Brett “The Jet” Hearn Lights the Afterburners at the World Finals
CONCORD, NC – November 3, 2018 – The first 40-lap World of Outlaws World Finals presented by Can-Am Feature race went to Brett The Jet Hearn. Hearn worked his way into second, and then benefited from a flat right rear tire on Matt Sheppard. Incredibly Sheppard passed most of the field and managed a third-place finish. Hard-Charger Tim McCreadie started twenty-fifth and finished runner-up to The Jet.
The race suffered a high rate of attrition as the day-time track conditions tore into right and left rear Hoosier racing tires, bringing out the caution flag multiple times. Race-winner Brett Hearn kept his nose clean and had a little luck getting out in front. “Being at the front of the pack was a huge advantage. When Matt (Sheppard) got that flat I got out in front and it was really helpful being in clean air. I was able to run laps out front and take care of things a little bit.”
The track proved to be a test for Hearn despite the winning. He noted, “I gotta rest my arms, that’s a tough race track to run. You don’t want to see that many restarts when you are leading.”
Madsen Motorsports prepared an excellent Big-Block Modified for him, “The car really liked the high side, I got a couple good restarts. I got under the no. 19 [Jessy Mueller] and then I was in the right spot when Matt [Sheppard] blew the tire. After that, I just had to make the right moves and make the right guesses on the restarts, choose the right lane, and not make any mistakes.”
Tim McCreadie is pulling double duty this weekend racing in both the Super DIRTcar Series Big-Block Modifieds as well as the World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series. McCreadie was the hard-charger and finished second in the Big-Block. Then T-Mac immediately jumped into his Late Model and finished second in their 50-lap Feature.
Matt Sheppard extended his points lead out to sixty points with his third-place finish. Super Matt built a comfortable lead early in the race before a flat left rear tire sent him to the work area. “I kinda thought we were out in front on cruise control, but for some reason, we just can’t catch any breaks this year. I’ve had seven flat tires in Series races this year.
Against all odds, Sheppard drove through the field and took the final spot on the podium. “Once again the car was really fast, really good, and I’m thankful to salvage a third and have the thing still rolling,” said Sheppard.
“We had the car to beat but it just wasn’t meant to be,” but building on his Championship points lead on Erick Rudolph was key. Sheppard goes into the final Feature race of 2018 with a comfortable 60 point lead.
World of Outlaws World Finals presented by Can-Am Friday Feature (40 Laps)
1. 20-Brett Hearn [4]; 2. 39-Tim McCreadie [25]; 3. 9s-Matt Sheppard [5]; 4. 7m-Michael Marseca [23]; 5. 25r-Erick Rudolph [19]; 6. 8-Rich Scagliotta [27]; 7. 19-Tim Fuller [14]; 8. 91-Billy Decker [8]; 9. 21a-Peter Britten [11]; 10. 42p-Pat Ward [6]; 11. 96-Steve Bernard [17]; 12. 66-Mat Williamson [13]; 13. 45F-Steve Feder [24]; 14. O7-Tim Kerr [21]; 15. 21J-Danny Johnson [10]; 16. 63-Adam Roberts [28]; 17. 6h-Max McLaughlin [3]; 18. 111-Demetrois Drellos [30]; 19. 66x-Carey Terrence [15]; 20. 6jh-Josh Hohenforst [9]; 21. 88-Mike Mahaney [7]; 22. 21b-Yan Bussiere [2]; 23. 65-Scott Hitchen [26]; 24. 98h-Jimmy Phelps [20]; 25. 19m-Jessy Mueller [1]; 26. 5H-Chris Hile [12]; 27. 28z-Gary Lindberg [22]; 28. 43-Keith Flach [18]; 29. 48T-Dave Rauscher [29]; 30. 5st-Tyler Siri [16]
The Super DIRTcar Series 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, iRacing (Official Online Racing Game) and NAPA Auto Parts. Contingency sponsors include: ASI Race Wear, Bicknell Racing Products, Billy Whittaker Cars & Trux, Dig Safely, Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, Edelbrock, Fox Shox, Intercomp, JE Pistons, KSE Racing Products, MSD, and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum); along with manufacturer sponsors, including: Beyea Headers, Racing Electronics and TNT Rescue.
Sources: Joe Grabianowski, Super DIRTcar Series PR Coordinator
Photo credit: Michael Fry