Wight, Phoenix, N.Y.
12. Pete Britten, Brisbane, Australia
13. Billy Decker, Unadilla, N.Y.
14. Carey Terrance, Hogansburg, N.Y.
15. Rob Bellinger, Dexter, N.Y.
16. Rick Laubach, Hellertown, Pa.
17. Matt DeLorenzo, Cropseyville, N.Y.
18. Tim Currier, Auburn, N.Y.
19. Tim Kerr, Picton, Ontario
20. Randy Chrysler, Tuscarora, N.Y.
21. Dave Rauscher, Waterloo, N.Y.
22. Rich Scagliotta, Bound Brooks, N.J.
23. Rex King, Jr., Bristolville, Ohio
24. Roger Chrysler, Tuscarora, N.Y.
25. Danny Johnson, Rochester, N.Y.
26. Billy Pauch, Frenchtown, N.J.
27. Mike Adderley, Charlotte, N.C.
28. Rex King, Bristolville, Ohio
29. Jerry Higbie, Goshen, N.Y.
30. Tom Sears, Jr., Clay, N.Y.

Time Trials (Held Nov. 3)
1. Matt Sheppard, 15.553
2. Tim McCreadie, 15.634
3. Brett Hearn, 15.785
4. Jimmy Phelps, 15.798
5. Tim Fuller, 15.849
6. Billy Pauch, 15.855
7. Billy Decker, 15.872
8. Gary Tomkins, 15.983
9. Rob Bellinger, 16.013
10. Pete Britten, 16.015

First Heat (8 laps): Phelps, Britten, Scagliotta, Sears, Higbie, Tremont, King.
Second Heat (8 laps): Fuller, Dunn, Decker, Wight, Haers, Johnson, Currier, Roger Chrysler.
Third Heat (8 laps): Hearn, Tomkins, DeLorenzo, Laubach, Randy Chrysler, Terrance, Kerr, Bellinger.
Fourth Heat (8 laps): Sheppard, McCreadie, Pauch, Horton, Adderley, Rauscher, King, Jr.

Sheppard extends Super DIRTcar Series points lead with Drummondville triumph

DRUMMONDVILLE, Quebec — Sept. 10, 2011 — Matt Sheppard continued to be “Super” in the second half of the Big-Block Modified Super DIRTcar Series with an important victory at Saturday night at Autodrome Drummond’s Race Mania Weekend feature event, and more importantly, extending his 2011 Super DIRTcar Big-Block Series points lead over Billy Decker.
Danny Johnson, who won the DIRTcar 358-Modified Series main event the previous night at Drummond, led the 30-car starting field to the green flag with Billy Decker to his outside. Johnson got the initial jump on the leaders, but a turn-1 lap-1 tangle between Dany Bilodeau and Tommy Sears negated the start. Billy Decker would get the jump on the restart and take an early advantage.
Quebec star Steve Bernard made his presence known early with an outside pass of Johnson for second, just as the leaders prepared to enter lapped traffic. As the leaders negotiated traffic, it was Matt Sheppard’s turn to show some muscle as he powered from seventh into the top-5 in the early stages. A caution for as Mario Clair’s night came to an end in a cloud of smoke saw the field bunched up for a lap-31 restart.
Steve Bernard used the restart to thrill the home-track crowd with an outside pass of Billy Decker to take over the race lead. Matt Sheppard followed Bernard to move into the third position on the restart, with Decker locked in a battle trying to hold onto the second position.
Danny Johnson’s top-5 run would come to an end on lap-48 as he slowed on the backstretch. At the halfway point the top-5 was Bernard leading Sheppard, Decker, a hard-charging Brett Hearn, and Jimmy Phelps rounded out the top-5.
Decker re-established himself as the leader with Sheppard following around Bernard’s #54 on the lap-52 restart. Bernard’s car immediately began smoking on the restart, and his fantastic night ended on lap-58 as the smoke began to bellow from his modified.
Sheppard began to slowly real in the Gypsum Logistics 91 of Decker, and would take the lead using the low-line to take the lead on lap-68, and instantly pull away from the rest of the leaders.
Decker’s car began to fade in the late stages of the race, as Dale Planck and Jimmy Phelps were both able to move around Decker for second and third, respectively.
Sheppard would remain unchallenged as the last half of the race ran virtually caution-free to collect his fourth Series win of the season, all four coming in the last six races.
Dale Planck held off Jimmy Phelps in a good late battle for the runner up spot, with Billy Decker holding on to finish fourth, and Sebastien Gougeon had a fantastic late-race charge to finish fifth.
“Car was awesome, I could move it all around,” stated an ecstatic Sheppard in victory lane. “t’s always fun to come up here and race in front of huge crowds.”
Dale Planck also commented on Sheppard’s late-race dominance, “I couldn’t even see Matt in the field, I don’t think I had anything for him if a caution would come. We’ll take a second.”
A special bonus was offered to the highest finishing 358-Modified. Sébastien Gougeon picked up the $500 bonus with his fifth-place finish.
The Big-Block Modified Super DIRTcar Series will continue next Saturday night as the series will stay north as they will visit the Mohawk International Raceway for race #11 on Sept. 17.
Super DIRTcar Series Big-Block Modified Race #10—Autodrome Drummond, Sept. 10, 2011 Event Summary
Feature Results: Sheppard, Planck, Phelps, Decker, Gougeon, Bussière, Hearn, Bellinger, G.Clair, Terrance, Sears Jr, Chicoine, Haers, Brouillard, Britten, Dufault, Currier, Whitteker, Boisvert, Dagenais, Scagliotta, Humes, Lalancette, Johnson, Bilodeau, Bernard, C.Therrien, Wight, M.Clair, A.Therrien
LAP LEADERS: Decker (1-30), Bernard (31-51), Decker (52-67), Sheppard (68-100)
BILSTEIN FAST TIME AWARD : 98H Jimmy Phelps 17.043 seconds/84.492MPH
Heat Races (8 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to the feature, top 3 went to redraw)
#1: Planck, Gougeon, C.Therrien, Bilodeau, G.Clair, A.Boisvert, A.Therrien, Humes
#2: Johnson, Bernard, Bellinger, Bussière, Brouillard, Phelps, Whitteker, Chicoine
#3: Sheppard, Phelps, Terrance, Wight, Hears, Clair, Dufault, Primeau
#4: Decker, Hearn, Sears, Britten, Currier, Dagenais, Scagliotta, Hamel
Consolation Race (10 laps, top 8 finishers transferred to the feature)
#1: Boisvert, M.Clair, Dufault, Whitteker, Lalancette, Hamel, Scagliotta, A.Therrien, Dagenais, Chicoine, Humes, Primeau

Matt Sheppard Wins Feature And The Tracey Road Equipment Big Block Modified Track Championship On The Final Points Night At The Brewerton Speedway
Coming into the final point night of the 2011 season, Matt Sheppard knew he had an uphill battle to be crowned the 2011 Tracey Road Equipment Big Block Modified Champion. Being 12 points behind Stewart Friesen, Sheppard had to go out and win the feature and let the points fall where they may.
Sheppard started seventeenth, worked his way into the top-five on lap 14 then on lap 22 took the lead from Chad Phelps. Once in the lead, there was no slowing down Sheppard as he outran Jimmy Phelps to the checkers by over three-seconds.
With his second place finish, Phelps went from third in the points to second in the final rundown, nine points behind Sheppard. Stewart Friesen who came into the night the point leader could only muster an eleventh place feature finish that dropped him to third on the final points night.
Jim Davis and Roy Bresnahan would lead the field down to the green with Bresnahan grabbing the early advantage in the 35 lap Tracey Road Equipment Big Block Modified feature.
With 10 laps complete, Bresnahan and Chad Phelps ran nose to tail with Davis, Willy Decker and Rich Scagliotta running third through fifth. Two laps later, Phelps would work his way by Bresnahan to be scored the new leader just before a quick yellow.
On lap 15 Phelps and Bresnahan still set the pace, as Decker, Davis and now Matt Sheppard who started seventeenth now showed in the top-five.
As the laps kept clicking off, Sheppard kept working his way forward, finally ducking under Phelps on lap 22 to be scored the new leader using the extreme bottom of the speedway.
With 10 laps to go, Sheppard started pulling away with Chad Phelps, Jimmy Phelps, Bresnahan and Alan Johnson fighting for third through fifth.
Over the remaining laps, Sheppard was the class of the field as he outran Jimmy Phelps to the checkers by 3.212 seconds. Chad Phelps, Alan Johnson and Billy Decker rounded out the top-five. Dan Vauter, Jim Davis, Mike Mahaney, Roy Bresnahan and Ryan Phelps completed the top-ten.
Matt Sheppard being crowned the American Racer Cup Brewerton Speedway Track Champion will receive ten American Racer tires for his efforts.
After doing the roof dance in his XTREME Lubricants, No.9s, Bicknell, Matt Sheppard talked about his win and the 2011Brewerton Speedway Tracey Road Equipment Big Block Modified Track Championship.
“All I can say is wow, this car has been unbelievable. To come out of here with the championship tonight, it was a pretty big long shot. We definitely did it the hard way. I never heard of anybody winning a championship with four DNF’s before. We were able to overcome it with just speed and winning races.”
After winning a lot of races and championships all over the place, Sheppard was asked what it was like to win the title at the Brewerton Speedway.
“This is great; this is the toughest place around. We did it a few years ago, but this is my first ever, come from behind on the last night with everything stacked against you. You just got to go out and perform; we were able to do that tonight.”

