(February 2, 2024) Barberville, FL – Matt Sheppard kicked off the Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals with a historic win in the Super DIRTcar Series. In a dramatic 30-lap race at Volusia Speedway Park, Sheppard navigated from first to seventh and back to the lead, securing his 95th Series win and his 500th career victory.
“It’s so huge,” Sheppard said. “We’ve been so bad in Florida the last decade or so, we didn’t even think we’d be close to 500 coming to Florida. Then we picked off three wins last week and another one tonight. It’s just a huge milestone, and I couldn’t do it without my entire team.”
Race Highlights
Sheppard and Anthony Perrego led the field to the green flag, with Sheppard taking an early lead. However, a caution for Rex King Jr. on Lap 2 shuffled the field. On the restart, Sheppard went too high in Turn 1, dropping to seventh and handing the lead to Perrego.
As Sheppard worked his way back through the field, Perrego battled with Demetrios Drellos, who passed him on Lap 4. Drellos led until Lap 9 when a battery issue forced him to slow, allowing Perrego to retake the lead.
Perrego led until Lap 17 when he went over the cushion, enabling Erick Rudolph and Sheppard to close in. Sheppard passed Rudolph for second and then overtook Perrego for the lead in Turn 4 on Lap 19.
Sheppard maintained the lead for the remaining laps, claiming the $5,000 prize and his milestone 500th career victory.
Key Quotes
“I fell back there and I kind of gained my composure,” Sheppard said. “I was turning good laps, but I wasn’t going anywhere. We had that (Lap 10) restart, and I got a couple of guys on the top. I was searching around, biding my time, and [Perrego] jumped the cushion a couple of times. I think he moved down to try and block [Rudolph] and that kind of opened the outside lane for me to drive around.”
Perrego settled for second place, his best finish in 11 starts at the DIRTcar Nationals. “We took off really well,” Perrego said. “I knew [Sheppard] was struggling early to steer. My car was really good. We could hook it around that bottom. When [Drellos] went around us, he kind of showed me the outside was there. And on that caution where he broke, I went up there and I felt really good.”
Rudolph finished third, marking his third consecutive top-three finish at the DIRTcar Nationals. “The first third of the race we were OK,” Rudolph said. “We passed a few cars. Then I think about halfway through the race we had the best car. At the end, I think I was hanging on. I think I was definitely better than the #4 car, but Sheppard just had a bit extra tonight, and I don’t think we could’ve closed on him.”
Upcoming Event
The Super DIRTcar Series returns to Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park on Thursday, Feb. 15, for another 30-lap, $5,000-to-win Feature. For tickets, visit DIRTcarNationals.com. If you can’t make it to the track, watch all the action live on DIRTVision.
Feature Results (30 Laps)
- Matt Sheppard [1]
- Anthony Perrego [2]
- Erick Rudolph [10]
- Jimmy Phelps [5]
- Mat Williamson [7]
- Peter Britten [4]
- Billy Decker [15]
- Louden Reimert [17]
- Stewart Friesen [26]
- Larry Wight [20]
- Rick Laubach [6]
- Darren Smith [16]
- Jack Lehner [22]
- Justin Haers [11]
- Marc Johnson [24]
- Billy Pauch Jr [13]
- Alex Payne [8]
- Danny Johnson [18]
- Justin Stone [23]
- Rex King Jr [12]
- Felix Roy [21]
- Alex Yankowski [9]
- Zachary Payne [19]
- Bob Hentschel [14]
- (DNF) CG Morey [27]
- (DNF) Garrett Krummert [25]
- (DNF) Demetrios Drellos [3]
