The Super DIRTcar Series is set to resume action this Friday as the tour rolls into  Central New York for its annual stop at the “D-Shaped Demon” at Brewerton Speedway. 

The uniquely shaped 1/3-mile track is a tough test for even the most veteran drivers, and, like many races on the tour, the 100-lap “Showdown at Sundown” pits home track regulars against the Super DIRTcar Series full-timers. 

Jimmy Phelps, as well as his young teammate Max McLaughlin, have a foot in both camps. Phelps is a Super DIRTcar Series veteran who also races weekly at Brewerton. At the moment, he is also one of the track’s best Big-Block Modified drivers and its reigning champion. While Phelps’ list of accomplishments adds little extra pressure, it also provides motivation to get the job done this Friday night.

“We love the challenge of racing at Brewerton every week, so it’s hard not to be excited,” Phelps said. “We’re comfortable at Brewerton and seem to have a pretty good starting point there, so you tend to go in with some confidence and you can at least put yourself in a position to qualify well.”

.@Jimmy_Phelps and @HBR_Motorsports are ready to fly in 2018! pic.twitter.com/L7yQ5Mf7S9

— Super DIRTcar Series (@SuperDIRTcar) March 3, 2018

If Phelps can get the job done, it will be his first series win since a victory at Fonda Speedway in September 2016. And a little home track advantage might just be the surge he needs to end the drought.

“It would be huge,” Phelps said describing a potential win on Friday. “Brewerton, from a series standpoint, still holds a special place. It’s where I won my first Big-Block Series race back in 2006. We’re on a bit of a dry spell that we need to get broken here pretty quick, so Brewerton would be the perfect place for it to happen.”

In the series’ last six visits to Brewerton dating back to 2008, Phelps is one of three Super DIRTcar Series winners at the track, with a victory back in 2010. 

Only Billy Decker (two victories) and Matt Sheppard (three) have also scored wins in that time period. Those two drivers may be two of the toughest for Phelps to beat as he looks to defend his home track. Decker has 60 career Big-Block Modified wins at Brewerton, while Sheppard has 35 to Phelps’ 15. 

Still, Phelps’ extra track time this season should provide some help. 

“It’s a tricky track,” Phelps admitted. “We go to some tracks that are challenging, but in different ways that we don’t have as much experience at. They tend to get you a little nervous, and I think [Brewerton] can be one of them, but for me, I’m excited. It’s home for us.”

In addition to the regular cast of series veterans that includes Decker, Sheppard, Brett Hearn, and others, Phelps will also be battling his regular Friday night foes, such as former series regular “Lightning” Larry Wight, who is undefeated at Brewerton in 2018 and finished second to Phelps in the 2017 track championship standings. 

“Obviously Larry’s tough,” Phelps said. “The track seems to be top dominant and he’s just better than we are on the top right now. I think that when the track balances out, and hopefully that’s as early as this Friday. We’ve definitely been working on our balance to be able to run all over the place. If we can get to the point where you have to be versatile and move around, then I think our car’s really close to where we need to be, so we’re excited to find out.”

Add in Wight’s teammate, Pat Ward, another former series stalwart, and veterans Chris Hile, Gary Tomkins, and Tim Sears Jr. and you have an all-star roster with no less than a dozen drivers capable of claiming the checkered flag. Phelps hopes his early-season momentum, which includes a third-place finish in the series opener at Weedsport and three runner-up finishes at Brewerton, will also push him to a victory. 

“We’re excited and we’re hungry,” Phelps said. “For the most part, we’ve been running up front and haven’t won yet. That’s got our blood pumping for sure. The bottom line is that our cars are really good right now and we hope that that translates into some (strong) results here in the early part of the season with the series."