(February 7, 2024) Lake City, FL – Matt Sheppard started the 2024 racing season strong with a $5,000 win at the Bob Hilbert Sportswear Short Track Super Series (STSS) Fueled By Sunoco. Sheppard claimed victory in the opening night of the ‘Sunshine Swing’ presented by Capitol Custom Trailers & Coaches at All-Tech Raceway, leading from lap five onward.
Dominant Performance
Sheppard, who began the race in third position, quickly moved to the front. Danny Creeden initially took the lead, but Sheppard passed him on the inside by lap five and began to pull away. Navigating through lapped traffic with precision, Sheppard secured his 39th STSS career win and his second at All-Tech Raceway.
“It feels really good, you never know with a new year, but we haven’t really changed our program,” Sheppard said. “Everything went our way tonight; we had a good car and we drew a good number.”
Intense Competition
Larry Wight, starting seventh, swiftly moved through the field and took second place from Darren Smith by lap nine. Despite a strong challenge, Wight’s bid for the lead was hampered when he hit the wall, losing crucial ground. Sheppard maintained his lead through the race’s final caution periods, finishing first without further challenge.
“I ran the bottom most of the race, so I didn’t really know what I had up top,” Sheppard explained. “But I know these guys are too good for me to ride around behind the lapped cars.”
Podium Finishers
Larry Wight finished second, continuing his strong performance despite the setback. “Our car was good, and I lost the right-front once and smacked the wall,” Wight said. “After that, I think it knocked a hub loose because the brakes were shaking really bad.”
Darren Smith rounded out the top three, achieving his best STSS finish. “We were really good tonight and had a really good balance in our car,” Smith noted. “I’d just lose the nose every now and then and it hurt us when I hit the wall.”
Upcoming Events
Racing continues Thursday night with a 35-lap, $6,000-to-win STSS Modified main event and a $1,500-to-win, 25-lap Crate 602 Sportsman race.
Feature Finish (30 laps):
- Matt Sheppard [3]
- Larry Wight [7]
- Darren Smith [5]
- Stewart Friesen [11]
- Marc Johnson [4]
- Erick Rudolph [10]
- Austin Hubbard [9]
- Tanner VanDoren [14]
- Bobby Hackel IV [23]
- Chris Curtis [21]
- Mat Williamson [17]
- Danny Creeden [2]
- Danny Bouc [6]
- Danny Hieber [15]
- Peter Britten [18]
- Rick Laubach [16]
- Alex Payne [22]
- Seth Zacharias [1]
- Francois Bellemare [20]
- Matt Caprara [24]
- Rusty Smith [12]
- Matt Stangle [13]
- Michael Trautschold [8]
- Danny Johnson [26]
- Jason Reome [19]
- Bubba McPhee [25]
Support Highlights
In the STSS Crate 602 Sportsman race, Payton Talbot claimed his fourth career STSS win and first in Florida. Talbot took the lead on lap four and maintained it for the remaining laps. The top five included Brian Calabrese, James Friesen, Cedric Gauvreau, and Joe Toth.
