DAVENPORT, Iowa — Brandon Sheppard knew he’d face many challenges when he started Sheppard-Riggs Racing this season. And on Saturday at Davenport Speedway, the four-time World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series champion overcame one of those obstacles.
After going winless in the first 28 races, the New Berlin, Ill., driver scored his first series win of the season in the My Place Hotels Quad Cities 150 presented by Hoker Trucking finale.
Chris Madden led the field to the green in the 80-lap feature, but four cautions slowed the field in the race’s first quarter—the fourth coming on lap 16.
On the lap-16 restart, points leader Bobby Pierce slid under Madden in turn one and nosed out ahead of the No. 44 on the backstretch. Madden withstood that challenge, driving back around Pierce to keep the lead. Pierce then hounded Madden for the next 20 laps, keeping pace with “Smokey” as they battled around the quarter-mile bullring,
Eventually, the long green-flag run played into Pierce’s hands, as he pulled even with Madden on the bottom as they clicked off lap 35. But the next time around, the “Smooth Operator” found the burst of speed he needed, nosing ahead of Madden to complete lap 36.
The Oakwood, Ill., driver pulled away, seeming destined for a weekend sweep until everything changed on lap 58. Pierce’s right rear tire went flat, bringing out the caution and handing the lead to defending Series champion Dennis Erb Jr., who had just passed Madden for second.
Erb’s lead was short-lived, though. Sheppard found the opening he needed on the bottom. When the two Illinois drivers returned to the start/finish line, Sheppard’s momentum allowed him to inch past Erb’s No. 28 as he wrestled the lead away.
From there, not even a late-race restart could keep Sheppard’s No. B5 out of victory lane, as he held on to win his first World of Outlaws Feature with Sheppard-Riggs Racing and first in a Longhorn Chassis.
“It feels awesome,” Sheppard said. “My team’s been working really hard. Everything has been starting to come our way a little bit. We’ve been starting to show consistency in the past couple of months, and Longhorn has been super easy to work with. It’s been a trying year with a bunch of ups and downs, but nobody’s given up on me one bit or questioned me one bit. It just feels good, and it means the world to be standing here.”
The $30,000 triumph is Sheppard’s 82nd World of Outlaws victory, and his fourth series win at Davenport Speedway.
“If you could roll the bottom right, which we could all weekend, I knew if it ever came in, we were going to be there,” Sheppard said. “I was able to keep my speed up good at the beginning of the race and not kill my tire. Not slip it too much up top, and not fall back. Once we were able to start moving around a little bit, that’s when I knew my tire wasn’t going to get hurt, and I could go wherever I needed to.
“I knew at the end of the day that the bottom is the place to be, and the top was just a little too dirty for me to be too tempted to go up there. So, I went with my gut. And sure enough, Dennis went up there to race guys on the outside, and we were able to win the race.”
Tanner English finished second, his third podium in his last five World of Outlaws races at the track.
“We were conserving the whole race and trying not to spin the tire,” English said. “I had that in the back of my mind the whole time. Just trying to conserve. We went with a hard tire this year, not the softer option like last year. This tire game is different now. But we were right there, and I can’t say enough about this team.”
Ryan Gustin rounded out the podium after starting 11th.
“I saw everybody cut left on a restart, and I figured I didn’t have anything to lose,” Gustin said. “It was getting blacker and blacker up there. But on the flip side of things, that bottom got so, I think they got them tires pushed in or something where it was so short around the bottom where I had to carry a lot of speed.
“I thought we maybe had them there, but it just wasn’t meant to be. Hats off to Brandon and Tanner. They drove a hell of a race.”
Madden crossed the line fourth after falling as far back as sixth. He has two top fives in three nights racing a new Longhorn chassis.
He also gained on Pierce in the battle for the championship, cutting the lead to 116 points with eleven races remaining. Pierce rebounded to finish ninth after the flat tire.
Brian Shirley rounded out the top five.
The finish:
Feature (80 Laps): 1. B5-Brandon Sheppard[3]; 2. 96V-Tanner English[10]; 3. 19R-Ryan Gustin[11]; 4. 44-Chris Madden[1]; 5. 3S-Brian Shirley[9]; 6. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[2]; 7. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[16]; 8. 25S-Chad Simpson[13]; 9. 32-Bobby Pierce[4]; 10. 40B-Kyle Bronson[7]; 11. 97-Cade Dillard[6]; 12. 16-Tyler Bruening[17]; 13. 30-Todd Cooney[23]; 14. 25-Shane Clanton[8]; 15. B1-Brent Larson[21]; 16. 9-Nick Hoffman[5]; 17. 25F-Jason Feger[12]; 18. 14W-Dustin Walker[24]; 19. 32S-Chris Simpson[19]; 20. 32B-Cody Laney[18]; 21. 111-Matt Lux[20]; 22. 18-Shannon Babb[14]; 23. 11-Gordy Gundaker[22]; 24. 14G-Trevor Gundaker[15]
