PORT ROYAL, Pa. — Jeff Shepard had the beef at Port Royal Speedway on Saturday night, winning the sixth annual Bob Weikert Memorial sprint car race for the O’Reilly All Star Circuit of Champions. His style, leading all 30 laps from the front row, would have impressed the flamboyant Pennsylvania sprint car owner and cattle rancher known as “Mr. Beef” for whom the race is named.
“It always helps to start up front so you can run in clean air,” Shepard declared after his second Port Royal win of the season and the seventh of his career.
In fact, it was his ability to run in traffic late in the race that sealed his victory over current All-Star point leader Lance Dewease, Greg Hodnett, Todd Shaffer and Keith Kauffman. All the top five are, or in the case of Dewease, have been, Port Royal regulars, accounting for 320 victories at the venerable fairgrounds half-mile.
Pole-starter and 13-time Port Royal champion Kauffman beat Shepard on the initial start, which was called back when Bill Brian, Jr. spun in turn one. On the second try, Shepard vaulted into the lead he would never lose. Shaffer was on the move from sixth and took over the runner-up spot before Mark Smith stopped with a flat tire to trigger a lengthy sequence of cautions after 13 laps. Although it wasn’t evident at the time, Shaffer’s chances ended during one of several aborted restarts as he hit the inside berm in turn one attempting a slide job for the lead, breaking his left front shock mounting.
Following a fuel stop, the second half ran caution free with Shaffer gradually fading and losing second place to Dewease on lap 23. The final five laps were a chess game in traffic with Shepard losing ground when he was stuck behind the lapped car of Matt Horst, and after clearing him, Mike Erdley and Brandon Martin racing side by side for position. Just when it appeared Dewease had a shot with two laps to go, he also found Horst in his preferred lane, so the traffic issue became a stalemate and Shepard was home free.
The summary:
Fast Time: Paul McMahan, 16.110 seconds (32 cars).
First Heat: Brian Ellenberger, Todd Hestor, Greg Wilson, Sean Michael, Paul McMahan, Brian Paulus, Ryan Myers, Craig Folmer.
Second Heat: Lance Dewease, Randy Hannagan, Mike Wagner, Jeff Shepard, Mark Smith, Chad Jumper, Craig Robinson, Lee Stark.
Third Heat: Dave Hahn, Dale Blaney, Cale Grubb, Greg Hodnett, Keith Kauffman, Mike Erdley, Bob Bennett, Joey Hershey.
Fourth Heat: Cliff Brian, Todd Shaffer, Brandon Martin, Alan Cole, Bill Brian, Matt Horst, Randy Kaylor, Steve Buckwalter.
Dash: Hodnett, Blaney, Dewease, McMahan, Wilson, Martin.
B Main: Buckwalter, Paulus, Horst, Erdley.
Feature: Shepard, Dewease, Hodnett, Shaffer, Kauffman, Paulus, Michael, Smith, Cole, Wagner, Hannagan, McMahan, Wilson, Erdley, Martin, Hestor, Ellenberger, Buckwalter, Horst, Hahn, C. Brian, Grubb, Blaney, B. Brian.