(TRACEY ROAD EQUIPMENT BIG BLOCK MODIFIEDS 35 LAPS) – MATT SHEPPARD, Jimmy Phelps, Chad Phelps, Alan Johnson, Billy Decker, Dan Vauter, Jim Davis, Mike Mahaney, Roy Bresnahan, Ryan Phelps, Stewart Friesen, Pat Ward, Chuck Bower, Pat O’Brien, Gary Tomkins, Mike Bowman, Willy Decker, Matt Fink, Larry Wight, Jim Witko Jr., Joe Augut Jr., Chad Homan, Chris Hile, Steve Hulsizer, Rich Scagliotta.

Matt Sheppard is doing everything he can to win the 2011 Tracey Road Equipment Big Block Modified Track Championship at the Brewerton Speedway.
Friday night Sheppard started seventeenth and steadily worked his way forward taking the lead on lap22 from race leader Willy Decker. Once in the lead Sheppard held off Jimmy Phelps for the win. Points leader Stewart Friesen recovered from an early race incident to finish fifth.
Going into next Fridays, September 2nd final point race, Stewart Friesen leads Matt Sheppard by 12 points and Jimmy Phelps by 17 points. This sets up an epic battle to decide the 2011 track champion.
Tony Steiner out raced Steve Hulsizer, and the rest of the 26 car starting field to lead the opening lap of the 35 lap Tracey Road Equipment Big Block Modified feature. Steiner’s lead would last one lap before Mike Bowman took over the top-spot before a quick yellow that involved point’s leader Stewart Friesen.Friesen would continue at the rear of the field.
With Bowman out front setting a quick pace, Willy Decker who started sixth, ran down Bowman using the top of the speedway to be scored the new leader on lap seven.
By lap 10, Decker opened a quarter of a straightaway lead over Bowman, as Steiner, Chris Hile and Pat O’Brien were in a tight battle for third through fifth.
Just before the halfway point, Decker was on rails as he started putting cars a lap down. Bowman, O’Brien, Matt Sheppard and Steiner showed in the top-five just before a yellow that would wipe out Decker’s lead.
On the restart, Sheppard shot by Bowman into the runner-up spot and set his sights on Decker. On lap 22 running the bottom of the speedway, Sheppard would drive by Decker to be scored the new leader of the race.
On lap 25, Jimmy Phelps moved into second and started putting pressure on Sheppard trying every groove on the track trying to find a way by Sheppard with Pat Ward right there in third within striking distance.
A final yellow would fly on lap 31 setting up a shootout to the finish. The yellow was just what Sheppard needed as he was able to keep a couple car lengths between himself and Phelps to be the first under the checkers. Pat Ward, Steve Hulsizer and Stewart Friesen finished third through fifth.
|“This car has just been awesome the second half of the year. I think, by far we have been better than anyone else has,” Said Matt Sheppard after exiting his Xtreme Lubricants, No.9s, Bicknell in victory lane. “We have stumbled onto to something; it’s just been so good. Unless something happens and we can’t get through traffic, we have one of the fastest cars everyweek.”
“This place is tough, it was so racey tonight . The groove changed about three or four times tonight . The top was fast, then the bottom was fast, then the middle was fast. It’s tough, especially being the leader trying to keep up with the lane changes. I was pretty good on the bottom and found I had to move to the top at the end,” to hold off Jimmy Phelps for the win.
This coming Friday night September 2nd The Waterfront and Calypso Cay Restaurants present the 2011 Season Championship Night as track titles will be handed out in all divisions on the final points race of the season. The Syracuse Crunch mascot and team representatives will be on hand all evening.
Adult grandstand admission will be $12 with everyone 18 years old and younger admitted free to the grandstand. Gates will open at 5:30 with racing at 7:30.
The countdown is on for the 19th Annual Hurricane 100 presented by SUNY Canton on Thursday night October 6th. With the race paying at least $7,500 to the winner and for the first time including Big Block Modifieds, look for the Brewerton regulars to defend their turf against what promises to be a stout field of invaders.

(TRACEY ROAD EQUIPMENT BIG BLOCK MODIFIEDS 35 LAPS) – MATT SHEPPARD, Jimmy Phelps, Pat Ward, Steve Hulsizer, Stewart Friesen, Larry Wight, Mike Bowman, Ryan Phelps, Willy Decker, Alan Johnson, Pat O’Brien, Billy Decker, Matt Fink, Chad Phelps, Gary Tomkins, Tony Steiner, Chris Hile, Mike Mahaney, Roy Bresnahan, Rich Scagliotta, Chuck Bower, Jim Davis, Peter Britten, Jim Witko Jr., Dan Vauter.

Sheppard scores 3rd straight Merrittville Super DIRTcar Series win Monday night

Lapped traffic cost Chad Brachmann his first ever Super DIRTcar Series Modified win Monday night at Merrittville Speedway. Brachmann’s loss was Matt Sheppard’s gain, however.
Sheppard took the lead with just a handful of laps remaining, and he held off Brachmann’s late-race challenge for his third straight win in big block competition at Merrittville.
Quotes from victory lane:
Sheppard – We had a good car tonight, but i really didn’t think I had anything for Chad. I rolled up to him in the middle of the race, and i thought I was going to drive right by him. It seemed like we were dead even, and it seems like the lapped car got him.
My car was a little tight on entry. We were off just a little bit. I think Chad was just a little better than us.
Brachmann – It just shows how much disrespect the guys have at this place. They can’t move over for the guys who are fast.
Larry Lampman – The track got slippery, and we were good around the bottom. We got in the top three at the end, and they were fast.
It’s good to be in the top three. I was hoping to just qualify tonight.

FINISH: Sheppard, Brachmann, Lampman, Williamson, Decker, Johnson, Chevalier, R Phelps, Hearn, Flannigan, Braun, Wight, Phelps, Planck, Susice, Tomkins, Terrance, Bellinger, Haers, Richner, Britten, I’Brien, Sears, Pietz, Scagliotta, MacTavish, Currier, D’Ilario, Jones, Bicknell, Easy, Bowman

