Written by Chris Moore

VERNON, NY – For the fifth time in his illustrious career, Matt Sheppard is the 2024 American Racer Cup Champion presented by Sunoco Race Fuels.

Matt Sheppard won the tiebreaker with David Hebert – a regular at Autodrome Granby in Granby, Quebec – due to his 12 wins at Utica-Rome Speedway in Vernon, N.Y.

Sheppard and Hebert tied at 690 points, but Sheppard’s 12 wins carried over the edge, compared to Hebert’s nine at his Friday night home.

The American Racer Cup collects each racer’s 10 best finishes at their registered home track combined with a year-end starting field bonus to calculate a driver’s total points.

In the event of ties, the established tiebreaker is a driver’s number of wins at the participating speedway between Friday, April 12 and Monday, Sept. 2.

Sheppard’s dominant season saw him 12 of the 15 features he entered at his Friday night home track. The dominant season was Sheppard’s second consecutive American Racer Cup title.

The title for Sheppard nets him a total of $11,000 from the American Racer Cup on behalf of presenting sponsors American Racer, distributor Lias Tire of Indiana, Pa., Sunoco Race Fuels and distributor Insinger Performance of Dushore, Pa.

A $36,000 purse is divided amongst the top 15 drivers in the overall Modified standings with $10,000 reserved for Sheppard, the overall champion. Sheppard also claims $1,000 as the North Region champion of the American Racer Cup.

In just the second season on American Racer tires, David Hebert put together a championship worthy season at Autodrome Granby, collecting nine wins, including the huge win the ‘Lumberjack Swing’ with the Bob Hilbert Sportswear Short Track Super Series (STSS) Fueled By Sunoco.

Hebert nets $5,750 as the overall and North Region runner-up.

Billy Pauch Jr., of Bridgeport Motorsports Park in Swedesboro, N.J., was a distant third at 615 points. The ‘Kid’s Kid’ collects a $5,000 paycheck as the South Region champion and third place overall.

Another Utica-Rome Speedway regular – Alex Yankowski – finishes fourth in the standings at 612 points. Yankowski collects $4,000 for his efforts.

New Egypt (N.J.) Speedway’s Brandon Grosso and Big Diamond (Minersville, Pa.) Speedway’s Louden Reimert finished tied for fifth at 610 points.

Reimert claims the fifth spot with his three wins to Grosso’s two. Reimert takes home $3,250 for fifth and Grosso nets $2,500.

Finishing seventh through 15^th, respectively, were Danny Creeden from Penn Can Speedway in Susquehanna, Pa. (605 points – $2,100); Autodrome Granby’s Mathieu Desjardins (600 – $1,850); Autodrome Granby’s Francois Bernier (596 – $1,500); Jeff Strunk of Grandview Speedway in Bechtelsville, Pa. (592 – $1,250); Brady Fultz, of Woodhull (N. Y.) Raceway (589- $900); New Egypt Speedway’s Justin Grosso (585 – $800); Ajay Potrzebowski II of Dundee, N.Y.’s Outlaw Speedway (572 – $700); Autodrome Granby’s Steve Bernier (566 – $600); and Fonda (N.Y.) Speedway’s Alex Yankowski (564 – $500).

In Sportsman competition, Woodhull (N.Y.) Raceway’s Kenny Peoples Jr. and Bridgeport Motorsports Park regular Brian Papiez ended the season deadlocked at 660 points.

On the back of his eight Woodhull victories in ’24, Peoples Jr. wins the tiebreaker and his first career American Racer Cup Championship. The Woodhull regular is the first ever champion from the speedway and nets $2,000 as the overall and North Region champion.

Papiez settles for the runner-up spot, taking home $1,500 as the South Region champion.

Payton Talbot finished the season third and fourth in the American Racer Cup Standings for his efforts and Utica-Rome Speedway and Fonda Speedway. Talbot finished with 655 points at Utica-Rome and 654 at Fonda.

Talbot takes home more money than anyone else at $2,050 for finishing third and fourth overall and second and third in the North Region standings.

Antoine Parent, of Autodrome Granby, came home fifth at 632 points, taking $700 for his Friday night efforts.

Finishing sixth through 15^th, respectively, were fellow Autodrome Granby regular Donovan Lussier (630 – $550); Penn Can Speedway’s Ray Leonard (614 – $800); Ryan Simmons of New Egypt Speedway (610 – $650); Mike Schane, another Penn Can Speedway regular (610 – $500); Woodhull Raceway’s Tim Guild (594 – $250); Travis Hill of Bridgeport Motorsports Park (590 – $300); Big Diamond Speedway’s Kevin Olenick (587 – $150); Isabel Barron of Woodhull Raceway (582 – $100); Matt Ellery of New Egypt Speedway (559 – $100); and fellow New Egypt Speedway regular Nick Van Wickle (557 – $100).

The top-five drivers in the Modified division at all home tracks receive three free tires for first, two for second, one for third, fourth, and fifth.

In the Sportsman division, home track champions receive three tires, second-place two tires and third receives one tire.

The American Racer Cup track champions are determined by a driver’s 10 best finishes at that track.

More than $51,000 in cash will be distributed to American Racer Cup participants.

To learn more about the American Racer Cup presented by Sunoco Race Fuels and to view complete point standings, visit the official website at www.theamericanracercup.com.

AMERICAN RACER CUP TRACK CHAMPIONS:

Accord Speedway: Danny Tyler (Modified), Kyle Smith (Sportsman)
Autodrome Granby: David Hebert (Modified), Antoine Parent (Sportsman)
Big Diamond Speedway: Louden Reimert (Modified), Kevin Olenick (Sportsman)
Bridgeport Motorsports Park: Billy Pauch Jr. (Modified), Brian Papiez (Sportsman)
Fonda Speedway: Alex Yankowski (Modified), Payton Talbot (Sportsman)
Georgetown Speedway: Ryan Riddle (Modified), Greg Humlhanz (Sportsman)
Grandview Speedway: Jeff Strunk (Modified), Logan Watt (Sportsman)
Le RPM Speedway: Steve Bernier (Modified), Donovan Lussier (Sportsman)
New Egypt Speedway: Brandon Grosso (Modified), Ryan Simmons (Sportsman)
Outlaw Speedway: Ajay Potrzebowski II (Modified), Blake Parsons (Sportsman)
Penn Can Speedway: Danny Creeden (Modified), Ray Leonard (Sportsman)
Skyline Raceway Park: Dale Welty (Sportsman)
Utica-Rome Speedway: Matt Sheppard (Modified), Payton Talbot (Sportsman)
Woodhull Raceway: Brady Fultz (Modified), Kenny Peoples Jr. (Sportsman)