WAVERLY, Ohio — Brandon Sheppard climbed the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series mountain Saturday night at Atomic Speedway.
When Sheppard took the checkered flag to win the Outlaw Invasion at the three-eighths-mile track, it was his 78thseries victory, which tied him with Josh Richards for most victories in the series. Both drivers are four-time series champions.
“When I started, my dad and grandpa gave me everything I needed to get going, “Sheppard said. “I’m just thankful for them and Mark Richards picking me up back in 2012 and everyone that’s backed me for my whole career.
“I think it’s my first win [at Atomic], so that’s exciting, too. I feel like I’ve had a fast car here a lot and just haven’t been able to get the job done.”
Sheppard seemed poised to dominate the $15,000-to-win feature after wrestling the lead away from Max Blair on a lap-16 restart. The New Berlin, Ill., driver, pulled away from the field until he couldn’t carry the same momentum he had early in the race.
That’s when Dennis Erb Jr. set himself up to strike.
The World of Outlaws points leader locked his car to the bottom of the track, pulling even with Sheppard a few times down the backstretch.
Erb’s best shot came with three laps remaining as he slid the reigning champion in turn two, but Sheppard crossed him back over to keep control. The Illinois veteran may have had another shot, but a caution came out, putting Erb directly behind Sheppard on the restart.
“The Rocket Shepp” held on during the final three laps to win his first World of Outlaws feature of 2022. Sheppard stated that his charge toward the front early in the race impacted his tires toward the end.
“I think I burned my tires up pretty early in that race trying to get the lead,” Sheppard said. “It was cleaning up and starting to take a little rubber getting into [turns one and two], and I think I was using a bit too much, and that slowed me down a bunch.
“I was kind of stumped out there, I didn’t know which way to go [in lap traffic], and then Dennis showed me the nose, and I was trying to change what I was doing, but he always races me clean.”
Erb crossed the line second — his fifth top-five of 2022. He felt the last caution took away his opportunity to get by Sheppard.
“The car was working really good while we were under green,” Erb said. “I really didn’t want to see that caution there at the end but [Sheppard’s] car was good too, and we fired off real good and gave it a shot.”
Erb’s runner-up finish extended his points lead for the second consecutive night — 44 points ahead of Max Blair, who finished third, rounding out an all-Rocket Chassis podium.
The finish:.
Feature (50 Laps): 1. 1-Brandon Sheppard[3]; 2. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[12]; 3. 111V-Max Blair[9]; 4. 11-Gordy Gundaker[6]; 5. 9-Devin Moran[4]; 6. B1-Brent Larson[11]; 7. 11R-Josh Rice[5]; 8. 16-Tyler Bruening[23]; 9. 71-Hudson O’Neal[1]; 10. 45-Kyle Hammer[2]; 11. 81E-Tanner English[21]; 12. 29-Darrell Lanigan[16]; 13. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[17]; 14. C9-Steve Casebolt[10]; 15. 44B-Colten Burdette[19]; 16. 71R-Rod Conley[22]; 17. 19R-Ryan Gustin[15]; 18. 99B-Boom Briggs[24]; 19. 1R-Josh Richards[13]; 20. 1T-Tyler Erb[8]; 21. 53C-Andy Bond[18]; 22. 37-Jacob Hawkins[7]; 23. 44H-Dave Hess Jr[14]; 24. 1AM-Austyn Mills[20] FOX Factory Hard Charger: Tyler Bruening [+15].
Keyword: Sheppard Climbs WoO LMS Mountain