Diverse Roster Set For Super DIRTcar Title Chase

WEEDSPORT, N.Y. – The Super DIRTcar Series championship season kicks off March 30 at New Egypt Speedway, with 19 drivers eyeing the premier title in big-block modified racing.

A thrilling season will see drivers and teams travel across the Northeast and Canada, with a roster filled with former champions, veterans, and five rookie-of-the-year contenders.

A look at the current roster follows below.

Matt Sheppard (Waterloo, N.Y.)

The defending Super DIRTcar Series champion continues to add to his racing legacy after winning his 10th championship a season ago. Sheppard scored five wins last year, including two of the final three features of the season at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.

The new year could be a year of milestones for Sheppard, who enters the season with 96 Super DIRTcar Series wins. If he wins four races, he’ll become the second driver in history to win 100 features, joining Brett Hearn.

Sheppard comes into the championship season with good momentum, having won six of the nine modified races contested so far this year – including two during the Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park.

Mat Williamson (St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada)

While he didn’t capture the championship last year, Williamson still had a season to remember. The 2019 titlist won seven times, including his third Billy Whittaker Cars 200 during Super DIRT Week at Oswego (N.Y.) Speedway.

Williamson hopes to repeat last year’s start with the Super DIRTcar Series that saw him win the first two races of the points season. He already has a victory this year, winning at Volusia en route to his second consecutive Big Gator trophy.

Jimmy Phelps (Baldwinsville, N.Y.)

Super DIRTcar Series veteran Phelps is entering his 19th season on tour and is searching for his first championship. Despite being winless last season, Phelps earned five top fives and 11 top 10s, good enough to rank third in the final standings.

When he’s not driving his familiar No. 98H car, the Baldwinsville Bandit will once again be the promoter of Weedsport Speedway, where the Super DIRTcar Series makes three stops this year.

Anthony Perrego (Montgomery, N.Y.)

Perrego enters the season with a lot of momentum after three top fives at Volusia during the Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals. He hopes to bounce back after engine issues plagued the Vinny Salerno-owned team last season.

Despite the engine woes, Perrego scored his third career Super DIRTcar Series win at Big Diamond Speedway.

Peter Britten (Brisbane, Queensland, Australia)

After a finger injury midway through last season cost him a chance at his best points finish, Britten is back to make a run at the title. Nicknamed “Batman,” Britten earned seven top fives and eight top 10s in 16 starts and is searching for his first series win since the 2022 Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals.

Tim Sears Jr. (Hastings, N.Y.)

Sears earned his best Super DIRTcar Series points finish last year, grabbing the fifth spot at season’s end. The defending Brewerton Speedway and Fulton Speedway track champion had 13 top 10s in 20 races and aims to dethrone Sheppard when the season concludes at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.

Mike Mahaney (Elizabethtown, N.Y.)

Mahaney returned to the Super DIRTcar Series last season, finishing fourth in the final standings. He scored his third-career win on night two of Autodrome Drummond’s King of the North and capped off the season with a podium finish in the Billy Whittaker Cars 200 at Super DIRT Week.

Larry Wight (Phoenix, N.Y.)

Wight is already showing signs of resurgence in 2024 after a successful trip to Florida, where he finished in the top 10 in six of his seven starts. The only time he didn’t finish in the top 10 was when an accident took him out of the race while he was leading with seven laps to go.

“Lightning Larry” hopes his consistency continues as he searches for his first series win since September of 2022.

Jack Lehner (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.)

Lehner is back for his fifth Super DIRTcar Series season. He’s coming off his best points finish a year ago, where he finished seventh on the strength of two top fives and eight top 10s.

The “Ginja Ninja” is still searching for his first Super DIRTcar Series win.

Darren Smith (Binghamton, N.Y.)

Defending Thunder Mountain Speedway track champion Smith is back for his third Super DIRTcar Series season. Smith got off to a fast start last year, finishing fifth at last year’s season opener at Bridgeport — his best series finish.

Smith is once again teamed up with Billy Decker’s longtime crew chief, Scott Jeffery. The duo will be on the hunt for their first Super DIRTcar Series victory together.

Adam Pierson (East Corinth, Vt.)

Pierson is one of three drivers representing the Green Mountain State this year. Like Lehner, this season will be his third year on tour as he searches for his first career win. Pierson has knocked on the door to victory lane, finishing second at Land of Legends Raceway in 2022.

Felix Roy (Napierville, Quebec, Canada) 

Roy returns to the Super DIRTcar Series this year after winning rookie-of-the-year honors a season ago. The Canadian earned a top five and five top 10s in his rookie season – his best finish of second coming at Albany-Saratoga Speedway during Malta Massive Weekend.

C.G. Morey (Rutland, Vt.) 

Morey is ready to roll in his third year with the Super DIRTcar Series. He has improved his final points position in his first two seasons, finishing 15th last year, and aims to move up again in his No. 14 car.

Marcus Dinkins (Watkins Glen, N.Y.)

Dinkins enters his fifth year with the Super DIRTcar Series, driving his family-owned No. 17. A weekly racer at Land of Legends Raceway, Dinkins has made 50 series starts in his career and hopes to use his experience to rise up the standings this season.

Justin Stone (Middlebury, Vt.) [R]

Stone is the third driver representing Vermont on the Super DIRTcar Series. After making five starts last season, including at Super DIRT Week, Stone joins the tour full-time to battle for rookie-of-the-year honors. The third-generation driver earned his best finish earlier this year at DIRTcar Nationals, ending up eighth in the event’s finale.

Alex Payne (Hopewell, N.Y.) [R]

After scoring his first DIRTcar Big Block Modified win last season at Land of Legends Raceway, Payne is ready for his first season with the Super DIRTcar Series. Payne has already found success in 2024, driving from 17th to fourth on the final night of the DIRTcar Nationals.

In his Super DIRTcar Series career, Payne has earned two top fives and five top 10s.

Matt Caprara (Clayton, N.Y.) [R] 

Caprara joins the Super DIRTcar Series as a rookie-of-the-year contender in his second full season behind the wheel of a big-block modified. Caprara had a top five and eight top 10s between Brewerton and Land of Legends last year, and also scored a DIRTcar 358 Modified win at Can-Am Speedway last May.

Mike Trautschold (Roscoe, N.Y.) [R] 

After racing around the Northeast for years, Trautschold will battle for rookie-of-the-year honors with the Super DIRTcar Series this season. He’s made three series starts entering the year and hopes to hit the ground running in his No. 28 car.

Daniel Johnson (Middlesex, N.Y.) 

The son of Hall of Famer Danny Johnson, Daniel Johnson Jr. will join the Super DIRTcar Series this year, following in his dad’s footsteps. Johnson is the fifth Rookie of the Year contender on the Series, making the jump after racing weekly at Land of Legends Raceway the past few seasons.

The younger Johnson will be behind the wheel of Doug Dulen’s No. 27J machine.

Season Opener

The Super DIRTcar Series title hunt begins on Saturday, March 30, at New Jersey’s New Egypt Speedway with the Power in the Pines event — marking the first stop at the Garden State venue since 2014.

Every lap of the Super DIRTcar Series season can be streamed live through DIRTvision.