Edge of Seventeen: Sheppard Wins Rain-shortened Race at I-96
Rocket1 Racing collects its 17th Morton Buildings Feature win of 2019, now 1 win shy of record
LAKE ODESSA, MI — Aug. 29, 2019 — The chance of rain was imminent Thursday night at I-96 Speedway, so the urgency of the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series racers was clear. Get to the lead and get to the lead quickly. That’s exactly how Brandon Sheppard raced.
From his outside front row starting position, Sheppard charged around Chase Junghans through turns 1 and 2 and into the top spot. The points leader from New Berlin, IL, continued to pull away while every spot behind him was tightly contested. Sheppard was going to leave no doubt en route to his 17th victory of the season, one short of tying the all-time single-season win mark.
Sheppard was blazing a trail through turns 3 and 4 on lap 24 when a group of cars spun in front of him. While under caution, the skies opened and that imminent rainstorm made its appearance. The race was declared official with Sheppard earning the victory, Junghans in second and Frank Heckenast Jr. in third.
World of Outlaws rules state officials can declare a Feature event complete at any time if the conditions create a reasonable inability to continue, ultimately leading officials to make that decision Thursday night.
Up next, the Outlaws take on Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio, on Friday and Saturday night in the brand-new “Battle at the Border” event. This two-day racing extravaganza kicks off with a 25-lap, $6,000-to-win Morton Buildings Feature on Friday night, culminating with a 75-lap, $15,000-to-win Feature on Saturday night.
Hot Laps go live on DIRTVision tonight at 6:30 p.m. ET!
Morton Buildings Feature (24 Laps, rain shortened) 1. 1-Brandon Sheppard [2][$10,000]; 2. 18-Chase Junghans [1][$5,000]; 3. 99jr-Frank Heckenast [3][$3,000]; 4. 29-Darrell Lanigan [4][$2,500]; 5. 97-Cade Dillard [6][$2,000]; 6. M14-Brandon Thirlby [14][$1,700]; 7. 25-Shane Clanton [5][$1,400]; 8. 7-Ricky Weiss [12][$1,300]; 9. 99B-Boom Briggs [7][$1,200]; 10. 42-Chad Finley [8][$1,100]; 11. 87-David Mielke [13][$1,050]; 12. B1-Brent Larson [11][$1,000]; 13. 28-Dennis Erb [9][$950]; 14. 6-Blake Spencer [17][$900]; 15. 24n-Kyle Novak [19][$850]; 16. 5*-Bryant Dickinson [18][$800]; 17. CJ1-Rusty Schlenk [23][$770]; 18. 2s-Travis Stemler [10][$750]; 19. 52-Brad Harden [20][$730]; 20. 2-Bry Johnson [16][$700]; 21. 53-Hillard Miller [21][$700]; 22. 21-Logan Arntz [22][$700]; 23. 113-Kyle Roberts [15][$700] Hard Charger: M14-Brandon Thirlby[+8]
The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings® Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: Drydene (Official Motor Oil), E-Z-GO Golf Carts (Official Golf Cart)Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), iRacing(Official Online Racing Game), Morton Buildings (Official Building), NGK Spark Plugs (Official Spark Plug),Arizona Sport Shirts (Official Apparel Company), VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel); in addition to contingency sponsors, including: Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams,DART,JE Pistons, MSD, Penske Shocks, PFC Brakes (Fast Time Award), QuarterMaster, and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum); along with manufacturer sponsors, including: Capital Race Cars,FireAde,Integra Shocks, Impact Racing Products, Intercomp, Racing Electronics, Rocket Chassis and TNT Rescue.
Founded in 1978, the World of Outlaws®, based in Concord, NC, is the premier national touring series for dirt track racing in North America, featuring the most powerful cars on dirt, the World of Outlaws NOS® Energy Drink Sprint Car Series and the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings® 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 World of Outlaws events over the Internet to fans around the world. Learn more about the World of Outlaws.
Sources: Jordan DeLucia, World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series PR