RPW Exclusive: Super DIRTcar Series Power Rankings Heading into Super DIRT Week at Oswego

Column By: STEPHEN DURHAM / RPW – OSWEGO, NY  – We are now into October, and the Super DIRTcar Series big block modifieds head to the “Clay Palace”, Oswego Speedway for the Billy Whittaker Cars 200. Including this weekend, there is 7 nights of racing left for the Super DIRTcar Series, with still a tight championship battle heading into Super DIRT Week. 

For the month of September, there was three different winners, Kolby Schroder grabbed Mr. DIRT Track USA at Lebanon Valley Speedway, Yankowski would get the win at Can-Am, and “Superman” Matt Sheppard would take home the win at Albany-Saratoga Speedway. Mat Williamson leads the championship standings by 71 points over Alex Yankowski. Yankowski has recently teamed up with Halmar Friesen Racing, will that give an added boost to Yankowski in the final weeks of the season? Does Matt Sheppard rebound in the closing weeks to get an 11th Super DIRTcar Series championship? Can Williamson go back-to-back in 2025, and defend his championship? The top 5 in the championship standings are separated by 202 points, so much can change between now and early November. This is how the Race Pro Weekly Super DIRTcar Series Power Rankings heading into Super DIRT Week.

1. Mat Williamson (Previous: 1): It was a solid set of races for Matt Williamson, picking up two top 5s and three top 10 finishes. His most difficult challenge came at Mr. DIRT Track USA at Lebanon Valley Speedway, where he started 20th, and fought his way to a 4th place finish. Williamson heads into Super DIRT Week with a 71 point lead over Yankowski. Williamson is a 3 time winner of the Billy Whittaker Cars 200. Williamson finished 3rd last October at Oswego Speedway. With Brockville Ontario coming up as well, Williamson finished runner-up earlier this year there. 
2. Alex Yankowski (Previous: 4): For Yankowski, he finally got back into the groove of things and looked like “The Kid Rocket” from earlier this year. After mechanical issues at Lebanon Valley and having to come through a Last Chance Showdown, Yankowski would fight his way to a 5th place finish at Lebanon. Yankowski would follow that up with a win at Can-Am Speedway. And then a top 5 finish at Albany Saratoga Speedway. Yankowski trails Williamson in the championship standings, but still has time to chip away at the lead. Yankowski has teamed up with Halmar Friesen Racing to finish out the season. Yankowski finished 7th at Oswego a year ago, and had a top 5 finish at Brockville earlier this year.

   

3. Matt Sheppard (Previous: 2): Sheppard continues to try and reel in Yankowski and Williamson in the championship standings. He had a heat race win in each of the races at Lebanon, Can-Am, and Albany-Saratoga. He picked up a 3rd place finish at Lebanon, but followed up with a DNF at Can-Am. Sheppard would rebound from that DNF with a win at Albany-Saratoga Speedway. Sheppard now trails Yankowski by 70 points, and 141 points back from Mat Williamson. Sheppard will look to get back to win at Oswego, last winning the Billy Whittaker Cars 200 in 2022, his 2nd time winning at Oswego Speedway with the big block modifieds. Sheppard finished 9th a year ago in the race. 

4. 

   Erick Rudolph (Previous: 3): It was a steady set of races for Rudolph, coming away with one top 5 at Albany-Saratoga Speedway. Rudolph finished 15th at Lebanon, and 13th at Can-Am. Rudolph heads into Super DIRT Week sitting 5th in the championship standings, 26 points back from Payne in 4th. Rudolph picked up his best finish at Oswego a year ago, with a top 10 finish in 10th place. Rudolph also had a top 10 finish at Brockville in July.