Sheppard Hottest On Sizzling Summer Night In Canandaigua
Posted by Jeff on 2011-07-24 09:46:58 MDT
July 23, 2011 - Scorching temperatures greeted fans and racers Saturday on Family Autograph Nite presented by Victor Excavating & Landscape and Corvettes By Turner at Canandaigua Motorsports Park, and for the seventh time this season Matt Sheppard went out and torched the field in the 35-lap Big-Block Modified main.
Second-generation driver Brandon Rauscher closed out the final show of July as he made his way into the ‘Land of Legends’ record book with his first Community Car Care of Waterloo New Legends Sportsman win at the ultra-smooth Ontario County Fairgrounds oval.
“Felt like I was catching those guys (leaders) a little but it would have been tough to come home first tonight without that yellow (flag),” admitted Sheppard, after increasing his Big-Block points lead following his 22nd career checkered flag at Canandaigua. “It was pretty slow going for a long time, definitely happy to see that caution bunch things up a little bit.”
“It was really jammed up in the early going, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen that many laps run in a row where it was two by two by two. Everybody was racing real hard and nobody was really going anywhere,” said Sheppard, looking to regain the track crown that he first earned in 2009.
After hundreds of fans emptied the grandstands during intermission to meet their favorite racers down on the track, Sheppard gave them a show to remember as the Waterloo, NY pilot charged from 17th starting position to grab the lead on a lap 20 restart. The first 19 circuits provide plenty of two and three-wide battles, with ‘Super Matt’ running both high and low to advance quickest around the fast half-miler.
Pole-sitter Ron Cartwright Jr. grabbed the lead early from front row partner Eldon Payne Jr. before third-place starter Tim Currier rolled to the point on lap three. With the field constantly jockeying for position on the smooth clay surface, Currier opened up a comfortable lead that grew to three seconds by the midway mark.
The lone yellow flag of the race flew on lap 20 when last week’s winner Danny Johnson pulled up at the end of the front chute with engine trouble, forcing trailer Rich Scagliotta into a spin exiting turn one. Currier’s lead suddenly evaporated, putting Dunn alongside him with Victor Excavating & Landscape Dash winner Charlie Donk and Sheppard filling row two on the ensuing restart.
“Billy (Dunn) was good on the top and I was running there too so it worked out good for each of us when we were able to restart up there,” remarked Sheppard, who blasted from fourth to first when the green flag reappeared, then cruised home in another command performance aboard the mighty JB Motorsports no. 9s Xtreme Lubricants-Integra Shocks/Bicknell machine. “We both got a good run.”
“I gave the bottom a shot and I was able to get by him. This car was just great, I could run it anywhere, and the track was great too. You could see there was at least three or four grooves to race on, so you couldn’t ask for anything better than that,” Sheppard added.
Dunn moved ahead of Currier back under green on lap 20, with Sheppard mirroring the move down the front straightaway. The lead duo ran side-by-side three-quarters of the way around before Sheppard ducked low coming out of the last corner to forge the final lead change. Dunn held on to finish second a half-straight behind with Currier, Donk and Justin Haers completing the top-five.
Achieving something that his father has yet to do at Canandaigua, Rauscher captured his first feature win in the Community Car Care of Waterloo New Legends Sportsman nightcap, outlasting Don Barnes by a single car-length.
“I’m glad that last caution came out, I messed up on the restart and getting a second chance really helped out,” remarked the son of Big-Block chauffeur Dave Rauscher from Waterloo, NY, after leading the entire 10-lap distance. After getting nipped by Barnes, a false start on a lap nine restart gave him a second try and that was all the young gun needed to hold on for the memorable victory behind the wheel of the no. 48b Magee Transportation Services-Monadnock Disposal Services/Bicknell entry.
“I knew the no. 0 car (Barnes) was going to be right there at the end so it was just a matter of holding my line. Have to thank Stu (Sheppard, Matt’s father) for setting up the car, it was right on the mark tonight,” Rauscher said.
The oval track at Canandaigua Motorsports Park will be idle the next two Saturdays before Cobra Motorhomes and Wilkins RV present ‘Sprintacular #2’ on August 13. The Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints headline a summer sizzler filled with Big-Block Modified, NAPA Sportsman, Parts Plus Stock Car and Klein Steel Retail Pure Stock action, with heat race qualifying going green at 7pm.
The 168th Ontario County Fair takes center stage on July 30, with a demolition derby slated for Saturday beginning at 11am and finals taking place at 7pm. Fair activity gets underway Tue., July 26 with the first demo derby, followed Wednesday by Tonny Petersen’s Hell Drivers Stunt Show, Antique Tractor Pull on Thursday, WNY Pro Farm Truck & Tractor Pull on Friday, and an afternoon Horse Pull joining the Saturday show.
The speedway homestretch is transformed into a quagmire when motorized mayhem moves to the fairgrounds’ forefront on Aug. 6 for Mud-A-Palooza presented by Regional Int’l Truck & Trailer. $5,000 in cash prizes are on the line in this Mega Truck Mud Bog extravaganza, with gates opening at 9am and races starting at 1pm. A special visit from Monster Truckers ‘After Shock’ and ‘Crazy Train’ is also on tap during the all day affair held the first weekend in August.
Be sure to follow all the point chases and get the latest news about Canandaigua online by visiting www.CanandaiguaMotorsportsPark.com. Send along a note to fan@canandaiguamotorsportspark.com to join the e-mail list, or register with http://www.twitter.com/Canandaigua_MSP to keep up-to-date on-line and through text messages on cell phones via Twitter.
For more information, please contact Jeremie Corcoran via cell 315-374-2839 or e-mail jeremiecorcoran@yahoo.com. Tim Bowman (315-225-0881) can be reached during the week to discuss marketing opportunities available at the track in 2011.
Canandaigua Motorsports Park is located at the Ontario County Fairgrounds, east of the city on Town Line Road (County Road 10), with easy access off either Exit 43 (Manchester, Route 21 South) or Exit 44 (Farmington, Route 332 South) of the New York State Thruway, just ½-hour southeast of Rochester.
Event Summary – July 23, 2011
Victor Excavating & Landscape and Corvettes By Turner present Family Autograph Nite
Big-Block Modified
*Feature (35 laps): 1. 9s-Matt Sheppard, 2. 49-Billy Dunn, 3. 10-Tim Currier, 4. 99-Charlie Donk, 5. 3-Justin Haers, 6. 21a-Peter Britten, 7. 8r-Rob Bellinger, 8. 7x-Steve Paine, 9. 21-Derrick Podsiadlo, 10. 56-Vince Vitale, 11. 97-Michel Chicoine, 12. 28p-Eldon Payne Jr., 13. 2b-Ron Cartwright Jr., 14. 22-Gil Tegg Jr., 15. 8-Rich Scagliotta, 16. 1jr.-Mike O’Brien, 17. 48too-Dave Rauscher, 18. 63-Adam Roberts, 19. 3m-Henry Maier, 20. 27j-Danny Johnson, 21. 21k-Randy Chrysler.
Heats (8 laps)
#1: Bellinger, Sheppard, Cartwright, O’Brien, Chicoine, Vitale, Roberts.
#2: Scagliotta, Podsiadlo, Britten, Haers, Donk, Payne, Tegg.
#3: Dunn, Paine, Johnson, Chrysler, Currier, Maier, Rauscher.
Victor Excavating & Landscape Dash (4 laps): Donk, Britten, Vitale, Maier.

Community Car Care of Waterloo New Legends Sportsman
Feature (10 laps): 1. 48b-Brandon Rauscher, 2. 0-Don Barnes, 3. 44-Dave Conant, 4. 3m-Jimmy Maier, 5. 74-Mike DeMallie, 6. 62-Andrew Northrop, 7. 8-Jon Ellsworth, 8. 00-Rich Post.
Heat (5 laps)
#1: Rauscher, Maier, Northrop, Barnes, DeMallie, Conant, Ellsworth, Post.
NEXT EVENT: Sat., August 6 @ 9am-9pm; Regional Int’l Truck & Trailer presents Mud-A-Palooza / 1,000-Horsepower Trucks Battle For Big Cash Prizes featuring Truck Eating Mud Bog Pit, Blazing Fast Drag Pit, Big-Air Hill & Hole Mud Pits plus Crazy Custom Trucks Show & Shine and Ground-Shaking Tug-O-Wars. www.MyMudaPalooza.com.

Matt Sheppard Makes Spectacular Run From Last To Victory Lane At The Brewerton Speedway In The Tracey Road Equipment Big Block Modifieds

Winning from last once in a season is tough, but to do it twice against one of the toughest Big Block Modifieds fields in the Northeast is unheard of. Matt Sheppard out of Waterloo, NY did just that Friday night at the Brewerton Speedway.
Sheppard didn’t even run his heat race and had his crew scrambling to change a complete transmission before the feature. After starting 25th Sheppard put on a show coming through the field and taking the lead on lap 26 from Rich Scagliotta and then went on to victory in the 35 lap Tracey Road Equipment Big Block Modified feature. It was Sheppard’s second win in a row at the “D-Shaped Dirt Demon”.
Other winners on NAPA, Shriners and Masons welcome night were, Sean Beardsley NAPA Late Models - Go Nuclear Series, Ryan Scott Nationwide Insurance IMCA Modifieds, Joe Isabell Beaver River Distribution ESDCA Mod Lites and Stephen Denton Metalico Four Cylinder Super Stocks.
Jim Witko led the first 2 laps of the 35 lap Tracey Road Equipment Big Block Modified feature before Rich Scagliotta took over on lap 3 running the extreme bottom of the speedway.
On lap 10, Scagliotta held a narrow lead over Mike Mahaney, as Larry Wight, Witko and Jimmy Phelps were in a tight battle for third through fifth.
With 15 laps showing on the scoring tower Scagliotta opened a few car length advantage over Phelps by still running inches from the implement tires that lined the inside of the turns. Mahaney, Wight and Chad Phelps showed in the top-five.
When the lap counter showed lap 20 Scagliotta, Phelps and Wight showed in the top-three, but the car making his presence known was Matt Sheppard who seemed to be the only car that could make progress using the top of the speedway from his 25th starting spot.
After moving into the runner-up spot on lap 24 it only took Sheppard two more circuits before he was able to drive around Scagliotta and into the lead.
Over the remaining laps Sheppard was just too strong as he parked his Jeff Brownell owned, Xtreme Lubricants, No.9s, Bicknell in victory lane for the second straight week. Jimmy Phelps, Rich Scagliotta, Ryan Phelps and Chad Phelps rounded out the top-five.
“I’ll tell you what, I just might start last every week here,” Matt Sheppard said after his second improbable win from last in the 2011 season. “This car was just awesome; we didn’t get to turn a single lap on the speedway tonight. So I told the guys let’s just do exactly what we did to the car last week, it was so good last week and it was really awesome again here tonight.”
Sheppard couldn’t thank his crew enough on a steamy hot Friday night. Early in the night he couldn’t get his car out of low gear that forced his crew into a transmission change plus putting a winning setup in the car for the feature.
Next Friday night July 29th The Waterfront/Calypso Cay Restaurants present a full night of racing action featuring the Tracey Road Equipment Big Block Modifieds, Nationwide Insurance IMCA Modifieds, Beaver River Distribution ESDCA Mod Lites, Metalico Four Cylinder Super Stocks and One-On-One Spectator Races.
Kids will have a full night of fun as the Home Depot will have their kids Workshop throughout the evening on the midway.
Gates will open at 5:30 with racing starting at 7:30. Adult grandstand admission will be $12 with everyone 18 years old and younger admitted free to the grandstand.
Don’t forget to follow Fulton Speedway on Facebook and on Twitter at twitter.com/Fultonspeedway. Brewerton Speedway is also active on both Facebook and Twitter at twitter.com/BrewertonSpdway). Please call Cory Reed at 315-668-6906 or cory@brewertonspeedway.com with any questions.
(TRACEY ROAD EQUIPMENT BIG BLOCK MODIFIEDS 35 LAPS) – MATT SHEPPARD, Jimmy Phelps, Rich Scagliotta, Ryan Phelps, Chad Phelps, Jim Davis, Willy Decker, Stweart Friesen, Roy Bresnahan, Pat Ward, Chuck Bower, Steve Hulsizer, Alan Johnson, Tony Steiner, Ted Lamb, Brian Murphy, Gary Tomkins, Mike Mahaney, Pat O’Brien, Chris Hile, Larry Wight, Jim Witko Jr., Mike Bowman, Billy Decker, Matt Fink.

