Since he started racing go-karts at age 7, Matt Sheppard has been a winner.
From karting he advanced to the sportsman division, and for more than two decades Sheppard has been driving an earth-shaking, big-block modified. Whether it’s a DIRTcar race or a Short Track Super Series show, the racer from Savannah, N.Y., is usually the man to beat.
That doesn’t mean Sheppard wins everything, as “Money Mat” Williamson and part-time dirt racer and full-time NASCAR Camping World Truck series competitor Stewart Friesen — and occasionally others — can run with him. But with 42 scores last season and a victory total in the high 400s that increases weekly, a betting man would be well served putting his money on “Super Matt” week in and week out.
Racers always know who is good. And “why” is always the question to be pondered.
When asked what makes Sheppard so dominant, grizzled veteran Billy Decker smiled and replied, “That’s hard to answer because I think he’s got a little bit of everything going for him. He’s a good wheel man but he’s really, really good at figuring things out. Our fields may not be as deep as they were 15 or 20 years ago but there are still some really good racers out here and he out thinks them all.
“Year in and year out he wins a lot of races because most of the time, he has a better car. He’s got a great crew but it’s mostly Matt,” Decker continued. “His crew chief, Randy Kisacky, worked with Chuck Akulis for a long time and they got road experience and a couple of track titles so he’s a big asset, but I think most of it is Matt.
“Guys like him and Friesen win a bunch but they lose less. They can come from the rear, so if you give them any sort of good track position, they’re deadly. In my book, Matt is pretty special.”
New Englander Adam Pierson has only been following the DIRTcar big-block tour for two seasons and is still learning about the tracks and the racers. But he quickly developed an opinion on Sheppard.
“He’s one of the best,” Pierson said. “He has a well-organized team and they seem to know exactly what they have to do at every track we visit. I always try to get behind him in hot laps or a heat because he knows the fast way around everywhere and I’m still learning the tracks.
“I think one secret to his success is that he’s a clean driver and treats everyone with respect, so everyone runs him that way too,” Pierson continued. “His guys keep to themselves because they’re here to do a job, but Matt is great about giving advice or help if you need it, as long as you treat him right.”
Larry Wight also started with the DIRTcar series as a teenager and has matured into a winner who, like Decker and Sheppard, has topped the division’s premier event, the finale of Super DIRT Week. As a businessman, he is quick to point out one major advantage enjoyed by Sheppard.
“Racing is all he does,” Wight noted. “He eats, breaths and sleeps it. A lot of us have full-time jobs or businesses to run while he wakes up every day thinking about how to make his cars faster. That’s a big advantage.
“Another thing he has going for him is that most of his crew has been there for 10 years, giving them great consistency whether they’re working in the garage or in the pits,” Wight continued. “His cars are always fast, so when you put him in the seat you have a winning combination. He’s the Brett Hearn of today.”
Wight’s comparison to Hearn is appropriate. Both Hearn and Sheppard dominated their eras. While Sheppard may not race long enough to match Hearn’s 900-plus win record, his performance is notably similar, notching some 90 Super DIRTcar Series wins, compared to Hearn’s 141 scores over 41 seasons.
“I think Brett and Matt are equally good,” said Australian expatriate Peter Britten, who competes against Sheppard on the road and weekly at Land of Legends Raceway in Canandaigua, N.Y. “Brett was from a different era and I caught him on his way down while Matt was still on his way up when I moved here. As far as exactly what makes Matt so good, if I knew that I’d be as good as he is.