Sheppard Out-Duels Hearn for Five Mile Point Victory

By admin June 12, 2017 Five Mile Point, Super DIRTcar Series
Reigning Series Champion Earns First Win of 2017
 
KIRKWOOD, NY – June 11, 2017 – Matt Sheppard took the lead from Tyler Siri on lap 16 and then held off polesitter Brett Hearn throughout a flurry of late-race restarts to win the Modified 67 at Five Mile Point Speedway on Sunday night. The Waterloo, NY native had to be strong in all aspects of the race as he raced from the sixth starting position to overtake Siri and never looked back despite Hearn’s numerous attempts to take over the top spot.
“This thing was spot on right from the drop of the green,” Sheppard said in Victory Lane. “I could just drive it straight around the racetrack like I was on the highway. It was just great from lap one. I didn’t really like seeing all those caution, but just tried to kept it straight and luckily kept enough tire and brought it back to Victory Lane.”

Sheppard’s first win this season was also the 48th of his career with the Super DIRTcar Series and it was one he had to earn. Jimmy Phelps completed the podium behind Hearn.

“It feels great,” Sheppard said. “We had that record-breaking season last year where it seemed like we were winning everywhere. We had a couple of good runs (to start the year), but it’s definitely nice to get the first series win of the season. Hopefully we can keep rolling from here.”
Hearn and Siri started on the front row for the 67-lap main event. Siri used the outside lane to lead the opening circuit by a bumper before clearing Hearn for the top spot.
The top four cars – Siri, Hearn, Sheppard and Stewart Friesen – raced nose-to-tail and side-by-side throughout the first 15 laps without any driver able to distance themselves. It led to a three-wide battle for the lead off corner two on lap 14 before Sheppard took the inside lane from Siri and wrestled the point position away on lap 16.
Sheppard caught lapped traffic on lap 21 with Hearn lurking closely behind, but was saved from dealing with the slower cars by the second caution of the race on the same lap. Friesen used the ensuing restart to dart past Hearn and Siri for second, which allowed Sheppard to open a five car-length advantage while the battled raged on behind him.
Just as Sheppard caught traffic again on lap 31, a caution flag waved for a stopped Mike Mahaney in turn four. Sheppard made the most of that restart and opened a 1.6-second advantage over Friesen at the halfway mark.
At lap 40, Friesen’s momentum withered as Hearn retook the second position and both Billy Decker and Phelps were able to push the No.44 to the back-end of the top-five.
With 20 laps to go, a number of drivers began to experience problems with tire wear and a series of cautions slowed the race as drivers fell off the pace with flat tires, including both Decker and Siri who were destined for top-five finishes. Sheppard, however, had no issues outrunning Hearn, even on the final restart with three laps to go. Hearn kept pace and stayed within a car length of Sheppard, but couldn’t gather enough momentum to make a serious challenge for the lead.
“I started getting a vibration in the right-rear,” Hearn said of the closing laps. “I thought we were getting a flat tire and something was going bad. It must have just been the tire wearing out. I settled into second and running just partial throttle I was able to run with him. When the track rubbered up a little bit on the bottom at the end, he was in the catbird seat.”
For Phelps, the third-place finish was his best this season and his second top-five of 2017. It was a much needed strong run for the Baldwinsville, NY pilot, who struggled in the series last race at Bridgeport Speedway.
“We could have been a little better in qualifying to give ourselves a better starting position, but other than that I thought the car was really good,” Phelps said. “By the time we got to third we were out of tire and trying to stay off of it the best we could and try to save it for the end. The car just came to life in the Feature.”
Sheppard’s win extends his point lead atop the Super DIRTcar Series standings to 41 markers over Hearn and 53 ahead of Decker. The series will be back in action for its fourth race of the season at Outlaw Speedway on Tuesday, June 20.
The night’s Pole Position Raceway Fast Qualifier was Max McLaughlin who also won the night’s first heat and finished fourth in the Feature. Keith Flach rounded out the top-five with his best finish this season.
Tim Fuller, Billy Decker and Larry Wight also picked up heat race victories while Billy Dunn claimed the win in the 10-lap Last Chance Qualifier.
Mahaney and Rich Scagliotta were the drivers eligible for the 811 Dig Safely New York redraw bonus if either could win from the 8th or 11th starting positions. Scagliotta finished 12th while Mahaney was 13th.
For complete results, please visit the results page by clicking here.
Super DIRTcar Series Unofficial Top-20 Standings
 
