When a redraw put Matt Sheppard in a 12th-place starting position after winning his heat race on Thursday night, a big move through the field was inevitable for the winner of the last four Super DIRTcar Big Block Modified races. He took the lead a lap-50 restart at the Triple Crown Showdown at Ohsweken (Ontario) Speedway and never looked back.
Before Sheppard put himself in position to challenge pole-sitter Larry Wright and row-mate Chad Brachman were trading the lead lap after lap. Once Sheppard was up front, he held his position for the final 25 laps.
This was Sheppard’s fifth win in a row and sixth of the season. Sheppard is one of only three drivers to have multiple wins on the season, joined by Stewart Friesen and Billy Decker.
Brachman settled for a second-place finish after going into the night as the reigning champion of the event.
Pat Ward followed Sheppard from outside the top 10 onto the podium. Decker finished fourth, and Wright finished fifth after starting on the pole.
Triple Crown Showdown; Super DIRTcar Series
| Finish | Start | Driver | Heat |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Matt Sheppard | 1 |
| 2 | 2 | Chad Brachman | 4 |
| 3 | 13 | Pat Ward | 5 |
| 4 | 3 | Billy Decker | 3 |
| 5 | 1 | Larry Wight | 2 |
| 6 | 7 | Max McLaughlin | 4 |
| 7 | 17 | Erick Rudolph | 6 |
| 8 | 6 | Tim Fuller | 1 |
| 9 | 19 | Keith Flach | 7 |
| 10 | 10 | Peter Britten | 2 |
| 11 | 9 | Brett Hearn | 2 |
| 12 | 5 | Billy Whittaker | 1 |
| 13 | 4 | Jimmy Phelps | 3 |
| 14 | 24 | Tommy Flanagan | 9 |
| 15 | 22 | Brandon Walters | 8 |
| 16 | 25 | Mike Maresca | 8 |
| 17 | 23 | Fred Carleton | 8 |
| 18 | 20 | Shayne Pierce | 7 |
| 19 | 15 | Ryan Arbuthnot | 5 |
| 20 | 16 | Mike Bowman | 6 |
| 21 | 14 | Carey Terrance | 5 |
| 22 | 18 | Mark D'Ilario | 6 |
| 23 | 21 | Steve Lewis Jr. | 7 |
| 24 | 11 | Stewart Friesen | 3 |
| 25 | 8 | Mat Williamson | 4 |