Matt Sheppard Three-Peats: Crowned Super DIRTcar Series Champion Third Year in a Row
Young Driver, Just 30, of Waterloo, N. Y., First Ever to Win Three Consecutive Series Titles
CONCORD, N. C. – Nov. 5, 2012 – Two-time consecutive Super DIRTcar Series Champion Matt Sheppard made it to the top again this year, becoming the first Big-Block Modified driver to score three series championship titles in a row.
“It put my name in the record books for a little while. It means a lot to me,” said the 30-year-old Sheppard of Waterloo, N. Y. “The first one was great, you always remember that; the second one was remarkable, it was just as good as the first one; but to win the third in a row, just the face that nobody’s ever done it before, that’s something really special.”
Sheppard and the team traveled with the series to The Dirt Track at Charlotte still in a heated points race going into PEAK Motor Oil World of Outlaws World Finals presented by NAPA Auto Parts. Jimmy Phelps and Brett Hearn were both within reach of the points lead, with two 40-lap, 150-point races left to determine the 2012 champion.
In the first feature race of the weekend Friday, Nov. 2, Sheppard finished 12th and Hearn took 3rd, putting “the Jet” within 60 points of the lead and further intensifying the championship battle going into Saturday’s finale. Britten took the initial lead in Saturday’s 40-lapper, but Hearn was right behind him, and a win for Hearn would mean that Sheppard a 14th or better finish to clinch the title. As a result, Sheppard found himself taking fewer risks.
“When you’re down here just trying to win the race, you take more chances and you try to run a little harder,” Sheppard said. “I wanted to win the race, I wanted to run up front, but on the other hand, you’ve got to finish the thing. That’s the most important thing. (more…)