Last-Lap, Last-Corner Pass Nets Matt Sheppard Short Track Super Series Battle At The Beach Win

Story By: CHRIS MOORE / SHORT TRACK SUPER SERIES – GEORGETOWN, DE – One Super Lap.  On the final lap of the Millman’s NAPA ‘Blast at the Beach’ at Georgetown Speedway, Matt Sheppard stole the show – and the $6,000 top prize – driving around Billy Pauch Jr. and claiming his 47th career STSS triumph.

The milestone win makes Sheppard the all-time winningest driver in the history of the Bob Hilbert Sportswear Short Track Super Series (STSS) Fueled By Sunoco, one ahead of Stewart Friesen.

Pauch Jr. led the opening 33 laps of the race, before Sheppard found just enough momentum on the outside groove to sweep around the ‘Kid’s Kid’ and win the race by half-a-car-length.

“The bottom was absolutely where you needed to be,” Sheppard explained in Bicknell Racing Products Victory Lane. “Probably just not the one lap after a restart.

“We had the long yellow and everybody’s tires cooled down,” he continued. “It was the perfect storm for me to give it a shot on the outside and I had nothing to lose.”

The win was Sheppard’s sixth Ollie’s Overall Championship win of the season and his second on the NJ Quality Drywall South Region.

Following the Beyea Custom Headers Redraw, Covington Township, Pa.’s Alex Yankowski and Frenchtown, N.J.’s Pauch Jr. occupied the front row with Sheppard coming from the eighth starting spot.

Pauch Jr. quickly launched off the outside of the front row and grabbed the early advantage, leaving Yankowski to fend off Schnecksville, Pa.’s Tanner Van Doren for the runner-up spot.

Sheppard was marching his way forward rapidly. The Savannah, N.Y., driver was up to fifth when the field completed the fourth circuit and moved into fourth just two laps later.

Sheppard rode in the fourth position until the race’s first caution flag flew on lap 13, setting up a restart Sheppard would take advantage of.

‘Super Matt’ moved into second on the restart and began to chase Pauch Jr.

Sheppard began tracking down Pauch Jr. when Sheppard moved to the bottom in turns one and two, while Pauch Jr. stuck with the top lane.

At one point, Sheppard moved underneath Pauch Jr. down the back straightaway and the two made contact battling for the lead.

“I thought when I found the bottom of one and two before him, I thought it was going to be my only chance,” Sheppard explained. “We made pretty heavy contact on the backstretch, and it took everything I had to not wreck us both going into three.”

After the contact, Pauch Jr. switched to the bottom and appeared home free for the victory.

However, multiple yellow flags in the final laps gave Sheppard an opportunity to gameplan a maneuver good enough to take the lead away.

Sheppard did just that, moving to the outside groove and just enough to overtake Pauch Jr. on the final two laps for another instant classic victory.

Pauch Jr. settled for second.

“He just out snookered me there,” Pauch Jr. explained. “I thought we had the car to beat but you can look at the record books, he’s the best in the business.

“He beat me to the Royal Farms gas station, and he beat me on the track today,” he said with a laugh.

Yankowski rounded out the podium in the Millman’s NAPA Auto Parts No. 84y.

“We unloaded with good speed, we just didn’t have the fastest car tonight,” Yankowski stated. “Still really proud of our whole team and the effort we put in.”

Elizabethtown, N.Y.’s Mike Mahaney brought his George Huttig-owned No. 35 home fourth and Saint Catharines, Ontario, Canada’s Mat Williamson rounded out the top five in the Behrent’s Performance Warehouse No. 3.

Finishing sixth through 10th, respectively, were Sprakers, N.Y.’s Stewart Friesen, who charged forward late in Halmar No. 44; Milford, Del.’s Jordan Watson aboard his family-owned No. 1J; Pipersville, Pa.’s Danny Bouc aboard the Craig and Leslie Pondish No. 6; Roscoe, N.Y.’s Michael Trautschold in his self-owned No. 28 machine; and Neshanic Station, N.J.’s Ryan Krachun in the Danny Sommeling-owned No. 51.

Twenty-seven STSS big-block/small-block Modifieds signed in for competition in the 11th annual ‘Blast at the Beach.’

Heat winners were Williamson, Mahaney, and Bouc. The consolation was won by Ryan Watt.

The STSS now heads North to Utica-Rome Speedway this Sunday, September 1 for the ‘New Yorker.’ The STSS Modifieds go for 50 laps and a $10,000 top prize in Round No. 10 of the River Valley Builders North Region and Round No. 17 of the Ollie’s Overall Championship.

