By Mike Warren, WOO Late Model Series PR (Park City, KS) -- Brandon Sheppard picked up where he left off the last time the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series visited 81 Speedway.
Like in 2017, the New Berlin, IL driver found Victory Lane on Saturday, earning his fourth Series win of 2022 and 81st of his career.
PHOTO CREDIT: Jacy Norgaard
Sheppard and three-time Series champion Billy Moyer led the field to the green before Sheppard slid in front of Moyer to take the lead in Turn 2.
The reigning Series champion pulled away from the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Famer until he hit traffic on Lap 10, allowing Moyer and a charging Ryan Gustin to close the gap.
Moyer and Gustin had their best shot at Sheppard on Lap 17 when they battled three wide for the lead in Turns 3 and 4.
Sheppard stayed on the top while Moyer rolled the middle, nosing ahead in the middle of the corner. All this while Gustin used the bottom to try and get by them both. However, neither “The Reaper” nor “Mr. Smooth” had enough momentum to pass “The Rocket Shepp” as he thundered away from both in Turn 4.
From there, Sheppard cruised for the final 23 laps to grab his second $10,000 triumph of 2022.
Despite his dominance in the CASE Construction Equipment Feature, Sheppard said he was worried about how tricky it would be to run the top.
“This place has got a shelf all the way around the top of it,” Sheppard said. “The only place it doesn’t have a shelf is like right in the middle of (Turns) 3 and 4.
“It was kind of a tricky line, and I was kind of overdriving it early in the race, trying to keep my speed up and trying to keep them guys behind me. I was just going and going as hard as I could, and finally, I started to slow down a little bit, and I found a line that was better for me in Turns 1 and 2, and I feel like that helped me just not sheer my speed and kill my momentum.”
Sheppard entered 81 Speedway with many unknowns—not knowing what to expect since the track configuration had changed since his win in 2017
“The biggest thing right now for me is it’s a guessing game for me to figure out your setup right off the bat,” Sheppard said. “Especially at these places because I’ve never had a Late Model at these places before.
“Obviously, I won in 2017, but the track was different. It didn’t even have a wall around it. It’s just a big difference figuring out where you need to start and the changes you need to make throughout the night.”
Moyer crossed the line second—his best finish with the World of Outlaws this season. He stated he was happy to have a chance at beating Sheppard as he still searches for a victory in 2022.
“To be able to run that close made me feel good with the dismal year we’ve had,” Moyer said. “[Sheppard] made a couple of bobbles and I just wasn’t there at the right time to pounce on it.
“We got to just get some momentum under us and keep going and build on our program to where I feel more confident.”
Gustin, who battled for the lead with Sheppard and Moyer, finished 19th after breaking a drive shaft while running third on Lap 38.
Series points leader Dennis Erb Jr. rounded out the podium—his second top-three finish of the weekend.
The Carpentersville, IL, driver said he had a good car but felt the top was too strong down the stretch.
“We just kept plugging away here tonight,” Erb said. “The track was awful good up around the top, and we tried to male that middle work a little bit. But we were able to maintain a little bit and got to third. That top was just a little bit too dominant for out there tonight. It was a good run for us.”
Erb extended his lead in the battle for the championship for the second consecutive night over Tanner English, who finished seventh. The veteran driver leads by 118 points with four races to go.
Chase Junghans, who won on Friday at Humboldt Speedway, finished fourth, and Gordy Gundaker rounded out the top five.
Max Blair finished sixth and narrowly closed the gap on English in the battle for Rookie of the Year. English leads by 56 points as the road to the World of Outlaws World Finals continues.
Brandon Sheppard added another win to his World of Outlaws CASE Late Models resume, remaining the only Series winner at 81 Speedway. He’ll look to keep that momentum rolling as he tries to grab his fifth win of the season on Sunday.
UP NEXT: The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet head to the “Show-Me” State for the final time in 2022 with a trip to US 36 Raceway in Osborn, MO.
