DAVENPORT, Iowa — Brandon Sheppard drew the outside pole and took advantage of his starting position to cruise to his seventh World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series victory of the season Friday night at Davenport Speedway.
Sheppard wasted no time getting the lead, using his momentum to blast around Jason Feger on the top of the race track.
“[Starting second] was definitely key tonight for sure,” Sheppard said. “We had a really good car for the slick before it rubbered, so that makes me feel good for [Saturday].”
Sheppard’s win is the 76th World of Outlaws triumph of his career and third victory in the last six races. He’s also won three of the previous four series events at Davenport Speedway.
Sheppard stated his crew is starting to hit a stride, even as they are trying different setups to better the Rocket1 race team.
“My guys have been just working their butts off on this thing, getting it going good for me,” Sheppard said. “We’re hit and miss some nights, but we’re doing a lot of trial and error and trying to fine-tune this thing in and get it figured back out again.”
Bobby Pierce finished in the runner-up spot for the second consecutive night and had a chance at the lead toward the end.
“I didn’t want to try anything crazy,” Pierce said. “When you dip down on that rubber line, you’re kind of in a death slide. If I had a really clear shot, maybe, but it’s very unlikely to do that in the rubber, so you kind of hang on to your spot.”
Pierce, who started fourth, made a move on an early restart to get to second. Like Sheppard, the “Smooth Operator” found an open lane on the outside.
“I was unlucky with the draw, but I was lucky with that caution coming out,” Pierce said. “[Chris Madden] did the best thing he could’ve done for me and dive down to that middle. I knew the top was good for me, so I just found it out and basically rolled to second.”
Devin Moran backed up his win on Thursday with a third-place finish.
“I felt like my [Longhorn] chassis was really good; I just couldn’t get any further than third,” Moran said.
Feger crossed the line fourth and Chris Madden rounded out the top five.
The finish:
Feature (40 Laps): -1. 1-Brandon Sheppard [2][$10,000]; 2. 32P-Bobby Pierce [4][$6,000]; 3. 9-Devin Moran [8][$3,500]; 4. 25-Jason Feger [1][$2,800]; 5. 44-Chris Madden [3][$2,500]; 6. 97-Cade Dillard [7][$2,300]; 7. 28M-Jimmy Mars [5][$2,200]; 8. 99JR-Frank Heckenast [6][$2,100]; 9. 0-Nick Hoffman [12][$2,050]; 10. 18-Shannon Babb [9][$2,000]; 11. 19R-Ryan Gustin [14][$1,600]; 12. 32-Chris Simpson [20][$1,400]; 13. 7-Ricky Weiss [22][$1,200]; 14. 99B-Boom Briggs [11][$1,100]; 15. 3S-Brian Shirley [10][$1,050]; 16. B1-Brent Larson [15][$1,000]; 17. 41-Jeremiah Hurst [16][$1,000]; 18. 16-Tyler Bruening [18][$1,000]; 19. 59-Garrett Alberson [24][$1,000]; 20. 28-Dennis Erb [17][$1,000]; 21. 15K-Justin Kay [21][$1,000]; 22. 19G-Richie Gustin [19][$1,000]; 23. 29-Spencer Diercks [13][$1,000]; 24. 49-Jake Timm [23][$1,000] Hard Charger: 7-Ricky Weiss[+9]