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Matt Sheppard Goes Back-to-Back At Ark-La-Tex, Earns $5,000 Thursday Victory

Written
by Cody Manmiller

VIVIAN,
LA -
Matt Sheppard sports a New York address, but he feels right at home in
Louisiana after capping a two-race sweep of Ark-La-Tex Speedway, capturing the non-stop
50-lap feature event worth $5,000 on Thursday night.

œI
might have to move down here,? Sheppard joked in Victory Lane. œThis state has
been really good to me, I really enjoy the tracks; they™re so fun and so racy.?

The
victory was Sheppard™s 14th in his career and third straight in Bob
Hilbert Sportswear Short Track Super Series (STSS) Fueled By Sunoco races. The
Savannah, N.Y. driver has banked $9,000 in two nights during the historic Cajun
Swing™ with still $20,000 up for grabs on Saturday night (Nov. 14) at Chatham
Speedway.

Teammates
Jeff Strunk and Mike Gular led the field to the opening green after drawing the
front-row starting positions. Gular led the first lap before Strunk snatched it
away on the bottom as they completed lap two. Through the first five laps, the
top four of Strunk, Gular, Sheppard and Stewart Friesen separated from the
field as Jack Lehner darted into fifth from his eighth-place starting spot.

The
leaders hit lapped traffic on just the seventh circuit, the same lap Sheppard
inched under Gular for the runner-up spot. Behind them, Lehner snuck beneath
Friesen for fourth.

On
lap 13, Sheppard made his move.

œI
was trying to be patient and just follow Jeff,? Sheppard said. œI figured I™d
give the top a shot and got a really good run in turn one and two.?

On
Wednesday, Sheppard ran the cushion for the entirety of the main event, and
then used it to launch around Strunk for the race lead in Thursday™s night
feature. Once he took control, œSuper Matt? dropped back to the bottom and
drove away, lapping all the way up to fifth.

There
was still plenty of battling going on throughout the field, though, as Friesen
came alive during the second half of the 50-lap feature. On lap 32, Friesen
moved back to the top to race around Gular for fourth and then took the final
podium spot from Lehner with just 13 tallies remaining.

Despite
battling through a mess of lapped cars, Friesen closed in on Strunk and snagged
the runner-up spot on the final circuit.

œThat
was a lot of fun,? Friesen noted afterward. œThere was a lot of traffic, but it
was a lot fun.  I wish we could have
gotten a win win, but we™ll take a second and get rolling to Chatham.

œIt
really is a pleasure to be racing down here.?

Strunk,
after leading the initial 13 laps, settled for third aboard the Terry
Fasnacht-owned No. 2x.

œIt™s
not fun to lead a race and lose, but it™s a consistent finish and we™ll work on
it to get better for the next two nights (at Chatham),? Strunk said on the
front stretch.

Lehner
and Gular, the final two cars on the lead lap, recorded their second top-five
result in as many races with fourth- and fifth-place finishes, respectively.

Rounding
out the top 10 were John Willman in his spec small-block; New York State youngster
Derrick McGrew Jr.; veteran Jeff Heotzler; Eric Williams, up from 18th
starting position; and the top-running Louisiana driver Shane Hebert.

Heat
winners were Sheppard, Friesen and Willman.

Jamie
Burford picked up the 20-lap Crate Late Model main event, with Chase Hatton
taking the 20-lap Pro Modified headliner and Michael Newman the Four Cylinder
15-lap victor.

The
œCajun Swing? continues on Friday and Saturday night, culminating in a
$20,000-to-win Mods in the Marsh 75™ feature event at Chatham. STSS Modifieds
will run Qualifying Events on Friday in addition to all of the track™s weekly
divisions.

All events are broadcast LIVE on Dirt Track Digest
TV (www.dirttrackdigest.tv).

Ark-La-Tex Speedway is located at 13035 Boyter Lane
Vivian, LA 71082. To learn more, contact the speedway office at 318.375.3470 or
visit the website at www.arklatexspeedway.net.

Chatham Speedway is located at 14325 Highway 4
Chatham, LA 71226. The speedway website is www.chathamspeedway.com and promoter
Jerry Hobson can be reached by phone at 318.381.7972.

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.

CAJUN SWING™ RACE SUMMARY ARK-LA-TEX SPEEDWAY NOVEMBER 12, 2020 Bob Hilbert Sportswear Short Track Super Series Fueled By Sunoco Modified Cajun Swing Event No. 2 Feature Finish (50 laps): MATT SHEPPARD, Stewart Friesen, Jeff Strunk, Jack Lehner, Mike Gular, John Willman, Derrick McGrew Jr., Jeff Heotzler, Eric Williams, Shane Hebert, Dave Rauscher, Caleb Dillard, Jimmy McCommas, James Griffin, Korey Keimig, Tommy Hall, Tommy Rascoe, Joe Boswell, Corey Oltz, Glenn Stone, David Forbis, Greg Dillard. American Racer/Lias Tire Bonuses (FREE Tire Certificate): Derrick McGrew Jr. (seventh) & Jimmy McCommas (13th) Behrent™s Performance Warehouse Bonuses ($50 Gift Cards): Jack Lehner (fourth), Eric Williams (ninth) & Shane Hebert (Top Louisiana/Texas Driver) Beyea Custom Headers Redraw Bonus ($50): Shane Hebert (redrew ninth) Downstate Dirt & Deals Hard Charger ($50): Eric Williams (18th to ninth) EIBACH Springs Bonus ($100 Certificate): John Willman (sixth) TKS Painting Services Redraw Cash: Jeff Strunk ($50 pole) & Mike Gular ($25 outside pole) Wilwood Brakes Bonus ($75 Certificate): Derrick McGrew Jr.(seventh) Crate Late Model Feature Finish (20 laps): JAMIE BURFORD, Chase Deliro, Jon Mitchell, Rick Duke, Chad Dupont, D Grieder, Dustin Woods, Garrett Lindsey, Kelly Locky, Clayton Stuckey, Anthony Boutman, Garrett Gibson, Doug Ingalls, Steve Turnage, Jacob Banaka, Rickey McNeely, Josh Daughtry, Tim Eavts, Austin Dupont. Pro Modified Feature Finish (20 laps): CHASE HATTON, Doug Vick Jr., Trent Humphrey, Josh Landers, B.J. Cook, Kevin Peters, Robert Declude, Taylor Monroe, Hayden Brown, Richard Holt, David Hatton, Ryan Humphrey, Justin Ingalls, Jason Beasley. Four Cylinder Feature Finish (15 laps): MICHAEL NEWMAN, Cole Ogden, Justin Converse, Bobby Kephart, Kevin Peace, Johnny Steward, Ron Willardson, Morgan Powell, Haydon Ball, Kandyce Roberts, Jay Chrene, Frank Blankey.

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