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RESULTS
Case Construction Feature (40 Laps): 1. B5-Brandon Sheppard[1]; 2. 21-Billy Moyer Sr[2]; 3. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[6]; 4. 18-Chase Junghans[7]; 5. 11-Gordy Gundaker[5]; 6. 111V-Max Blair[10]; 7. 81E-Tanner English[16]; 8. 11T-Trevor Gundaker[15]; 9. 16-Tyler Bruening[11]; 10. 25-Shane Clanton[9]; 11. 10-Jacob Magee[17]; 12. B1-Brent Larson[20]; 13. 21JR-Billy Moyer Jr[8]; 14. 1-Josh Richards[18]; 15. 99B-Boom Briggs[14]; 16. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[13]; 17. 77-Jordan Yaggy[19]; 18. 14W-Dustin Walker[21]; 19. 19R-Ryan Gustin[3]; 20. B1X-Dustin Bolster[23]; 21. 7D-Dusty Leonard[24]; 22. 157-Mike Marlar[4]; 23. 36-Logan Martin[12]; 24. 9-Joseph Gorby[22]
Last Chance Showdown 1 (10 Laps): 1. 10-Jacob Magee[2]; 2. 77-Jordan Yaggy[1]; 3. 14W-Dustin Walker[4]; 4. B1X-Dustin Bolster[3]; 5. 81-Troy Bynum[5]; 6. L88-Larry Clawson[8]; 7. 6L-Kevin Lueck[7]; 8. (DNS) 76-Blair Nothdurft; 9. (DNS) 1M-Darren Moses
Last Chance Showdown 2 (10 Laps): 1. 1-Josh Richards[2]; 2. B1-Brent Larson[1]; 3. 9-Joseph Gorby[3]; 4. 7D-Dusty Leonard[5]; 5. 99-Scott Lewis[8]; 6. 47-Chris Bratcher[4]; 7. (DNS) 60-Kip Hughes; 8. (DNS) 77J-Jeremy Petty; 9. (DNS) 53-Andrew Kosiski
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 157-Mike Marlar[1]; 2. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[2]; 3. 25-Shane Clanton[3]; 4. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[4]; 5. 77-Jordan Yaggy[6]; 6. B1X-Dustin Bolster[5]; 7. 81-Troy Bynum[7]; 8. 6L-Kevin Lueck[8]; 9. (DNS) 76-Blair Nothdurft
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. B5-Brandon Sheppard[2]; 2. 21JR-Billy Moyer Jr[1]; 3. 16-Tyler Bruening[3]; 4. 11T-Trevor Gundaker[4]; 5. 10-Jacob Magee[5]; 6. 14W-Dustin Walker[6]; 7. 1M-Darren Moses[8]; 8. L88-Larry Clawson[7]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 21-Billy Moyer Sr[1]; 2. 18-Chase Junghans[4]; 3. 111V-Max Blair[2]; 4. 99B-Boom Briggs[3]; 5. B1-Brent Larson[6]; 6. 9-Joseph Gorby[5]; 7. 7D-Dusty Leonard[7]; 8. 77J-Jeremy Petty[8]; 9. (DNS) 53-Andrew Kosiski
Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 19R-Ryan Gustin[6]; 2. 11-Gordy Gundaker[2]; 3. 36-Logan Martin[3]; 4. 81E-Tanner English[1]; 5. 1-Josh Richards[5]; 6. 47-Chris Bratcher[8]; 7. 60-Kip Hughes[4]; 8. 99-Scott Lewis[7]
