RPW Exclusive: For DIRTcar Champions Matt Sheppard, Larry Wight, Kevin Root & Jocelyn Roy, It’s All About Family

Column By: BOBBY CHALMERS / RPW – SYRACUSE, NY – It’s becoming old hat to see Matt Sheppard accept the hardware and big check as champion of the Super DIRTcar Series. Now a winner of the title for seven times, the Waterloo, NY driver still has the fire and desire to get better each time he straps in, but knows he’s only as good as his “family.”

On the strength of only four wins, Sheppard may not have had the style year he’s accustomed to, but he did have 15 top 5’s and 20 top 10’s in 24 tour starts. He was able to hold off a determined Erick Rudolph and young Max McLaughlin to capture the 2018 title and gave all the credit to his supporters.

“There’s been a lot of talk about family tonight,” Sheppard said at the DIRTcar banquet on Saturday evening. “A lot of people would stand here and see sponsors, family members, crew, engine builder, chassis builder, header guy. All I see is family. We’ve been together a long time and I think of them all as family. Every single one of them. I would be lost without them. That’s what it’s become after all these years.”

That family aspect is what keeps Sheppard on track as he chases more wins and titles. His co-car owner lives in the same house as him…that being his wife, Bethanne.

“He (Matt) works so hard at this stuff,” she said of her husband. “It’s nice to see him succeed.”

Succeed he did in 2018. While he may have not racked up the wins as he has in the past, his consistency is what propelled him to the championship, and he seemed to enjoy it as well.

“So many guys have talked about how much fun the (Super DIRTcar) Series is,” Sheppard said. “The clean racing and the respect among the drivers.”

That respect isn’t just among the veterans, though.

“They say it’s a series of a bunch of old guys,” he said. “Then you see this year where Erick (Rudolph) and Max (McLaughlin) are second and third in points, right on our heels. That proves not to be the case. Now you have Jack (Lehner, who announced he’ll follow the entire Super DIRTcar Series in 2019) and a bunch of new guys coming on tour and I feel the series is as alive as it’s ever been.”

Now the focus moves to 2019 as Sheppard and the entire Dendis Companies #9s team aims for their eighth series crown.

“You’d like to hope we can come back and do this again,” he said. “You know damn well we’re going to work hard this winter and get everything in order the best we can. Hopefully we’re ready and can come back with a better shot next year.”

‘Lightning Larry’ Leads LJL Racing 1-2 In 358-Modified Super DIRTcar Series Standings

While he may have one the Big Block Championship at Super DIRT Week last month, Larry Wight didn’t chase the Modified Super DIRTcar Series in 2018. Instead, he focused his energy on the 358-Modified tour while attending to his family business commitments. That dedication paid off with the series championship, besting his teammate and good friend Pat Ward who came home in the runner-up spot.

“We are extremely pleased that we were able to get both of our cars one and two in points for this season,” Wight said. “It’s a great accomplishment for us to get the 358-Modified series championship. I remember a few years ago watching Pat get it and Stewart Friesen lifting him up over his head for the victory lane photo. This is just a huge accomplishment for our entire team.”

Larry may be young still in the world of Modified racing, but when it comes to Big Block and Small Block, the caliber of drivers he races against isn’t lost on him.

“To be able to chase down guys like Pat Ward and Billy Decker, guys I’ve looked up to for years, is amazing,” he said. “Having the chance to chase down a guy like Matt Sheppard, who’s got a lot of wins and all the championships, is something where hopefully, one day, we can stand up next to him and say we raced as hard as we could. I do my best and just have to thank everyone who’s helped me along the way.”

One bit of news that Larry let out on Saturday is that he will return to run the Chili Bowl again this coming January.

“We won Super DIRT Week this year,” he said. “We’re going back to the Chili Bowl and hopefully we can put that one in the bank too.”

Even with all his on-track success, Wight knows his family is very important for making that happen.

“I’ve got the best behind me to help get us here,” he said. “My parents, my crew all our sponsors, wife Brooke, my daughter, Audrey. At the end of the day I do everything I can to make sure she’s happy. It’s a huge family we have here with our team and it’s even cooler to see just how big the family is in the Dirt Racing community.”

Kevin Root Enjoying The Spotlight

It’s been just four years of racing Sportsman for Kevin Root, but he’s reached the top of the mountain as a DIRTcar Series Champion. The Geneva, NY native had an exceptional 2018 season behind the wheel of his #34 Bicknell machine, and while it was a total team effort, if you’d saw him, you’d realize he believes in family too.

“This is such a dream come true, I’ll tell ya,” Root said. “This is my whole life and I couldn’t do this without everyone that has supported our operation. I’ve got amazing people behind me, but having my wife and my son (Nicholas) to enjoy this sport with makes all the work worthwhile.”

That word is back. Another driver who believes in “family.”

“My wife puts up with a lot of bull@($# with me and my son,” he said with a laugh. “She is the heart and soul behind our team. I don’t know where I’d be without her right now. She saved my life and owe her everything. God sure gave me the greatest gift in the world with her and my little guy. He is my life and I couldn’t do this without them.”

