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Matt Sheppard extends Series points lead to 32 with fourth-place finish
On the Super DIRTcar Series’ biggest stage of the Summer, Alex Yankowski saved his best performance for last.
The Covington Township, PA driver went from third to first on a Lap 61 restart Wednesday at Fulton Speedway and held off a last-lap charge from Adam Pierson to win the SummerFAST finale.
It’s the second career Series Feature win for Yankowski, who’s only made a few appearances at the track before the race.
“Stuff went our way there for sure,” Yankowski said. “This is the type of racing we’ve struggled at, so it definitely means a lot.
“It’s crazy to me. It’s not exactly what people thought was my forte, but we were able to get it done.”
Pierson, the SRI Performance and Stock Car Steel Pole Award Winner and defending Fulton track champion Tim Sears Jr. brought the field to the green in the 75-lap Feature, with Pierson driving away in clean air.
But as the East Corinth, VT driver started reeling in the back of the field, Sears closed in on the No. 215. Pierson struggled to clear Dalton Slack, a lap car, allowing ” Timmer ” an opportunity.
With Pierson on the bottom, Sears used the No. 3RS as a pick in Turn 4, moving his Troyer Chassis outside Pierson and Slack to wrestle the lead away on Lap 21.
The Hastings, NY driver sliced through traffic, gaining a three-second advantage over Stewart Friesen before the caution came out on Lap 34 for Daniel Johnson, who spun between Turns 1 and 2. Friesen also went to the pits during that caution with a mechanical issue.
When the race resumed on Lap 38, Sears continued his pace out front, getting another three-second lead, this time over Chris Hile. However, his luck changed 18 laps later, as heartbreak struck on Lap 56.
As he entered Turn 3, something on the steering of Sears’ No. 83X car broke, ending his chances at Victory in front of his home crowd.
That handed the lead to Hile, who drove away on the restart. However, Pierson didn’t challenge the “Hile Driver” for the lead as they entered Turn 1. It was Yankowski who started seventh.
As the two drivers came around to complete Lap 58, Yankowski tried to thunder underneath Hile but couldn’t grab the spot.
But the Keystone State driver didn’t give up. Four laps later, Yankowski got the momentum he needed down the backstretch, pulling even with the No. 5H as they entered turn three. That’s when he used his momentum to slide in front of Hile between Turns 3 and 4, taking the lead as they exited the corner on Lap 62.
Yankowski quickly pulled away but had another challenge to overcome before the race was over.
As Yankowski caught the tail of the field with five laps to go, Pierson, who passed Hile for second on Lap 66, closed in. And on the race’s final lap, Pierson had one more shot at the win.
With a burst of speed on the inside lane, Pierson pulled even with Yankowski as the two drivers raced into Turn 3. But as they exited Turn 4, Yankowski’s momentum was enough to keep him ahead of Pierson, beating him to the line by 0.091 seconds to win the $7,500 prize.
“We just kind of moved around all race,” Yankowski said. “We had a good piece under us and really just have confidence in this car and this motor program right now. We were just able to search around, and on that restart, “Timmer” got a bad break that was definitely a bummer for him.
“Everything lined up where I was in the right lane, and the right guy picked the outside, and it all just worked.”
Yankowski’s win and second-place finish at Land of Legends on Tuesday earned him the 2024 SummerFAST championship, beating two-time SummerFAST champion Matt Sheppard by 15 points.
Pierson crossed the line second, his third Series podium finish and first since June 2023. He said he was happy with the outcome despite narrowly missing out on a win.
“I’m happy with a top three,” Pierson said. “I feel like way slower in (the turns), and hard-off was the way to go. I kept dialing in the front brake to keep the nose straight and not kind of let the right rear come out.
“On restarts, my right rear wouldn’t fire too good, and it took like three of four laps to get heat back in it. Other than that, I’m happy. I haven’t raced a Big Block in a month and a half. I guess I still got it. I didn’t think I did, but I still do.”
Hile crossed the line third in his first Super DIRTcar Series start of 2024. He said he knew what changes he needed to make to reach Victory Lane
“Anytime we can run the Big Block stuff here at Fulton is super fun,” Hile said. “We’ve been doing this for 21 years now. We got a lot of laps at Fulton, so it’s nice to unload well. We made some good adjustments, and we just had to be better straight-line drive-wise, and I think. It probably didn’t help I was way up top heating the tire.”
Sheppard finished fourth, increasing his points lead to 32 points over Mat Williamson, who finished 12th.
Alex Payne rounded out the top five—his fourth consecutive Series top five finish.
UP NEXT: The Super DIRTcar Series returns to action at Ransomville Speedway on Tuesday, Aug. 20 for the Ron Martin Summer Nationals.
If you can’t make it to the track, watch all the action live on DIRTVision, either online or with the DIRTVision app.
SummerFAST Finale (75 Laps): 1. 84Y-Alex Yankowski[7]; 2. 215-Adam Pierson[1]; 3. 5H-Chris Hile[4]; 4. 9S-Matt Sheppard[8]; 5. 70A-Alex Payne[10]; 6. 91-Felix Roy[5]; 7. 19-Tim Fuller[15]; 8. 21A-Peter Britten[13]; 9. 27J-Danny Johnson[3]; 10. 35-Mike Mahaney[9]; 11. 99L-Larry Wight[19]; 12. 88-Mat Williamson[12]; 13. 2-Jack Lehner[27]; 14. 98H-Jimmy Phelps[25]; 15. 15-Todd Root[14]; 16. 25-Erick Rudolph[11]; 17. 91D-Billy Decker[20]; 18. 3M-Chris Mackey[18]; 19. 32R-Ronnie Davis III[16]; 20. 11T-Jeff Taylor[17]; 21. 4-Anthony Perrego[23]; 22. 7Z-Zachary Payne[24]; 23. 12-Darren Smith[26]; 24. 27JR-Daniel Johnson[21]; 25. 83X-Tim Sears Jr[2]; 26. 44-Stewart Friesen[6]; 27. 3RS-Dalton Slack[22]
Contingency Awards:
JAM Performance Fastest Hot Lap Award: Stewart Friesen ($100)
Billy Whittaker Cars Quick Time Award: Chris Hile ($100)
VP Racing Fuels Award: Peter Britten ($50)
ARP Bolts Award: Matt Sheppard ($50)
ASI Racewear Award: Larry Wight ($50)
Behrent’s Performance Warehouse Award: Alex Yankowski ($50)
Cometic Gasket Award: Jimmy Phelps $50
Comp Cams Award: Larry Wight ($50)
DIG Racing Products: Darren Smith ($50)
Fox Factory Award: Alex Yankowski ($50)
MSD Award: Matt Sheppard ($50)
Swift Springs Award: Erick Rudolph ($50)
Weld Racing Wheels Award: Alex Yankowski ($50)
Hoosier Racing Tire Award: Justin Haers (Free Tire)
SRI Performance/Stock Car Steel Pole Award: Mike Mahaney ($100)
Post Race Tech: Right Rear bump stop, and double torque arms were checked and rear-end offset was measured.
