Jul 12, 2025 12:52 PM EST
MATT SHEPPARD ROLLS TO VICTORY AT OUTLAW SPEEDWAY STSS MODIFIED EVENT CLAIMING THE 3RD ANNUAL DAVE MACHUGA MEMORIA
Glenn Whritenour picks up win number five on the season in Street Stock action. Taylor Doxtater wins first of 2025 in Sportsman Division. Nate Powers invades and wins first of the season in Mini Stock’s.
Story by Kenny Shupp Jr.
(Dundee, NY) For the second consecutive week, Matt Sheppard returned to his old stomping grounds and walked away with the Modified feature event.
Last Friday’s triumph was a regular event for Super Matt, however this week it was Thursday Night Thunder Dave Machuga Memorial run in conjunction with the Short Track Super Series televised on Flo Racing.
Thirty-six Modifieds checked in for the night with severe storms in and around the Yates County NY Region, however Mother Nature decided to play nice and the intense rain that was experienced in several areas not far from the Dundee oval stayed away and the show was run off in its entirety.
Sheppard, Stewart Friesen, Jack Lehner and Bobby Hackel all won qualifying heat events with Jeff Daugherty picking up the consolation event and the re-draw would find Alex Yankowski and two-time 2025 Outlaw Speedway winner, Bobby Varin bringing the twenty-five-car field to the opening green.
Yankowski would immediately take control of the event and lead the first twenty-laps and with only a pair of caution flags up to that point both coming on lap seventeen, Yankowski looked poised to pick up his first ever Outlaw Speedway win.
But “Kid Rocket’s” advantage on the star-studded field did not come easy as Johnstown, NY veteran and pilot of track owner, Tyler Siri’s potent machine, Bobby Varin gave Yankowski everything he could handle as Varin rode the very top of the Fast 4/10 of a mile oval which was in absolutely perfect shape
Matt Sheppard lined up fifth after a good re-draw and was methodically working his way to the front and after a spirited battle with Bobby Varin, was able to reel in Yankowski and take over the top spot on lap twenty-one.
From there Sheppard would have to endure four more yellow flag slowdowns with those coming on laps twenty-three, twenty-six, thirty-two with the final caution on circuit thirty-three.
Stewart Friesen, who took advantage of a late race flat tire on Sheppard’s machine to claim his third Outlaw Showdown Dave Machuga Memorial Triumph in 2024 began the fifty-lap grind outside the fifth starting row in tenth and by the halfway mark was running third and was tracking down Yankowski who still was keeping pace with Sheppard.
After several laps of nothing short of a knock down drag out fight between Yankowski and his mentor, Friesen, the Sprakers, NY veteran was able to finally dispose of his younger counterpart on lap thirty and assume the runner-up spot and begin the task of trying to track down the high-flying Sheppard.
A pair of yellow flags on laps thirty-two and thirty-three allowed Friesen to line-up alongside Friesen, however Sheppard was able to win the drag race on both restarts and maintain the top spot.
A long seventeen lap green run found Sheppard encountering some lap traffic in the closing laps, but he was able to hold onto the advantage throughout and go on to the win.
An anxious moment inside of five laps remaining saw Friesen close to within a couple car lengths, but Sheppard was able to once again stretch the advantage to a three-car length win collecting the hefty $7078.78 paycheck.
Friesen had to settle for second with Yankowski completing the podium after running in the top three the entire half century distance,
Varin gave the hometown faithful something to be proud of as the regular Outlaw Speedway competitor held on for fourth running with the top group the entire distance, however the story of the race had to be David Hebert who has signed on to compete full time with the Short Track Super Series in 2025.
Making the extremely long trip from St-Damasem, Quebec, Canada and having never competed before at the Yates County Speedway, Hebert found the Outlaw much to his liking as he ran the entire distance within the top five after starting in sixth nailing down the fifth position at the double checkers.
Six through tenth went to Anthony Perrego of Walden who always seems to run well at Outlaw Speedway.
Current high point man at Outlaw entering the night, Mike Maresca set Fast Time, started the event in spot six on the opening grid and after a couple trips to the Hot Pit during the event was able to recover to finish seventh.
Young gun, Jeff Daugherty of Elmira made tremendous gains in the feature winning the consolation event burying him deep in the stacked feature field starting twentieth.
Daugherty kept his nose clean throughout, stayed out of a bone jarring crash on a lap seventeen restart which took out a pair of his weekly counter parts in Danny Johnson and Brady Fultz and drove an impressive race to claim eighth.
Completing the top ten were Mat Williamson who continues to struggle finding the right set-up combination whenever he makes an appearance at Outlaw as the St. Catherine, Ontario speedster finished ninth having to make a pit stop on lap thirty-two with Tommy Collins completing the top ten starting the fifty-lap affair outside row twelve in twenty-fourth and advancing the most positions from last to tenth.
Three additional classes made up the 3rd Annual Dave Machuga Memorial as the Mighty Modifieds were accompanied by the Knapp and Schlappi Lumber Crate Sportsman which saw a solid field of twenty-one machines in competition.
Taylor Doxtater made the haul from near Evans Mills, NY worthwhile as he was able to pick-up his first ever feature win at Outlaw Speedway after a spirited stretch run battle with a pair of local runners in Blake Parsons and Justice Mayo
The victory for Doxtater who began the twenty-five-lap feature outside the front row was worth $2078.78.
