FAIRBURY, Ill. — Brandon Sheppard charged to victory Saturday night at Fairbury Speedway, winning the FALS Spring Shootout presented by Titan Industries.
The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series presented by FloRacing event paid $30,000 to the winner.
Sheppard took the lead from Brian Shirley on lap 13 and led the remainder of the race, holding off a late charge from Nick Hoffman over the final five laps to secure his 38th career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory and his 17th career win at Fairbury Speedway.
Shirley, who led the opening 12 laps, rounded out the Big River Steel podium in third. Brandon Overton finished fourth, while Bobby Pierce completed the top five.
The victory marked Sheppard’s fourth Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of the season and his seventh overall triumph of 2026. With the win, he moves to third in the championship standings heading into next weekend’s events at Eagle Raceway in Nebraska.
“This feels awesome. It seems like it’s been forever since we won here,” Sheppard said. “We always seem to win prelims at the Prairie Dirt Classic, but these bigger races have avoided me for a while, so it’s really special to win one here tonight.”
“When I was growing up, I dreaded coming to Fairbury because it’s so tough to win here. It takes such a different driving style, and the track changes so much throughout the night. The last eight laps, I felt like I was hanging on for dear life. I think the right rear tire may have been going down after I ran over something during that caution, but this car is an absolute dream to drive right now.”
Hoffman, seeking his second career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory, started seventh and finished 0.423 seconds behind Sheppard in the Tye Twarog Motorsports entry.
Hoffman moved into second with 10 laps remaining after Clay Harris—who advanced from 12th to second by lap 21 – was slowed in lapped traffic.
“He’s the Fairbury GOAT,” Hoffman said of Sheppard. “There were times I felt like I could gain a little on him, and I was hoping we’d get back to lapped traffic after that caution. But he was just better than me up on the cushion and could really pull away down the straightaways. The biggest thing is learning something for when we come back for the Prairie Dirt Classic.”
Shirley, who started from the pole, was also eligible for the $1,000 Steering Buddy Darkhorse Award, presented to a first-time Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series feature winner in a full-points event.
“I think it’s honestly just track time here,” said the defending Prairie Dirt Classic champion, who is following the LOLMDS full time for the first time in his career. “We haven’t had enough laps here yet to get the feel and balance exactly where we need it. But this was a really solid finish for our team and sponsors. We need to focus on consistently finishing races before worrying about winning them. I felt like we had a shot tonight, and while maybe we weren’t quite as good as Nick or Sheppy, being this competitive is a huge confidence boost for our team.”
FALS Spring Shootout Presented by Titan Industries Feature Finish (60 Laps):
Pos – Start – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Earnings
1 – 2 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – $30,900
2 – 7 – 9H – Nick Hoffman – Mooresville, NC – $15,000
3 – 1 – 3S – Brian Shirley – Chatham, IL – $7,900
4 – 6 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – $6,400
5 – 11 – 32 – Bobby Pierce – Oakwood, IL – $4,500
6 – 8 – 25F – Jason Feger – Bloomington, IL – $3,500
7 – 16 – 11 – Josh Rice – Crittenden, KY – $4,000
8 – 12 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – $3,400
9 – 18 – 14 – Trey Mills – ST. Augustine, FL – $2,400
10 – 17 – 15D – Justin Duty – Molalla, OR – $2,300
11 – 15 – 24U – Ryan Unzicker – El Paso, IL – $2,200
12 – 3 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – $3,000
13 – 10 – 18 – Shannon Babb – Moweaqua, IL – $2,000
14 – 14 – 28 – Dennis Erb Jr – Carpentersville, IL – $1,900
15 – 24 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – $2,700
16 – 26 – 22 – Daniel Hilsabeck – Earlham, IA – $1,250
17 – 9 – 111 – Max Blair – Centerville, PA – $2,600
18 – 4 – 1T – Tyler Erb – New Waverly, TX – $1,650
19 – 5 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – $3,000
20 – 20 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – $2,850
21 – 23 – 93 – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – $2,450
22 – 22 – 40B – Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – $2,400
23 – 25 – 8 – Dillon McCowan – Urbana, MO – $1,000
24 – 13 – 9 – Michael Leach – Sun River, MT – $1,500
25 – 21 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – $2,800
26 – 19 – 99JR – Frank Heckenast Jr – Frankfort, IL – $1,500
27 – 27 – 19M – Brenden Smith – Dade City, FL – $100
