Series Star Sheppard Snaps Tie In ’Legends Of The Fall’ Thriller At New Egypt
Final score: 2-Elite 11, 1-New Egypt. The third and final leg of the three-race Advance Auto Parts Modified Super DIRT Series at New Egypt Speedway needed all 100 laps to decide the outcome and it was E11 all-star Matt Sheppard settling the score with turn four pass to earn the thrilling victory.
"We had a good car all night so this is where we wanted to be from lap one," said Sheppard, 23, following his first Series triumph of the season and second career victory on DIRT MotorSports Northeast’s premier big-block Modified tour. "That last caution was really a gift as I don’t think we could’ve caught Jimmy (Horton) with such a big lead."
A mysterious yellow flag flew on lap 78 to tighten the pack behind NES mainstay Horton. Current Mr. DIRT points leader Tim Fuller manned second-place looking to repeat his winning performance staged in August while Sheppard wanted to match his Superstars of Stock Car Racing Series win registered last year at New Egypt. Sheppard slipped under Fuller on lap 91 and tracked down Horton in traffic with a handful of laps remaining before ducking low out of turn four to complete the late-race rally in dramatic fashion.
"The car seemed to come and go all race, I’d start to get a good run going and then suddenly fade back," said Sheppard, who posted mixed results in first two SDS attempts at New Egypt over the summer. A broken driveshaft in the no. 44s G-U Hardware-Adam Ross Cut Stone/Bicknell entry sidelined his efforts in the June race before super Matt charged back up to finish second following an early race spin in the August showdown. "Around lap 70 the car started getting real loose and I thought there was a tire going. But then I found a lane down low and was able to make up some ground pretty quick. I think I could’ve got by Jimmy a couple laps earlier if the traffic wasn’t there. But that’s a big part of racing around here and we got the best of it at the end."
Horton and Fuller swapped the lead a half-dozen times before Horton moved ahead seemingly for good on lap 71. Yet it was the lapped car of Sean Beardsley that proved pivotal as the leaders entered the final turns of the final lap to send the scorers reeling. Horton drifted high exiting the third turn to negotiate Beardsley’s mount with Sheppard sticking to the bottom as Fuller went even higher to force a four-wide traffic jam entering the final corner. Horton bounced off the turn four berm and flinched momentarily but it was just enough to open the door for Sheppard to take the $6,000 top prize.
"I just misjudged the lapped car," admitted Horton, who used three feature wins to finish fifth in the final 2005 New Egypt point standings. "I basically screwed up, just never saw it coming. We had a strong car but got caught in a bad deal. We’ll go on to the next dance and hopefully do one better. That’s all you can do."
Saturday’s ’Legends of the Fall’ Championship was a tie-breaker of sorts between New Egypt’s top open-wheel pilots and those headlining DIRT Northeast’s traveling show. The NES trio of Billy Pauch, Ryan Godown and Frank Cozze topped the ’Garden State Gunfight’ scoresheets in June while Fuller, Sheppard and Brett Hearn swept the top-three slots in the ’ Showdown In The Pines’ run in August. Qualifying heats were even split on Saturday night with winners Gary Tomkins and Pat Ward representing the Elite 11 and Horton and Jim Scherer maintaining early bragging rights for the New Egypt fan base.
Fuller finished third in the initial heat then bolted past front row partner Bucky Kell after filling in second on the 30-car starting grid. Fourth-place starter Horton followed Fuller’s cue and sped into the runner-up position with Pauch, Tomkins and Sheppard joining in the early chase. A pair of brief caution periods for a looping Stewart Friesen and Chad Brachmann, who suffered a broken shock the next circuit, slowed the action before Horton forged his first lead on a lap 10 restart. And from there the pair of veteran wheelmen proceeded to battle lap after lap for the duration of the event.
A stubborn Fuller put the no. 1 MBF Racing-B&F General Machine/TEO mount out front again on lap 19 only to have the ’Sensational’ one wrestle it back on the 22nd circuit while weaving in and out of traffic. The field was signaled to slow down for a fourth time when a blown motor forced Billy Decker to park John Wight’s no. 91 Gysum Wholesalers/Bicknell between the first two turns to put an immediate end to his night with 38 laps complete. Just a dozen laps later a rare red flag situation arose when Scherer flipped his immaculate no. 4tj Pleasant View Landscaping/Bicknell car rounding turn number four. Fuller took advantage of the mishap after the restart and overtook Horton for the lead on lap 52 only to relinquish it for the final time 10 miles later.
