The battle for the World of Outlaws Late Model Series championship went down to the final race of the season with Brandon Sheppard earning his fifth series title and becoming the most-decorated driver in series history.
The title broke a tie with Josh Richards with four championships. Sheppard’s consistency aboard the No. b5 dirt late model saw him win three features and amass 23 top-five finishes and 35 top-10 efforts.
“It feels amazing, for sure,” Sheppard said. “At the beginning, we definitely struggled in Speedweeks, but we were able to battle back from tough starts through the majority of the nights. At the end of the day, we put a good enough season. We definitely had ups and downs; we were low in the win column. I wouldn’t be up here today without my supporters, they’re the backbone to me personally.”
Sheppard, who co-owned the Sheppard Riggs Racing machine he drove to the title, edged the series’ winningest driver, Bobby Pierce, by 38 points.
Hampered by an early-season points penalty, Pierce battled from behind all season aboard his family-owned No. 32 machine. He won 14 features along the way, while collecting 28 top-five and 33 top-10 finishes.
Nick Hoffman won five features and finished third in the standings, 54 points behind Sheppard.
Kyle Bronson and Cade Dillard completed the top five.
Dustin Sorensen was the MD3 Rookie of the Year.
Three hundred and 69 drivers ran at least one World of Outlaws late model feature.
The Points
- Brandon Sheppard 5,632
- Bobby Pierce 5,594
- Nick Hoffman 5,578
- Kyle Bronson 5,442
- Cade Dillard 5,392
- Ryan Gustin 5,388
- Brian Shirley 5,372
- Tyler Bruening 5,242
- Dennis Erb Jr. 5,158
- Dustin Sorensen 5,132
The Winners
Bobby Pierce 14
Nick Hoffman 5
Ryan Gustin 5
Brian Shirley 5
Brandon Sheppard 3
Chris Madden 3
Devin Moran 2
Mac McLaughlin 1
Ricky Thornton Jr. 1
Hudson O’Neal 1
Trey Mills 1
Ross Bailles 1
