Story By: BEN SHELTON / SHEPPARD RIGGS RACING – NEW BERLIN, IL – Brandon Sheppard and Sheppard Riggs Racing claimed another five-figure payday on Friday evening.
Their latest mega win came at Wisconsin’s Mississippi Thunder Speedway with his Valvoline / TrueTimber No. B5 WYLD GEAR / Riggs Drilling Solutions / Bilstein / Longhorn Chassis / Cornett Racing Engine Super Late Model.
“We had an absolute hot rod all weekend. On Friday night we got to the lead and held off Bobby (Pierce) late to get the win, and then he flipped the tables on us on Saturday night, and we came up a bit short with a second-place finish. This team is challenging for wins pretty much every night right now, and I’m proud of the games we’ve made since the beginning of this season,” Sheppard said. “I’m honored to have the opportunity to pilot the Kevin Rumley Longhorn Development car this weekend at the World 100. We’ve been close in that event before, and we are going to give it our best shot to get a globe this weekend.”
Kicking off his Labor Day weekend with the World of Outlaws (WoO) Case Late Model Series, Brandon Sheppard trekked to Mississippi Thunder Speedway (Fountain City, Wis.) on Friday evening to pilot his Sheppard Riggs Racing No. B5 Super Late Model for the Milton Hershey School Back to Class Showdown.
In a field of 30 entries, Sheppard followed up the ninth-fastest qualifying lap in his group with a second-place finish in his heat race. Receiving the second-starting position for the feature the redraw, Brandon whizzed past Brian Shirley for the lead on lap 17 and repelled Bobby Pierce’s ferocious charge to secure his second straight World of Outlaws victory and series-best 83rd of his career. He banked the $20,000 payday, his fifth of the season, ahead of Pierce, Ryan Gustin, Kyle Bronson, and Chris Madden.
For the WoO-sanctioned Labor Day Duel on Saturday at Deer Creek Speedway (Spring Valley, Minn.), Brandon topped the 28-car field in time trials before placing first in his heat race.
Starting the $20,000-to-win finale in fourth, Sheppard challenged pacesetter Bobby Pierce in the closing laps amid lapped-traffic but wasn’t able to get by, marking him second in the final rundown with Dustin Sorensen rounding out the podium.
Brandon is currently tied for second with Chris Madden in the latest World of Outlaws point standings.
Sheppard now turns his attention to the 53rd annual World 100 at Tony Stewart’s Eldora Speedway (Rossburg, Ohio).
On both Thursday and Friday the field will be divided into a pair of $12,000-to-win programs. Meanwhile, Saturday’s coveted finale posts a $56,000 winner’s check along with the coveted globe trophy.