Fuller and Horton ran nose-to-tail and side-by-side in a classic duel that endured under green flag conditions until Horton slid under the Edwards, N.Y. driver on lap 71. Yellow lights flashed across the track on lap 78 without a car stopped nor debris falling astray on the tacky oval. When the green flag re-appeared Horton wasted little time regaining a comfortable five-car length margin ahead of Fuller with Sheppard, Tomkins and a fast-charging Ryan Godown the nearest pursuers. The order remained intact with 10 laps still to go, but the last five miles produced arguably the most surprising finishes of the year as Sheppard disposed of Mr. DIRT favorite Fuller and New Jersey native Horton on his home soil.
"I thought Jimmy was the class of the field today, it just wasn’t meant to be," said Fuller, who increased his lead in the overall Hoosier Tire-Sunoco Race Fuels Mr. DIRT standings to 58 points over Brett Hearn with just three events remaining. Hearn finished sixth sandwiched among the top-10 between Tomkins (4th), Godown (5th), Pauch (7th), Kell (8th), Pat Ward (9th) and Bert Hard Charger Jimmy Phelps (10th). "But Matt was in the right place when it counted and that’s been the story of the series so far. This is the raciest I’ve ever since this track and there was probably more passes tonight than you’ll see all week at Syracuse."
With Fuller (1,864) and Hearn (1,806) putting forth their best bid to pull away from Tomkins (1,749) and Decker (1,661) in the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRT Series point standings, Sheppard (1,588) remained sixth ahead of Ward (1,604) heading into Super DIRT Week at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse for the 34th Annual Eckerd 200 Championship on Sunday, October 9.
Advance Auto Parts Modified Super DIRT Series – New Egypt Speedway, September 24, 2005 Legends of the Fall Event Summary [*Official box score posted on www.dirtmotorsports.com by selecting DIRT NorthEast then choosing either the 358-Modified SDS, Sportsman SDS or Pro Stock SDS before clicking the ’Advance’ logo top left on homepage]
FEATURE
FIN STR CAR# DRIVER
1 5 44s Matt Sheppard/Waterloo,NY
2 4 901 Jimmy Horton/Neshanic Station,NJ
3 2 m1 Tim Fuller/Edwards,NY
4 6 1t Gary Tomkins/Clifton Springs,NY
5 11 26 Ryan Godown/Ringoes,NJ
6 7 3 Brett Hearn/Sussex,NJ
7 3 1 Billy Pauch/Frenchtown,NJ
8 1 58jr. Bucky Kell/Hammonton,NJ
9 13 42p Pat Ward/Genoa,NY
10 19 98h Jimmy Phelps/Baldwinsville,NY
11 14 44 Frank Cozze/Wind Gap,PA
12 17 51m Keith Hoffman/Whitehall,PA
13 12 7x Steve Paine/Waterloo,NY
14 18 3h Justin Haers/Phelps,NY
15 21 29b Jeff Brownell,Jr./Waterloo,NY
16 24 23 Tom Carberry/Hopewell,NJ
17 22 20 Stewart Friesen/Niagara-o-t-Lake,ONT
18 27 17 Scott VanGorder/Somerset,NJ
19 23 18 Sean Beardsley/Central Square,NY
20 30 54x John Keller/Long Valley,NJ
21 26 10g Brian Godown/Frenchtown,NJ
22 15 rjs7 Ron John Koczon/New Egypt,NJ
23 28 303 Fred Dmuchowski/Hillsborough,NJ
24 9 4tj Jim Scherer/Monroe Township,NJ
25 29 47b Dominick Buffalino/Morganville,NJ
26 10 91 Billy Decker/Unadilla,NY
27 8 r24 Rick Grosso,Jr./Belle Mead,NJ
28 20 3b Chad Brachmann/Wheatfield,NY
29 16 28 Darren McCaughey/New Egypt,NJ
30 25 3m Sam Martz/Somerville,NJ
DID NOT QUALIFY(3)
OB’s-Jim Secor,Jr./East Fishkill,NY
8-Rich Scagliotta/Bound Brook,NJ
29z-Steve Pesarek/Geneva,NY
Lap Leaders: Fuller (1-9), Horton (10-18), Fuller (19-21), Horton (22-51), Fuller (52-70), Horton (71-99), Sheppard (100).
Bert Hard Charger: Jimmy Phelps.