No.
Driver
Total
Series
Bonus
1
9s
Matt Sheppard
286
286
0
2
20
Brett Hearn
245
245
0
3
91
Billy Decker
233
233
0
4
98h
Jimmy Phelps
229
229
0
5
99L
Larry Wight
221
221
0
6
44
Stewart Friesen
216
216
0
7
6h
Max McLaughlin 
199
199
0
8
19
Tim Fuller
183
183
0
9
43
Keith Flach
178
178
0
10
42P
Pat Ward
178
178
0
11
109
Billy Whittaker
175
175
0
12
14J
Alan Johnson
173
173
0
13
21a
Pete Britten
154
154
0
14
88
Mike Mahaney
152
152
0
15
14w
Ryan Watt
151
151
0
16
8
Rich Scagliotta
148
148
0
17
25R
Erick Rudolph
137
137
0
18
22
Brandon Walters
135
135
0
19
7M
Michael Maresca 
130
130
0
20
49
Billy Dunn
119
119
0
 
DIRTcar Racing is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including: Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel), Chevy Performance Parts and NAPA Auto Parts (SDS). Contingency sponsors include: ASI Race Wear (SDS), Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, Cometic Gasket (SDS), COMP Cams (SDS), Edelbrock (SDS), Fox Shocks (SDS), Henry’s Exhaust Systems, Intercomp, JE Pistons (SDS), JRi Shocks (SDS), KSE Racing Products (SDS), Mike’s Racing Heads (SDS), Number One Speedway (SDS), MSD (SDS), Pole Position Raceway (SDS), Superflow Dynos (SDS) and Wrisco Aluminum (Exclusive Racing Aluminum) (SDS); along with manufacturer sponsors, including: Beyea Headers, Racing Electronics and TNT Rescue.
Sources: Clayton Johns/DIRTcar Racing PR

6/11/17 – Five Mile Point Speedway

KIRKWOOD, NY – June 11, 2017 – Matt Sheppard took the lead from Tyler Siri on lap 16 and then held off polesitter Brett Hearn on a flurry of late-race restarts to win the Modified 67 anniversary at Five Mile Point Speedway. It was Sheppard’s first Super DIRTcar Series win of the season. Jimmy Phelps rounded out the podium for his second-top-five finish of the season. 

Feature – (67 Laps) – 1. 9s-Matt Sheppard [6]; 2. 20-Brett Hearn [1]; 3. 98h-Jimmy Phelps [16]; 4. 6h-Max McLaughlin [12]; 5. 43x-Keith Flach [15]; 6. 7m-Michael Maresca [18]; 7. 84-Gary Tomkins [19]; 8. 42p-Pat Ward [23]; 9. 35-Frank Cozze [9]; 10. 99L-Larry Wight [5]; 11. 19-Tim Fuller [10]; 12. 8-Rich Scagliotta [11]; 13. 77x-Mike Mahaney [8]; 14. 44-Stewart Friesen [3]; 15. 21a-Peter Britten [7]; 16. 91-Billy Decker [4]; 17. 109-Billy Whittaker [26]; 18. 76-Bobby Varin [30]; 19. 34-Rusty Smith [25]; 20. 5*-Tyler Siri [2]; 21. 22-Brandon Walters [17]; 22. 14w-Ryan Watt [14]; 23. 15-Brett Tonkin [20]; 24. 16x-Danny Creeden [24]; 25. 30r-Jeff Crambo [28]; 26. 49-Billy Dunn [21]; 27. 14j-Alan Johnson [22]; 28. 35b-Alan Barker [13]; 29. 44r-Russell Morseman III [29]; 30. 14z-Brad Szulewski [27]. Lap Leaders: Tyler Siri 1-15, Matt Sheppard 16-67; KSE Hard Charger: Pat Ward (+15 – 23rd to 8th).

Qualifying Group 1 – 1. 6h-Max McLaughlin, 15.315; 2. 35-Frank Cozze, 15.554; 3. 9s-Matt Sheppard, 15.580; 4. 35b-Alan Barker, 15.665; 5. 14J-Alan Johnson, 15.674; 6. 22-Brandon Walters, 15.738; 7. 109-Billy Whittaker, 15.921; 8. 30r-Jeff Crambo, 16.172.

Qualifying Group 2 – 1. 77x-Mike Mahaney, 15.389; 2. 19-Tim Fuller, 15.565; 3. 49-Billy Dunn, 15.575; 4. 14w-Ryan Watt, 15.640; 5. 7m-Michael Maresca, 15.654; 6. 44-Stewart Friesen, 15.757; 7. 34-Rusty Smith, 16.030; 8. 72-Cass Bennett, 16.827.

Qualifying Group 3 – 1. 91-Billy Decker, 15.566; 2. 20-Brett Hearn, 15.582; 3. 8-Rich Scagliotta, 15.718; 4. 43x-Keith Flach, 15.822; 5. 84-Gary Tomkins, 15.823; 6. 16x-Danny Creeden, 15.849; 7. 14z-Brad Szulewski, 16.286; 8. 44r-Russell Morseman III, 16.306.

Qualifying Group 4 – 1. 99L-Larry Wight, 15.449; 2. 21a-Peter Britten, 15.549; 3. 5*-Tyler Siri, 15.586; 4. 98h-Jimmy Phelps, 15.684; 5. 15-Brett Tonkin, 15.834; 6. 76-Bobby Varin, 15.916; 7. 42p-Pat Ward, 15.929.

