Matt Sheppard Notches 20th Career Big Block Victory at Weedsport Speedway

Matt Sheppard Notches 20th Career Big Block Victory at Weedsport Speedway

Story By: Dan Kapuscinski/Weedsport Speedway

Photos By: Mark Ranalletta/RacersGuide.com

WEEDSPORT, NY (June 11, 2018) – A beautiful evening and near capacity crowd welcomed the All-Star Circuit of Champions 410 Sprint Cars and the DIRTcar Big Block Modifieds to Weedsport Speedway on Sunday evening with Carson Macedo and Matt Sheppard reaching Victory Hill, presented by Big Dog Country 103.5FM.

A total of 23 Big Block Modifieds signed into Weedsport on Sunday with Tyler Trump and Larry Wight drawing the front row for the 40-lap, $2,500 to win special.

Trump, piloting a 358-Modified, darted out front at the drop of the green, but soon after Wight took command in his No. 99L drawing Trump with him in a two-car run away early on.

As Wight and Trump set sail in the lead, all eyes were on Sheppard starting from the inside of row four. By lap-4, Sheppard had gone by Ron Davis III for fourth and the crowd knew it was only matter of time before ‘Super’ Matt drew in on the podium positions.

Just three laps later Sheppard rolled by Ward for the third position, with Sheppard being the only car on the speedway rolling the middle of the track with any success at the front.

At the quarter point of the show, Sheppard closed in on Trump for second just as Trump attempted to lap the slower Tim Murphy into turn one. Trump tried to dig even lower but clipped the inside jersey barrier nearly losing control with Sheppard on his back bumper. Fortunately, all three drivers were able to continue on as Wight contined to lead the fray.

Shortly thereafter Sheppard again found the middle portion of the race track to his liking, rolling by Trump for second into turn one on lap-12.

At this point Wight had mounted a 2-second lead on Sheppard with Trump, Ward, Davis III, Brett Hearn, Chris Hile, Alan Johnson, Jimmy Phelps and Danny Varin trailing in the top ten positions.

However, in a matter of just seven laps, Sheppard cut the lead to only .6-seconds at the halfway point of the event and was now looking for the lead in the No. 9S.

On lap-23 Sheppard officially took command with an outside move into turn three and was never again challenged at the point.

Sheppard would go on to win the green-to-checkered 40-lap event, scoring his second Weedsport win of the season, his 20th career victory at The Port, and his 15th overall win of the 2018 season.

Wight, Ward, Trump and Davis III finished the top five with Hearn, Phelps, Hile, Johnson, and Max McLaughlin filling the top ten.

Sheppard, Wight and Hile won Modified heat races.

The next Big Block Modified event at Weedsport Speedway will be the Super DIRTcar Series Hall of Fame 100 on Saturday, July 28 as a part of Hall of Fame Weekend.

Carson Macedo dominated the first ever All-Star event to be held at Weedsport, worth $5,000, leaving a terrific battle for second between Paul McMahan and Danny Dietrich.

McMahan would emerge as the runner-up over Dietrich, Aaron Reutzel and Parker Price-Miller in the front five positions.

Greg Hodnett, Tony Stewart, Chad Kemenah, Mike Mahaney and Larry Wight would fill the top ten.

A total of 28 410 Sprint Cars were in the pit area on Sunday.

The next event at Weedsport Speedway will feature the USAC National Sprint Cars with Thunder on the Erie on Tuesday, June 19. The USAC National Sprint’s first ever visit to The Port will see a three-division program along with the Spano Container Sportsman Shootout Series and the NY6A Micro Sprints.

For a full 2018 Weedsport Speedway schedule be sure to visit online at www.weedsportspeedway.com. Fans can also FOLLOW on Twitter @WeedsportSpdwy and LIKE on Facebook at www.facebook.com/weedsportspeedway.

Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions pres. by Big Dog Country 103.5FM
Weedsport Speedway – Weedsport, NY
Sunday, June 10

Arctic Cat All Star Circuit of Champions 410 Sprints

A-Main (35-laps): 1. 3G – CARSON MACEDO, 2. 13 – Paul McMahan, 3. 48 – Danny Dietrich, 4. 87 – Aaron Reutzel, 5. 4 – Parker Price-Miller, 6. 27 – Greg Hodnett, 7. 14 – Tony Stewart, 8. 10H – Chad Kemenah, 9. 33 – Mike Mahaney, 10. 99L – Larry Wight, 11. 5W – Lucas Wolfe, 12. 44 – Trey Starks, 13. 14C – Coleman Gulick, 14. 10 – Joe Kata, 15. 07 – Gerard McIntyre, 16. 7K – Cale Conley, 17. 3 – Jac Haudenschild, 18. 11 – Ryan Smith, 19. 98T – Joe Trenca, 20. 22 – Brandon Spithaler, 21. 47X – Dylan Westbrook, 22. 97AU – Mitchell Wormall, 23. 5 – Justin Barger, 24. 3Z – Brock Zearfoss, 25. 70 – Dave Blaney

