July 1, 2013 – Matt Sheppard’s late-race charge in lap 97 takes him to victory lane in the DIRTcar 358-Modfiied Series feature at Cornwall Motor Speedway
Late-Race Challenge to Phelps Brings Sheppard to Victory Lane
(Photo by Rick Young)
CORNWALL, ONTARIO – Wednesday, July 3, 2013 – In a late-race challenge against Jimmy Phelps, Matt Sheppard took the lead to win the Monday, July 2, DIRTcar 358-Modified Series race at Cornwall Motor Speedway. With just three laps to go, Sheppard cruised around Phelps on the outside of Cornwall’s quarter-mile to usurp the win.
Sheppard started ninth in the grid for Monday’s feature, and worked his way up during the 100-lap race. Local Cornwall racer Brian McDonald drew the pole, and claimed the lead at the green flag, followed closely by Phelps.
A lap 2 caution slowed the pace as several cars came together midfield. Tim O’Brien and Jeff Sykes went into the wall outside turn 1 and were towed off the track, as was Pete Britten’s 21a. The 72 of Tommy Flannigan came out with a flat and the 7z of Dale Planck was able to stay on the track.
McDonald kept his position on the restart, but Phelps fell to third after a strong restart for Luke Whittaker. Mike Bowman was fourth off the restart and Sheppard fifth.
With several caution-free laps at hand, Phelps gained the momentum to challenge Whittaker for the second spot in lap 14, taking the top groove. Whittaker stayed strong on the bottom, but not strong enough to fend off Phelps, who passed him in lap 17. Baldwinsville’s Phelps charged forward, challenging McDonald, racing side-by-side until he could take the lead in lap 26.
The yellow flag waved as Whittaker pulled into the pits with mechanical issues. Phelps maintained his spot in the lap 31 restart, followed by McDonald in second, Sheppard in third, and Mat Williamson in fourth.
With some laps under his belt, Sheppard was able to gain enough speed to challenge McDonald for second in lap 43 and pass him in turn 1 of lap 44. By lap 54, Sheppard and Phelps were practically nose-to-tail, both battling through lapped traffic.
A caution in lap 63 brought the field back together for a double-file restart. Phelps chose the inside pole, but trouble off the restart as Kayle Robidoux and Carey Terrance made contact brought the field back to yellow. Phelps kept his lead on the subsequent lap 76 restart, staying ahead of a strong Sheppard. McDonald, however, was no match for Williamson, who charged ahead and made the pass for third place in lap 84.
Meanwhile, Phelps had a narrow lead over Sheppard, and, with just three laps to go, Sheppard gained the speed he needed to pass Phelps on the outside. Phelps wasn’t letting it go easy, and made several charges against Sheppard, one last-lap charge so risky that it lost him second place to Mat Williamson.
“It was a great race. It was fun to watch Matt and Jimmy battle it out,” said Williamson, of St. Catharines, Ontario, happy with his second-place finish. “I just had to take advantage of Jimmy slipping up there on the last lap. I’m just fortunate to be up here. Lately we haven’t been running well, so it’s a great bounce back.”
Phelps, third at the checkered, was aiming for a win over rival Sheppard, but was happy with a podium finish and ready to learn from the experience.
“We picked the wrong line there in the lapped traffic, and that’s the way it goes,” said Phelps. “We had a really good car, we had a car good enough to win, but that’s what happens sometimes when you’re leading – you really don’t know what’s going on behind you.”
Rounding out the top 5 in the DIRTcar 358-Modified Series feature from Monday are Danny Johnson in fourth and Carey Terrance in fifth.
The DIRTcar 358-Modified Series continues with the Battle at the Border Wednesday, July 3, at Ransomville Speedway. For more information about the DIRTcar Sportsman Series, visit www.dirtcarump.com. For the latest news and updates about the series, follow @DIRTcarNE on Twitter and “DIRTcar Racing” on Facebook.
DIRTcar 358-Modified Series
Cornwall Motor Speedway
July 1, 2013
A-Main:
1. 9s Matt Sheppard – Waterloo, N. Y.
2. 6 Mat Williamson – St. Catharines, Ontario
3. 99J Jimmy Phelps – Baldwinsville, N. Y.
4. 14 Danny Johnson – Rochester, N. Y.
5. 66x Carey Terrance – Hogansburg, N. Y.
6. 25 Erick Rudolph – Ransomville, N. Y.
