WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Super DIRTcar Series Roars Into Memorial Day Weekend With Stops at Weedsport, Thunder Mountain

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Anthony Perrego and Peter Britten enter the Weekend tied for the points lead

By Mike Warren

A Memorial Day weekend doubleheader awaits the Super DIRTcar Series as it makes its first two New York stops of 2024.

The two-night swing kicks off on Sunday, May 26, with the Heroes Remembered 100 at Weedsport Speedway in Weedsport, NY. Drivers will battle in a 100-lap Feature paying $7,500-to-win. For tickets, CLICK HERE.

The DIRTcar Sportsman and CRSA Sprint Car Series will join the Series on Sunday.

Then, on Monday, May 27, the Series debuts at Thunder Mountain Speedway in Center Lisle, NY, for Thunder on the Mountain. The 75-lap Feature will also pay $7,500-to-win, as drivers aim to become the first Super DIRTcar Series winner in track history.

The first 100 fans through the grandstand gates will receive a commemorative poster.

DIRTcar Sportsman will join the Big Block Modifieds again on Monday, along with 600cc Modifieds.

If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all of the Super DIRTcar Series action on DIRTVision, either online or with the DIRTVision app.

Here’s a look at What to Watch for this weekend:

Tied at the Top: Anthony Perrego and Peter Britten enter the weekend tied for the points lead, where they find themselves for the first time.

Perrego earned that spot with his win at New Egypt Speedway in March, while Britten’s third-place finish, bonus points from Qualifying, and his Heat Race earned him the same number of points.

Despite getting a leg up on the competition at New Egypt, neither has scored a Super DIRTcar Series win at Weedsport. Perrego’s best finish was sixth in last year’s Hall of Fame 100, while Britten’s is fourth, happening twice in 2017 and 2023.

Anthony Perrego and Peter Britten — Peter Britten and Anthony Perrego battle for position at New Egypt Speedway/Steve Sabo Jr. photo

However, Perrego has been victorious at Thunder Mountain, winning the Lightning on the Mountain event in 2017.

Both drivers have earned a trip to Victory Lane since New Egypt. Perrego won Money in the Mountains at Big Diamond Speedway, while the “Batman” scored a victory at Albany-Saratoga Speedway.

Mat’s Playground: Last year, no one was better in Super DIRTcar Series competition at Weedsport than Mat Williamson.

The St. Catharines, ON, driver won the Heroes Remembered 100 by more than 16 seconds and backed it up in July with a Hall of Fame 100 victory. Williamson has two Heroes Remembered 100 wins in his career, his first happening in 2021.

“Money Mat” also enters the weekend with momentum after winning at Action Track USA on Tuesday. He currently sits seventh in Super DIRTcar Series points.

Champion’s Rise: Ten-time and defending Super DIRTcar Series champion Matt Sheppard opened the championship season with a fourth-place finish at New Egypt. However, he’s still ahead of where he was entering Memorial Day Weekend in 2023.

Entering Memorial Day weekend last year, Sheppard was seventh in points before a third at Weedsport, and a win at Lebanon Valley Speedway vaulted him to the top spot.

The Waterloo, NY driver has succeeded at both tracks, winning eight Super DIRTcar Series Features at Weedsport and two wins at Thunder Mountain in 2014 and 2021.

Sheppard’s next Series win will be the 97th of his career as he continues his quest for 100 victories and his 11th title.

Debut on the Mountain: Thunder Mountain’s inaugural Super DIRTcar Series event will be the first time the Series has debuted at a track since Bristol Motor Speedway in 2021.

Stewart Friesen won both events in Tennessee and can go back-to-back in Series debuts. The NASCAR Truck Series star has two wins at Thunder Mountain in his career in two different types of cars. He won the Wade Decker Memorial in 2015 in a Modified and won with the Empire Super Sprints in 2014.

Darren Smith and Mike Mahaney are two drivers with extensive experience on the 1/4-mile track. Smith, the defending track champion at Thunder Mountain, comes into the weekend with momentum after winning last Sunday.

The Binghamton, NY driver is coming off his best Super DIRTcar Series finish (second) at New Egypt and hopes to sustain that momentum as he defends his home turf.

