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Down To The Wire: Sheppard Edges Friesen At Chatham For $20,000 Payday

Written
by Cody Manmiller

CHATHAM,
LA -
Matt Sheppard slid up in front of Stewart Friesen on the final turn to clinch a
three-race sweep and a $20,000 payday on the final night of the Bob Hilbert
Sportswear Short Track Super Series (STSS) Fueled By Sunoco™s historic Cajun Swing™
at Chatham Speedway on Saturday.

After
losing the lead to Friesen, Sheppard, who totaled $29,000 in total purse money
this week, regained control of the race, but on the final lap, Friesen rode the
outside lane to reach Sheppard™s right-rear tire coming to the checkered flag.

œThis
feels really good,? Sheppard said. œStewy scared the crap out of me on the
final lap, but when you™re racing against him, you have to be up on the wheel
at all times.?

On
Friday night, Friesen won his heat race but redrew ninth of nine. On Saturday,
though, he quickly advanced to the front before eventually taking the lead.

œI™m
really proud of our guys that we held pace with Matt (Sheppard) tonight,? said
Friesen. œIt™s been a really fun couple days down here and I™m happy to have
met a lot of awesome people.?

From
his outside pole starting spot, Sheppard led the opening lap ahead of Jeff
Strunk, Mike Gular, Tyler Siri and Friesen. Teammates Strunk and Gular battled
side-by-side by for numerous laps before Gular eventually took control of the
position.

On
lap 14, Friesen side-stepped Strunk for third and set his sights on Gular. On
lap 27, the Halmar International-sponsored No. 44 took the runner-up position.

Meanwhile,
Jack Lehner, who suffered a first-lap incident, rebounded from the back of the
pack to join the top five by the midway point of the race.

In
heavy lapped traffic, Gular retook second from Friesen just before a caution
flag flew on lap 35 for Caleb Dillard, the first yellow since cautions on the
first lap. With 40 to go, Sheppard led Gular, Friesen, Strunk, Lehner, Jeff
Heotzler and Siri, but Gular was forced to the pits, surrendering his runner-up
spot.

When
the green flew once more, Friesen used the outside lane to scoot around
Sheppard on lap 36. After a few consecutive cautions, Friesen continued to lead
the field on lap 39.

Battling
heavy slower traffic, Sheppard snatched the lead from Friesen once more on lap
46 with Lehner advancing to third. With the battle for the lead heating up,
Siri, Strunk and Gular waged war for the back end of the top five.

Sheppard
maneuvered the slower cars pretty efficiently, but despite that, Friesen stayed
right on his tail. When œSuper Matt? took the white flag, Friesen made his
move.

When
the leaders stormed down the backstretch for the final time, Sheppard elected
for the middle while Friesen put it all on the table on the extreme outside.
Coming off of turn four, the two made contact as Sheppard slid up and Friesen™s
left front made contact with Sheppard™s right rear.

œThis
really has been quite a week,? Sheppard mentioned in Victory Lane. œMy first
win of the year was at Chatham and to end the year with four straight wins ¦ I
can™t think of a higher note.?

Lehner
locked down the final spot on the podium, finishing in third.

œI
had a good enough car to make a comeback,? Lehner said on the homestretch. œI
could™ve taken a yellow at the end to bunch everyone back up, but I™m happy
with how consistent we™ve been and I™d love to come back down here and race
some more.?

Strunk
finished fourth, his third top-five in three races in Louisiana, edging out
Siri in fifth. Rounding out the top ten were: Gular, Shane Hebert, Dillard,
Greg Dillard and Jimmy McCommas, who advanced from the 22nd-starting
spot.

A
complete program of Chatham weekly divisions filled out the Saturday program.

Next
up for the Short Track Super Series is the Gobbler™ at Del.™s Georgetown
Speedway with the L&J Sheet Metal Modifieds (up to $6,000 to win), Chesapeake
Paving/J.W. Brown Trucking Crate 602 Sportsman (up to $2,000 to win), RUSH Late
Models (up to $2,000 to win), Little Lincolns, Delaware Super Trucks and
Delmarva Chargers.

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.

CHATHAM
SPEEDWAY MODS IN THE MARSH 75™ RACE SUMMARY CHATHAM SPEEDWAY NOVEMBER 14,
2020

Bob Hilbert Sportswear Short Track Super Series Fueled By Sunoco Modified Cajun Swing Event No. 3 Feature Finish (50 laps): MATT SHEPPARD, Stewart Friesen, Jack Lehner, Jeff Strunk, Tyler Siri, Mike Gular, Shane Hebert, Caleb Dillard, Greg Dillard, Jimmy McCommas, Korey Keimig, Tommy Hall, James Griffin, Tommy Rascoe, Joe Boswell, Marsh Landers, Jeff Heotzler, Derrick McGrew Jr., Brother Fowlkes, David Forbis, Brent Buckley, Eric Williams, John Willman, Shawn Ward.

Afton
Motorsports Park Top Louisiana/Texas Driver ($50): Shane Hebert
(seventh)
American Racer/Lias Tire Bonuses (FREE Tire Certificate): Caleb Dillard (eighth)
& Korey Keimig (11th)
Behrent™s Performance Warehouse Bonuses ($50 Gift Cards): Jeff Strunk
(fourth), Greg Dillard (ninth) & Shane Hebert (Top Louisiana/Texas Driver)
Beyea Custom Headers Redraw Bonus ($50): Stewart Friesen (redrew ninth)
Downstate Dirt & Deals Hard Charger ($50): Greg Dillard(21st
to ninth)
EIBACH Springs Bonus ($100 Certificate): Mike Gular (sixth)
TKS Painting Services Redraw Cash: Eric Williams ($50 Pole) & Matt
Sheppard ($25 Outside Pole)
Wilwood Brakes Bonus ($75 Certificate): Shane Hebert (seventh)

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