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Matt Sheppard Gets Port Royal Retribution, Wins Thursday Night STSS Speed Showcase 40™

Written by Chris Moore PORT ROYAL, PA Dominant. That is the only word to describe Matt Sheppard™s performance.  

After narrowly
losing out to Anthony Perrego in the most recent event held at Port Royal
Speedway last March, Matt Sheppard got retribution Thursday night at the Speed
Palace. The Savannah, N.Y., driver topped the Speed Showcase 40™ for the Bob
Hilbert Sportswear Short Track Super Series (STSS) Fueled By Sunoco Modified
Velocita-USA South Region presented by Design for Vision and Sunglass Central.

Sheppard was
clearly the dominant force in an event run on the tacky half-mile clay oval,
earning $5,450 for his efforts: $5,000 from the posted purse, $400 as the Danny™s
Pizza Pizzazz Halfway Leader and $50 as one of six Ad-Art Sign Company heat
winners.

œI led a lot
of the race the last time I was here (in March 2019),? offered Sheppard after
climbing from his Hurlock Auto & Speed No. 9s. œWe had a really good car
tonight. I was being conservative and trying to keep the car straight once I
got out front.?

Sheppard will
start Saturday night™s Speed Showcase 200™ no worse than 13th via
his victory on Thursday. He can improve that position via Friday night™s Dirt
Track Digest-sponsored Qualifying Races but is guaranteed to fire off from the
seventh row in the 200.

Super Matt™
worked past pole starter Joseph Jo-Jo™ Watson on the fourth lap of the 40-lap
event. Max McLaughlin, making his Short Track Super Series debut, challenged
Sheppard through numerous restarts before slapping the outside wall in the Sweeteners
Plus No. 32c to draw the caution.

As Sheppard
led, all eyes were on the Rick Holsten-owned No. 96 driven by Billy Pauch Jr.
The Kid™s Kid™ started 22nd and sliced through the field to arrive
in the runner-up spot by the halfway mark.

With the race™s
second half spun off under green-flag conditions, Pauch Jr. closed on Sheppard
but took starter Joe Kriss™ checkered flag by roughly a straightaway.

The win for
Sheppard was his 11th career STSS Modified victory, second of the
season and first-ever at Port Royal.

Pauch Jr.
finished second, earning the Southern Super Modified Series-sponsored $200 Hard
Charger award, bringing the Milford, N.J., resident™s earnings to $3,200 for the
runner-up effort.

Mike Mahaney
of King Ferry, N.Y., authored a stout drive to complete the podium in the Adirondack
Auto No. 35. Mahaney challenged Pauch heavily in the final five laps for third.

Mat
Williamson of St. Catharines, Ont., powered from 19th starting
position to finish fourth in the Behrent™s Performance Warehouse No. 3 and Australian
Peter Britten completed the front five.

Sheppard,
Pauch Jr., Mahaney and Williamson will start no worse than 13th, 14th,
15th and 16th in Saturday™s 200-lap main event.

Finishing
sixth through 10th, respectively, were Rocky Warner of Gloversville,
N.Y., who ran inside the top-five for much of the race; Stewart Friesen of
Sprakers, N.Y., rebounding from a pair of pit stops after impacting the
turn-three wall on the race™s opening lap; Richie Pratt Jr. of Woodbury Heights,
N.J., in the Daniel Sommeling No. 51; Danny Bouc of Pipersville, Pa.; and Ryan
Godown of Ringoes, N.J., who rallied late for a top-10 finish.

A huge field
of 61 STSS Modifieds signed in for competition, requiring six heat races.
Taking the $50 Ad-Art Sign Company victories were Alex Yankowski, McLaughlin,
Michael Maresca, Sheppard, Josh Hohenforst and Bouc.

Three B-Mains
were run with victories going to Williamson, Friesen and Billy Decker.

A massive turnout
of 65 Crate 602 Sportsman took part in four rounds of practice sessions
throughout the night. Garden State driver Stephen Kemery turned the quickest
lap of the night (21.305 seconds) and received $50 cash courtesy of Evergreen Fuels.

Tonight (Friday),
Bob Hilbert Sportswear presents Qualifying Night with Dirt Track
Digest-sponsored, $750-to-win STSS Modified 20-lap qualifiers and Belmont™s
Garage $250-to-win Crate 602 Sportsman 15-lap qualifiers plus Four Cylinder
Pure Stocks racing for $500 to win in a 20-lap feature.

Gates open at
4 p.m., with hot laps at 6 p.m. and racing at 7 p.m.

In-person attendance
is permitted and the event will be streamed live on Dirt Track Digest TV (www.dirttrackdigest.tv).