Group A Qualifying (2 Laps): 1. 157-Mike Marlar, 00:15.718[4]; 2. 21JR-Billy Moyer Jr, 00:15.999[5]; 3. 28-Dennis Erb Jr, 00:16.061[12]; 4. B5-Brandon Sheppard, 00:16.107[1]; 5. 25-Shane Clanton, 00:16.154[2]; 6. 16-Tyler Bruening, 00:16.204[15]; 7. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck, 00:16.287[11]; 8. 11T-Trevor Gundaker, 00:16.288[16]; 9. B1X-Dustin Bolster, 00:16.349[8]; 10. 10-Jacob Magee, 00:16.410[17]; 11. 77-Jordan Yaggy, 00:16.464[10]; 12. 14W-Dustin Walker, 00:16.580[3]; 13. 81-Troy Bynum, 00:17.421[7]; 14. L88-Larry Clawson, 00:17.672[9]; 15. 6L-Kevin Lueck, 00:17.758[6]; 16. 1M-Darren Moses, 00:18.810[14]; 17. (DNS) 76-Blair Nothdurft, 00:18.810
Group B Qualifying (2 Laps): 1. 21-Billy Moyer Sr, 00:15.969[1]; 2. 81E-Tanner English, 00:16.106[8]; 3. 111V-Max Blair, 00:16.118[11]; 4. 11-Gordy Gundaker, 00:16.272[13]; 5. 99B-Boom Briggs, 00:16.276[7]; 6. 36-Logan Martin, 00:16.334[12]; 7. 18-Chase Junghans, 00:16.406[14]; 8. 60-Kip Hughes, 00:16.432[2]; 9. 9-Joseph Gorby, 00:16.454[4]; 10. 1-Josh Richards, 00:16.455[5]; 11. B1-Brent Larson, 00:16.456[17]; 12. 19R-Ryan Gustin, 00:16.595[9]; 13. 7D-Dusty Leonard, 00:16.810[15]; 14. 99-Scott Lewis, 00:16.831[16]; 15. 77J-Jeremy Petty, 00:17.216[6]; 16. 47-Chris Bratcher, 00:17.654[3]; 17. 53-Andrew Kosiski, 00:17.654[10]
Hot Laps: 1. 111V-Max Blair, 00:16.467[28]; 2. 53-Andrew Kosiski, 00:16.611[27]; 3. 7D-Dusty Leonard, 00:16.650[32]; 4. 28-Dennis Erb Jr, 00:16.683[12]; 5. B1-Brent Larson, 00:16.686[34]; 6. 11-Gordy Gundaker, 00:16.691[30]; 7. 21-Billy Moyer Sr, 00:16.706[18]; 8. 36-Logan Martin, 00:16.778[29]; 9. 16-Tyler Bruening, 00:16.847[15]; 10. 18-Chase Junghans, 00:16.879[31]; 11. 81E-Tanner English, 00:16.890[25]; 12. 19R-Ryan Gustin, 00:16.948[26]; 13. 99-Scott Lewis, 00:16.972[33]; 14. 1-Josh Richards, 00:17.001[22]; 15. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck, 00:17.150[11]; 16. 11T-Trevor Gundaker, 00:17.163[16]; 17. 77-Jordan Yaggy, 00:17.173[10]; 18. 99B-Boom Briggs, 00:17.380[24]; 19. 60-Kip Hughes, 00:17.496[19]; 20. 47-Chris Bratcher, 00:17.587[20]; 21. 9-Joseph Gorby, 00:17.708[21]; 22. 25-Shane Clanton, 00:17.710[2]; 23. B5-Brandon Sheppard, 00:18.072[1]; 24. 21JR-Billy Moyer Jr, 00:18.245[5]; 25. B1X-Dustin Bolster, 00:18.628[8]; 26. 77J-Jeremy Petty, 00:18.670[23]; 27. 81-Troy Bynum, 00:18.898[7]; 28. 6L-Kevin Lueck, 00:19.245[6]; 29. 14W-Dustin Walker, 00:19.293[3]; 30. 157-Mike Marlar, 00:19.315[4]; 31. L88-Larry Clawson, 00:19.354[9]; 32. 1M-Darren Moses, 00:19.622[14]; 33. 10-Jacob Magee, 00:19.622[17]; 34. 76-Blair Nothdurft, 00:19.622[13]
CURRENT STANDINGS
Points Updated: October 22, 2022
Pos. No. Driver Hometown Points Behind Starts Wins Top 5s Top 10s
1 28 Dennis Erb Carpentersville, IL 5298 39 4 20 31
2 81E Tanner English Benton, KY 5180 -118 39 2 11 27
3 111V Max Blair Centerville, PA 5124 -174 39 2 11 24
4 19R Ryan Gustin Marshalltown, IA 4890 -408 39 2 8 20
5 B1 Brent Larson Lake Elmo, MN 4762 -536 39 0 1 9
6 1 Josh Richards Houston, OH 4672 -626 36 0 4 13
