WHEATLAND, Mo. — Brandon Sheppard started sixth and passed race leader Gordy Gundaker on lap 15 to win the 19th annual CMH Diamond Nationals presented by Wieland on Saturday night at Lucas Oil Speedway.
Sheppard’s win was his second of the season with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series presented by FloRacing, and it allowed him to tie with Josh Richards for eighth on the all-time series wins list, now with 34 wins.
Once in front, Sheppard dominated the rest of the race, which was slowed only by one caution. Sheppard won by an impressive 3.775 seconds to become the 12th different winner in the event’s history, earning $25,000.
Hudson O’Neal, who started alongside Sheppard in row three, finished second, with Ricky Thornton Jr. third.
Justin Wells and Garrett Alberson completed the top five.
Gundaker took the lead at the beginning of the race and held the top spot for the first 14 laps until the only caution of the race was called.
Gundaker, aiming for the biggest win of his career and his first Lucas Oil victory, saw Sheppard pass him on the lap-15 restart.
“This place has haunted me in my dreams many times. We finished second at the Show-Me in 2021,” Sheppard said. “I’ve performed well here before. The track is very tricky and hit or miss. It requires different skills than your average race track. We’re still figuring out this new car. We’re improving our consistency by trying different things each night and building on a program we’ve grown to be good at here.”
O’Neal, who entered the weekend with four wins in five appearances at Lucas Oil Speedway, finished in second after moving up to that position on lap 27.
“I think I got to overdriving a little bit,” O’Neal said. “I felt like I was okay, and if I could pass some of those guys, I might be able to close the gap (on Sheppard) a little bit. I was driving a bit too hard and jumped the cushion down there, almost at the opening, turned pretty sharply. I was wide open trying to get back over the banking. I think I got tired a little early, and Sheppard got too big of a lead without a caution right then, so I couldn’t close in on him.”
Thornton, who won the previous night at Wheatland, outdueled Wells in the final laps.
“I felt like I was pretty good. I was a little too tight early, but once it finally slowed down, I felt really good,” Thornton said. “Hats off to the track crew. I think this race, the Show-Me, is probably the best this place has raced in a long time. I know they have been working hard to improve this place.
“The High Limit race here was really good too. I felt like I needed to be a lot better — I mean significantly better — to beat Brandon. He was in a league of his own tonight. I believe he got by me on lap two or three, and after that, I never really saw him.”
The finish:
Feature – 1. 1-Brandon Sheppard[6]; 2. 71-Hudson O’Neal[5]; 3. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[4]; 4. 98-Justin Wells[9]; 5. 58-Garrett Alberson[17]; 6. 18D-Daulton Wilson[7]; 7. 11-Gordy Gundaker[1]; 8. 49-Jonathan Davenport[23]; 9. 76-Brandon Overton[2]; 10. 50-Kayden Clatt[15]; 11. 97-Cade Dillard[8]; 12. 6-Clay Harris[25]; 13. 19M-Spencer Hughes[3]; 14. 93-Carson Ferguson[21]; 15. 99-Devin Moran[10]; 16. 11T-Trevor Gundaker[19]; 17. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[16]; 18. 1XM-Aaron Marrant[13]; 19. 60-Dan Ebert[24]; 20. 8K-Tyler Kuykendall[11]; 21. 93L-Cory Lawler[22]; 22. 79-Donald McIntosh[20]; 23. 96-Dalton Imhoff[12]; 24. 1/4J-Jaxon Ertel[18]; 25. 56-Tony Jackson Jr[14]