Matt Sheppard dominates at Autodrome Granby
By Martin Bélanger
GRANBY, Quebec—July 19, 2011—After an early pass of David Hébert for the race lead, Matt Sheppard dominated the rest of the Super DIRTcar Big-Block Series race from Autodrome Granby to pick up the win.
The Super DIRTcar Big-Block Series participated in their second race in two-days in Quebec, this time competiting at Autodrome Granby, the second race of the popular “Great Canadian Tour.” Another scorching hot day greeted the modified stars that ran in the ‘Ste-Marie Centre du Camion 100’’ race #7 of the Super DIRTcar Series.
Justin Haers and Granby points leader Francois Bernier led a field of 36-modifieds to the green flag with Haers jumping out into the early lead. As Haers led early, Matt Sheppard and David Hébert were already picking up positions on the race track.
A lap-3 caution for Jean Boissonneault bunched up the field, and the ensuing restart forced the first red flag of the 2011 Super DIRTcar Series to be displayed, as a massive pile-up blocked the entire front straightaway. Luckily, most cars were able to drive away from the carnage.
David Hébert continued his march forward on the next restart, as he made quick work of Gary Tomkins to move into third, with Dale Planck and Matt Sheppard following suit around Tomkins to complete the early top-5.
Lap-15 saw Dale Planck’s solid night come to an end as mechanical problems on the RezX Racing 77x car brought out the caution flag. David Hébert took advantage of yet another restart as he was able to pass Francois Bernier and set his sites on race leader Justin Haers. Matt Sheppard followed Hébert around Bernier to take over third.
Both Hébert and Sheppard were able to quickly cut into the lead built up by Haers and pressure the Phelps, NY driver. The pressure eventually got to Haers, as he slid high in turn 2 on lap-22, opening the door for David Hébert to move into the race lead with Sheppard taking over second.
Matt Sheppard then used the outside groove to take over the lead from Hébert on lap-25 and quickly began stretching his lead on the large field.
Two hard-chargers began making their presence known, as Danny Johnson and Brett Hearn were able to fight around Justin Haers to take over third and fourth, respectively. Johnson and Hearn were soon able to catch Hébert and a fantastic battle thrilled the crowd as the three drivers dueled for second. Johnson and Hébert swapped the lead multiple times, with Hébert holding the spot as the caution flag flew on lap-44 for debris. As the field took the crossed-flags indication the half-way point of the race, the top-5 were Sheppard, Hébert, Johnson, Hearn, and Martin Roy, who was having a fantastic race.
Once again, Sheppard opened up to a comfortable margin over the rest of the leaders on the following restart, but it was Danny Johnson who won the battle for second and now had his sites set on Sheppard.
A pair of caution flags late in the race as Sheppard was about to catch lapped traffic allowed the defending Super DIRTcar Big-Block Series champion to run with clean racetrack in front of him. Solid restarts allowed him to prevent Johnson from making any serious moves at Sheppard.
Lap-84 saw Hébert’s fine night come to an end as the St-Damase, Quebec driver lost control of his modified and spun the car, giving Brett Hearn third place.
Sheppard set another strong pace as Roy took third over Hearn on lap 86. Hearn got back to Roy and passed him on lap 90 as Billy Decker began making his presence known, moving into the top-5 around Bernier. Sheppard led the final laps to win his second Super DIRTcar Series feature of 2011 over Danny Johnson, Brett Hearn, Martin Roy and Billy Decker completes the top 5.
‘’I had a dominant car tonight and last night,’’ claimed an elated Sheppard in victory lane. ‘’The track was superb again and this is good for our points after losing a few last night to Billy Decker.” Brett Hearn was also had smiling face in third, ‘’we always have success in Quebec and we will try to build on these two events after struggling earlier in the series’’. Danny Johnson was found light on the scale and was disqualified, penalties will be announced in the near future.
The series will remain in Canada as it will head to the Merrittville Speedway on Monday August 1st to complete the Great Canadian Tour. It will be race #8 and nearing the halfway point in the Super DIRTcar Big-Block Series.

Super DIRTcar Big Block Series Race #7—Autodrome Granby, July 19, 2011 ‘Ste-Marie Centre du Camion 100’ Event Summary
Feature Results: 1. Sheppard (9S), 2. Johnson (27j)**, 3. Hearn (20), 4. Roy (90), 5. Decker (91), 6. Scagliotta (8), 7. Bernier (49), 8. M.Clair (1x), 9. Robidoux (46), 10. Wight (99l), 11. Haers (3), 12. Britten (21A), 13. Ledoux (12), 14. Bellinger (8R), 15. Phelps (98H), 16. Hébert (1H), 17. Chicoine (97), 18. Tomkins (4K), 19. Dufault (63), 20. Humes (0), 21. Sundborg (16), 22. Currier (10), 23. Gamache (74), 24. Lepage (99), 25. Bernard (54), 26. Terrance (66x), 27. Bussière (21), 28. Gougeon (44), 29. Boisvert (73), 30. D.Stacey (66W), 31. Planck (77X), 32. Bourgogne (20B), 33. Lalancette (98H), 34. Brouillard (3), 35. Sears (62), 36. Boissonneault (61),

**Johnson found light on the scales, penalties to be announced

LAP LEADERS:
Haers 1-23 Hebert 24 Sheppard 25-100
BILSTEIN FAST TIME AWARD: 91 Billy Decker 18.261 sec/98.571MPH
Heat Races (8 laps, top 3 went to redraw)
#1: Haers, Johnson, Bussiere, Roy, Dufault, Wight, Bourgogne, Lalancette, D.Stacey
#2: Decker, M.Clair, Tomkins, Gougeon, Ledoux, Currier, Lepage, Sundborg
#3: Sheppard, Planck, Hebert, Britten, Boisvert, Robidoux, Scagliotta, Bernard, Brouillard
#4: Hearn, Phelps, Bernier, Terrance, Gamache, Bellinger, Boissonneault, Chicoine, Humes, Sears

Sheppard & Welch Pad Point Leads With Canandaigua Feature Race Triumphs

Posted by Jeff on 2011-07-10 08:47:30 MDT
Henderson, Steinruck & Barrett also repeat winners as Weller earns Spectator Drag top honors
Canandaigua, NY – July 9, 2011 – Point leaders Matt Sheppard from Waterloo and Lyons’ Mike Welch continued to showcase their talents Saturday night at Canandaigua Motorsports Park, each capturing division-high checkered flags to highlight the fast-paced program backed by Parts Plus, Stalker Web Design and A-Verdi Storage Container.
Sheppard added his track-best sixth Big-Block Modified feature victory in the open-wheel ranks while Welch claimed his fourth Stock Car division trophy of the season in full-fender competition at the Ontario County Fairgrounds.
Justin Henderson (NAPA Sportsman Modified), Brad Steinruck (Klein Steel Retail Pure Stock) and Darryl Barrett (Community Car Care of Waterloo New Legends Sportsman) each reached the winner’s circle for the second time in 2011, with Bill Weller Jr. taking top honors in the 1-on-1 Spectator Drag Racing special to cap another entertaining card in Canandaigua.
“This car has been good all year, we stumbled a little bit last week and weren’t very good but showed up tonight and were a lot better,” remarked Sheppard, following his 21st career Big-Block win that tied him with ‘Canada Joe’ Plazek for seventh on Canandaigua’s all-time list.
“Pete (Britten) was a little better than we were. I tried him on the top once early in the race, could get up next to him but just couldn’t get by and I knew the top (groove) would go away. If he could have stayed next to me probably one more straightaway, I would’ve never been able to clear him and never got by him,” said Sheppard, also a winner of 10 Sportsman main events at the Routes 5&20 oval.
Filing into 17th on the starting grid aboard the proven JB Motorsports no. 9s Xtreme Lubricants-Integra Shocks/Bicknell entry, Sheppard powered into the Top-10 after just five laps with Vince Vitale and Rob Bellinger pacing the pack in the early stages. Bellinger moved to the point on lap seven before Britten charged ahead the following circuit in quest of his first-ever DIRTcar triumph in the ‘Land of Legends’ headline 35-lapper.
Sheppard muscled into the runner-up slot on lap nine and for the next 15 laps it was ‘Super Matt’ and ‘Batman’ putting on a truly heroic performance running both high and low around the hallowed half-miler. Sheppard finally bolted outside on a lap 25 restart to forge the last lead change, with Britten regaining the runner-up spot from Vitale on lap 34 to secure his best finish of the season. Billy Dunn and Bellinger completed the top-5 after a lap 35 caution set up a final dash to the checkers.
“We were just fortunate to get a good run on Pete and get cleared then go back on the bottom,” added Sheppard, in search of his second track points title as the season heads down the home stretch. “But once we got on the bottom I knew the same thing could happen and he might be able to get a run and drive around us. He still would’ve had to tuck back down on the bottom too, so I thought we were in pretty good shape at that point.”

Event Summary – July 9, 2011
Parts Plus, Stalker Web Design & A-Verdi Storage Container present 1-on-1 Spectator Drag Races
Big-Block Modified
*Feature (35 laps): 1. 9s-Matt Sheppard, 2. 21a-Peter Britten, 3. 56-Vince Vitale, 4. 49-Billy Dunn, 5. 8r-Rob Bellinger, 6. 27j-Danny Johnson, 7. 7x-Steve Paine, 8. 3-Justin Haers, 9. 97-Michel Chicoine, 10. 21-DerrickPodsiadlo, 11. 8-Rich Scagliotta, 12. 48too-Dave Rauscher, 13. 25-Paul Habeck, 14. 28p-Eldon Payne Jr., 15. 1jr.-Mike O’Brien, 16. 63-Adam Roberts, 17. 3b-Scott Boudinot, 18. 3m-Henry Maier, 19. 2b-Ron Cartwright Jr., 20. 99-Charlie Donk, 21. 10-Tim Currier, 22. 11x-Chris Mangiarelli, 23. 22-Gil Tegg Jr.
Heats (8 laps)
#1: Podsiadlo, Sheppard, Rauscher, Chicoine, Payne, Mangiarelli, Boudinot, Currier.
#2: Vitale, O’Brien, Paine, Haers, Dunn, Cartwright, Tegg, Maier.
#3: Bellinger, Britten, Scagliotta, Johnson, Habeck, Donk, Roberts.