Heat #1: 1. 5 – Justin Barger, 2. 87 – Aaron Reutzel, 3. 99L – Larry Wight, 4. 10H – Chad Kemenah, 5. 7K – Cale Conley, 6. 4 – Parker Price-Miller, 7. 3 – Jac Haudenschild, 8. 07 – Gerard McIntyre, 9. 35 – Tyler Esh, 10. 51 – John Garvin

Heat #2: 1. 3G – Carson Macedo, 2. 70 – Dave Blaney, 3. 5W – Lucas Wolfe, 4. 44 – Trey Starks, 5. 14C – Coleman Gulick, 6. 14 – Tony Stewart, 7. 98T – Joe Trenca, 8. 11 – Ryan Smith, 9. 47X – Dylan Westbrook

Heat #3: 1. 13 – Paul McMahan, 2. 3Z – Brock Zearfoss, 3. 48 – Danny Dietrich, 4. 33 – Mike Mahaney, 5. 22 – Brandon Spithaler, 6. 27 – Greg Hodnett, 7. 10 – Joe Kata, 8. 97AU – Mitchell Wormall, 9. 98 – Carl Bowser

Dash: 1. 3Z – Brock Zearfoss, 2. 87 – Aaron Reutzel, 3. 3G – Carson Macedo, 4. 13 – Paul McMahan, 5. 10H – Chad Kemenah, 6. 70 – Dave Blaney, 7. 5 – Justin Barger, 8. 7K – Cale Conley

B-Main: 1. 3 – Jac Haudenschild, 2. 47X – Dylan Westbrook, 3. 07 – Gerard McIntyre, 4. 10 – Joe Kata, 5. 98T – Joe Trenca, 6. 97AU – Mitchell Wormall, 7. 11 – Ryan Smith, 8. 51 – John Garvin, 9. 35 – Tyler Esh, 10. 98 – Carl Bowser

DIRTcar Big Block Modifieds

Feature (40-laps): 1. 9S – MATT SHEPPARD, 2. 99L – Larry Wight, 3. 42P – Pat Ward, 4. 9X – Tyler Trump, 5. 32 – Ron Davis III, 6. 20 – Brett Hearn, 7. 98H – Jimmy Phelps, 8. 5H – Chris Hile, 9. 14J – Alan Johnson, 10. 6H – Max McLaughlin, 11. 25 – Erick Rudolph, 12. 93 – Danny Varin, 13. 88 – Mike Mahaney, 14. 16 – Mike Bowman, 15. 19 – Tim Fuller, 16. 3 – Billy Dunn, 17. 19W – Justin Wright, 18. 84 – Gary Tomkins, 19. 07 – Tim Kerr, 20. 23 – Kyle Coffey, 21. 48 – Dave Rauscher, 22. M1 – Tim Murphy, 23. 02 – Roy Bresnahan

Heat #1: 1. 9S – Matt Sheppard, 2. 93 – Danny Varin, 3. 20 – Brett Hearn, 4. 88 – Mike Mahaney, 5. 25 – Erick Rudolph, 6. 07 – Tim Kerr, 7. 6H – Max McLaughlin, 8. M1 – Tim Murphy

Heat #2: 1. 99L – Larry Wight, 2. 42P – Pat Ward, 3. 16 – Mike Bowman, 4. 14J – Alan Johnson, 5. 19 – Tim Fuller, 6. 19W – Justin Wright, 7. 48 – Dave Rauscher, 8. 23 – Kyle Coffey

Heat #3: 1. 5H – Chris Hile, 2. 9X – Tyler Trump, 3. 32D – Ron Davis III, 4. 98H – Jimmy Phelps, 5. 3 – Billy Dunn, 6. 84 – Gary Tomkins, 7. 02 – Roy Bresnahan

About Weedsport Speedway: Purchased in 2013 by Al Heinke, Weedsport Speedway has returned to a real racers track, providing a complete venue for racers, their families and friends, and for the fans looking for motorsports entertainment. Officially opened for the first time on July 24, 1955 – the Weedsport Speedway 3/8 mile dirt oval has produced a legendary list of drivers and champions including Will Cagle, Danny Johnson, Bob McCreadie, Alan Johnson, Jack Johnson, and Dave Lape to name a few. Today the facility welcomes the best of the best in dirt short track racing from the Craftsman World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series to the Super DIRTcar Series Big Block Modifieds along with the DIRTcar 358-Modifieds, Sportsman, Pro Stocks, and more. While racing entertainment is the focal point, Weedsport Speedway has gone the extra mile in welcoming Weedsport Productions, which brings the facility full circle with a dedicated digital entertainment team for web, television, and on site screen usage.