BOONE, Iowa — Fans were in for a treat at Boone Speedway Friday night, as a format change meant every driver would run two 25-lap features, known as the Twin Hawks.
At the end of the night, Cade Dillard and Shannon Babb walked away with $3,000 and a lot of momentum going into Saturday’s Hawkeye 100.
A pair of three-time champions and 111 combined World of Outlaws victories is all that stood between Cade Dillard and victory lane Friday night. But when the checkered flag flew, it was Dillard who had the last laugh, winning his first feature of 2021.
The Louisiana driver started third and moved past Billy Moyer after a restart on lap three.
That’s when the cat and mouse game began, as Dillard tried to chase down three-time and defending champion Brandon Sheppard. He continued to follow the “Rocket Shepp” for most of the race before he seized his opportunity with seven laps to go.
Dillard used his momentum off turn two to set up a slide job on Sheppard. He’d lead the rest of the way for his third career World of Outlaws win.
“It would’ve been really hard to pass if it wasn’t for lapped traffic,” Dillard said. “[Sheppard] was really good, and I was able to get a run once he slipped up.”
Sheppard finished second and had some frustration after leading the first 18 laps.
“We were good but once we got to lapped traffic, I didn’t really know where to go,” Sheppard said. “I think my left rear tire was giving up a little but that’s no excuse, we got beat in lap traffic.”
The New Berlin, IL driver’s runner-up performance adds to his lead in the series standings – 50 points ahead of Chris Madden.
Pole-sitter Billy Moyer crossed the line third, followed by Chris Madden and Bobby Pierce.
The lineup for the second 25-lap feature was determined by an invert of the top-12 drivers from the first race.
That played into Shannon Babb’s favor, putting him on the pole. He used the starting position to his advantage, leading wire-to-wire for his first series win of 2021.
Within the first five laps, Babb had to hold off a hard charging Logan Martin, and Frank Heckenast in a three-wide battle for the lead. Once he gained momentum and nosed back in front, it was smooth sailing from that point forward.
Babb’s team made some key adjustments at the right time, helped by a good starting position.
“We really missed [the setup] in the first one, but in this business, you have to have a lot of luck,” Babb said. “[The track] cleaned up a little bit so starting in front helped a whole bunch.”
Heckenast finished second and had no regrets going three-wide for the lead.
“The only thing I should’ve done different, is maybe be a little more aggressive in the beginning,” Heckenast said. “I was just happy to have a car this good in the slick. We’ve been struggling lately, so it’s a good momentum booster.”
Spencer Diercks finished fourth, and Logan Martin crossed the line fifth.
Billy Moyer scored the most points Friday night, and will start on the pole for the first heat race. Dillard and Heckenast will start first in heat races two and three.
The finishes:
Twin Hawk Feature 1 (25 Laps)-1. 97-Cade Dillard [3][$3,000]; 2. 1-Brandon Sheppard [2][$1,500]; 3. 21-Billy Moyer [1][$1,000]; 4. 44-Chris Madden [6][$800]; 5. 32-Bobby Pierce [4][$600]; 6. 19R-Ryan Gustin [7][$550]; 7. 99JR-Frank Heckenast [5][$525]; 8. 16-Tyler Bruening [8][$500]; 9. 29-Spencer Diercks [12][$475]; 10. 99B-Boom Briggs [9][$450]; 11. 36-Logan Martin [17][$425]; 12. 18B-Shannon Babb [10][$400]; 13. 11-Gordy Gundaker [13][$350]; 14. 28-Dennis Erb [11][$325]; 15. 8-Kyle Strickler [20][$300]; 16. 32S-Chris Simpson [14][$300]; 17. 55C-Chad Mahder [15][$300]; 18. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck [16][$300]; 19. 18-Chase Junghans [23][$300]; 20. 7-Ricky Weiss [19][$300]; 21. 19G-Richie Gustin [18][$300]; 22. 43-Jeremy Grady [21][$300]; 23. 3W-Brennon Willard [24][$300]; 24. B1-Brent Larson [22][$300] Hard Charger: 36-Logan Martin[+6]
Twin Hawk Feature 2 (25 Laps)- 1. 18B-Shannon Babb [1][$3,000]; 2. 99JR-Frank Heckenast [6][$1,500]; 3. 16-Tyler Bruening [5][$1,000]; 4. 29-Spencer Diercks [4][$800]; 5. 36-Logan Martin [2][$600]; 6. 99B-Boom Briggs [3][$550]; 7. 19R-Ryan Gustin [7][$525]; 8. 21-Billy Moyer [10][$500]; 9. 97-Cade Dillard [12][$475]; 10. 7-Ricky Weiss [20][$450]; 11. 32S-Chris Simpson [16][$425]; 12. 11-Gordy Gundaker [13][$400]; 13. 55C-Chad Mahder [17][$350]; 14. 32-Bobby Pierce [8][$325]; 15. 19G-Richie Gustin [21][$300]; 16. 28-Dennis Erb [14][$300]; 17. 8-Kyle Strickler [15][$300]; 18. 1-Brandon Sheppard [11][$300]; 19. 44-Chris Madden [9][$300]; 20. B1-Brent Larson [24][$300]; 21. 18-Chase Junghans [19][$300]; 22. 43-Jeremy Grady [22][$300]; 23. 3W-Brennon Willard [23][$300]; 24. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck [18][$300] Hard Charger: 7-Ricky Weiss[+10]