Super DIRTcar Series Points Battle Heating Up
Super DIRTcar Series Points Battle Heating Up
A look inside the numbers as the Super DIRTcar Series heads into its brief August break.
After Fonda Speedway’s Jack Johnson tribute being rained out once again, the Super DIRTcar Series will now take their brief August. This brief break will help teams gather their bearings, look over their machines, and prepare for the month of September that leads up to the granddaddy of them all, NAPA Super DIRT Week in October at Oswego Speedway.
POINTS BATTLE HEATING UP
With 14 races already in the books for the Super DIRTcar Series, the reigning champ, Matt Sheppard, shows the field the way with three wins, 10 top five’s, and 13 top 10’s.
Due to a mid-season penalty last season, Matt Sheppard lost the series points lead, leaving several fans and drivers optimistic that they’d see a new champion be crowned. In thrilling fashion, Sheppard was able to claw his way back to the top and clinch his third consecutive championship. No one has yet to knock him off the podium.
Bumper to bumper, following behind in a close second is the young hot shoe, Erick Rudolph, who’s lurking behind Sheppard with a 94-point difference. Rudolph’s has been showing strong consistency for his first year back with the series. Rudolph has clinched one victory so far this season but has been persistent in his no.25 machine by collecting 11 top five’s and 12 top 10’s. Rudolph will be a serious threat to the crown once the series comes back after their break.
The young gun out of Mooresville, NC, Max McLaughlin, has been itching for his first Super DIRTcar Series victory. McLaughlin has been in the chase several times for a victory but has fallen short four times. McLaughlin currently sits in a close third in points.
Super DIRTcar Series Victors
With 14 Super DIRTcar Series races in the books, there have been a total of seven different drivers who have etched their names in the history books this season, making quite the diverse mix this season.
Stewart Friesen kicked off the Super DIRTcar Series season with a victory at Weedsport Speedway and has continued to show dominance every time he joins the series by adding five victories to his name from Weedsport Speedway, Albany-Saratoga Speedway, Orange County Fair Speedway, Autodrome Granby, and Ransomville Speedway. The NASCAR Camping World Truck driver competes with the series when schedule permits. With only ten starts and five wins, Friesen sits eighth in the points chase.
The three-time Super DIRTcar Series champ, Matt Sheppard, is having what one would call a mediocre year compared to his 12-wins he collected with the series back in 2017. It didn’t take long, however, for Sheppard to show that he’ll once again be a force to be reckoned with after his first victory of the season that came June 15that Brewerton Speedway.
The Doctor, Danny Johnson, has picked up his game since jumping behind the wheel of Ray Grahams big block modified. After a severe accident at Orange County Fair Speedway in July left Johnson without a ride. Graham stepped up and let Johnson strap in to his machine. After one victory in the beginning of July at Land of Legends Raceway, the incident followed shortly after, leaving many thinking Johnson was down and out. Little did they know; Johnson and the Ray Graham Racing team would be a dominant force. The new team combination collected a victory at Airborne Park Speedway on July 31st.
The Baldwinsville Bandit, Jimmy Phelps, battled down to the wire to collect his first series win since 2016 at Utica-Rome Speedway. Phelps and the HBR team have been a strong force this season with eight top-five finishes out of 14 starts.
The all-time Super DIRTcar Series winner and champ, Brett Hearn, grabbed a victory at Outlaw Speedway over ‘Super’ Matt Sheppard. It had been since August of 2017 when Hearn clinched his last series victory..
Currently running second in points, Erick Rudolph grabbed his lone victory at Weedsport Speedway for the Hall of Fame 100 on July 28th. Rudolph has proven to be a strong challenge for the points championship against Sheppard. Despite only having one victory this season, Rudolph has kept a close distance on the no.9s machine.
Ryan Susice made quite the upset in his small block modified against the big blocks at Merrittville Speedway on August 6th. Susice’s victory was one for the history books by collecting his first career Super DIRTcar Series victory.
What’s Ahead
Looking ahead, the Super DIRTcar Series has 11 races left, seven of which are tracks the series has yet to make an appearance to this year, leaving the door open for anyone to slide in and make their mark before seasons end. The stars and cars of the series will be making just six more visits to New York tracks, two trips to Quebec, one to Ontario, and one to their final destination in North Carolina.
With the Super DIRTcar Series stars and cars closing in on the homestretch of their season, who do you think will come out on top?
2018 STAT ATTACK
There have been 14 Super DIRTcar Series features this season.