Heat 1 (8 Laps – Top-5 Finishers Transfer to A-Feature; Top-3 Redraw) – 1. 6h-Max McLaughlin [1]; 2. 9s-Matt Sheppard [3]; 3. 35-Frank Cozze [2]; 4. 35b-Alan Barker [4]; 5. 22-Brandon Walters [6]; 6. 14J-Alan Johnson [5]; 7.109-Billy Whittaker [7]; 8. 30r-Jeff Crambo [8].

Heat 2 (8 Laps – Top-5 Finishers Transfer to A-Feature; Top-3 Redraw) – 1. 19-Tim Fuller [2]; 2. 77x-Mike Mahaney [1]; 3. 44-Stewart Friesen [6]; 4. 14w-Ryan Watt [4]; 5. 7m-Michael Maresca [5]; 6. 49-Billy Dunn [3]; 7. 34-Rusty Smith [7]; 8. 72-Cass Bennett [DNS].

Heat 3 (8 Laps – Top-5 Finishers Transfer to A-Feature; Top-3 Redraw) – 1. 91-Billy Decker [1]; 2. 20-Brett Hearn [2]; 3. 8-Rich Scagliotta [3]; 4. 43x-Keith Flach [4]; 5. 84-Gary Tomkins [5]; 6.16x-Danny Creeden [6]; 7. 14z-Brad Szulewski [7]; 8. 44r-Russell Morseman III [8].

Heat 4 (8 Laps – Top-5 Finishers Transfer to A-Feature; Top-3 Redraw) – 1. 99L-Larry Wight [1]; 2. 21a-Peter Britten [2]; 3. 5*-Tyler Siri [3]; 4. 98h-Jimmy Phelps [4]; 5. 15-Brett Tonkin [5]; 6. 76-Bobby Varin [6]; 7. 42p-Pat Ward [7].

Last Chance Qualifier 1 (10 Laps – Top-6 Finishers Transfer to A-Feature) – 1. 49-Billy Dunn [2]; 2. 14j-Alan Johnson [1]; 3. 42p-Pat Ward [8]; 4. 16x-Danny Creeden [3]; 5. 34-Rusty Smith [6]; 6. 109-Billy Whittaker [5]; 7. 14z-Brad Szulewski [7]; 8. 30r-Jeff Crambo [9]; 9. 44r-Russell Morseman III [10]; 10. 76-Bobby Varin [4]; 11. 72-Cass Bennett [DNS].

CONTINGENCY WINNERS: VP Racing Fuels ($50 Cash): Pat Ward; Pole Position Raceway Fast Time ($100 Cash): Max McLaughlin; Bicknell Racing Products ($100 Product Certificate): Matt Sheppard; Cometic Gasket ($50 Cash): Rich Sagliotta; Comp Cams ($50 Cash): Larry Wight; Comp Cams ($50 Product Certificate): Matt Sheppard; Edelbrock ($50 Cash): Larry Wight; Fox Racing Shox ($50 Cash): Gary Tomkins; JE Pistons ($50 Cash): Keith Flach; JE Pistons (Product Certificate): Billy Decker; JE Pistons (Product Certificate): Brandon Walters; KSE Racing Products Inc. ($50 Product Certificate): Pat Ward; MSD Ignition ($50 Cash): Matt Sheppard; MSD Ignition ($25 Cash): Jeff Crambo; SuperFlow Dynos & Flowbenches ($50 Cash): Stewart Friesen; Wrisco Aluminum (Product Certificate): Matt Sheppard; JRI Shocks ($50 Cash): Peter Britten; Dig Safely 811 Redraw Bonus ($100 Cash): N/A; Speedy First Aid (Product Certificate): Ryan Watt; ASi Racewear ($50 Cash): Gary Tomkins.

Super DIRTcar Series Unofficial Top-20 Standings – June 11, 2017

  No. Driver Total Series Bonus
1 9s Matt Sheppard 286 286 0
2 20 Brett Hearn 245 245 0
3 91 Billy Decker 233 233 0
4 98h Jimmy Phelps 229 229 0
5 99L Larry Wight 221 221 0
6 44 Stewart Friesen 216 216 0
7 6h Max McLaughlin  199 199 0
8 19 Tim Fuller 183 183 0
9 43 Keith Flach 178 178 0
10 42P Pat Ward 178 178 0
11 109 Billy Whittaker 175 175 0
12 14J Alan Johnson 173 173 0
13 21a Pete Britten 154 154 0
14 88 Mike Mahaney 152 152 0
15 14w Ryan Watt 151 151 0
16 8 Rich Scagliotta 148 148 0
17 25R Erick Rudolph 137 137 0
18 22 Brandon Walters 135 135 0
19 7M Michael Maresca  130 130 0
20 49 Billy Dunn 119 119 0