Column By: BOBBY CHALMERS / RPW – OSWEGO, NY – Sunday evening at Oswego Speedway was a tale of two 9’s to see who was going to take home the 50th Super DIRT Week Big Block Modified race victory.
Would it be Matt Sheppard or Marc Johnson?
Both drivers had extremely stout race cars for the event, and showed it. The majority of the race had these two waging war for position, and usually that position was the top spot.
Each driver took a turn out front and a majority of the 200 laps were led by either Sheppard or Johnson with the fans getting their money’s worth as the battles, high and low, between them, were great to watch.
In the end, it was Matt Sheppard who came away with his third career win in the Billy Whittaker Cars 200.
The emotion in the Savannah, NY driver afterwards was something you don’t normally see, but with good reason. Matt Sheppard appears as if he can do no wrong this season.
“What a wild race,” Sheppard said. “It went through a lot of swings and a lot of changes with the track. It started out and this place locked down with rubber and one lane. Around the bottom was tore apart real bad.”
Did Sheppard’s strategy early on start to take shape?
“We thought track position was going to be key,” he said. “We tried to pit early and then it was like 2017 all over again.”
What did he mean by that?
“The rubber kind of disappeared and the track got slippery again,” he said. “Fresh tires were definitely important. We did that and drove up through the field a little bit.”
For the Sheppard crew, Sunday’s race played out differently than the 358-Modified Championship, which the 9s also won, just 24 hours later.
“This was kind of opposite of yesterday (Saturday),” he said. “We were really too tight, couldn’t steer, couldn’t steer, couldn’t steer. We didn’t think we had the car to win it.”
Then came the equalizer, for many teams, the lap 100 competition caution.
“On lap 100, we pitted again and put some fresh tires on, again,” he said. “We also made a couple of small adjustments and we still weren’t steering good but we were steering just good enough. Kind of like Saturday, we were steering just good enough to get the job done.”
In battling with Johnson, did Sheppard have a plan to race with and ultimately pass the S&S Asphalt Paving ride?
“I think clearing Marc on the outside was key,” he said. “I tried a few times and couldn’t quite do it. I was kind of riding up the wall, doing everything I could and clearing him, getting in open race track, I believe, was key for the end of the race.”
Over the last quarter of the event, the sky began to lightly mist from time to time. Did that play into Sheppard’s thoughts as the laps clicked off?
“The weather was definitely iffy and a little bit of a concern,” he said. “I could see the rain on my visor pretty good.”
Ironically, the car that Sheppard took to victory has had an amazing run since its maiden voyage. While we’re not sure how many exactly, according to him, this Bicknell has only lost once since he’s used it.
“This car’s been unreal,” he said. “I unloaded the night of the Richie Evans race at Utica-Rome where I started 22nd and won. The only race it’s lost, so far, was the Elite race there where I drew 10, I think it went caution free and we got to second.”
Is 2022 a dream season for Matt and company?
“Oh, absolutely,” he said. “We’re two wins behind 2017 but the quality of wins we’ve had this year is just unreal. I don’t even know when the last time we lost a race was, to tell you the truth. I think it was sometime before Fonda, I guess (he ultimately remembered it being an 11th to second run at Weedsport).”
The smile on Matt’s face showed how happy he is right now, especially with how everything’s gone this year.
“It’s been unreal, it really has,” he said. “A bunch of different race cars with a bunch of different engines. It really doesn’t seem to matter right now. We’re just on a roll.”
On the flip side of the coin was Marc Johnson who looked as if he and his Kevin Starchak-owned #9s team had one of, if not the, cars to beat in Sunday’s 200 lapper.
Marc could run anywhere on the track, high or low, and it showed as there were times he went to the top and would pick off two and sometimes three cars a lap.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to complete the deal in the 200 but race fans and drivers alike knew Johnson was in the hunt and a contender right to the end.
“We had good speed today,” Johnson said. “The tires just gave up a little early at the end of the race and we faded to fifth. However, it was still a good run for this 9s team.”
As Sheppard alluded to, the first part of the race was locked down where the bottom was the preferred line. As things started to change, Johnson was the first to venture to the top and made passes with wild abandon.
What made him move up?
“Someone had to do it,” he said. “They were all lined up on the low side and we had fresh tires. That usually works out for the better here and tonight it stuck and we went with it.”
The best battle on the night for everyone watching was the back-and-fourth between the two 9’s.
“It was a hell of a race with Sheppard through traffic,” he said. “That was fun to get a chance to race with him like that. He’s one of the best right now.”
Track conditions were a complete 180-degree swing from where they were last year. In 2021, Johnson pulled off before a single lap was complete so he didn’t destroy the car. This year, on the other hand, Marc was in contention to win.
“The track was really good today,” he said. “I was worried after the first yellow. I saw all the loose dirt coming up off of turn four. They went out and swept it which was probably a good move and it ended up being a good race overall. This was a good track for everybody to race on.”
“I really have to thank all of my guys for our success,” Johnson said. “It was a hell of a run today and they gave me two good cars for the week.
