GEORGETOWN, Del. – Matt Sheppard added another track to his lengthy Modified racing resume on Saturday night.
For the first time in his career – after several close calls – Sheppard finally grabbed his first Georgetown Speedway win.
Despite drawing 10th during the Beyea Custom Headers Redraw and getting a flat tire during the 44-lap main event honoring the late Tom Perrego, Sheppard was not going to be denied his first win at the famed half-mile in southern Delaware during Mid-Atlantic Championship Weekend.
“Georgetown has always been a thorn in my side, so what a fitting way to get the first win here than to have to come from the back,” a relieved Sheppard said in victory lane.
The race rounded out the Velocita-USA South Region presented by Design for Vision and Sunglass Central for the Bob Hilbert Sportswear Short Track Super Series Fueled by Sunoco Modifieds.
Stewart Friesen clinched his second-career STSS South Region championship, his first since 2016, and picked up the $10,000 check to go with it. Friesen and the Halmar International team took the title by a 10-point margin.
Contrary to Sheppard, Friesen drew the pole, and led the field to green alongside Rick Laubach. Laubach would use the outside groove to take the lead and set the pace in the early going.
Richie Pratt Jr. began to really move in the early going, climbing to third and consistently pressuring Friesen for second before a yellow on lap six. The yellow was for, among others, Matt Sheppard’s left-rear flat tire.
Pratt’s charge would falter shortly after, as he also fell victim to a left-rear flat tire.
A longer green flag run would follow that yellow, and that was where Friesen flexed his muscle on Laubach.
In lapped traffic, Laubach chose the wrong lane, and Friesen used the bottom lane to move ahead of Laubach on lap 20. Sheppard’s recovery from the rear of the field became noticeable on a 21st-lap restart when he lined up ninth.
A couple of restarts later Sheppard had climbed to second and the battle was on between the sport’s top competitors again. Sheppard found the top lane off turn two on lap 30 to surpass Friesen.
Sheppard never relinquished the lead in the remaining 14 laps, as he cruised to his 12th career STSS Modified victory and third of the season. Sheppard took the $100 Stockley Materials Gambler’s Challenge making the win worth $7,000 total plus $50 as an Ad-Art Sign Company heat winner, $44 from KB’s Racing Photos in memory of Tom Perrego for a cash total of $7,094 and a pair of sunglasses from Design for Vision and Sunglass Central.
Billy Pauch Jr. and Anthony Perrego both spent the entirety of the main event in the top-five, finishing second and third, respectively. The runner-up finish gave Pauch and the Rick Holsten team the Georgetown Speedway $2,500 Sunoco track championship and second in the STSS points chase, 10 points behind Friesen.
Friesen faded to fourth late, but it was enough to hold onto the STSS South Region title while earning a $544 Halfway Leader bonus from Superior Remodeling, a $440 Hurlock Auto & Speed Tom Perrego Memorial Award and a $50 Ad-Art Sign Company heat-race victory.
In other action, the Bob Hilbert Sportswear STSS Crate 602 Sportsman South Region season concluded in dramatic fashion. Justin Grosso allowed for little drama up front, as the youngster led all 25 laps for his second Georgetown win of the year, worth $1,500.
The race for the championship was not as simple. Scott Hitchens drove from the rear of the field twice to finish in seventh position. Hitchens’ rally was good enough to win the STSS championship by one point over Tim Hartman Jr., who finished in fourth position.
Joe Toth finished in second position, which was good enough to earn him the Georgetown Speedway Chesapeake Paving/J.W. Brown Trucking $750 track championship. Sammy Martz Jr. came from 17th starting position to finish third and take the $100 Dirt Modified Nostalgia Tour Hard Charger. Tim Hartman Jr. grabbed fourth and Anthony Tramontana rounded out the top five.
The finish:
Matt Sheppard, Billy Pauch Jr., Anthony Perrego, Stewart Friesen, Tyler Dippel, Danny Creeden, Rick Laubach, Mike Gular, Ryan Watt, Matt Stangle, David Van Horn, J.R. McGinley, Matt Peck, Joseph Watson, Andy Bachetti, Kevin Sockriter, Ryan Krachun, Michael Maresca, Neal Williams, Richie Pratt, Jr., Scott Hitchens, Tyler Siri, Jordan Watson, Brandon Grosso, H.J. Bunting, Jordn Justice, Carson Wright, Danny Bouc, Jimmy Horton.