At 31 years old, Brandon Sheppard has already reached an elite status on the World of Outlaws Late Model Series tour.
The Illinois native is the all-time wins leader (83), is tied with Josh Richards for all-time championships (four) and has won many crown-jewel events, such as the Prairie Dirt Classic.
His unassuming manner can make him easy to overlook when wandering through the dirt late model pits, but Sheppard is easily a G.O.A.T. of the sport — even if he doesn’t see it that way yet.
“I don’t know about that,” Sheppard responded with a chuckle.
Even as he begins his eighth full-time season with the World of Outlaws, he made it clear that there’s no room for reflection on what he’s accomplished, so long as he’s still competing.
“I’ll wait until I’m done racing to do all that,” Sheppard said. “The highs are high and the lows are low in racing. That’s why you gotta stay level headed and just keep plugging away as much as you can.
“You can go on a string of races and win five in a row, and then miss the show the next five in a row.”
He didn’t have the best results to show for his efforts last year, but in reality, his third-place points finish was better than he expected.
With support from his dad, grandpa and business partner Scott Riggs, Sheppard formed a new race team — Sheppard Riggs Racing — ahead of the 2023 season.
It was a complete overhaul that involved a new chassis, engine, shocks and “everything under the sun,” as Sheppard put it.
“We got to go out on the road and do what we love and we learned a lot,” Sheppard said. “I knew we weren’t gonna light the world on fire the first year on my own.”
In a way, 2024 will also be a restart for the driver of the No. b5 dirt late model.
Sheppard is joining forces with Longhorn Chassis to be the manufacturer’s factory team, which has required even more adjustment for the family-run operation.
“I feel like we’re behind from where we were last year because we’re restarting again with new people involved,” Sheppard said. “But I think long term, we got a really good plan together and a good team behind us.”
From a team owner’s perspective, he’s conscious of the time it may take to build up his program again, especially after last year’s struggles. However, as a racer, it’s a difficult realization for Sheppard to deal with.
“I’m at the point in my life where I’m gonna be disappointed unless I win. If I don’t come out of (Florida) Speedweeks with the points lead, I’m gonna be disappointed. If I don’t win any races during Speedweeks, I’m gonna be disappointed,” Sheppard said. “That’s just how it is.”
He understands that his hunger to reach victory lane is not uncommon, but the level to which it drives him is what makes him stand out from the pack.
“I have to win, you know what I mean?” Sheppard said. “It’s not all about the money for me. It’s striving to be the best, to win, to make my family proud. When I get to the point where I don’t think I can win anymore, I’m not gonna race anymore, because at that point it won’t be worth it to me.”
He’s already a five-time Dirt Track World Championship winner, three-time Illini 100 champ, three-time World Finals winner, two-time DIRTcar Nationals champ and a two-time Silver Dollar Nationals winner.
But it’s not enough to temper Sheppard’s longing for more.
“There’s plenty of races out there that I haven’t won, and somebody’s name has gotta be on all of them in 2024,” Sheppard concluded.
It’s been three years since he won his last World of Outlaws title.