Clash at Charlotte: Sheppard, Hearn & Decker Duel for Super DIRTcar Series Championship

Contact: Julia Foy

Promotions/PR Coordinator – DIRTcar NE
315.834.2299 | jfoy@dirtcar.com

Clash at Charlotte: Sheppard, Hearn and Decker duel for Super DIRTcar Series championship

World of Outlaws World Finals kicks off Nov. 6 with feature races set for Nov. 7 and 8

WEEDSPORT, N.Y. – October 31, 2014 – A heated Super DIRTcar Series points battle will round out the season as the series heads into its final two feature races with the top two in point standings, Matt Sheppard and Billy Decker, within just one point of each other.

The World of Outlaws World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte, N.C., kicks off Thursday, Nov. 6, with qualifying events for the Super DIRTcar Big Block Modified Series, World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series and World of Outlaws Late Models Series. Racing Friday and Saturday, Nov. 7 and 8, includes a feature event for each series and champions will be crowned after the races Friday.

Sheppard, of Waterloo, N.Y., leads in Super DIRTcar Series points after an impressive run at Orange County Fair Speedway took him from a 43rd starting spot to second place. However, Decker’s one-point disadvantage could be quickly overcome in Charlotte, where each feature race is worth 150 points.

“We’re looking forward to going down there and trying to get this championship,” said Sheppard, who claimed the Super DIRTcar Series title in Charlotte three years in a row: 2010, 2011 and 2012. “It’s awesome. It’s an unbelievable feeling, an unbelievable atmosphere. The way this series has shaken up with the points and everything at the end of the year, the fans should be in for quite a treat.”

No stranger to the limelight at Charlotte, Sheppard is prepping for the finale races and hoping to win his first championship trophy with the new race team. Sheppard began racing this year under the Heinke-Baldwin Racing banner earlier this season.

“It’s going to go right down to the wire,” Sheppard said. “It’s going to be exciting in Charlotte.”

Decker, of Sidney, N.Y., has returned to full-time competition in the Super DIRTcar Series and hasn’t missed a beat. Before Orange County Fair Speedway’s Eastern States 200 earlier this October, Decker was leading in series points. He already has a total of three series wins to his name, and with the point lead within a few points, Decker is hoping for a strong run at Charlotte.

“It’s a hell of a racetrack,” Decker said of Charlotte’s 0.4-mile clay oval, where the driver, in 2011, lost his series point lead and his shot at the championship after mechanical failures in the first feature. “We went down there and had bad luck, broke an engine and just flat out missed it.”

Also in contention for the series championship is eight-time Super DIRTcar Series Champion Brett “the Jet” Hearn. After a win at Orange County Fair Speedway, Hearn is third in series points and just 52 points behind leader Sheppard.

“It’s become such a highlight for so many people’s seasons,” Hearn said of racing at the World of Outlaws World Finals. “In front of that crowd, and in front of people from all over the country, to me, that event has no rival.”

The World of Outlaws World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte is one out of only two events this season at which fans can watch the Super DIRTcar Series, World of Outlaws STP Sprint Car Series, and World of Outlaws Late Models Series at the same track, and it is the only chance during the season to see feature races for all three on the same night.

For more information and the latest updates about the Super DIRTcar Big Block Modified Series, clickwww.superdirtcarseries.com, follow @SuperDIRTcar on Twitter or “like” the DIRTcar Racing Facebook page at www.facebook.com/DIRTcar.

2014 Super DIRTcar Series Big-Block Modified Schedule

Inclement Weather

Sat. Feb 22

Volusia Speedway Park
Barberville, Fla.

Sat. April 26

Fulton Speedway
Fulton, N.Y.

Wed. May 28

Brockville Ontario Speedway
Brockville, Ont.

Tues. June 17

New Egypt Speedway
New Egypt, N.J.

Wed. June 25

Utica-Rome Speedway
Vernon, N.Y.

Sun. June 29

Cornwall Motor Speedway
Cornwall, Ont.

Thu. July 3

Rolling Wheels Raceway
Elbridge, N.Y.

Tues. July 15

Big Diamond Speedway
Pottsville, Pa.

Mon. July 21

Autodrome Granby
Granby, Que.

Tues. July 22

Autodrome Drummond
Drummondville, Que.

Wed. July 30

Albany-Saratoga Speedway
Malta, N.Y.

Mon. Aug. 4

Merrittville Speedway
Thorold, Ont.

Tues. Aug. 5

Ransomville Speedway
Ransomville, N.Y.

Thurs. Aug. 7

Weedsport Speedway
Weedsport, N.Y.

Thurs. Aug. 14

Lebanon Valley Speedway
West Lebanon, N.Y.

Sat. Sept. 6

Autodrome Granby
Granby, Que.

Sat. Sept. 13

Mohawk International Raceway
Akwesasne, N.Y.

Sun. Sept. 21

Fonda Speedway
Fonda, N.Y.

Sun. Oct. 12

New York State Fairgrounds
Syracuse, N.Y.

Sat. Oct. 18

Brockville Ontario Speedway
Brockville, Ont.

Sun. Oct. 26

Orange County Fair Speedway
Middletown, N.Y.

Thurs. Nov. 6

The Dirt Track at Charlotte (Qualifying)
Concord, N.C.

Fri. Nov. 7

The Dirt Track at Charlotte (Race 1)
Concord, N.C.

Sat. Nov. 8

The Dirt Track at Charlotte (Race 2)
Concord, N.C.