5. Mike Mahaney (Previous: 5): Mahaney came away with a top 5 and two top 10 finishes, with his best run coming at Can-Am finishing in 5th. At Lebanon Valley, Mahaney came home 20th, a track usually challenging for the series regulars. Mahaney heads into Super DIRT Week trailing Rudolph by 44 points. Mahaney has been gaining at Oswego over the last two years, picking up a 3rd place finish in 2023, followed up with an 8th place finish last October. Mahaney also finished 6th at Brockville earlier this summer. 
6. Peter Britten (Previous: 7): Britten had a strong round of races over the least month and half. Britten struggled slightly returning to Lebanon, coming home 18th, but would rebound with a pair of 6th place finishes at Can-Am and Albany-Saratoga Speedways. Britten currently trails by 118 points out of 5th place in the championship standings. Britten has shown speed over the years at Oswego Speedway, his best finish being 2nd back in 2017, behind Sheppard. A year ago, Britten came home 17th at the end of the day, and will look to rebound this year. Britten finished 9th in July at Brockville. 
7. Alex Payne (Previous: 8): Payne continues to gain momentum with the Super DIRTcar Series, grabbing a top 10 finish at Lebanon Valley, followed up with a 2nd place finish at Can-Am. Payne won his heat race at Malta, but would struggle in the main event, coming home 24th. Payne currently sits 4th in the championship standings, 35 points behind Sheppard. Payne struggled a year ago at Oswego, going home with a DNF and a 40th place finish. Payne will be looking forward to the series return to Brockville, as he picked up the win back in July. 
8. Jimmy. Phelps (Previous: 6):  It was a solid few races for the “Baldwinsville Bandit” Jimmy Phelps, grabbing a 2nd place finish at Albany-Saratoga Speedway, and a pair of heat race wins. Phelps on the season has 3 top 5s and 9 top 10s, leading him to be 9th in the championship standings. Phelps is 19 points back from Perrego, while only 1 points ahead of Sears in 10th. Jimmy Phelps will look to do one spot better from a year ago, coming home 2nd behind Stewart Friesen. In the 8 years of Super DIRT Week at Oswego, Phelps has 4 top 5s and 6 top 10 finishes, with last year being his best finish. 
9. Anthony Perrego(Previous: 10): Perrego began to pick up momentum after struggling at Lebanon Valley to kick off September. Perrego would rebound at Can-Am with a 15th place finish, followed up with a 3rd place finish at Albany-Saratoga Speedway. Perrego is currently 8th in the championship standings, 30 points behind Britten. Perrego’s best finish at Oswego was an 11th place finish back in 2023. 
10. Tim Sears Jr (Previous: 9): It was a battle for Sears Jr, especially at Can-Am Speedway, as his night ended early, not starting the feature event. Sears picked up a 7th place finish at Lebanon, and won his heat race at Malta, and came home 11th place. Sears  currently sits 10th in the championship standings, with 43 points separating the drivers from 8th place to 12th place in the championship standings. Sears Jr picked up his best Oswego finish in 2023, coming home in 6th. 

On The Radar:

Darren Smith: It was a steady and consistent month of September for Darren Smith, coming away with a top 10 run at Lebanon Valley, finishing 9th, followed up by top 15 finishes at Can-Am and Malta. Smith was out front at Lebanon Valley after drawing the pole for Mr. DIRT Track USA, and showed speed early on. Smith on the season has 1 top 5, and 2 top 10 finishes. Smith picked up his best finish in the Billy Whittaker Cars 200 last October, coming home in 6th. 

Felix Roy: Similar to Smith, Roy had a steady month of September, picking up a top 10 finish at Can-Am Speedway. Roy is 11th in the championship standings and is among the drivers between 8th and 12th place separated by 43 points. Roy will look to continue to build his notes as Oswego, where he finished 20th last October after starting 5th.

The Super Dirt Series big block modifieds will set the top 6 starting positions with qualifying at 3:15PM, followed by 25 lap qualifying races later Thursday evening, with racing getting underway at 7PM. Then Last Chance Showdowns will happen Saturday afternoon at 2:30PM. The Billy Whittaker Cars 200 will then take place Saturday evening at 7:00PM. All the racing action as Oswego Speedway can be watched live on DIRTvision. The Super DIRTcar Series then heads to Brockville Ontario next Friday, October 17th for Fall Nationals.