Sheppard Breaks Through for First Super DIRTcar Victory of '11

Defending champion holds off Danny Johnson in 'Stars and Stripes' thriller at Rolling Wheels
ELBRIDGE, N.Y. - July 4, 2011 - For the second consecutive night, the Big-Block Modified Super DIRTcar Series race wasn't decided until the final lap. Matt Sheppard held off a late-race charge by Danny Johnson to collect the win at Rolling Wheels Raceway in the Robert Petrocci Memorial Stars and Stripes 100. (Mike Petrucci Photo)
Sheppard, who started in eighth position, passed then-leader Billy Decker on a lap 55 restart to take the race lead. Sheppard quickly opened a large lead over the rest of the field.
As the race continued on, Johnson made a late-race charge in his bid to sweep the weekend after taking the checkered flag on Sunday at Cornwall. He took over second place from Decker with less than 20-laps to go. A restart with 12-laps remaining in the 100-lap event put Johnson right on Sheppard's back bumper as the two drivers thrilled the crowd with a classic battle around the 5/8 mile.
On the final lap, Johnson was able to get along side of the Xtreme Lubricants Modified of Sheppard, but wasn't able to complete the pass as Sheppard won by 0.074 seconds over Johnson.
The victory was Sheppard's first win on the 2011 Super DIRTcar Series trail. Sheppard, who won the championship last year, now trails Billy Decker by just 30-points in the season standings.
In the Mr. DIRTcar Sportsman Series event, it was David Marcuccilli taking advantage of a late-race restart to pass Josh VanBrocklin to take home his first career Rolling Wheels Raceway victory.
The DIRTcar Stock Car Challenge was also in competition, Pete Stefanski held off the late race challenges of Rocky Warner and P.J. Peters to pick up the win.
Super DIRTcar Big Block Series Race #5-Rolling Wheels Raceway July 4, 2011 'Stars & Stripes 100' Event Summary
Feature Results: 1. (9s) Matt Sheppard; 2. (27J) Danny Johnson; 3. (91) Billy Decker; 4. (14J) Alan Johnson; 5. (4*) Tim McCreadie; 6. (74) Tim Fuller; 7. (98H) Jimmy Phelps; 8. (673) Gary Tomkins; 9. (20) Brett Hearn; 10. (99) Ryan Phelps; 11. (49) Billy Dunn; 12. (8R) Rob Bellinger; 13. (3) Justin Haers; 14. (21A) Peter Britten; 15. (10v) Bobby Varin; 16. (62s) Tommy Sears; 17. (10) Tim Currier; 18. (44) Steve Hulsizer; 19. (8) Rich Scagliotta; 20. (21K) Randy Chrysler; 21. (48too) Dave Rauscher; 22. (77x) Dale Planck; 23. (1) Stewart Friesen; 24. (7x) Steve Paine; 25. (42p) Pat Ward; 26. (19) Brian Murphy; 27. (99B) Chuck Bower; 28. (99L) Larry Wight; 29. (33) Mike Mahaney; 30. (21) Derrick Podsiadlo. BILSTEIN FAST TIME AWARD: Billy Decker.

Heat Races (8 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to the feature, top 3 went to redraw)

#1: Friesen, Varin, Fuller, Currier, Rauscher, R. Johnson, Harrell, Payne, Scagliotta
#2: Decker, D. Johnson, Bellinger, Wight, Britten, Planck, Chrysler, Humes, Willix
#3: Sheppard, Haers, R. Phelps, Ward, Hearn, Tomkins, Podsiadlo, Mahaney, Hulsizer
#4: McCreadie, A. Johnson, J. Phelps, Paine, Dunn, Bower, Sears, Murphy, Johnson Jr (DNS)
Consolation Races (10 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to the feature)
#1: Tomkins, Podsiadlo, Mahaney, Scagliotta, Hulsizer, Harrell, Payne, R. Johnson (DNS)
#2: Planck, Sears, Bower, Chrysler, Murphy, Humes, Willix, Johnson Jr

Sheppard Once again in Victory Lane At Canandaigua Motorsports Park
June 18, 2011 – Tom Skibinski, Canandaigua Motorsports Park PR (585-350-8997)

Second-generation standout Matt Sheppard claimed top honors in a fast-paced Father’s Day tribute show on Saturday at Canandaigua Motorsports Park, posting his track-high fifth feature win of the season in the headline Big-Block Modified division.
Sheppard started 14th in the 35-lap Modified main yet the Waterloo star needed just 13 times around to charge past Billy Dunn on a restart and cruise on to victory for the 20th time in his career at the popular ‘Land of Legends’ hangout.
“The car was great, wish I would’ve had it on Tuesday night,” noted Sheppard, alluding to the Super DIRTcar Series showdown just four days earlier when he faded from first to fifth over the final 20 laps in the 64-lap Jan Corcoran Memorial.
“Jeremie (Corcoran, CMP promoter) kinda changed the track around a little on Tuesday. Absolutely nothing wrong with it, real racy, we just missed on the set-up. I learned a lot though and put some of it into the car tonight and it really responded.”
Watertown regular Dunn out-dragged front row partner Derrick Podsiadlo with Sheppard already moving into the front-five with five laps done. ‘Super Matt’ proceeded to pick off the competition one-by-one, sliding into second after 10 circuits followed by Podsiadlo, defending track champion Steve Paine and Charlie Donk.
Looking to follow in the tire tracks of his own father, Daniel A. Johnson looped in front of the leaders to force out the first yellow flag on lap 12 which erased a healthy 3-second advantage for Dunn. On the ensuing restart, Sheppard flew by in the potent JB Motorsports no. 9s Xtreme Lubricants-Integra Shocks/Bicknell machine, with Paine mirroring the move just moments later.
Paine pulled alongside Sheppard on two occasions yet both times yet could not muster up enough muscle to unseat his former protégé at the head of the pack. Great side-by-side battles between Paine and Dunn, and Justin Haers and Danny Johnson were waged in Sheppard’s rear-view mirror, with all but Sheppard’s position changing right to the end.
Mike O’Brien provided a sudden scare to the leaders when he slid across the track in front of them exiting turn four on the final lap, with fifth-place Paine just able to squeeze by as caution lights flashed for the fourth time. Despite the last lap shootout, Sheppard still opened up a six car-length margin at the stripe followed by Dunn, Haers, Johnson and Paine.
“The car would go anywhere I wanted it to and that actually made it tough deciding where to run,” remarked Sheppard after extending his current track points lead to 15 over runner-up Haers. “The car feels the same no matter where you go and you can’t really tell which groove is the fastest.”
“I followed Steve right up through on the top, then moved to the bottom. I could stay with him there so I figured the top side was starting to go away. And with the outside line getting pushed so far out there, I knew eventually the bottom would be the place to be.”
The first official weekend of summer arrives at CMP on Saturday, June 25 and what better way to kick off the new season then with family and friends taking advantage of the $20 carload admission special. D.C. Rauscher Motorsports and Ontario County Fairboard reps. climb into the VIP Tower next week for a high-five show of Big-Block Modified, NAPA Sportsman, Parts Plus Stock Car, Klein Steel Retail Pure Stock and New Legends Sportsman on Fire & Rescue Recognition Nite. Qualifying begins at 7pm.
Be sure to follow the point standings and learn all the news about Canandaigua online by visiting www.CanandaiguaMotorsportsPark.com. Send along a note to fan@canandaiguamotorsportspark.com to join the e-mail list, or register with http://www.twitter.com/Canandaigua_MSP to keep up-to-date on-line and through text messages on cell phones via Twitter.
For more information, please contact Jeremie Corcoran via cell 315-374-2839 or e-mail jeremiecorcoran@yahoo.com. Tim Bowman (315-225-0881) can be reached during the week to discuss marketing opportunities available at the track in 2011.
Canandaigua Motorsports Park is located at the Ontario County Fairgrounds, east of the city on Town Line Road (County Road 10), with easy access off either Exit 43 (Manchester, Route 21 South) or Exit 44 (Farmington, Route 332 South) of the New York State Thruway, just ½-hour southeast of Rochester.

Event Summary – June 18, 2011
Currier Plastics & Mark’s Pizzeria present Kids Power Wheel Nite
Big-Block Modified
*Feature (35 laps): 1. 9s-Matt Sheppard, 2. 49-Billy Dunn, 3. 3-Justin Haers, 4. 27-Danny Johnson, 5. 7x-Steve Paine, 6. 21a-Peter Britten, 7. 21-Derrick Podsiadlo, 8. 8-Rich Scagliotta, 9. 56-Vince Vitale, 10. 99-Charlie Donk, 11. 10-Tim Currier, 12. 8r-Rob Bellinger, 13. 97-Michel Chicoine, 14. 48too-Dave Rauscher, 15. 25-Paul Habeck, 16. 1jr.-Mike O’Brien, 17. 3m-Henry Maier, 18. 11x-Chris Mangiarelli, 19. 2b-Ron Cartwright, Jr. 20. 28p-Eldon Payne Jr., 21. 27jr.-Daniel A. Johnson, 22. 36-Brad Litzenberger (DNS).
Heats (8 laps)
#1: Dunn, Scagliotta, Paine, Bellinger, Chicoine, Rauscher, Daniel A. Johnson, Litzenberger (DNS).
#2: Sheppard, Danny Johnson, Podsiadlo, Britten, Mangiarelli, Currier, Maier.
#3: Haers, Donk, Habeck, O’Brien, Payne, Vitale, Cartwright.