A Feature (35 Laps): 1. 9S-Matt Sheppard[8]; 2. 1P-Billy Pauch Jr[2]; 3. 84Y-Alex Yankowski[1]; 4. 35M-Mike Mahaney[3]; 5. 3W-Mat Williamson[9]; 6. 44-Stewart Friesen[12]; 7. 1J-Jordan Watson[5]; 8. 6B-Danny Bouc[7]; 9. 28T-Michael Trautschold[6]; 10. 51-Ryan Krachun[13]; 11. 31-Ryan Riddle[16]; 12. 14W-Ryan Watt[19]; 13. 32-Brandon Grosso[23]; 14. 11-Danny Hieber[21]; 15. 26-Ryan Godown[14]; 16. 24W-Sean Weiss[18]; 17. 74W-John Willman[10]; 18. 28-Tom Solderich[27]; 19. 27-Tanner Van Doren[4]; 20. 30W-HJ Bunting[20]; 21. 6S-Matt Stangle[11]; 22. 65-Austin Hubbard[15]; 23. 4P-Anthony Perrego[17]; 24. 7M-Paul Mancini[24]; 25. 8MOD-Norman Short Jr[26]; 26. 7-Rick Laubach[22]; 27. X1-Ken Eckert[25]

Consolation (8 Laps): 1. 14W-Ryan Watt[2]; 2. 30W-HJ Bunting[4]; 3. 11-Danny Hieber[3]; 4. 7-Rick Laubach[1]; 5. 32-Brandon Grosso[7]; 6. 7M-Paul Mancini[5]; 7. X1-Ken Eckert[8]; 8. 8MOD-Norman Short Jr[9]; 9. (DNF) 28-Tom Solderich[6]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 3W-Mat Williamson[2]; 2. 44-Stewart Friesen[4]; 3. 84Y-Alex Yankowski[3]; 4. 28T-Michael Trautschold[1]; 5. 51-Ryan Krachun[5]; 6. 31-Ryan Riddle[7]; 7. 7-Rick Laubach[8]; 8. 30W-HJ Bunting[6]; 9. 32-Brandon Grosso[9]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 35M-Mike Mahaney[1]; 2. 1J-Jordan Watson[2]; 3. 1P-Billy Pauch Jr[3]; 4. 6S-Matt Stangle[5]; 5. 26-Ryan Godown[6]; 6. 4P-Anthony Perrego[4]; 7. 14W-Ryan Watt[8]; 8. 7M-Paul Mancini[7]; 9. X1-Ken Eckert[9]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 6B-Danny Bouc[2]; 2. 9S-Matt Sheppard[4]; 3. 27-Tanner Van Doren[3]; 4. 74W-John Willman[1]; 5. 65-Austin Hubbard[5]; 6. 24W-Sean Weiss[8]; 7. 11-Danny Hieber[6]; 8. 28-Tom Solderich[7]; 9. 8MOD-Norman Short Jr[9]

Penske Racing Shocks Qualifying 1 (2 Laps): 1. 44-Stewart Friesen, 00:18.952[6]; 2. 84Y-Alex Yankowski, 00:18.968[1]; 3. 3W-Mat Williamson, 00:19.177[4]; 4. 28T-Michael Trautschold, 00:19.209[5]; 5. 51-Ryan Krachun, 00:19.257[8]; 6. 30W-HJ Bunting, 00:19.279[2]; 7. 31-Ryan Riddle, 00:19.343[9]; 8. 7-Rick Laubach, 00:19.433[7]; 9. 32-Brandon Grosso, 00:19.460[3]

Penske Racing Shocks Qualifying 2 (2 Laps): 1. 4P-Anthony Perrego, 00:18.833[4]; 2. 1P-Billy Pauch Jr, 00:19.095[5]; 3. 1J-Jordan Watson, 00:19.140[2]; 4. 35M-Mike Mahaney, 00:19.170[9]; 5. 6S-Matt Stangle, 00:19.356[6]; 6. 26-Ryan Godown, 00:19.495[8]; 7. 7M-Paul Mancini, 00:19.595[7]; 8. 14W-Ryan Watt, 00:19.635[1]; 9. X1-Ken Eckert, 00:20.349[3]

Penske Racing Shocks Qualifying 3 (2 Laps): 1. 9S-Matt Sheppard, 00:19.156[6]; 2. 27-Tanner Van Doren, 00:19.172[8]; 3. 6B-Danny Bouc, 00:19.256[7]; 4. 74W-John Willman, 00:19.495[3]; 5. 65-Austin Hubbard, 00:19.580[5]; 6. 11-Danny Hieber, 00:19.655[4]; 7. 28-Tom Solderich, 00:20.243[2]; 8. 24W-Sean Weiss, 00:20.381[1]; 9. 8MOD-Norman Short Jr, 00:20.719[9]