7. 151 Brian McDonald – Cornwall, Ontario
8. 71 Mike Bowman – St. Catharines, Ontario
9. 01 Chris Raabe – Napanee, Ontario
10. 115 Shephane LaFrance – St. Albert, Ontario
11. 22c Mario Clair – Drummondville, Quebec
12. 23 Laurent Ladouceur – Alexandria, Ontario
13. 66 Kyle Dingwall – South Dundas, Ontario
14. 74 Matt Billings – Brockville, Ontario
15. R70 Ryan Arbithnot – Renfrew, Ontario
16. 46 Kayle Robidoux- St. Constant, Quebec
17. 21 Yan Bussiere – Drummondville, Quebec
18. 1H David Hebert – St-Damase, Quebec
19. 4J Jeff Sykes – Edwards, N. Y.
20. 23b Dany Bilodeau – Victoriaville, Quebec
21. 72 Tommy Flannigan – Port Robinson, Ontario
22. 22J Jeremy Wilder – Fort Plain, N. Y.
23. 7z Dale Planck – Cortland, N. Y.
24. 20 Brett Hearn – Sussex, N. J
25. 17d Danny O’Brien – Iverary, Ontario
26. 38 Luke Whittaker – Iroquois, Ontario
27. 21a Pete Britten – Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
28. 49 Billy Dunn – Watertown, N. Y.
29. 88 Tim O’Brien – Kingston, Ontario
30. 73 Alain Boisvert – Lachine, Quebec
Did not qualify:
54 Steve Bernard – Granby, Quebec
5 David Cote – Acton Vale, Quebec
97 Michel Chicoine – Ste-Cecile De Milton, Quebec
64 Daniel Nadeau – Marieville, Quebec
27T Travis Stacey – Kahnawake, Quebec
27 Gilles Godard – Summerstown, Ontario
124 Pierre Dagenais – Gatineau, Quebec
10R Gabriel Richer – Les Coteaux, Quebec
39a Alan Therrien – Victoriaville, Quebec
17 Marc Therrien – Williamstown, Ontario
98L Justin Lalancette – St. Andrews, Ontario
40 Joel Doiron – Alexandria, Ontario
188 David Papineau – Akwesasne, Ontario
39 Clement Therrien – Victoriaville, Quebec
03 Zach Aubertine – Chaumont, N. Y.
21k Randy Chrysler – Lewiston, N. Y.
24b Roger Levesque – Kingston, Ontario
Heat 1: 9s Matt Sheppard; 2. 38 Luke Whittaker; 3. 66x Carey Terrance; 4. 7z Dale Planck; 5. 1H David Hebert; 6. 4J Jeff Sykes; 7. 25 Erick Rudolph; 8. 49 Billy Dunn; 9. 54 Steve Bernard; 10. 5 David Cote
Heat 2: 1. 99J Jimmy Phelps; 2. 20 Brett Hearn; 3. 21 Yan Bussiere; 4. 74 Matt Billings; 5. 72 Tommy Flannigan; 6. 73 Alain Boisvert; 7. 64 Daniel Nadeaeu; 8. 97 Michel Chicoine; 9. 27T Travis Stracey
Heat 3: 1. 22c Mario Clair; 2. 71 Mike Bowman; 3. 46 Kayle Robidoux; 4. 23b Dany Bilodeau; 5. 124 Pierre Dagenais; 6. 23 Laurent Ladouceur; 7. 66 Kyle Dingwall; 8. 27 Gilles Godard; 9. 10R Gabriel Richer
Heat 4: 1. 115 Stephane LaFrance; 2. 6 Mat Williamson; 3. 01 Chris Raabe; 4. R70 Ryan Arbithnot; 5. 17 Marc Therrien; 6. 40 Joel Doiron; 7. 39a Alan Therrien; 8. 188 David Papineau; 9. 98H Justin Lalancette
Heat 5: 1. 151 Brian McDonald; 2. 14 Danny Johnson; 3. 17d Danny O’Brien; 4. 21a Pete Britten; 5. 22J Jeremy WIlder; 6. 88 TIm O’Brien; 7. 39 Clement Therrien; 8. 03 Zach Aubertine; 9. 21k Randy Chrysler; 10. 24b Roger Levesque
B-Main 1: 1. 1H David Hebert; 2. 22J Jeremy Wilder; 3. 66 Kyle Dingwall; 4. 25 Erick Rudolph; 5. 73 Alain Boisvert; 6. 97 Michel Chicoine; 7. 21k Randy Chrysler; 8. 54 Steve Bernard; 9. 124 Pierre Dagenais; 10. 10R Gabriel Richer; 11. 98H Justin Lalancette; 12. 39a Alan Therrien; 13. 39 Clement Therrien; 14. 17 Marc Therrien
B-Main 2: 1. 23 Laurent Ladouceur; 2. 72 Tommy Flannigan; 3. 49 Billy Dunn; 4. 88 Tim O’Brien; 5. 4J Jeff Sykes; 6. 5 David Cote; 7. 03 Zach Aubertine; 8. 40 Joel Doiron; 9. 27 Gilles Godard; 10. 188 David Papineau; 11. 24b Roger Levesque; 12. 27T Travis Stacey; 13. 64 Daniel Nadeau
