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Sheppard bags two-win World of Outlaws weekend

Brandon Sheppard parked the Rocket1 Racing / Valvoline No. 1 Seubert Calf Ranches / Durham Racing Engines-powered XR1 Rocket Chassis Super Late Model in Victory Lane twice over the four-race weekend. (Jacy Norgaard photo)

He won on Thursday night at New York’s Orange County Fair Speedway and then wrapped up the swing with another victory at Pennsylvania’s Eriez Speedway. Both wins were worth $10,000 and allowed him to extend his advantage atop the latest World of Outlaws (WoO) Morton Buildings Late Model Series standings.

“It’s really cool, a new track, to get a win here,” Sheppard said after leading all but five laps in his Thursday night debut at Orange County Fair Speedway. “It’s pretty awesome. Any time you can win in New York, that’s a longways from my home, so it’s pretty cool. My right-rear tire was going down the last couple of laps there, and I was really laid over on the right rear. Man, he (Max Blair) definitely made me work for it. That was a heckuva fun race, and I’ve gotta say thanks to Max for driving me really clean there. It was a lot of fun to race with him.”

On Sunday night Sheppard notched his 75th career win in WoO competition at Eriez Speedway, which leaves him just three triumphs behind the all-time series win leader, Josh Richards.

“It’s really awesome to get our 75th Outlaw win,” Sheppard said. “I’m definitely proud of my guys, proud of my team. This team that Mark (Richards) put together here has just been a dream come true for me over the past five years, so it means a lot to me to get to drive this thing. Our team is finally starting to its stride, so hopefully we can end the year with a lot of wins.”

Kicking off a four-race eastern swing with the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series, Rocket1 Racing and Brandon Sheppard trekked to Orange County Fair Speedway (Middletown, N.Y.) on Thursday afternoon to return to competition after a week off.

With 22 Late Models on hand, Sheppard’s eight-lap heat race win promoted him into the redraw. Receiving the pole position for the A-Main, Brandon relinquished the top spot early but stole the lead on the fifth lap after Rick Eckert suffered mechanical issues. Holding off Chris Madden and Max Blair in the waning laps as his right-rear tire was deflating, Sheppard limped to his sixth win of the season, which came over Blair, Tyler Bruening, Stewart Friesen, and Dan Stone. He earned $10,000 for his 74th career series victory.

Battling for another $10,000 payday on Friday evening at Williams Grove Speedway (Mechanicsburg, Pa.), Brandon secured his spot into the feature with a heat race victory. Starting in third, Sheppard slipped as far back as eighth but regained some momentum late in the 40-lapper to cross the line in sixth.

The following night at Sharon Speedway (Hartford, Ohio) for the Battle at the Border, Sheppard topped the 28-car field in time trials before picking up a heat win. Losing one spot in the 40-lap feature, Brandon notched a third-place finish. He followed Kyle Larson and Ryan Gustin across the line with Tyler Bruening and Colton Flinner rounding out the Top-5.

For the weekend finale on Sunday at Eriez Speedway (Erie, Pa.), Brandon posted a runner-up finish in his heat race, sending him into the redraw. Rolling off on the pole, Sheppard wrestled away the lead on the fifth lap and ran the rest of the race virtually uncontested to capture his seventh win of the season and 75th career World of Outlaws triumph. He pocketed $10,000 for his winning performance.

With a pair of wins, Sheppard extended his lead over Chris Madden by 158 in the latest World of Outlaws point standings.

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