NEXT EVENT: Sat., June 25 @ 7pm; D.C. Rauscher Motorsports & Ontario County Fairboard present Big-Block Modified/Sportsman Modified/Stock Car/Pure Stock/New Legends Sportsman on Fire & Rescue Recognition Nite with a $20 carload admission special.

Matt Sheppard Dominates The Pizza Logs Big Block Modified Feature At The New Cayuga County Speedway
June 12, 2011(By Dave Medler) – Matt Sheppard out of Waterloo, NY sent a statement this weekend. Friday night at the Brewerton Speedway Sheppard started last (24th) and when the checkers flew Sheppard picked up the win. Sunday night at the New Cayuga County Speedway, Sheppard took advantage of the redraw starting on the pole and from there totally dominated the 35 lap feature that was run caution free in just over ten-minutes.
Other winners on Reilley’s Landscaping night were, Tim Sears Jr, Pit Stop Convenience Stores Sportsman, Joe Isabell, Mod Lites, Skip DeGroff, BattleKarz . Mid State Vintage Club winners were, Dave Charzuk, Don Larmon and Al Byerly.
Matt Sheppard out raced Billy Dunn to lead the opening lap of the 35 lap Pizza Logs Big Block Modified feature then drove away from the field in the early going.
With 5 laps complete Sheppard was out front cruising as Dunn still gave chase with Jimmy Phelps, Rob Bellinger and Dave Rauscher showing in the top-five. By lap 10 Sheppard started catching back markers giving Dunn and Phelps a shot to draw in on the leader.
With 15 laps showing on the lap counter Sheppard was still setting a quick pace putting cars a lap down. Dunn and Phelps not only raced for 2nd but they were trying to get by back markers trying to cut into Sheppard’s lead. Bellinger and Justin Haers ran fourth and fifth.
By lap 20 Phelps moved into 2nd and looked for a way to chase Sheppard down who was leading by over three-seconds.
Over the remaining laps and no yellows to tighten the field up, Sheppard maintained his big lead and was the first under the checkers. Jimmy Phelps, Billy Dunn, Rob Bellinger and Justin Haers rounded out the top-five. Pat Ward, Roy Bresnahan, Tom Sears, Danny Johnson and Mike Mahaney completed the top-ten.
Next Sunday June 19 We Care Holdings presents a full night of racing featuring the Pizza Logs Big Block Modifieds, Pit Stop Convenience Stores Sportsman, Mod Lites, BattleKarz and a Modified Super Dash.
Pit gates will open at 4:30, Grandstand at 5:00 with racing at 7:00. Adult grand stand admission will be $12 with everyone 16 years old and younger admitted free to the grandstand.

(PIZZA LOGS BIG BLOCK MODIFIEDS 35 LAPS) – MATT SHEPPARD, Jimmy Phelps, Billy Dunn, Rob Bellinger, Justin Haers, Pat Ward, Roy Bresnahan, Tom Sears, Danny Johnson, Mike Mahaney, Larry Wight, Tim Currier, Eric Fisher, Ricky Newton, Steve Paine, Mike Ward, Michel Chicoine, Dave Rauscher, Roy Shields.

SuperMatt Last to First to win on Tracey Road Equipment night at Brewerton
Matt Sheppard started 24th Friday Night at the Brewerton Speedway and methodically worked his way forward moving to 2nd with 10 laps to go in the 35 lap Tracey Road Equipment Big Block Modified Feature. Once in the runner-up spot he set his sights on leader Stewart Friesen as the pair waged a tough battle till Sheppard worked his way by on lap 31 then drove away for the exciting win.
With his victory Sheppard made it eight winners in eight feature events at the “D-Shaped Dirt Demon”.
Other winners on Tracey Road Equipment night were, Rob Keller and Chris Fleming Nationwide Insurance IMCA Modifieds, Jeff Isabell Sr. Beaver River Distribution ESDCA Mod Lites, Stephen Denton Metalico Four-Cylinder Super Stocks and Ben Kysor Pizza Logs 600 Sprint Tour.
Peter Britten out raced the 24 car starting field to lead the opening 5 laps of the 35 lap Tracey Road Equipment Big Block Modified Feature before Larry Wight using the cushion blasted by Britten on lap 6 to take the top-spot.
With 10 laps in the books, Wight and Britten still fought for the lead, while Stewart Friesen moved from 13th to 3rd with Chad Phelps and Ted Lamb running in the top-five.
Wight was still cruising out front on lap 16 as Friesen moved to 2nd and started to chase the leader down, Britten, Lamb and Matt Sheppard from 24th showed on the scoring tower just before the halfway point.
On lap 20 Wight was running consistent laps running the bottom in turns one and two, and the top in three and four. Friesen cut Wight’s lead down to five-car lengths just before a yellow one lap later. On the restart Friesen found the bite and forward drive he needed as he drove around Wight on lap 22 to take command of the race.
While Friesen was looking to run away and hide from the field, Sheppard moved into 2nd with 10 laps to go setting up a shootout to the finish with Friesen.
Friesen and Sheppard waged a war over the next few laps with neither gaining as clear advantage till lap 30. Going into turn one Sheppard was able to drive his Xtreme Lubricants, No.9s, Bicknell under Friesen entering turn one and exiting turn two to be scored the leader on lap 32.
Over the next 3 laps Sheppard was able to open some distance over Friesen to be the first under the checkers for the big win. Friesen, Wight, Willy Decker and Jimmy Phelps rounded out the top-five. Pat Ward, Peter Britten, Alan Johnson, Tim McCreadie and Ryan Phelps completed the top-ten.
“Wow, to be in victory lane after starting dead-last” said a stunned and happy Matt Sheppard holding the checkered flag.” I’ve won a lot of races in my career but this is probably the tops. When you can start 24th at Brewerton with the drivers that are here, and still get a win, just an unbelievable win for us.”
This coming Friday June 17th Universal Metalworks presents a full night of racing featuring the Tracey Road Equipment Big Block Modifieds, Nationwide Insurance IMCA Modifieds, Beaver River Distribution ESDCA Mod Lites double features, May 27th hold over feature first, Metalico Four-Cylinder Super Stocks and the Sportsman will be in action.

Gates will open at 5:30 with racing at 7:30. Adult grandstand admission will be $12 with everyone 18 years old and younger admitted free to the grandstand.

(TRACEY ROAD EQUIPMENT BIG BLOCK MODIFIEDS 35 LAPS) – MATT SHEPPARD, Stewart Friesen, Larry Wight, Willy Decker, Jimmy Phelps, Pat Ward, Peter Britten, Alan Johnson, Tim McCreadie, Ryan Phelps, Matt Fink, Chad Phelps, Pat O’Brien, Mike Bowman, Jason Rood, Mike Mahaney, Rich Scagliotta, Chuck Bower, Tony Steiner, Jim Davis, Jim Witko, Ted Lamb, Billy Decker, Dan Vauter.

Sheppard Back On Track With 4th Big-Block Modified Triumph At Fairgrounds
Posted by Jeff on 2011-06-05 21:41:22 MDT

By Tom Skibinski - June 4, 2011 - Saturday’s card at Canandaigua Motorsports Park was destined to be filled with speed from its inception, with Bradco Supply reps escorting Indianapolis 500 driver Vitor Meira and A.J. Foyt's no. 14 ABC Supply Indy Car into town and the mighty Big-Block Modifieds headling the five-star show.
Fans certainly got their fill as Meira signed autographs alongside Foyt’s sleek IZOD Indy Car Series entry and addressed the Canandaigua crowd while reigning overall Mr. DIRTcar Champion Matt Sheppard from Waterloo, N.Y. rocketed around the ultra-fast fairgrounds half-miler to dominate the 35-lap Big-Block main.
Adding to the special Bradco Supply presentation to kick off the month of June were the first feature wins of the year for Justin Henderson (NAPA Sportsman Modified), Nathan Peckham (Parts Plus Stock Car) and Brad Steinruck (Klein Steel Retail Pure Stock), while Casey Wagner returned to victory lane after adding his second New Legends Sportsman division triumph.
“This is my first time to a dirt track, it’s a pretty neat place to spend a night,” remarked the popular Brazilian Meira, 33, who closed out Memorial Day last weekend with a 15th-place finish at the world-renown brickyard in Indiana. On this night, 4 year-old Mike Tilly Jr. and his dad from Macedon, N.Y. won a trip around the tacky Ontario County oval with Meira steering the pace truck after a special drawing was held. “I’ve raced at Watkins Glen before, hopefully the series will come back and I can return to Canandaigua as well. Everybody is so friendly out here.”
While afternoon rain once again soaked the speedway forcing CMP promoter Jeremie Corcoran to perform another magic act, Sheppard needed no smoke or mirror to pull out a convincing straightaway victory aboard the JB Motorsports no. 9s Xtreme Lubricants-Integra Shocks/Bicknell machine.
“This car was something else tonight, right from the drop of the green it just seemed like I could put it anywhere on the track,” said Sheppard, following his 19th career Big-Block triumph at the Routes 5 & 20 layout, the fourth in five attempts this year. “It really stuck good to the bottom of the race track all night.”
“The track was slickening up pretty good later on. I was getting down low close enough to the (cement) barriers where I could run in the brown stuff and get a real good bite off the straightaway. Think I could’ve run up top and been pretty good too, just a little nervous about the tire (right rear) but I didn’t even touch it tonight. Probably run the same one next week,” figured Sheppard, who regained the points lead after opening the 2011 campaign with three straight wins.
Dave Rauscher charged from third to first to open the Modified main, taking advantage of the first yellow flag on lap one when outside pole-sitter Derrick Podsiadlo’s mount came to a halt high exiting the first turn.
Following a tangle in the first corner by Billy Dunn and Danny Johnson Jr. on the lap two restart, the entire field came to a stop when a turn four pile-up blocked the track and forced on the red lights. Tim Currier had looped heading for the front chute, with Charlie Donk, Eldon Payne Jr., Peter Britten, Rich Scagliotta and Chris Mangiarelli among the victims caught up in the mishap.
Falling into 12th on the initial starting grid, ‘Super Matt’ blasted from fifth to third on the ensuing lap five restart and gained another position the following circuit. Third-generation driver Johnson spun again at the back of the pack, leaving the door open for Sheppard to move past Rauscher on the lap seven restart with Danny Johnson Sr. grabbing the runner-up spot the next time around.
Only one yellow flag slowed the rest of the race ---Rauscher suffered a right-rear flat tire on lap 22--- and Sheppard was able to maintain a comfortable cushion throughout. After a heroic battle with the elder Johnson, 7th- place starter Rob Bellinger finally slipped by for second on lap 31 while defending track points champion Steve Paine held off Justin Haers to complete the final front-five.

