BShepp Brings Out the Broom

Three races. Three wins. 17 total for the season.

PARK CITY, KS- September 24, 2017- Brandon Sheppard brought out the broom on Sunday night at 81 Speedway after his third consecutive win with the World of Outlaws Craftsman® Late Model Series in just as many nights during the Great Plains swing. His winning streak started on Friday at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, KS, continued to Saturday at Salina Highbanks in Salina, OK, and concluded at 81 Speedway on SSunday eveningin Park City, KS.

Sheppard’s win at 81 Speedway marks 17 wins in the books for the dominate driver this season. He is now tied for second with Darrell Lanigan for most single-season wins putting him only one win behind the record set in 2016 by his predecessor in the Rocket No.1 , Josh Richards.

“Between Kansas and Oklahoma- man, some heck of some race tracks,” said Sheppard. “They have some really awesome race tracks out here. Kind of darker dirt which is more like what I’m used to so I guess I just fit right in.”

Sheppard passed race-long leader Tyler Erb on lap 24 of the 40-lap event before running away from the field in the remaining circuits.

Erb, who started second for the feature, was able to gain the lead from pole-sitter Austin Siebert on the first lap. In 10 laps time, the young gun was able to create a 3.808 second lead between his No. 91 and the rest of the field.

Siebert sat in second for the first half of the event before surrendering to Sheppard’s charges on lap 22. The turning point for the race occured just one lap later when Brent Larson slowed between turns 3 and 4 bringing out the caution and clearing the ground Erb worked hard to create.

A single-file restart took the field back to green and Sheppard was able to capitalize. Sheppard chose the high line while Erb hugged the bottom of the 3/8-mile dirt oval. The duo, both driving in Rocket XR1s, crossed the line only 0.121 seconds apart.

In the remaining 16 laps, Sheppard expanded his lead to 4.469 seconds.

“I think we just made a little bit better call on tires than Erb did,” said Sheppard. “I think he had a really good car but I think I found that top a little bit sooner than he did. I thought for sure his crew guy would tell him to go to the top after that caution but I don’t know. I was still pretty far back at that point so maybe they didn’t see me back there but man- what a heck of a year. It’s been really great. I can’t thank Mark Richards and Steve Baker enough. These [Rocket] XR1s are just phenomenal. These things are top-notch and second to none.”

Erb settled for his sixth second-place run of the season and his fourth second-place run to his friend, Sheppard.

“I really didn’t want to see the caution but it happens,” said Erb. “It just wasn’t my night. Running second to Sheppy is as close as you can get to a win. He’s obviously the best car in the country. We were pretty good. We went a little softer on tires. It didn’t really hurt us but once he got going I couldn’t run that line up there. I’m just happy to run second. We’ve been kind of on a downhill for the past month or so.”

Siebert rounded out the podium scoring his highest World of Outlaws finish to date.

“It was a good night and a good Sunday for us and it’s awesome to be up here in third,” said Siebert. “It’s a confidence booster for me and my team. It’s a lot trickier than the mods that we’ve run in the past. There’s a lot to change and a lot to keep up on so it’s just a learning curve but it feels good to be here right now.”

The World of Outlaws Craftsman® Late Model Series has five more races on tap for the 2017 season with the next stop being at the Dirt Oval at Route 66 raceway in mid-October. 

81 Speedway Abbreviated Results:
 
Craftsman Club Feature: 1. 1- Brandon Sheppard[3]; 2. 91- Tyler Erb[2]; 3. 16- Austin Siebert[1]; 4. 18c- Chase Junghans[10]; 5. 25- Shane Clanton[7]; 6. 9- Devin Moran[4]; 7. 1*- Chub Frank[6]; 8. 44- Chris Madden[5]; 9. 99jr- Frank Heckenast Jr[12]; 10. 7- Rick Eckert[8]; 11. 14m- Morgan  Bagley[13]; 12. 18- Eric Wells[9]; 13. B1- Brent Larson[11]; 14. 81- Mark Harrison[15]; 15. 4-Oct- Adam Popp[14]; 16. ’03- Jeremy Bishop[16]; DNS. 99- Gary Gorby[17]
Qualifying: 1. 1- Brandon Sheppard, 16.846; 2. 91- Tyler Erb, 16.946; 3. 9- Devin Moran, 17.127; 4. 1*- Chub Frank, 17.134; 5. 44- Chris Madden, 17.142; 6. 18- Eric Wells, 17.146; 7. 18c- Chase Junghans, 17.229; 8. 7- Rick Eckert, 17.284; 9. 16- Austin Siebert, 17.301; 10. 25- Shane Clanton, 17.348; 11. B1- Brent Larson, 17.457; 12. 99jr- Frank Heckenast Jr, 17.463 13. 14m- Morgan Bagley, 17.551; 14. 99- Gary Gorby, 17.651; 15. 81- Mark Harrison, 18.043; 16. ’03- Jeremy Bishop, 18.628; 17. 4-Oct- Adam Popp, 19.028