QUALIFYING
Advance Auto Parts Modified Super DIRT Series: Time Trial Results
New Egypt Speedway (1/2-mile) - September 24, 2005
FAST AVE
TIME MPH CAR# DRIVER
#1 17.006 105.845 r24 Rick Grosso,Jr./Belle Mead,NJ
2 17.153 104.938 91 Billy Decker/Unadilla,NY
3 17.156 104.920 98h Jimmy Phelps/Baldwinsville,NY
4 17.178 104.785 901 Jimmy Horton/Neshanic Station,NJ
5 17.218 104.542 58jr. Bucky Kell/Hammonton,NJ
6 17.220 104.530 3 Brett Hearn/Sussex,NJ
7 17.222 104.517 4tj Jim Scherer/Monroe Township,NJ
8 17.262 104.275 1t Gary Tomkins/Clifton Springs,NY
9 17.318 103.938 44 Frank Cozze/Wind Gap,PA
10 17.322 103.914 42p Pat Ward/Genoa,NY
11 17.352 103.734 1 Billy Pauch/Frenchtown,NJ
12 17.392 103.496 7x Steve Paine/Waterloo,NY
13 17.407 103.407 m1 Tim Fuller/Edwards,NY
14 17.426 103.294 28 Darren McCaughey/New Egypt,NJ
15 17.431 103.264 44s Matt Sheppard/Waterloo,NY
16 17.432 103.258 3b Chad Brachmann/Wheatfield,NY
17 17.447 103.170 51m Keith Hoffman/Whitehall,PA
18 17.454 103.128 3h Justin Haers/Phelps,NY
19 17.476 102.998 rjs7 Ron John Koczon/New Egypt,NJ
20 17.483 102.957 26 Ryan Godown/Ringoes,NJ
21 17.693 101.735 29b Jeff Brownell,Jr./Waterloo,NY
22 17.759 101.357 20 Stewart Friesen/Niagara-o-t-Lake,ONT
23 17.790 101.180 3m Sam Martz/Somerville,NJ
24 17.892 100.604 18 Sean Beardsley/Central Square,NY
25 18.006 99.967 10g Brian Godown/Frenchtown,NJ
26 18.015 99.917 23 Tom Carberry/Hopewell,NJ
+DQ 18.017 99.906 303 Fred Dmuchowski/Hillsborough,NJ
28 18.152 99.163 17 Scott VanGorder/Somerset,NJ
+DQ 18.307 98.323 54x John Keller/Long Valley,NJ
30 18.347 98.109 8 Rich Scagliotta/Bound Brook,NJ
31 18.387 97.895 47b Dominick Buffalino/Morganville,NJ
32 -NT- --- OB’s Jim Secor,Jr./East Fishkill,NY
33 -NT- --- 29z Steve Pesarek/Geneva,NY
#NEW TRACK SERIES RECORD,
+Time Disallowed due to illegal spoiler,
*Top-2 locked into pre-race feature draw.
Heat Races (10 laps, top 5 finishers transferred to feature, top 3 went to re-draw)
#1: Tomkins, Sheppard, Fuller, Koczon, Phelps, Martz, VanGorder, Keller.
#2: Horton, Cozze, R.Godown, McCaughey, Brachmann, Beardsley, Scagliotta, Secor.
#3: Ward, Hearn, Kell, Hoffman, Brownell, B.Godown, Buffalino.
#4: Scherer, Pauch, Paine, Haers, Friesen, Carberry, Dmuchowski, Pesarek.
Consolation Round (10 laps, top 8 finishers transferred to feature)
#1: Beardsley, Carberry, Martz, B.Godown, VanGorder, Dmuchowski, Buffalino, Keller, Scagliotta, Pesarek, Secor (DNS).
Skidmarks:
* Big-block Modified Super DIRT Series competition returned to New Egypt for the third time this year in the 2005 season-finale at the popular Ocean County oval. The Advance Auto Parts SDS shows attracted 36 cars for the June ’Garden State Gunfight’ event, 32 in August for the ’Showdown in the Pines’ and 33 for the recent ’Legends of the Fall’ showdown. The latest century grind at the Grosso Family summer motorsports resort lured first-time tour competitors Fred Dmuchowski, John Keller and Sam Martz, who captured one checkered flag this season at NES.
