BRENT MARKS

following a series, as much as I love racing with the WoO and All stars, doing what I’m doing right now really fits. It fits the type of life I want to have outside of racing and doing what we do has been a huge relief to our team.

DE: Has this level of success this season made you contemplate wanting to run with a series next year or has it made you more dedicated to wanting to continue doing your own thing?

BM: Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing like racing with the WoO, but I’m happy running the schedule we are running. It fits me well, it fits my team well, and it fits my partners well. There are so many great races between both series and we like to try and hit them all!

DE: Have there been any outside factors that have also kept you wanting to stay close to home, like family?

BM: With both series stepping up with big races and local Pennsylvania racing having really big races, it helps a ton to be able to race a true outlaw schedule and also have time for family. Baylie, Bentley, and McKenna mean the world to me, and to be able to have the time to spend with them is something that means everything to me.

DE: Is there anything about racing Posse that you think has given you an edge over your competition and contributed to your unrivaled success and consistency? Is there anything about remaining Posse that you feel is a benefit over running a series again?

BM: The Pennsylvania Posse is an extremely tough group, the best local racing in the country hands down. You always have to be on your game even on the local level, just like you do racing in a series. That’s why the World of Outlaws and All-Star teams come to Pennsylvania to race… because the competition is so tough. As far as it being a benefit to stick around, the tracks locally have stepped up a ton financially and have made it so appealing to race closer to home, but I’m a big believer in you’re only as good as your competition and that’s why I like to race both series a lot.

DE: Do you feel like there has been an advantage for you running the family car that correlates to your success?

BM: I like to be in control of my own destiny and running my own race team has given me the opportunity to do things my way, whether it’s right or wrong, I learn along the way and make adjustments that need to be made in order to direct the team in a better direction. Being a hired driver can be stressful sometimes especially if things don’t go well and you’re going week to week wondering if you still have a job. There’s a ton of stress running your own race team but I’d rather stress about that than anything else!

DE: Is there anything you did in preparation for this season that you think was what helped put you in the best possible place for this kind of success?

BM: I feel like our program after last season was good. I just wanted to really concentrate on building a team with great people because you can have the best of everything but if you don’t have good people, it’s all for nothing. Heath (Moyle) and Dennis (Christ) have been amazing this year and I couldn’t do it at this level without them.

DE: Was there anything in your late 2021 season momentum that taught you anything or you built on coming into 2022 that you might contribute your consistent wins to?

BM: We really just built off last season. We were good in 2021 but needed to fine-tune some things coming into 2022. Having a group of great people really solved a lot of tiny little things we were lacking in 2021.

DE: Could we potentially see you continue to branch out further even if not running with a series? How would a schedule like that challenge you to manage your life at home and life on the road?

BM: I really like my schedule. We travel a lot at the beginning of the season and really don’t go past Knoxville during the summertime. That has worked really well for us. This gives not only myself but my guys time to be at home with their families and that’s more important than anything.

DE: Are there any races that you’d love to put on that schedule if you were to run further away from home?

BM: Next year I’d like to head out to Huset’s and the Jackson Nationals. We just didn’t do it this season, but next season, we will!

DE: As you’ve racked up this expansive list of wins, do you feel like the pressure to keep succeeding like this has grown or lessened as you went on?

BM: It’s grown. We run top three almost every race lately and we’ve won big races this season. It’s kind of expected of us now and that’s extremely hard to continue on. It’s a challenge and I love the challenge.

DE: Have there been times throughout this season where the pressure has gotten much higher or more overwhelming than other times and how did you handle it or what do you do to handle the expectations that have come from this season?

BM: Kings Royal week was extremely stressful. Going into that week, I had tons of people tell me I was the favorite and they were counting on me. I try not to let any of that ever get to me but it was constant and it was hard to look past it. I did my best and I just concentrated on what we do, and that’s go out have fun and race race cars! Fortunately, we lived up to everyone’s expectations and won both races! It was an amazing week.

DE: What win is the one that sticks out the most in your mind? What makes it unique?

BM: Definitely the Historical Big one and Kings Royal. We made history that week. It’s hard to believe how far we’ve come. I’m so grateful.

DE: What do you think sets Williams Grove apart from the other Pennsylvania tracks and creates more of a challenge for drivers who come into town for a race like the National Open or an Outlaws vs. Posse weekend?

BM: The history. All the greats of sprint car racing have won races at Williams Grove. It’s such a unique and difficult track to race. Nothing compares to it in the country, so when you win races there, people notice.

DE: If there was a track that you wished you could get more laps at and improve your consistency at, which would it be, and what causes you to struggle there? What benefit would you have from improving your performance there?

BM: Knoxville, winning the Knoxville Nationals is number one on my list and I feel like we keep getting better and better there. We just need to consistently be better every single time we go race there. It’s such a hard track for me, their clay is so unique and ever-changing. It’s just hard, but every time we hit the race track I figure more and more things out.

DE: With the growth of newer race series, and more high-dollar sprint car races, the opportunities to run a true outlaw schedule while being able to make a living doing so becomes more and more plausible for drivers throughout the US if you had to offer any advice for someone debating which direction to go as they move up the ladder, what would you say?

BM: Just work hard towards your goals. Find what fits financially if you run your own race team. If you’re just a driver, work hard till you get to where you want to go - everyone has different goals and aspirations, just do what works for you!

Want to haul nearly $300,000 out of Eldora Speedway in less than a week? Just drive like Brent Marks did last July.

WORDS BY ADAM CORNELL

PHOTOS BY QUENTIN YOUNG

SUPERMAN MATT SHEPPARD has been at the top of his game in the Northeast big-block modified scene for a very long time. The Waterloo, New York native has ridden his Bicknell 9s at the top of the leaderboard for years now and 2022 continues that campaign, shaping up to be a very big year indeed for Sheppard. It marked his 40th year of life on this big blue marble we call home, and very well may be the best year of his storied career.

Sheppard started racing karts when he was just seven years old, following in the footsteps (tire tracks?) of his father, Stu Sheppard. The elder Sheppard was a racer from the late 1980s and early 90s racing Sportsman Mods in the upstate New York circuit. Home was in Savannah, New York, not far from the legendary track at Canandaigua. Stu also raced at Cayuga County, Rolling Wheels and UticaRome Speedways, bringing a young Matt along to take it all in and learn the sport while cheering for his dad.

“If I had to go back to the beginning, I remember playing in dad’s car in the