See full results from 81 Speedway

The World of Outlaws Craftsman® Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: Arizona Sport Shirts (Official Apparel Company), Textron Off Road (Official Side-by-Side Vehicle), Craftsman (Official Tool), Extended Stay America (Official Hotel), Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), Morton Buildings (Official Building), Sears (Official Home Store),  The Kenny Wallace Dirt Racing Experience (Official Racing Experience, VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel) and DirtonDirt.com (Hard Charger Award); in addition to contingency sponsors, including: Cometic Gasket, Comp Cams, Edelbrock, JE Pistons, JRI Shocks, MSD, Penske Shocks, QA1, QuarterMaster, Superflow Dynos and Wrisco Aluminum (Exclusive Racing Aluminum); along with manufacturer sponsors, including: Capital Race Cars, Integra Shocks, Impact Racing Products, Intercomp, Racing Electronics, Rocket Chassis and TNT Rescue.
Founded in 1978, the World of Outlaws®, based in Concord, N.C., is the premier national touring series for dirt track racing in North America, featuring the most powerful cars on dirt, the World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series and the World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series. Annually, the two series race nearly 140 times at tracks across the United States and Canada. CBS Sports Network is the official broadcast partner of the World of Outlaws. DIRTVision® also broadcasts all World of Outlaws events over the Internet to fans around the world. Learn more about the World of Outlaws.

Sources: Kayla May/ World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series PR
http://woolms.com/news/race- reports/267-2017-race-reports/ 2269-bshepp-brings-out-the- broom

PARK CITY, KS— September 24, 2017— Brandon Sheppard brought out the broom on Sunday night at 81 Speedway after his third consecutive win with the World of Outlaws Craftsman® Late Model Series in just as many nights during the Great Plains swing. His winning streak started on Friday at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, KS, continued to Saturday at Salina Highbanks in Salina, OK, and concluded at 81 Speedway on Sunday evening in Park City, KS.

Craftsman Club Feature: 1. 1- Brandon Sheppard[3]; 2. 91- Tyler Erb[2]; 3. 16- Austin Siebert[1]; 4. 18c- Chase Junghans[10]; 5. 25- Shane Clanton[7]; 6. 9- Devin Moran[4]; 7. 1*- Chub Frank[6]; 8. 44- Chris Madden[5]; 9. 99jr- Frank Heckenast Jr[12]; 10. 7- Rick Eckert[8]; 11. 14m- Morgan  Bagley[13]; 12. 18- Eric Wells[9]; 13. B1- Brent Larson[11]; 14. 81- Mark Harrison[15]; 15. 10-4- Adam Popp[14]; 16. ’03- Jeremy Bishop[16]; DNS. 99- Gary Gorby[17]

Heat 1: 1. 1*- Chub Frank[2]; 2. 1- Brandon Sheppard[1]; 3. 25- Shane Clanton[4]; 4. 18c- Chase Junghans[3]; 5. 14m- Morgan Bagley[5]; 6. ’03- Jeremy Bishop[6]

Heat 2: 1. 91- Tyler Erb[1]; 2. 44- Chris Madden[2]; 3. 7- Rick Eckert[3]; 4. B1- Brent Larson[4]; 5. 10-4- Adam Popp[6]; DNS. 99- Gary Gorby[5]

Heat 3: 1. 9- Devin Moran[1]; 2. 16- Austin Siebert[3]; 3. 18- Eric Wells[2]; 4. 99jr- Frank Heckenast Jr[4]; 5. 81- Mark Harrison[5]

Qualifying: 1. 1- Brandon Sheppard, 16.846; 2. 91- Tyler Erb, 16.946; 3. 9- Devin Moran, 17.127; 4. 1*- Chub Frank, 17.134; 5. 44- Chris Madden, 17.142; 6. 18- Eric Wells, 17.146; 7. 18c- Chase Junghans, 17.229; 8. 7- Rick Eckert, 17.284; 9. 16- Austin Siebert, 17.301; 10. 25- Shane Clanton, 17.348; 11. B1- Brent Larson, 17.457; 12. 99jr- Frank Heckenast Jr, 17.463 13. 14m- Morgan Bagley, 17.551; 14. 99- Gary Gorby, 17.651; 15. 81- Mark Harrison, 18.043; 16. ’03- Jeremy Bishop, 18.628; 17. 10-4- Adam Popp, 19.028

