Column: Sheppard Leads Super DIRTcar Series By 32 Over Williamson Entering Summer Nationals At Ransomville

Column By: MIKE WARREN / SUPER DIRTCAR SERIES – RANSOMVILLE, NY – Fresh off the third annual SummerFAST, the Super DIRTcar Series is ready for its lone stop in the Niagara Frontier.

The Series visits Ransomville Speedway on Tuesday, Aug. 20, for the Ron Martin Summer Nationals—a 75-lap Feature paying $7,500-to-win.

Also on Tuesday’s card is the DIRTcar Sportsman Championship Series for the second consecutive event.

If rain impacts the event, it’ll be run on Wednesday, Aug. 21.

Here’s a look at What to Watch for at Ransomville:

Super Consistency: As the Series prepares for Ransomville, Matt Sheppard continues to extend his points lead with consistent runs.

Despite only one points-paying win, Sheppard has only finished outside the top five in two of the 11 championship season events this season. That includes a streak of four straight top fives entering the Summer Nationals.

The Waterloo, NY driver has two Series wins at Ransomville, his last coming in 2021. He also finished second in last year’s event after leading 36 laps.

He enters Tuesday 32 points ahead of Mat Williamson after a fifth at Land of Legends Raceway and fourth at Fulton Speedway during SummerFAST.

Here Comes the Payne: While Sheppard’s consistency has gone unmatched in 2024, Rookie of the Year leader Alex Payne has developed a consistent streak of his own.

Payne also has four straight top-five finishes dating back to the beginning of the Canadian swing at Autodrome Drummond.

Those finishes vaulted the Hopewell, NY driver to six in the points standings, 42 points behind Anthony Perrego.

To keep that consistent streak alive, Payne must improve on his recent Series finishes at the Western, NY track. He finished 26th in 2022 and 23rd last season.

Williamson’s Home Game: After finishing outside the top 10 at Fulton during SummerFAST, Williamson has the chance to defend home turf Tuesday at Ransomville.

The St. Catharines, ON driver is the current points leader at the track with four wins in DIRTcar 358 Modified competition this season. He also won a BRP Big Block Modified tour race there earlier this year.

“Money Mat” won the Summer Nationals in 2022 and finished on the podium last year.

A win at Ransomville on Tuesday would be his 28th Series win, tying him with Northeast Dirt Modified Hall of Famer Jimmy Horton for 10th on the all-time wins list.

The Battle for Fourth: Entering Tuesday’s Summer Nationals and Ransomville, Tim Sears Jr. and Anthony Perrego are separated by five points in the Series points standings.

Both drivers are aiming to bounce back after SummerFAST. Sears finished 15th at Land of Legends and 25th at Fulton after his steering broke while leading the race. Perrego, meanwhile, finished 21st at Fulton after an eighth at Land of Legends.

In three starts at Ransomville, “Timmer” has bettered his finish each time. He finished 20th in 2021, 15th in 2022, and fifth last season.

Perrego has made one Series start at Ransomville, finishing 11th in 2022.

Best of the West: The stars of the Super DIRTcar Series will compete against a stout field of drivers from Western, NY, and Canada in Tuesday’s Summer Nationals.

That starts with Erick Rudolph, the defending winner of the event. The Ransomville, NY driver passed Sheppard at the halfway point of last year’s race to secure his first Series win at the track and 10th of his career.

Joining Rudolph are Ransomville Speedway standouts Chad Brachmann and Gary Lindberg.

Brachmann has DIRTcar Sportsman Series and DIRTcar 358 Modified wins at the track. However, he aims to improve his best Super DIRTcar Series finish – a fourth in 2016.

Meanwhile, Lindberg joins Williamson as a four-time winner at Ransomville this season and is 10 points behind the 2019 Super DIRTcar Series champion in the track’s point standings. In two Series starts, the Ridgeway, ON driver has a fourth and a seventh.