Canandaigua Motorsports Park returns to action on Saturday, June 11 when American Equipment presents a five-star show of Big-Block Modified, NAPA Sportsman, Parts Plus Stock Car, Klein Steel Retail Pure Stock and New Legends Sportsman racing, with qualifying beginning at 7pm on Little League Nite.

Then on Tue., June 14 CMP draws attention from the entire Northeast when the cars and stars from the nation’s premier Big-Block Modified tour invade the Ontario County Fairgrounds for the 64-lap Super DIRTcar Series Jan Corcoran Memorial. The lone mid-week card of the summer in wine country is filled with a 25-lap feature for NAPA Sportsman and 20-lapper for the Parts Plus Stock Cars.

Sheppard Scores Hat Trick In Canandaigua Big-Block Modified Main
Posted by Jeff on 2011-05-22 08:54:35 MDT
May 21, 2011 - Tom Skibinski, Canandaigua Motorsports Park PR (585-350-8997)

One week off from competition at Canandaigua Motorsports Park did little to slow the effort of Matt Sheppard as the second-generation standout from Waterloo, N.Y. continued to reign supreme at the Ontario County Fairgrounds with a third straight 35-lap Big-Block Modified victory on Saturday.Sharing the spotlight after their first feature wins of the season at the hallowed half-miler were Nick Guererri (NAPA Sportsman Modified), Frank Burnell Jr. (Parts Plus Stock Car), Brian Lyon (Klein Steel Retail Pure Stock) and A.J. Lloyd (New Legends Sportsman), while Tim Ellison pocketed $1,000 in the winner-take-all Empire/Beck's Recycling Demolition Derby.
Sheppard’s season-opening ‘hat trick’ moved the 2009 CMP points champion into eighth-place on the all-time ‘Land of Legends’ Big-Block win list with his 18th triumph at the Routes 5 & 20 oval.
“Man, what a lot of fun to race at this place, it’s just so wide and fast,” remarked Sheppard, who copped three checkered flags last year at Canandaigua in only a handful of appearances made steering the potent JB Motorsports no. 9s Xtreme Lubricants-Integra Shocks/Bicknell mount for owner Jeff Brownell. “This car has just been fast here for the last three years, don’t really know why or how. Things seem to go our way here. We’ve been able to keep in one piece, keep the tires on and its worked out for us.”
Round number three at the fairgrounds proved to be the most challenging for ‘Super Matt’ as it marked the first show that the overall 2010 Mr. DIRTcar Champion appeared to be second fastest in the field. Looking to become the first-ever Australian feature winner in wine country, Peter Britten from Brisbane, Queensland opened up healthy leads during green flag racing before a suddenly suffering a right-rear flat tire on lap 30 to curtail his best run to date.
“It was too bad, we were having a good battle up through,” noted Sheppard, who started 17th on the 24-car grid before cracking the front-five for the first time on lap 15. “Danny (Johnson) was really fast tonight and ended up getting a flat, then Peter was real good and he got a flat and we were able to hold on.”
“I could feel my right-rear starting to go away so I tried tucking away on the bottom and (Peter) drove back around me. I tried running the top in (turns) three and four and the bottom in one and two, that seemed to work for me once we got the lead,” Sheppard added.
Britten blasted by pole-sitter Adam Roberts on lap three and was headed for a landmark victory before the first of eight yellow fags on lap nine erased a full straightaway advantage. Sheppard ran 14th at the time before methodically making his way towards the front over the second two-thirds of the Modified main.
With Britten still holding a commanding lead, Johnson grabbed second from Tim Currier on lap 21 and Sheppard mirrored the move the next circuit. Johnson slowed on lap 24 with a flat tire to incur the fifth caution period, yet despite a bold attempt to overtake Britten on the ensuing restart, Sheppard had to wait for the Australian’s late-race tire failure to take his first outright lead.
Sheppard extended his margin to a half straightaway under the checkered flag followed by defending track champion Steve Paine, Justin Haers, who rallied from a lap 11 setback, young gun Rob Bellinger and Billy Dunn, who charged back after a lap 13 spin to improve from a 7th-place finish two weeks ago.
Canandaigua Motorsports Park returns to action on Saturday, May 28 when Corvettes by Turner presents a high-speed holiday show of Big-Block Modified, NAPA Sportsman, Parts Plus Stock Car, Klein Steel Retail Pure Stock and New Legends Sportsman racing, with qualifying beginning at 7pm on Family Autograph Nite.

Event Summary – May 21, 2011
Big-Block Modified
*Feature (35 laps): 1. 9s-Matt Sheppard, 2. 7x-Steve Paine, 2. 3-Justin Haers, 4. 8r-Rob Bellinger, 5. 49-Billy Dunn, 6. 10-Tim Currier, 7. 8-Rich Scagliotta, 8. 27j-Danny Johnson, 9. 1jr-Mike O’Brien, 10. 48too-Dave Rauscher, 11. 99-Charlie Donk, 12. 97-Michel Chicoine, 13. 21-Derrick Podsiadlo, 14. 21k-Randy Chrysler, 15. 63-Adam Roberts, 16. 25-Paul Habeck, 17. 2b-Ron Cartwright Jr., 18. 3m-Henry Maier, 19. 32c-Vic Coffey, 20. 88-Dave Allen, 21. 21a-Peter Britten, 22. 56-Vince Vitale, 23. 11x-Chris Mangiarelli, 27jr.-Danny Johnson Jr. (DNS), 22z-Phil Vigneri (DNS).
Heats (8 laps)
#1: Roberts, Vitale, Paine, Sheppard, Britten, O’Brien, Allen, Dunn.
#2: Rauscher, D.Johnson, Chrysler, Bellinger, Podsiadlo, Chicoine, Mangiarelli, Vigneri (DNS).
#3: Currier, Haers, Scagliotta, Coffey, Cartwright, Donk, Habeck, Maier, D.Johnson Jr.

2nd Straight Wins Scored By Sheppard & Welch As Canandaigua Points Begin
Posted by Jeff on 2011-05-08 09:39:35 MDT
Wiesner, Minutolo & Wagner take checkered flags to kick off 2011 track title chases

