WEEDSPORT, N.Y. — Matt Sheppard beat out Danny Johnson and Larry Wight in a stunning three-car battle to win Monday night’s Super DIRTcar Series big-block modified feature at Weedsport Speedway.
Once Sheppard got out in front, it was his show at the front of the field. Johnson finished second but led much of the first half of the race. Johnson and Wight battled wheel-to-wheel in the waning laps but Johnson edged the Gypsum Racing No. 99L to put himself on the second step of the podium. Wight flashed across the line in third.
For the eighth time in 2019, Matt Sheppard climbed atop his No. 9s Big Block Modified to celebrate a Super DIRTcar Series victory. Sheppard is now inching away from Erick Rudolph and Mat Williamson in the standings as the season winds down.
“It got pretty wild there,” Sheppard said. “I got rolling on the bottom and Danny [Johnson] was caught in the middle. I think we were trying to lap Jimmy [Phelps] and he couldn’t get by him and I couldn’t get by Jimmy. We were jammed up for a long time. Then all of a sudden here comes Larry [Wight] around the outside of all of us.”
Sheppard retook the lead from Wight shortly thereafter.
“We were fortunate to get through that mess of lap cars out in front. Then after the yellow and I figured I better go back to the top because of anybody’s going to drive around me it’s Larry Wight,” noted Sheppard.
A system of soaking rains moved through the area in the morning of the race. That appeared to have created a much different set of track conditions on the historic Weedsport Speedway than the drivers were expecting or used to.
“The top surprised me a little bit. I had thought the top was going away and I was glued to the bottom. Then I found a little something at the top of one and two. Larry showed us the line up there. I was quite surprised had the end of the race to be running the top instead of the bottom,” Sheppard detailed.
Fan-favorite Hall of Famer, The Doctor Danny Johnson was the early leader until Sheppard and Wight pounced.
“Matt [Sheppard] has been good all year. You gotta give credit where credit is due,” Johnson said.
“We ran a good race and just needed to be a little bit better,” said Johnson with a grin and an emphasis on little. The second-place is one of the best finishes in a while for the No. 27j.
He needed a little more to take the fight to Sheppard.
“I think he [Sheppard] was running the top a bit better and I was stuck in the middle. I thought I was good there but obviously I wasn’t.”
The finish:
Feature (100 Laps): 1. 9S-Matt Sheppard [5][$7,500]; 2. 27J-Danny Johnson [3][$4,000]; 3. 99L-Larry Wight [7][$2,500]; 4. 91-Billy Decker [8][$1,800]; 5. 88-Mat Williamson [14][$1,600]; 6. 5H-Chris Hile [10][$1,400]; 7. 111-Demetrios Drellos [9][$1,300]; 8. 83X-Tim Sears [12][$1,200]; 9. 6H-Max McLaughlin [6][$1,100]; 10. 25-Erick Rudolph [18][$1,000]; 11. 19-Tim Fuller [16][$800]; 12. 98H-Jimmy Phelps [25][$700]; 13. 35-Mike Mahaney [4][$600]; 14. 93-Danny Varin [21][$575]; 15. 42P-Pat Ward [19][$550]; 16. 21A-Peter Britten [11][$525]; 17. 26-Ryan Godown [17][$500]; 18. 18-Anthony Perrego [24][$500]; 19. R2-Rusty Smith [27][$500]; 20. 14J-Alan Johnson [2][$500]; 21. 11R-Rob Bellinger [20][$500]; 22. 32R-Ronnie Davis [1][$500]; 23. 15-Todd Root [23][$500]; 24. 2L-Jack Lehner [26][$500]; 25. M1-Dave Marcuccilli [30][$500]; 26. 37-Paul StSauveur [28][$500]; 27. 3-Justin Haers [22][$500]; 28. 121-Gary Tomkins [15][$500]; 29. 9X-Tyler Trump [13][$500]