​When Peter Britten won the Buckeye Ground Pounder 100 at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio, on Thursday, it was a victory for the underdog in more than one way. Racing in his self-owned team car, the Brisbane, Australia, native became the first driver from "Down Under" to notch a Super DIRTcar Series win, and he was forced to come from deep in the pack after starting 20th.

"It's pretty satisfying getting the first win as a very small operation," Britten said. "Rich (Scagliotta) gets my car to the race track. We don't have a major sponsor. We have one car, one motor. We're going to keep doing our best to make all the races, and getting a win here is a motivating factor to get back and keep working."

Britten finished fifth in his heat to qualify for the A-Main, but the Super DIRTcar Series regular was buried in the field. It took 54 laps for him to catch the leader, Matt Sheppard, and Britten completed the pass with a well-executed slide job on a restart.

"I can't believe it. It's amazing," Britten said in Victory Lane. "We had a good car, rolling around and kept picking off cars one by one. I ran the middle, and I'm like, "Man, my car's pretty friggen good right now.'

"I just kept picking them off and I got to (Sheppard) and I'm like, "This will be the real test.' I was able to clear him, and I don't know if they were close to me. It's unreal, a Super DIRTcar Series win at Sharon."


Peter Britten (21a) and Matt Sheppard (9s) battle for the lead at Sharon Speedway. (Photo by Paul Arch Photography)

After taking the lead on lap 54, Britten and Sheppard provided the highlights for the next 20 laps until a flat right rear sent the No. 9s of Sheppard to the pits just past the lap-75 mark. He rebounded to finish ninth in the final 25 laps.

Sheppard's woes turned a battle between Erick Rudolph and Stewart Friesen into one for the runner-up position.

"It took maybe a few laps to find what the car wanted, but it liked being on the bottom," Rudolph said. "I ran most of the race there. Peter ran a great race. I don't know if we had a shot at him if there was a late-race caution. If we did, it was a small chance. We had a really nice car and drove a really nice race. A top three in this league of competition is nothing to be ashamed of."

Friesen -- coming off a sixth-place finish in his last outing with the Super DIRTcar series and a runner-up finish in the Dirt Derby Camping World Truck Series race at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg -- settled for third and was content with the strong run.

"It was good. We'll take it," Friesen said. "I had an awesome battle there at the end. Hats off to Peter and those guys. I'm happy for our team and to leave here with a top three."
 
Current points leader Billy Decker followed Britten through the field. Unable to qualify through his heat race, Decker won his Last Chance Qualifier and started 22nd before climbing to fourth.

Pat Ward rounded out the top five.

Top 10 Finishers
1. Peter Britten
2. Erick Rudolph
3. Stewart Friesen
4. Billy Decker
5. Pat Ward
6. Larry Wight
7. Max McLaughlin
8. Billy Whittaker
9. Matt Sheppard
10. Brett Hearn
Complete Results, with heat finishes