Grandstand
admission is $15 for Adults, $10 for Seniors (ages 13-18) and Children 12 and
under are FREE. Pit admission is $35, with no license required.

Port Royal Speedway is
located at 308 West 8th Street Port Royal, PA 17082. To learn
more, visit www.portroyalspeedway.com or portspeedway@gmail.com.

To learn more about the
Short Track Super Series Fueled By Sunoco, visit www.shorttracksuperseries.com, e-mail bdmotorsportsmedia@gmail.com,  check out
Short Track Super Series™ on Facebook or @ShortTrackSS on Twitter or
Instagram.

The Short Track Super Series is presented by American Racer/Lias Tire, Sunoco
Race Fuel, Insinger Performance, Bob Hilbert Sportswear, Halmar International,
Velocita-USA, Design for Vision/Sunglass Central, Rob Sherlock Roofing, ATL
Racing Fuel Cells, Behrent™s Performance Warehouse, Beyea Custom Headers,
Bicknell Racing Products, Dirt Track Digest, EIBACH Springs, Escape RV, Fast
Axle, Fox Racing Shocks, Henry™s Exhaust, Hig Fab, HyperCo, Kirkey Racing
Fabrication, Land Hoe Maintenance, K&N, MJK Home Maintenance, Precision
Hydraulic & Oil, QA1, Racing Optics, Superior Remodeling, Teo-Pro Car,
VAHLCO, Velocita, WELD Racing & Wilwood.

SPEED
SHOWCASE 40™ RESULTS SUMMARY PORT ROYAL SPEEDWAY OCTOBER 15, 2020

Bob
Hilbert Sportswear Short Track Super Series Fueled By Sunoco Velocita-USA South
Region Event No. 7 Modified Feature Finish (40 laps):  MATT
SHEPPARD, Billy Pauch Jr., Mike Mahaney, Mat Williamson, Peter Britten, Rocky
Warner, Stewart Friesen, Richie Pratt Jr., Danny Bouc, Ryan Godown, Michael
Maresca, Mike Gular, Alex Yankowski, Anthony Perrego, Jeff Strunk, Larry Wight,
Max McLaughlin, Alan Johnson, Billy Decker, Tyler Dippel, Rick Laubach, Jordan
Watson, Jimmy Horton, Demetrios Drellos, Matt DeLorenzo, David Van Horn Jr., Brandon
Grosso, Ronnie Johnson, Andy Bachetti, Joseph Watson, Josh Hohenforst.

Did Not
Qualify: Erick
Rudolph, Jared Umbenhauer, Justin Wright, Tim Fuller, Jessica Friesen, Ryan
Watt, Ryan Riddle, Brett Haas, J.R. Heffner, Matt Stangle, Danny Hieber,
Billy  Van Pelt, Ricky Elliott, Danny Johnson,
Michael Trautschold, Neil Williams, Josh Nobriga, Eric Williams, David
Marcuccilli, Tyler Siri, Rusty Smith, Josh Delea, David Schilling, Brett
Tonkin, Brian Gleason, Jacob Dgien, Kurt Hundeland, Billy Pauch, Adam Gage,
Dave Shirk.

Ad-Art
Sign Company Heat Winners ($50 Each): Alex
Yankowski, Max McLaughlin, Michael Maresca, Matt Sheppard, Josh Hohenforst
& Danny Bouc
American Racer Lias/Tire Bonuses (TIRE Certificates): Richie Pratt Jr.
(eighth) & Anthony Perrego(14th)
Beyea Custom Headers Redraw Bucks ($50): Alex Yankowski (Redrew 12th)
Behrent™s Performance Warehouse Bonuses ($50 Gift Cards): Mat Williamson
(fourth) & Danny Bouc (ninth)
Bill Brown & Company Heat-Race Hard Charger ($50): Danny Bouc (gained
seven positions)
EIBACH Springs Bonus ($100 Certificate): Rocky Warner (sixth)
Henry™s Exhaust System Bonus ($50 Certificate): Michael Maresca (11th)
Danny™s Pizza Pizazz Halfway Leader Bonus ($400): Matt Sheppard
Design for Vision/Sunglass Central Winner™s Bonus (Oakley Sunglasses):  Matt Sheppard
Southern Super Modified Series Hard Charger ($200): Billy Pauch Jr. (22nd
to second)
Sunoco Race Fuels Bonuses ($50 each): Billy Pauch Jr. (second), Mike
Gular (12th) & Jordan Watson (22nd)
Wilwood Brakes Bonus ($75 Certificate): Stewart Friesen (seventh)

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