7 11 Gordy Gundaker St. Charles, MO 4648 -650 37 0 4 9
8 99B Boom Briggs Bear Lake, PA 4506 -792 37 0 0 3
9 25 Shane Clanton Zebulon, GA 3862 -1436 29 2 9 17
10 16 Tyler Bruening Decorah, IA 3174 -2124 25 0 5 12
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ALTERNATIVE PEST MANAGEMENT USRA MODIFIEDS
A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 65-Tyler Davis[2]; 2. 21B-Bryce Schniepp[4]; 3. 7D-Dillon McCowan[1]; 4. 21C-Cody Schniepp[7]; 5. 24C-Brandon Conkwright[5]; 6. 55-Chris Kratzer[6]; 7. 15W-Wyatt Gaggero[9]; 8. 22N-Kevin Newell[12]; 9. 5*-Jason McGehee[19]; 10. 69-Cecil Dymond[18]; 11. 7-Treyton Gann[13]; 12. 020-Frederick Freeman[17]; 13. 7E-Steve Emond[16]; 14. 96-Logan Johnson[11]; 15. (DNF) 127-Paden Phillips[3]; 16. (DNF) 52-Ryan McAninch[8]; 17. (DNF) 87-Kenny Sweet[10]; 18. (DNF) 32R-Daniel Richey[14]; 19. (DNS) 95-Mark Brill; 20. (DNS) 65B-Brett Davis; 21. (DNS) 18-Bobby Mayfield
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 127-Paden Phillips[1]; 2. 65-Tyler Davis[7]; 3. 87-Kenny Sweet[2]; 4. 96-Logan Johnson[3]; 5. 7-Treyton Gann[6]; 6. 7E-Steve Emond[5]; 7. (DNF) 18-Bobby Mayfield[4]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 21B-Bryce Schniepp[1]; 2. 24C-Brandon Conkwright[2]; 3. 21C-Cody Schniepp[5]; 4. 15W-Wyatt Gaggero[7]; 5. 32R-Daniel Richey[6]; 6. (DNF) 5*-Jason McGehee[4]; 7. (DNS) 95-Mark Brill
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 7D-Dillon McCowan[7]; 2. 55-Chris Kratzer[1]; 3. 52-Ryan McAninch[4]; 4. 22N-Kevin Newell[3]; 5. 65B-Brett Davis[6]; 6. 020-Frederick Freeman[5]; 7. 69-Cecil Dymond[2]
BSB MANUFACTURING USRA B-MODS
A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 7G-Gabe Hodges[1]; 2. 33-Dustin Daniels[4]; 3. 77-Tyler Frye[5]; 4. 98-Kenton Allen[3]; 5. 61-Sturgis Streeter[6]; 6. 7-Anthony Tanner[9]; 7. 9-Slade Mohr[8]; 8. 21-Mark Smith[15]; 9. 13-Peyton Burkhart[14]; 10. 31-Luke Phillips[10]; 11. 2W-Richard Wilson[13]; 12. 20-Warren Huffman[11]; 13. 28-Shawn Langhover[18]; 14. (DNF) 22-KC Mullin[7]; 15. (DNF) MC2-Clint McFadden[19]; 16. (DNF) 19-Tanner Calhoun[17]; 17. (DNF) 17C-Henry Chambers[2]; 18. (DNF) 555-Seth Schroer[16]; 19. (DNF) 01-Kason Carroll[20]; 20. (DNS) 54-Tyler Kidwell
Heat 1 (6 Laps): 1. 7G-Gabe Hodges[2]; 2. 98-Kenton Allen[5]; 3. 61-Sturgis Streeter[1]; 4. 31-Luke Phillips[4]; 5. 22-KC Mullin[10]; 6. 20-Warren Huffman[8]; 7. 2W-Richard Wilson[9]; 8. 21-Mark Smith[7]; 9. 28-Shawn Langhover[3]; 10. MC2-Clint McFadden[6]
Heat 2 (6 Laps): 1. 17C-Henry Chambers[2]; 2. 33-Dustin Daniels[5]; 3. 77-Tyler Frye[8]; 4. 9-Slade Mohr[6]; 5. 7-Anthony Tanner[9]; 6. 54-Tyler Kidwell[7]; 7. 13-Peyton Burkhart[4]; 8. 555-Seth Schroer[1]; 9. 19-Tanner Calhoun[10]; 10. 01-Kason Carroll[3]