LAKE CITY, Fla. — Stewart Friesen slammed the door shut on Matt Sheppard’s hopes of sweeping the Sunshine Swing presented by Capitol Custom Trailers & Coaches.
Friesen earned $10,000 in the finale for the Bob Hilbert Sportswear Short Track Super Series Fueled By Sunoco at All-Tech Raceway.
The win for Friesen capped a week of frustrations for his 42nd career STSS victory, returning him to sole possession of the STSS all-time win list.
“This place is so tricky,” Friesen smiled. “I didn’t feel really gripped up on the bottom… I just kept waiting for Matt (Sheppard) to drive around me.”
Both Friesen and Sheppard had to march their way forward in the 50-lap main event, coming from 11th and 10th, respectively, following the Beyea Custom Headers Redraw.
Danny Creeden and Larry Wight occupied the front row following the top-12 redraw.
Creeden quickly marched out to the lead and set the early pace, while Friesen was making hay in the early going.
After an early yellow, Creeden continued to lead Alex Payne and Friesen had made his way into the top five on lap five.
Sheppard found a rhythm and followed Friesen to the sixth spot two laps later. Friesen, however, wasn’t content with fifth, racing by Darren Smith for the fourth spot.
The next restart came 16 laps into the feature, and both Friesen and Sheppard continued to walk their way forward, along with another young star.
Alex Payne took the lead after starting from the fourth position on the ensuing restart.
Meanwhile, Friesen moved around Darren Smith for third, while Sheppard slid around Wight and Smith to take the fourth spot.
Friesen moved into the runner-up spot two laps later, rolling the middle groove to slip around Creeden to chase Payne for the top spot.
Seventh-running Marc Johnson brought out a yellow on lap 20 for a mechanical failure, giving Friesen a chance at Payne on the restart.
The Halmar No. 44 machine took advantage.
Friesen drove in alongside Payne into the first turn, and Payne missed his mark on the bottom. Ensuing contact with Friesen cut Payne’s right-front tire.
Payne brought out the yellow flag, and Friesen and Sheppard inherited the front row with 30 laps remaining.
Over the next 30 laps, Friesen navigated the technical race track that continued to evolve over the course of the race.
While Friesen and Sheppard planted themselves on the bottom groove for much of the remaining 30 laps, drivers like Mat Williamson, Payne and Matt Caprara were making ground on the outside groove.
Ultimately, Friesen prevailed with the $10,000 victory.
“Usually, we fire off really good and our (behinds) are dragging by the end of the week,” Friesen laughed. “We’re trying to stay in a little better shape this year and it’s working out.”
Sheppard came home second, good enough to earn him the weeklong Wegner Automotive Sunshine Swing championship.
“What a phenomenal week for our whole team,” Sheppard proclaimed. “We were every bit as fast as him (Friesen), we just didn’t win the race to the front.”
Williamson rounded out the top three after starting from 18th.
“Definitely not a bad night for us after last night’s wreck,” Williamson said with a smile. “Have to thank all my guys for busting their butts to get us back out today.”
Caprara raced from the back after starting third to finish in fourth and Wight rounded out the top five after finishing second in each of the first three races.
Feature Finish (50 Laps)
1. 44-STEWART FRIESEN[11]; 2. 9S-Matt Sheppard[10]; 3. 6-Mat Williamson[18]; 4. 11-Matt Caprara[3]; 5. 99L-Larry Wight[2]; 6. 7Z-Zach Payne[25]; 7. 35C-Chris Curtis[21]; 8. 21A-Peter Britten[22]; 9. 70A-Alex Payne[4]; 10. 01-Danny Varin[17]; 11. 25R-Erick Rudolph[16]; 12. 12S-Darren Smith[8]; 13. 15M-Daniel Morgiewicz Jr[24]; 14. 97H-Bobby Hackel IV[6]; 15. 28T-Michael Trautschold[20]; 16. 34-Rusty Smith[5]; 17. 3-Seth Zacharias[19]; 18. 29J-Julien Raymond[27]; 19. 01VD-Tanner Van Doren[12]; 20. 5*-Tyler Siri[23]; 21. 38-Jean Mathieu Raymond[26]; 22. 6B-Danny Bouc[13]; 23. 6S-Matt Stangle[9]; 24. 16X-Dan Creeden[1]; 25. 65-Austin Hubbard[14]; 26. 9-Marc Johnson[7]; 27. 7-Rick Laubach[15]