Canandaigua, NY – May 7, 2011 – Racing in the month of May opened Saturday night at Canandaigua Motorsports Park with Matt Sheppard and Mike Welch posting their second straight feature wins while Dan Wiesner, Marc Minutolo and Casey Wagner copped their first checkered flags. On the eve of Mother’s Day at the storied Ontario County Fairgrounds, Randie Rudy claimed top honors in the special Powder Puff race reserved for the ladies.
While Sheppard led the final 2/3 of the season-opening 35-lap Big-Block Modified main a week earlier, the second-generation driver from Waterloo needed nearly the entire distance to earn another $1,500 payday at the Routes 5 & 20 speedplant.
“Starting way back I really had to drive the crap out of this thing tonight,” remarked Sheppard, after early contact in his qualifying heat forced him pitside, ultimately relegating him to 19th on the feature race starting grid despite a consolation round victory. “I could feel the car vibrating at the end, was just hoping (tire) would make it another lap or two.”
“Its definitely more rewarding getting a win like this, just didn’t think I was going to get there. Seems like the longer the feature goes the better this car gets. I followed Steve (Paine) and (Rob) Bellinger for quite awhile and couldn’t gain on either one. Thought I didn’t have anything for these guys tonight. This is the same tire we ran with last week so I guess we can throw it out now,” smiled Sheppard, as he glanced over at what remained of the right-rear tread that carried the JB Motorsports no. 9s Xtreme Lubricants-Integra Shocks/Bicknell entry to his 17th career Big-Block win at the ultra-smooth Canandaigua half-miler.
For the second straight week, Justin Haers was in the mix from the start as the popular Phelps pilot rocketed by pole-sitter Mike O’Brien on the initial circuit to lead the 24-car field. Area open-wheel veteran Charlie Donk started fourth and charged by Haers on a lap four restart and held the point nearly half the race.
With a pair of red flags stopping the action while the track crew untangled cars in separate turn two multi-car incidents, Haers regained an advantage on the lap 19 restart although with 15 circuits still to go defending Canandaigua points champion Paine had pulled up to second while Sheppard moved in to shadow Donk.
The Modified mount of Dave Allen came to a stop in front of the leaders with a half-dozen laps to go, this time with Sheppard holding the runner-up spot behind Haers with Donk, Paine and lap two red flag victim Danny Johnson dicing among the front-five. Sheppard finally took his first lead low exiting turn four on lap 30 yet it was short-lived when Haers suddenly swung back around the following circuit to regain the point. Not to be denied, ‘Super Matt’ again ducked under Haers’ no. 3 Phelps Cement Products-Classics & Customs/Bicknell machine for the final exchange on lap 32, with Sheppard cruising home for a 3.0-second advantage at the line.
For the second week in a row, Haers and Johnson settled for top-three finishes with Paine and Donk rounding out the first five under the checkers. The runner-up tally for Haers combined with a heat race win puts him just one point ahead of Sheppard heading into next weekend’s show.
Long-time Team Scagliotta crew member Rudy, an avid slow-pitch softball player, out-distanced Beth Ann Land to claim the 2-lap Powder Puff dash and close out the evening card. New Jersey traveler Rudy buckled in behind the wheel of Rich Scagliotta’s no. 8 Central Jersey Trailer & Hitch Depot-Adamsville Maintenance/Troyer ride while Land steered a no. 9s Xtreme Lubricants car from the JB Motorsports shop.
“Wish I could’ve had a few more laps around in this car, it was a lot of fun while it lasted,” said Rudy, who serves as the comptroller for Scagliotta in his Adamsville Maintenance business based in the Garden State. She also won three powder puff races at Scagliotta’s former home track in New Egypt, N.J. during a five-year stretch.
Canandaigua Motorsports Park returns to action on Saturday, May 14 with Sprintacular #1 taking center stage featuring the lone stop in Ontario County for the Patriot Sprint Tour. A standard fairgrounds fare of Big-Block Modified, NAPA Sportsman, Parts Plus Stock Car and Klein Steel Retail Pure Stock action fills the bill with the first green flag flying at 7pm on Scout Nite.
With the 2011 race season officially underway, be sure to follow the point standings and find all the news about Canandaigua online by visiting www.CanandaiguaMotorsportsPark.com. Send along a note to fan@canandaiguamotorsportspark.com to join the e-mail list, or register with http://www.twitter.com/Canandaigua_MSP to keep up-to-date on-line and through text messages on cell phones via Twitter.
For more information, please contact Jeremie Corcoran via cell 315-374-2839 or e-mail jeremiecorcoran@yahoo.com. Tim Bowman (315-225-0881) can be reached during the week to discuss marketing opportunities available at the track in 2011.
Canandaigua Motorsports Park is located at the Ontario County Fairgrounds, east of the city on Town Line Road (County Road 10), with easy access off either Exit 43 (Manchester, Route 21 South) or Exit 44 (Farmington, Route 332 South) of the New York State Thruway, just ½-hour southeast of Rochester.

Event Summary – May 7, 2011
Big-Block Modified
*Feature (35 laps): 1. 9s-Matt Sheppard, 2. 3-Justin Haers, 3. 27j-Danny Johnson, 4. 7x-Steve Paine, 5. 99-Charlie Donk, 6. 8r-Rob Bellinger, 7. 49-Billy Dunn, 8. 8-Rich Scagliotta, 9. 91-Chad Homan, 10. 89b-Todd Burley, 11. 11x-Eldon Payne Jr., 12. 21-Derrick Podsiadlo, 13. 88-Dave Allen, 14. 25-Paul Habeck, 15. 11n-Ricky Newton, 16. 97-Michel Chicoine, 17. 21k-Randy Chrysler, 18. 10-Tim Currier,19. 48too-Dave Rauscher, 20. 44-Shannon Whaley, 21. 1jr.-Mike O’Brien, 22. 3m-Henry Maier, 23. 21a-Peter Britten, 24. 56-Vince Vitale.
Heats (8 laps, 6 qualify)
#1: O’Brien, Donk, Chicoine, Burley, Vitale, Currier, Newton, Cartwright, Vinson, Sheppard.
#2: Haers, Paine, Dunn, Allen, Homan, Whaley, Podsiadlo, Roberts, Chrysler, Slover.
#3: Britten, Bellinger, Johnson, Habeck, Scagliotta, Rauscher, Payne, Vigneri, Maier.
Consi (4 laps, 6 qualify)
#1: Sheppard, Podsiadlo, Chrysler, Newton, Payne, Maier, Roberts, Vigneri, Cartwright (DNS), Vinson (DNS), Slover (DNS).

Sheppard & Sears Strut Their Stuff With Canandaigua Motorsports Park Wins
Posted by Jeff on 2011-05-01 07:11:08 MDT

Defending Mr. DIRTcar Champions showcased in season-opener on fairgrounds

Canandaigua, NY – April 30, 2011 – It took three extra weeks to finally get the 48th season underway at the revamped Canandaigua Motorsports Park, yet the third time was certainly a charm for new promoter Jeremie Corcoran as an anxious crowd witnessed superb track conditions and stellar performances in every division to launch a new era of short-track entertainment in wine country.

Reigning overall Mr. DIRTcar point kings Matt Sheppard from Waterloo and Tim Sears Jr. hauling in from Clay continued their open-wheel success, with ‘Super Matt’ dominating the Big-Block Modified action while Sears surprised no one with a decisive victory in the first round of the Mr. DIRTcar Series for NAPA Sportsman on Saturday night.

Also taking checkered flags during the 2011 Ontario County Fairgrounds opener were multi-time Parts Plus Stock Car track champion Mike Welch from Lyons and invader Andrew Smith from Lockport in the Klein Steel Retail Pure Stock ranks. Second-generation pilot Matt Guererri from Waterloo made history as the first-ever New Legends Sportsman feature winner.

Sears kicked off the five-division Sherwin-Williams Paints Store of Canandaigua card, taking advantage of mechanical woes by track regular Steve Gray to inherit the lead and cruise on home for a straightaway victory in the 30-lap Sportsman main, worth $1,000 and valuable show-up points toward the summer-long series.

“I’ve never been here before, never even seen the track until tonight,” remarked Sears, 19, following his eighth career Sportsman Series triumph, with six registered last season en route to the coveted crown. “It definitely wasn’t easy as this place is wicked fast.”

“This track is so fast right now, you’re not even letting off the gas. It’s just foot to the floor all the way around. It’s nice and smooth too, was figuring it was going to be rough with all the rain we’ve had. An awesome place to pick up a big win,” added said Sears, who reached victory lane 16 times on the DIRTcar Racing Northeast circuit last year.

A solid field of 31 Sportsman racers signed in for the tour show with Sears copping the third of four qualifying heats. Canandaigua veteran Karl Comfort earned the pole position start after a re-draw among the top-12 qualifiers, yet it was front row partner Greg Cool leading the initial circuit before Gray took over the next time around, charging from fourth.

A half-dozen yellow flags flew in the early stages for minor mishaps allowing plenty of time for Sears to improve from his 10th starting spot. Following the sixth slowdown on lap 12, Sears moved to the point as soon as Gray ducked pitside under caution and the no. 83x Total Site Development-Mullen Industrial Handling/Bicknell machine would remain unchallenged the rest of the way. Cool held on for second ahead of the trio of Canandaigua stalwarts Justin Wright, ’10 CMP points champion Eric Giguere and Kevin Ridley.

Although the Big-Block finale went a distance of 35-laps, the outcome nearly mirrored that of the Sportsman feature as Sheppard took the lead on lap 13 and built up nearly a five-second margin at the finish line.

“It feels good to be back, Jeremie (Corcoran, promoter) did a great job with the track and this car was just awesome tonight,” said Sheppard, 28, on the heels of his third straight opening night victory at Canandaigua. Sheppard unseated Steve Paine atop the point standings the last time he competed regularly at the Routes 5&20 oval in 2009, and now has 16 Big-Block wins here since 2003. “The place looks great and I’m excited to be back here this year.”

“I kinda saw some stuff going on in front of me at the end. It was a little tough out there but I was just trying to ride around and save my tires a little bit. I knew the other guys would be right there so I wasn’t going to take it too easy. This car was just glued to the bottom tonight and we were able to keep it in front when it counted,” noted Sheppard, DIRTcar Northeast’s winningest Big-Block driver last season with 19 for the JB Motorsports no. 9s Xtreme Lubricants/Bicknell team.

Native Australian Peter Britten got the jump on pole-sitter Phil Vigneri before Justin Haers blasted around high exiting turn four to gain control on lap two. After the heads-up start, third-place runner Sheppard moved in to shadow Haers, and in a bold maneuver ducked under the lapped car of Paul Habeck in turn two to force the final lead change as Haers got pinned outside in the three-wide workout.

The brothers Johnson, Alan and Danny, ran among the front-five for the majority of the Modified main, with Hears stealing back the runner-up spot from the ‘Doctor’ with just one lap to go. At the wire it was Sheppard out-distancing Haers and Danny Johnson with older brother Alan ---Canandaigua’s most successful driver with 114 Big-Block wins--- and Britten completing the final top-5.