CONTINGENCY WINNERS: Craftsman/Sears ($200 Cash): Brandon Sheppard, Tyler Erb, Shane Clanton; Devin Moran; Chub Frank; Craftsman/Sears ($100 Cash): Austin Siebert; Comp Cams ($50 product certificate): Brandon Sheppard; MSD Ignition ($50 Cash): Brandon Sheppard; Quarter Master ($100 Product Certificate): Brandon Sheppard; Wrisco (Three Sheets of aluminum): Brandon Sheppard; Penske Racing Shocks ($50 Product Certificate): Shane Clanton; JE Pistons ($50 Cash): Devin Moran; VP Racing Fuels ($50 Cash): Chris Madden; Edelbrock ($50 Cash): Rick Eckert; Comp Cams ($50 Cash): Morgan Bagley; Extended Stay America ($50 Cash): Morgan Bagley.; Cometic ($50 Cash): Eric Wells; JRI Shocks ($50 Cash): Brent Larson; Superflow Dyno’s ($50 Cash): Mark Harrison; Quartermaster ($25 Product Certificate):Adam Popp; JE Pistons (One set of piston rings): Jeremy Bishop; Quartermaster ($50 Product Certificate): Brandon Sheppard; Arizona Sport Shirts ($100 Product Certificate):Tyler Erb; JE Pistons (One set of piston rings): Brandon Sheppard; MSD Ignition ($25 Cash): Jeremy Bishop; QA-1 ($50 Cash): Tyler Erb; Rookie Bonus: Devin Moran; Bonus Bucks: Austin Siebert

SEASON WINNERS:

Brandon Sheppard- 16 (Whynot Motorsports Park on March 24, Farmer City Raceway on April 1, Fayetteville Motor Speedway on May 6, Wayne County Speedway on May 27, Senoia Raceway on June 3, Brighton Speedway on June 17, Lernerville Speedway on June 25, Federated Auto Part Raceway at I-55 on July 1, Hibbing Raceway on July 13, Fayette County Speedway on July 26, Fairbury American Legion Speedway on July 30, Oshkosh SpeedZone Raceway on Aug. 1, Port Royal Speedway on Aug. 19, Eriez Speedway on Aug. 20, Lakeside Speedway on Sept. 22, Salina Highbanks Speedway on Sept. 23)

Shane Clanton- 5 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 24, Cherokee Speedway on May 6, Tazewell Speedway on June 3, River Cities Speedway on June 14, Merritt Speedway on Aug. 26)

Chris Madden– 5 (Screven Motorsports Complex on Feb. 18, Deer Creek Speedway on July 8, Ogilvie Raceway on July 12, Cedar Lake Speedway on Aug. 5, Merritt Speedway on Aug. 27)

Brandon Overton- 2 (Smoky Mountain Speedway on May 13, Lernerville Speedway on June 24)

Rick Eckert– 2 (Screven Motorsports Complex on Feb. 17, Shawano Speedway on Aug. 2)

Devin Moran- 2 (Atomic Speedway on May 26, Georgetown Speedway on Aug. 18)

Don O’Neal- 1 (Volusia Speedway Park on Feb. 25)

Timothy Culp- 1 (LoneStar Speedway on March 26)

Brian Shirley-1 (Farmer City Raceway on April 2)

Mike Marlar- 1 (Duck River Raceway Park on May 14)

Max Blair- 1 (McKean County Raceway on June 20)

Jeff Rine- 1 (Selinsgrove Speedway on Sept. 3)

Unofficial World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Model Series Championship Standings:

Pos. Car # Driver Points Trail By
1 1 Brandon Sheppard 5380 0
2 44 Chris Madden 5080 300
3 25 Shane Clanton 5036 344
4 9 Devin Moran 4982 398
5 7 Rick Eckert 4942 438
6 91 Tyler Erb 4928 452
7 18 Eric Wells 4788 592
8 1* Chub Frank 4730 650
9 99JR Frank Heckenast Jr. 4724 656
10 14M Morgan Bagley 4708 672
11 2C Joey Coulter 2856 2524
12 18C Chase Junghans 2654 2726
13 3S Brian Shirley 2464 2916
14 157 Mike Marlar 1930 3450
15 B1 Brent Larson 1612 3768
16 93 Donald Bradsher 1486 3894
17 40B Kyle Bronson 1456 3924
18 32 Bobby Pierce 1218 4162
19 21JR Billy Moyer Jr. 1124 4256
20 116 Brandon Overton   1110 4270