BEDFORD, Pa. — The World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models crosses the halfway point of the season with a second trip to Pennsylvania and Ohio.
With three races in three days, one driver could walk away with $40,000 by sweeping the weekend as two of the events pay $15,000 to win.
Pennsylvania’s Bedford Speedway hosts the series for the first time since 2009 for the $15,000-to-win Billy Winn Classic on July 11.
Competitors then travel three hours northwest to Ohio’s Sharon Speedway for a doubleheader weekend, July 12-13. Friday’s Feature will pay $10,000 to win and Saturday’s will pay $15,000 to win.
The Battle Continues
Brandon Sheppard and Nick Hoffman have not gotten away from each other in the fight for the Series points lead at the halfway point.
Sheppard picked up his third feature win of the season at Deer Creek Speedway by leading all 30 laps of Friday night’s feature. He returns to Sharon, a place he won with the series in 2019.
While Hoffman did not win at Deer Creek, his strong second-place showing and top-five run in the Gopher 50 finale cut the margin to Sheppard by 14 points.
The Mooresville, N.C., driver won at Bedford Speedway in 2021 driving a modified in the Renegades of Dirt Tour.
Pierce Is Back
For the first time since Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals in February, Bobby Pierce is back in the top three in the series points.
He finished on the podium in the three features at Deer Creek Speedway alongside the triumph of his second NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50 victory.
The reigning World of Outlaws CASE Late Models champion makes his first start at Bedford on Thursday and returns to Sharon, where he last finished on the podium.
Reaper’s Red Hot
Ryan Gustin stepped up in a big way during the Gopher 50 weekend by winning the first Feature with a photo-finish margin of 0.009 seconds over Nick Hoffman.
Gustin’s results improved behind the wheel of the No. 19r Cooney Motorsports Infinity Chassis through the Heartland Grand Tour, finishing inside the top-10 in eight of the 10 races run.
“The Reaper” will contend for a win at Sharon for a third consecutive year after winning features in 2022 and 2023.
Fast Rookies
The MD3 Rookie of the Year battle began to tighten after the Gopher 50 weekend, with Dustin Sorensen and Max McLaughlin in clear view of the lead.
Sorensen has held his points lead since the start of the season at Volusia Speedway Park, and led 31 laps at Brownstown Speedway before finishing second place to Hoffman.
McLaughlin picked up his first career points podium at River Cities Speedway, on top of a run of five top-10 finishes in the Heartland Grand Tour. He sits 48 points back from taking the lead.