CONCORD, N.C. — The Can-Am World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte is set to host one of the tightest Super DIRTcar Series championship points races in history.
Mat Williamson has won three out of the past five series races, including NAPA Super DIRT Week XLVIII’s Billy Whittaker Cars 200, launching him into a neck-and-neck race for the title with Matt Sheppard.
Sheppard has nine series wins to his credit this year, but Williamson’s consistency has kept him in the hunt all season long.
Last year Erick Rudolph was the man trying to take down Sheppard, but he fell short at The Dirt Track at Charlotte. This year Sheppard leads Williamson by a mere six points entering the World Finals. Unfortunately for Sheppard, the No. 9S suffered a mechanical failure at Oswego Speedway with absolutely vital points on the line.
Meanwhile, Williamson did everything he could do for points by becoming only the second Canadian driver to win the Billy Whittaker Cars 200. Sheppard swung right back the next week at Brockville Ontario Speedway, coming from 12th to win.
The pair are separated by six points heading into the Cam-Am World Finals doubleheader. Last year, a pair of veterans collected the wins, with Brett Hearn and Tim Fuller taking staring roles at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.
A great class of rookies is vying for Rookie of the Year honors and race wins. One of them is Demetrios Drellos, who won the biggest race of his career at Albany-Saratoga in a NAPA Super DIRT Week qualifier.
Another is Jack Lehner, who led over half of the 100-lap feature at Brockville and finished a career-high fifth.
Ryan Godown has been knocking on the door of his first Super DIRTcar Series win all year. He came the closest at the Battle on the Midway at Orange County Fair Speedway, where he finished second to Matt Sheppard.
You can also never count out the Gypsum Racing team as they’ll be bringing Larry Wight and Billy Decker to The Dirt Track at Charlotte. Wight and Decker sit third and fourth in series points, but three-time DIRTcar 358 Modified Series champion Erick Rudolph is looking to leap ahead of both of them to take third in series points.
Jimmy Phelps hasn’t had the season he envisioned, but with a brand new Bicknell chassis, he’s looking to capture momentum going into 2020. Another big-block modified legend, Danny Johnson, will also be on hand in his familiar orange No. 27J.
Series regulars Marcus Dinkins, Paul St-Sauveur and Rusty Smith will also be on hand to test their big blocks on the red North Carolina clay.
There are always plenty of invaders looking to put their names in the record books as winners on The Dirt Track at Charlotte. Gary Tomkins, Anthony Perrego, Max McLaughlin, Billy Pauch Jr., Chris Hile, Phil Vigneri, Yan Bussiere, Justin Wright and Tyler Siri have all thrown their hats in the ring.