SEASON WINNERS:
Stewart Friesen - 5 (Weedsport Speedway on May 29, Albany-Saratoga Speedway on June 26, Orange County Fair Speedway on July 19, Autodrome Granby on July 23, Ransomville Speedway on August 7); Matt Sheppard – 3 (Brewerton Speedway on June 15, Cornwall Motor Speedway on July 1, Autodrome Drummond on July 24); Danny Johnson – 2 (Land of Legends Raceway on July 5, Airborne Park Speedway on July 31); Jimmy Phelps – 1 (Utica-Rome Speedway on July 8); Brett Hearn – 1 (Outlaw Speedway on July 10); Erick Rudolph – 1 (Weedsport Speedway on July 28); Ryan Susice – 1 (Merrittville Speedway on August 6)
2018 Super DIRTcar Championship Standings as of August 7, 2018:
No. | Driver | Series | Diff | Money | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 | Starts | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 9s | Matt Sheppard | 1,265 | 0 | $44,200 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 14 |
2 | 25 | Erick Rudolph | 1,171 | -94 | $33,400 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 14 |
3 | 6h | Max McLaughlin | 1,135 | -130 | $27,300 | 0 | 7 | 13 | 14 |
4 | 98h | Jimmy Phelps | 1,084 | -181 | $26,080 | 1 | 8 | 10 | 14 |
5 | 27J | Danny Johnson | 1,059 | -206 | $30,525 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 14 |
6 | 20 | Brett Hearn | 1,003 | -262 | $18,725 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 14 |
7 | 21a | Pete Britten | 983 | -282 | $14,200 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 14 |
8 | 44 | Stewart Friesen | 886 | -379 | $46,700 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 10 |
9 | 8 | Rich Scagliotta | 740 | -525 | $6,865 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 14 |
10 | 19 | Tim Fuller | 721 | -544 | $9,260 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 11 |
11 | 63 | Adam Roberts | 656 | -609 | $4,950 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
12 | 91 | Billy Decker | 610 | -655 | $10,800 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 9 |
13 | 48T | Dave Rauscher | 536 | -729 | $3,485 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
14 | 6m | Mat Williamson | 415 | -850 | $10,800 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 |
15 | 42P | Pat Ward | 401 | -864 | $4,550 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
16 | 3rs | Billy Dunn | 377 | -888 | $6,000 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 |
17 | 96 | Jean-Francois Corriveau | 288 | -977 | $1,850 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
18 | 66x | Carey Terrance | 276 | -989 | $2,550 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
19 | R2 | Rusty Smith | 274 | -991 | $1,800 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
20 | 18Jr | Louie Jackson Jr. ® | 267 | -998 | $1,925 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
Winners (7 Drivers)
Rank, Driver - Wins
- STEWART FRIESEN - 5
- MATT SHEPPARD – 3
- DANNY JOHNSON – 2
- JIMMY PHELPS, BRETT HEARN, ERICK RUDOLPH, RYAN SUSICE - 1
Pole Positions (10 Drivers)
Rank, Driver - Poles
- MATT SHEPPARD – 4
- ERICK RUDOLPH – 2
- STEWART FRIESEN, CHRIS RAABE, DANNY JOHNSON, JIMMY PHELPS, TIM FULLER, STEVE BERNARD, RYAN SUSICE, CHAD BRACHMANN - 1
Time Trial leaders (9 Drivers)
Rank, Driver - Quick Times
- MATT SHEPPARD – 5
- STEWART FRIESEN - 2
- BILLY DECKER, TIM FULLER, DANNY JOHNSON, ANTHONY PERREGO, BRETT HEARN, JIMMY PHELPS, MAX MCLAUGHLIN - 1
Podium Finishes (13 Different Drivers)
Rank, Driver - Finishes in the Top-Three