Meanwhile, Mahaney was the 2015 Thunder Mountain track champion. However, Monday will be the first time he’s raced there with a Big Block and on Hoosier Tires.

Mahaney has one victory in 2024, taking the checkered flag in the Bruce Rogers Memorial Money Maker at Grandview Speedway.

Tim Sears Jr., Jimmy Phelps, and Larry Wight were other Series drivers who gained valuable seat time at the track last weekend.

Coming in Hot: Since weekly racing began in mid-April, five Super DIRTcar Series regulars have earned Feature wins in DIRTcar-sanctioned events.

Alex Payne and Sears have each won twice so far in 2024. Payne won both Features at Land of Legends Raceway, while Sears has won two out of three DIRTcar 358 Modified Features at Fulton Speedway.

Jimmy Phelps, Danny Johnson, Jack Lehner — Jimmy Phelps leads Jack Lehner and Danny Johnson into Turn 1 at New Egypt Speedway/Brent Smith

Along with Britten’s win at Albany-Saratoga, Jack Lehner won last Friday at the “Great Race Place,” driving from 17th to first.

Jimmy Phelps won on opening night at Brewerton Speedway and currently leads Brewerton’s points standings. The “Baldwinsville Bandit” aims to improve by one spot in this year’s Heroes Remembered 100 after finishing second to Williamson in 2023.

Mad Max’s Return: Phelps won’t be the only Heinke-Baldwin Racing entry this weekend, as Max McLaughlin returns to Super DIRTcar Series competition on Sunday at Weedsport.

“Mad Max” will pull his own “double” this weekend, racing at Ultimate Motorsports Park on Friday and Saturday, before getting on a plane to run in Sunday’s Heroes Remembered 100.

McLaughlin won his first Super DIRTcar Series Feature at Weedsport in 2020 during OktoberFAST and is searching for his sixth career Series win.

WHEN AND WHERE 
Weedsport Speedway (3/8-mile) in Weedsport, NY on May 26
Thunder Mountain Speedway (1/4-mile) in Center Lisle, NY on May 27

TRACK RECORD
Weedsport: 15.156 by Demetrios Drellos on Sept. 2, 2019
Thunder Mountain: No Qualifying Session has been run

FEATURE WINNERS: (3 Drivers)
Rank- Driver- Hometown-Wins

Matt Sheppard, Waterloo, NY- 2
Mat Williamson, St. Catharines, ON-1
Anthony Perrego, Montgomery, NY-1

HEAT RACE WINNERS (11 Drivers)
Rank- Driver- Hometown-Wins

Matt Sheppard, Waterloo, NY-3
Mat Williamson, St. Catharines, ON-2
Peter Britten, Brisbane, QLD, AUS-2
Jimmy Phelps, Baldwinsville, NY-2
Rick Laubach, Quakertown, PA-1
Alex Payne, Hopewell, NY-1
Rex King Jr., Bristolville, OH-1
Erick Rudolph, Ransomville, NY-1
Larry Wight, Phoenix, NY-1
Billy Pauch Jr., Frenchtown, NJ-1
Bob McGannon, Garnerville, NY-1

LAST CHANCE SHOWDOWN WINNERS (6 Drivers)
Rank- Driver- Hometown-Wins

Larry Wight, Phoenix, NY-2
Felix Roy, Napierville, QC-1
Stewart Friesen, Sprakers, NY-1
Billy Pauch Jr., Frenchtown. NJ-1
Anthony Perrego, Montgomery, NY-1
Marc Johnson, Guilderland, NY-1

PODIUM FINISHES (7 Drivers)
Rank – Driver, Hometown – Podiums

Anthony Perrego, Montgomery, NY-3
Matt Sheppard, Waterloo, NY-2
Erick Rudolph, Ransomville, NY-2
Mat Williamson, St. Catharines, ON-2
Larry Wight, Phoenix, NY-1
Darren Smith, Binghamton, NY-1
Peter Britten, Brisbane, QLD-1

HARD CHARGER (4 Drivers)
Rank – Driver, Hometown – H.C.