After an incident last week which found his machine badly bent, Justice Mayo was able to recover nicely to nail down second as he was chased across the line Blake Parsons. King Karl Comfort was fourth with Andrew Clark of Dundee completing the top five.
Glen Whritenour and Jimmy Grant have been the two men to beat during the first half of the 2025 season and they would again be the class of the sixteen-car field in their 20-lap feature which paid a hefty $1778.78 to win plus other additional lap money and bonuses.
Grant would begin the event outside row two with Whritenour mired back in tenth, but it did not take the veteran Jasper, NY driver long to work his way through an extremely competitive field of Swarthout Recycling Street Stocks and go on to win five on the season.
Grant of nearby Penn Yan, NY once again had to settle for the runner-up position having come into the event winning a pair of feature wins.
Completing the podium was 2023 Track Champion, Shane Wolf of Susquehanna, Pa.
Chris Woodard, who brought the field to green from his pole starting position would drift to finish fourth with Corning’s Brett Crawford advancing one spot to complete the top five.
The Winner’s Circle Deli Mini Stocks rounded out the card of events racing in a 20- lap feature which like the Street Stocks also paid some serious lap money and bonuses.
An impressive field of twenty machines competed in their traditional twenty-lap feature with Lee Fritz and Nathan Powers bringing the field to the opening green flag.
Powers who hails from Pennellville, NY was making his first trip to Outlaw in 2025, and he made the long haul profitable as he was able to take home the Dave Machuga Memorial check for $1078.78.
2024 Outlaw Speedway Youth Bandit Track Champion and now 2024 Mini Stock Rookie of the Year competitor, Zach Daugherty of Elmira is making short work of the learning curve after moving up in class in 2025.
Starting eleventh on the opening grid, Daugherty made some nifty moves coming through traffic and wound up in the runner-up position at the completion of the 20-lap affair.
Third place went to current point leader and four-time feature winner thus far in 2025, Jayson Smart of Branchport.
Gavin Hall, who started in row eight, made an impressive drive through the field to claim fourth as he was followed by Jeff Moore who came from ninth to complete the top five.
Coming up next at Outlaw Speedway on Friday, July 18, 2025, Sawyer’s RV and Trailer Service Center of Lindley will present Christmas in July which will be a $5 Pack the Track Night.
In addition, drivers will be available for Autographs and Santa Claus will make his yearly appearance for the enjoyment of the kids. On the track it will be a Regular Fast 5* Show.
Then in two weeks on July 25 it will be the 10th Annual Steve Kent Summer Nationals featuring the return of the 360 Empire Super Sprints along with the first ever appearance of the NYPENN IMCA Modifieds.
Modifieds, Sportsman, Street and Mini Stocks are also on the aggressive July 25 card.
Results. July 10, 2025.
FRIENDLY CHRYSLER, DODGE, JEEP, RAM SHORT TRACK SUPER SERIES MODIFIEDS. (36 cars)
50 lap feature. MATT SHEPPARD (2), Stewart Friesen, Alex Yankowski, Bobby Varin, David Hebert, Anthony Perrego, Mike Maresca, Jeff Daugherty, Mat Williamson, Tommy Collins, Jack Lehner, Tyler Siri, Bobby Hackel, Pat Ward, Kreg Crooker, Alex Payne, Ajay Potrzebowski, Ron Cartwright Jr., Tanner VanDoren, Chris Raabe, Danny Johnson, Brady Fultz, Derrick Podsiadlo, Will Shields, Daniel Morglewicz.
DNQ. Aiden Grover, Jim LaRock, Wally Wade, Alan Johnson, Billy Paine, Adam Coots, Brian Swarthout, Matt Yoder, John Michael Phillips, Tommy Paine, Steve Paine.
KNAPP AND SCHLAPPI LUMBER CRATE SPORTSMAN. (21 cars)
25 lap feature. TAYLOR DOXTATER, Justice Mayo, Blake Parsons, Karl Comfort, Andrew Clark, Donnie Lawson, Chris Fisher, Josh Nobriga, Quintin Buchanan, George Schweigart, Dale Welty, Collin Brown, AJ Lloyd, Cayden Lawson, Daryl Krebs, Kenny Peoples Jr., Bryan Rhodes, Scott Torbitt, Kevin DeDamp, Brent Ayers. DNS, Tim Guild.
SWARTHOUT RECYCLING STREET STOCKS. (16 cars)
20 lap feature. GLENN WHRIETNOUR (5), Jimmy Grant, Shane Wolf, Chris Woodard, Brett Crawford, Gene Sharpsteen, Jared Hill, Joe Giardina, Quinn Sutherland, Carl Cleveland, John Burritt, Mick Seeley, Sparky Hills, Zach Teed, Willy Easling. DNS, Tim Grady.
WINNER’S CIRCLE DELI MINI STOCKS. (20 cars)
20 lap feature. NATE POWERS, Zach Daugherty, Jayson Smart, Gavin Hall, Jeff Moore, Ryan Stone, Mike Ayers, Nick Brown, Lee Fritz, Ralph Teeter, Justin Wilson, Jimmy Granger, Mike Stone, Lester Jenkins Jr., Craig DeCamp, Ray Hyer, Kenneth Evans, Jeremy Trank. DNS, Parker Cunningham, Connor Erick