Time Trials: 1. 9s Matt Sheppard, 14.115; 2. 151 Brian McDonald, 14.305; 3. 99J Jimmy Phelps, 14.320; 4. 1H David Hebert, 14.381; 5. 14 Danny Johnson, 14.407; 6. 21 Yan Bussiere, 14.417; 7. 115 Stephane LeFrance, 14.435; 8. 66x Carey Terrance, 14.436; 9. 20 Brett Hearn, 14.459; 10. 22c Mario Clair, 14.469; 11. 17d Danny O’Brien, 14.470; 12. 21a Pete Britten, 14.488; 13. 38 Luke Whittaker, 14.503; 14. 23b Dany Bilodeau, 14.540; 15. 49 Billy Dunn, 14.551; 16. 01 Chris Raabe, 14.561; 17. 72 Tommy Flannigan, 14.630; 18. 6 Mat Williamson, 14.650; 19. 4J Jeff Sykes, 14.672; 20. 97 Michel Chicoine, 14.673; 21. 39 Clement Therrien, 14.675; 22. 03 Zach Aubertine, 14.681; 23. 71 Mike Bowman, 14.717; 24. 39a Alan Therrien, 14.733; 25. 7z Dale Planck, 14.766; 26. 22J Jeremy Wilder, 14.792; 27. 54 Steve Bernard, 14.809; 28. 27 Gilles Godard, 14.814; 29. 23 Laurent Ladoueur, 14.836; 30. 66 Kyle Dingwall, 14.856; 31. 74 Matt Billings, 14.885; 32. 73 Alain Boisvert, 14.904; 33. R70 Ryan Arbithnot, 14.909; 34. 124 Pierre Dagenais, 14.924; 35. 25 Erick Rudolph, 14.930; 36. 21k Randy Chrysler, 14.940; 37. 88 Tim O’Brien, 14.952; 38. 46 Kayle Robidoux, 14.956; 39. 17 Marc Therrien, 14.973; 40. 5 David Cote, 14.990; 41. 98L Justin Lalancette, 15.036; 42. 40 Joel Doiron, 15.115; 43. 64 Daniel Nadeau, 15.126; 44. 10R Gabriel Richer, 15.146; 46. 27T Travis Stacey, 15.464; 47. 188 David Papineau, 15.563; 47. 24b Roger Levesque, 15.761
DIRTcar 358-Modified Series Schedule
| DATE | TRACK | LOCATION | LAPS | WINNER |
| Sun. May 19 | Cornwall Motor Speedway | Cornwall, Ont. | 100 | (Postponed to July 1) |
| Mon. May 20 | Merrittville Speedway | Thorold, Ont. | 100 | Matt Sheppard |
| Mon. July 1 | Cornwall Motor Speedway | Cornwall, Ont. | 100 | Matt Sheppard |
| Wed. July 3 | Ransomville Speedway | Ransomville. N. Y. | 75 | – |
| Sun. Sept. 1 | Cornwall Motor Speedway | Cornwall, Ont. | 125 | – |
| Fri. Sept. 6 | Autodrome Drummond | Drummondville, Que. | 75 | – |
| Fri. Sept. 13 | Mohawk International Raceway | Akwesasne, N. Y. | 100 | – |
| Fri. Sept. 20 | Le RPM Speedway | St-Marcel De Richelieu, Que. | 100 | – |
| Sat. Sept. 21 | Brighton Speedway | Brigton, Ont. | 100 | – |
| Wed. Oct. 9 | Cayuga County Fair Speedway | Weedsport, N. Y. | 75 | – |
| Thurs. Oct. 10 | Rolling Wheels Raceway | Elbridge, N. Y. | 75 | – |
| Sat. Oct. 12 | New York State Fairgrounds | Syracuse, N. Y. | 150 | – |
| Sat. Oct. 19 | Brockville Ontario Speedway | Brockville, Ont. | 100 | – |
The Super DIRTcar Series and DIRTcar Racing in the Northeast Region is brought to fans by several sponsors and partners including Hoosier Racing Tire, VP Racing Fuels, Chevy Performance Parts, NAPA Auto Parts, and Safety-Kleen. Contingency partners include the University of Northwestern Ohio. Contingency sponsors are ASI, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, Brodix, ButlerBuilt, Cometic Gasket, Comp Cams, Edelbrock, Integra Shocks, Intercomp, JE Pistons, JRI Shocks, Klotz Synthetic Lubricants, KSE Racing Products, Motorsports Safety Systems, MSD Performance, Penske Shocks, Racing Electronics, Superflow and Wrisco Industries.