With only a few years running the bigger cars after moving up from the karting world, Root is quick to remember his past and how he got to where he is today.

“I’ve looked up to a lot of people in this sport,” he said. “Alan Johnson. Danny Johnson. Billy Decker. Matt Sheppard. Larry Wight. I’ve always been able to lean on those guys…get advice from them. That’s the type of thing that goes way beyond what this sports about.”

Even though Kevin is the one who steers the car, he knows it’s all about your support.

“Matt Sheppard said it best when he went out on his own a few years ago,” he said. “He told me you have to make sure you surround yourself with great people and that’s what we did. We have great sponsors and an amazing team. I can’t do this without Scott Jeffery. This is my opinion but I think he’s the best in the business. I don’t think our car would go around the track without him and he deserves the accolades of this championship just as much as me.”

No matter what, Root was another model of consistency this past racing season.

“This is just so awesome for us and our family,” he said. “I don’t think we had a single DNF (did not finish). We ran like 50 races and I think we were in the top 5 in like 45 of them. That’s what it takes to win championships.”

It’s Time To Dance For Jocelyn Roy

For the third time in his career, Jocelyn Roy is a DIRTcar Pro Stock Series Champion.

The guy with the infectious smile, Roy piloted his #48 to another coveted championship and was humbled by just how far he’s come.

“I’m just very, very happy,” Roy said. “I come from a small garage in a very small town in Canada. This is a big dream for us and to be able to say we’ve done it for three times now, I can’t put into words how happy I am for this and for my owner and the team.”

Co-emcee Shane Andrews (along with Tim Baltz) said it best when he had Roy up on stage to accept his hardware…it doesn’t matter where you start…it’s where you finish and for the Pro Stock Champion, no truer words were ever spoken. Dreams really can come true.

“The Pro Stocks Series is extremely tough to race,” he said. “It’s a great image for the division to have with as tough of competition that runs these cars. I thank God for all that we have including all our crew and our sponsors.”

When the talk of 2019 comes up, Roy was quick with a joke.

“I’m ready for sleep,” he said. “We’re not sure on all of our plans right now. We’re not there yet but we are working hard for next season.”

News & Notes…

Saturday evening was the final night as Super DIRTcar Series director for veteran Mike Perrotte. After four years at the helm, Perrotte is stepping away and Dean Reynolds is set to take over.

Before the banquet, I had the luxury to take an elevator ride with Perrotte who told me he’s ready to enjoy the next phase of his life, but has enjoyed every minute of his time as Series director.

While addressing the crowd about his new position, Reynolds talked about how Eldora will return to the schedule this season and that all tracks that were on the series schedule this past season will return in 2019 as well.

New for 2019, DIRTcar has announced that all Modified series events will now pay a minimum of $7,500-to-win with $1,000 for 10th place and $500 to start. Several races will pay more with many at the $10,000 or higher level. There is also an increase in the support by Hoosier Tire for the addition of the new Weekly Championship program where tracks will award points for all four major DIRTcar divisions.

Albany-Saratoga Speedway promoters Marcy Mangino and Lyle Devore were recognized as the 2018 DIRTcar Promoters of the Year. The track boasts an average of 150 cars in the pit area each week and with a racy surface for competitors to run each week, plans are in the works to make the track even better in 2019.

While giving his speech for winning DIRTcar Big Block Modified Rookie Of The Year, Jack Lehner announced his intentions to run the entire Super DIRTcar Series this coming season. That along with previously announced Demitrios Drellos and Mat Williamson helps to make the series stronger as we turn the calendar.

Other DIRTcar top Rookies included Adam Roberts (Super DIRTcar Series), Ron Davis III (358-Modified), Tyler Reynolds (Sportsman) and Travis Welch (Pro Stock). To say Welch was surprised by the honor would be an understatement. Not only did he win the Utica-Rome Speedway track title on the strength of three wins, but he wasn’t prepared to get the rookie award. So much so that he was “in dispose) when his name was called.

To the cheers of the crowd, Welch came running in to the banquet area to receive his award, making his way up on stage after others had gone out to get him.

GM Performance gave away two 602 Crate engines during the banquet…one to a Sportsman racer and one to a Pro Stock. The criteria was that you had to enter a DIRTcar Tour show in 2018. The more races you entered, the more entries you had in the drawing.

Central New York racer Will Shields (Sportsman) and Lebanon Valley runner Rick Duzlak (Pro Stock) were the winners.

Brett Hearn made his way to the stage for his sixth place finish on the tour in 2018, and talked about how he’s looking forward to the “Big Show 11” at Albany-Saratoga in 2019. He said that between him and the new “promoters of the year,” they want to make this the best edition yet.

One thing that Hearn was tight-lipped about is his 2019 weekly racing plans. stay tuned.

More to come over the next week from drivers and teams at the DIRTcar Banquet…