* Looking to capture his fourth feature win was recently crowned New Egypt points champion Frank Cozze. The Super DIRT Series showdown would have easily been the biggest triumph of the year for the Wind Gap, Pa. veteran who finished 11th on Saturday after placing third in June and fifth in August in the NES tour specials. "I like to win every race, no matter how big," said Cozze, 48, who claimed his first points title at New Egypt in 2003. "It’s nice to compete against the tour guys, especially here as the locals don’t really support the show. They’re not chasing points so it’s just not worth the change over to make the cars DIRT-legal and give up running American racer tires. They’d need at least six Hoosiers (tires) and have to change the bodies and bumpers. It’s a lot of work for one show."
* Following the demanding Advance Auto Parts SDS for the first time in his career, Central New Yorker Sean Beardsley missed last month’s trip to New Jersey after finishing 21st in the first leg run in June. His hauler carrying the no. 18 JIR Motorsports-Fairmount Aquarium/Bicknell car broke down along the Pennsylvania Turnpike and was forced to head back home; this time, teammates Jeff Isabell and Tom Sears, Jr. were no shows in the JIR Motorsports entries, missing the ’05 NES curtain-closer while Beardsley picked up the slack. "I knew following the Series would be a lot of work, but never this demanding with so many costs involved," Beardsley said. "We started out with a couple cars and motors, now we’re down to 1-1/2 cars and one motor which we’ll be using at Syracuse. I think to run this whole deal and get a win you probably need three cars and three good motors, at least to start out."
* In an uncharacteristic time trial occurrence, no less than 10 drivers ran under the clocks out of order, and according to the DIRT Rule Book could use a time no better than 17th for handicapping into the four qualifying heats that followed. Brett Hearn (timed 6th fastest), Billy Pauch (11th), Tim Fuller (13th) and Darren McCaughey (14th) were moved into positions 17-20 on the handicap sheets and only McCaughey failed to finish in a top-three spot to get into the pre-race re-draw; which put Fuller in 2nd, Pauch 3rd and Hearn 7th to start the feature. Other drivers running out of sequence in time trials were Stewart Friesen, Tom Carberry, Scott VanGorder, Rich Scagliotta, Dominick Buffalino and Fred Dmuchowski, who was disqualified anyways for an illegal spoiler during tech post-trial inspection.
* The top-15 finishers in the ’Dynomax World Series’ (Sept. 18) at Rolling Wheels Raceway were at the head of the line to share in the unique $3,000 Winner’s Circle fund that has been set aside to be divided among the highest finishing drivers at each event. The distribution of this special $3,000 fund is based on the feature race finishing order: drivers placing in positions 1-5 each earn $100, 6th – 10th-place finishers receive $200 and 11th – 15th pocket $300. Competitors are required to attend and attempt to qualify for the next Advance Auto Parts SDS event to collect payment of the Winner’s Circle bonus.
By racing at New Egypt, Gary Tomkins, Pat Ward, Tim Fuller, Brett Hearn and Justin Haers received $100 each, Billy Decker, Steve Paine, Chad Brachmann and Jimmy Phelps earned $200, while Sean Beardsley and Stewart Friesen pocketed $300. Chuck Bower, Steve Hulsizer, Randy Chrysler and Pierre Dagenais were no shows. Upon attempting to qualify at the next event at Syracuse on Oct. 9, Matt Sheppard, Jimmy Horton, Fuller, Tomkins and Ryan Godown will collect $100 each, Hearn, Billy Pauch, Bucky Kell, Ward and Phelps will receive $200, with Frank Cozze, Keith Hoffman, Paine, Hears and Jeff Brownell, Jr. in line for $300 bonuses.
* A new Advance Auto Parts SDS track record was set for the second straight tour outing at New Egypt and it was the one individual that probably knows the terrain better than anyone else, track prep man Rick Grosso, Jr. The son of NES owners Rick and Nancy Grosso established a new track tour standard of 17.006 sec. (105.845 mph), bettering Jimmy Phelps’ former mark of 17.243 sec. (104.390 mph) set on the half-miler in August. Bucky Kell, who was clocked fifth-fastest on Saturday, remains the single-lap record-holder with a time of 16.476 sec. recorded on May 11, 2005. Unfortunately for Grosso, he ran only 17 laps aboard his no. R24 Grosso Trucking-H.J. Opdyke Lumber/Bicknell entry to relegate him to 27th on the final scoresheet.