- MATT SHEPPARD – 9
- STEWART FRIESEN – 6
- JIMMY PHELPS, DANNY JOHNSON – 5
- ERICK RUDOLPH, MAX MCLAUGHLIN – 4
- MAT WILLIAMSON, BRETT HEARN – 2
- BILLY DECKER, CHRIS RAABE, KYLE DINGWALL, RYAN SUSICE, CHAD BRACHMANN - 1
Heat Race Winners (21 Different Drivers)
Rank, Driver - Win
- MATT SHEPPARD – 9
- BRETT HEARN – 6
- STEWART FRIESEN – 5
- PETER BRITTEN, JIMMY PHELPS – 4
- PAT WARD, ERICK RUDOLPH – 3
- DANNY JOHNSON, TIM FULLER, MAX MCLAUGHLIN - 2
- LARRY WIGHT, TIM SEARS JR., WILLY DECKER, JESSEY MUELLER, MICHAEL PARENT, BILLY DUNN, MAT WILLIAMSON, BILLY DECKER, PIERRE HEBERT, MATHIEU DESJARDINS, RICH SCAGLIOTTA, CHAD BRACHMANN - 1
Last Chance Showdown Winners (8 Different Drivers)
Rank Driver, Hometown - Wins
- ADAM ROBERTS – 3
- ROB BELLINGER – 2
- MATT WILLIAMSON, ANDREW FERGUSON, TIM MCCREADIE, ERICK RUDOLPH, TOMMY MEIER, DANY BILODEAU - 1
2018 Super DIRTcar Series Schedule & Winners
No. / Day, Date / Track / Location / Winner (Number of Wins in 2018)
- Sat. April 28 / High Bank Holdup / Fulton Speedway / Fulton, N.Y. / RAIN
- Wed. May 16 / Battle at the Bridge / Bridgeport Speedway / Bridgeport, N.J. / RAIN
- Mon. May 28 / Memorial Day 100 / Weedsport Speedway / Weedsport, N.Y. / Stewart Friesen (1)
- Fri. June 15 / Brewerton Speedway / Brewerton, N.Y. / Matt Sheppard (1)
- Tues. June 26 / The BIG Show 10 / Albany-Saratoga Speedway / Malta, N.Y. / Stewart Friesen (2)
- Sun. July 1 / Cornwall Motor Speedway / Cornwall, Ont. / Matt Sheppard (2)
- Thurs. July 5 / Land of Legends Raceway / Canandaigua, N.Y. / Danny Johnson (1)
- Sun. July 8 / Freedom Fighter 100 / Utica-Rome Speedway / Vernon, N.Y. / Jimmy Phelps (1)
- Tues. July 10 / Outlaw Speedway / Dundee, N.Y. / Brett Hearn (1)
- Thurs. July 19 / Orange County fair Speedway / Middletown, N.Y. / Stewart Friesen (3)
- Mon. July 23 / Autodrome Granby / Granby, Que. / Stewart Friesen (4)
- Tues. July 24 / Racing Stock 100 / Autodrome Drummond / Drummondville, Que. / Matt Sheppard (3)
- Sat. July 28 / Hall of Fame 100 / Weedsport Speedway / Weedsport, N.Y./ Erick Rudolph (1)
- Tues. July 31 / Battle of Plattsburgh 100 / Airborne Park Speedway / Plattsburgh, N.Y./ Danny Johnson (2)
- Wed. Aug. 1 / Jack Johnson Tribute / Fonda Speedway / Fonda, N.Y. / RAIN
- Mon. Aug. 6 / Bob St. Amand Sr Memorial / Merrittville Speedway / Thorold, Ont. / Ryan Susice (1)
- Tues. Aug. 7 / Summer Nationals / Ransomville Speedway / Ransomville, N.Y. / Stewart Friesen (5)
- Sat. Sept. 1 / Mr. DIRT Track USA / Lebanon Valley Speedway / West Lebanon, N.Y. /
- Mon. Sept. 3 / Labor Day Double Play 100 / Weedsport Speedway / Weedsport, N.Y. /
- Fri. Sept. 7 / Le RPM Speedway / Saint-Marcel-de-Richelieu, Que. /
- Sat. Sept. 8 / Blackout Race / Autodrome Drummond / Drummondville, Que. /
- Fri. Sept. 14 / Duel at the Demon / Brewerton Speedway / Brewerton, N.Y.
- Sat. Sept. 15 / Mohawk 100 / Mohawk International Raceway / Akwesasne, N.Y. /
- Sat. Sept. 22 / Thunder Along the Mohawk / Fonda Speedway / Fonda, N.Y. /
- Sun. Oct. 7 / NAPA Auto Parts Super DIRT Week XLVII / Oswego Speedway / Oswego, N.Y. /
- Fri. Oct. 12 / The Loud & Dirty Northeast Fall Nationals / Brockville Ontario Speedway / Brockville, Ont. /
- Fri. Nov. 2 / Textron Off Road World of Outlaws World Finals / The Dirt Track at Charlotte / Concord, N.C. /
- Sat. Nov. 3 / Textron Off Road World of Outlaws World Finals / The Dirt Track at Charlotte / Concord, N.C. /
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