There’s a first time for everything, and Thursday, August 24 will be a first for six-time Short Track Super Series champion Matt Sheppard as he makes his debut with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series in a Dirt Late Model at Delaware’s Georgetown Speedway.

Sheppard has made a few dirt Late Model starts in the past, but the Waterloo, New York native has never attempted a Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series race before this week. Sheppard will be driving a second Niece Motorsports Late Model as a teammate to NASCAR Cup Series driver, Ross Chastain.

💥Matt Sheppard to make @lucasdirt debut with @NieceMotorsport & Ross Chastain Thursday August 24th at Georgetown Speedway! pic.twitter.com/wIYoCD4zIM

— Georgetown Speedway (@thegtownspdwy) August 22, 2023

Thursday night will not be the first time that Chastain and Sheppard have partnered together on something. Chastain ran a second Sheppard-owned Modified in a Short Track Super Series race at Utica-Rome Speedway last month.

Sheppard is currently in a position to score five Modified championships at the end of 2023. He is the current points leader at Utica-Rome Speedway where he has nine victories on the year, plus he’s also the points leader in STSS Elite, STSS North, STSS South, and Super DIRTcar Series competition this year. 

Sheppard’s Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series debut at Georgetown Speedway in Georgetown, Delaware can be seen live on MAVTV on FloRacing this Thursday night with a FloRacing. Race fans can subscribe to FloRacing by clicking here.