NEW EGYPT NIBBLES
* Said Sheppard heading into the New Egypt event, "I definitely like this place when the car is working good, its fun getting around. I just don’t like cleaning the car after the races, it gets pretty muddy out there" ..... The new TEO Pro car of Brett Hearn finally made it through pre-race tech inspection after nearly a half-dozen failed attempts ..... With Jim Secor, Jr. resting his own no. 734 Outreach Orange-Dutchess landscape/TEO machine, Oscar Boria offered Secor his own OB’s Boria High-Tech Auto/TEO mount to test out the fast New Egypt track; unfortunately he joined Steve Pesarek and Rich Scagliotta as DNQs on Saturday ..... NES regular and runner-up in the ’05 point standings, Keith Hoffman, emerged as the third different driver to steer the no. 51m Supreme Welding/Bicknell for owner Chris Watson and the Michaels Bros. Hoffman drove the no. 40 Stone Grille Reastaurant & Bar-backed TEO Pro car in the June 22 tour race, the same night older brother Doug Hoffman finished sixth in the Feil-powered ride. Keith finished 12th on Saturday, the last car scored on the lead lap ..... Competing the same night in the 358-Modified SDS event at Canandaigua Speedway was former big-block Modified ’Elite 11’ member Alan Johnson. It was a lucrative decision on the part of A.J. Slideways as he copped the $3,000 small-block feature, despite trading in his Elite 11 status in search of Mr. DIRT 358 title distinction for the NativePoker.com Team.
* Another important reminder to all teams planning to return to New Jersey for competition at Bridgeport Speedway on Oct. 22-23. Even though the 2005 Official DIRT MotorSports NorthEast Rule Book recommends use of a five-point seat belt no older than five years, New Jersey State law mandates that no safety harness may be used that is older than two years. While the significance of this matter has been stressed by a number of law enforcement agents, the same individuals noted that direct action will taken against any teams failing to take heed of this particular warning.
With RACEceiver now recognized as the Official Driver Communicator of DIRT MotorSports™ in 2005, fans, as well as the competing drivers, were able to hear first hand everything that was happening throughout the entire New Egypt show. A compact radio receiver that conveniently fits into a driver’s pocket, a RACEceiver allows each driver to hear directions from series officials, which greatly enhances the safety and timeliness of events. A similar version available to fans allows RACEceiver users to hear what information series officials are relaying to the drivers. For more information about RACEceiver, visit www.raceceiver.com, call 866/301-7223, or look for their sales trailers at various events.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Only three extra-distance events remain on the 2005 Advance Auto Parts Super DIRT Series schedule with all Sunday specials running in October. Super DIRT Week at the Syracuse Mile concludes with the nationally recognized Eckerd 200 on Oct. 9 and is followed by the highly anticipated return to Williams Grove (Pa.) on Oct. 16 before the Atlantic Coast Championship at Bridgeport (N.J.) brings the curtain down on Oct. 23.
Victoria 200 Status Clarified: Originally listed on both the Modified and 358-Modified Super DIRT Series scheduled in 2005, the 20th Dynomax Victoria 200 at Fulton Speedway on Oct. 1 will not be recognized in the official record book as a DIRT-Sanctioned event in either big-block or small-block division. Despite outlining event rules that mandate DIRT Hoosier tires and DIRT body styles, the allowance of methanol (alcohol) instead of the standard Sunoco Race Fuel, dismissal of time trials and no enforcement of rev limited boxes in the small-block class were the determining factors.
2005 ADVANCE AUTO PARTS MODIFIED SUPER DIRT SERIES SCHEDULE
Day-Date Track (Laps) Location/Winner
Sun-Oct 9 New York State Fairgrounds (200L)...................Syracuse, NY
Sun-Oct 16 Williams Grove Speedway (100L) .....................Mechanicsburg, PA
Sun-Oct 23 Bridgeport Speedway (200L) ............................Bridgeport, NJ
*NP = Non-Point event.
ADVANCE AUTO PARTS MODIFIED SERIES SPONSORS
The DIRT MotorSports™ Advance Auto Parts Modified Series is brought to fans across the Northeast by several sponsors and partners, including series sponsors Advance Auto Parts, Dynomax Performance Exhaust, Hoosier Racing Tire and Sunoco Race Fuels. Promotional Partners include Stacker 2®, AMB i.t., RACEceiver and Zippo Lighters and the contingency sponsors are DART Machinery, Bicknell Racing Products, Bilstein Shocks, MSD Ignitions and Wrisco Industries.