9/27/2025
Brandon Sheppard Finishes Second in C.J. Rayburn Memorial; Earns Top-10 in Jackson 100
Pittsburgher at Pittsburgh’s Pa. Motor Speedway Up Next
SHINNSTON, W.Va. (09/27/25) – Brandon Sheppard concluded a strong weekend at Indiana’s Brownstown Speedway with a pair of solid finishes in the Rocket1 Racing / Valvoline / Seubert Calf Ranches No. 1 Super Late Model, including a narrow runner-up result in Friday’s C.J. Rayburn Memorial and a ninth-place finish in Saturday’s 47th annual Jackson 100.
In Friday’s opener, Sheppard led a total of 19 laps and mounted a late-race charge to challenge Nick Hoffman, ultimately falling just 0.081 seconds short in a dramatic photo finish.
“I shouldn’t have given up the lead the first time,” Sheppard said after Friday’s thriller. “When I got to lapped traffic, I was really trying to charge hard through the middle to pass the lapped cars, and I think that’s where I made a mistake because most of us had soft left rear tires. So when I charged through that middle, I could just feel myself getting worse and worse, and I would slide from center off. I think I overheated my left rear tire there, and then I wasn’t as good when I got down on the bottom.”
The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (LOLMDS) campaign continued over the weekend with Sheppard once again flexing speed in the Rocket1 Racing entry. After a fourth-to-first run in his heat race on Friday, Sheppard surged into the lead following a lap-10 restart and paced the field until being overtaken by Nick Hoffman on lap 29. Despite remaining within striking distance, Sheppard would finish second.
On Saturday, Sheppard backed up a second-place finish in his heat with a ninth-place outing in $50,000-to-win Jackson 100 finale.
Sheppard remains fifth in the tour’s latest points chase.
Complete results and updated LOLMDS standings can be found at www.LucasDirt.com.
Rocket1 Racing and Sheppard will return to LOLMDS competition this weekend as Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Motor Speedway hosts the 37th annual Pittsburgher. The event kicks off with a $10,000 preliminary on Friday, leading into Saturday’s $50,000-to-win finale.
Full event details are available at www.PPMS.com.
Rocket1 Racing would like to thank all of their marketing partners, which include Valvoline, Seubert Calf Ranches, Collins Brothers Towing Of St.Cloud, Rocket Chassis, Ace Metal Works, Durham Racing Engines, Five Star RaceCar Bodies, Gunter’s Honey, Performance Grading, Stiles Marine & Maintenance, Hoosier Racing Tire, Fox Racing Shox, Keyser Manufacturing, Petroff Towing, On Time Body & Graphic, Franklin Enterprises, Bubba Army, Sweet Manufacturing, Sunoco Race Fuels, Accu-Force Shock Service, ATL Fuel Cells, Aurora Rod Ends, Barnes Dry Sump Oil Systems, Bazell Race Fuels, Beyea Custom Headers, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Brinn Transmissions, Sharp Advantage Safety Products, CP Carrillo, Dohm Cycles, Fibreworks Composites, Hardrock Powder Coating, Howe Racing Enterprises, Jones Racing Products, Kenny’s Components, MSD, E3 Spark Plugs, Tel Tac, Performance Bodies, Peterson Fluid Systems, Powers Performance, Performance Rod & Custom, QuickCar Racing Products, MatMan Designs, Allgaier Performance Parts, Rocket Pre-Owned Motors, Show Trucks Unlimited, Simpson, Stealth Carburetors, Strange Oval, Suave Talk, Total Power Valvoline Pro-V Racing, Walker Performance Filtration, Wiles Driveshafts, Wilwood Brakes, Winters Performance Products, Wrisco Aluminum, Xceldyne Valvetrain, and MyRacePass Marketing Services.
For the latest news and team updates, visit Rocket1 Racing’s official website at www.Rocket1Racing.com. Fans can also stay connected by subscribing to the official Rocket1 Racing mailing list at https://pages/Rocket1Racing.
Article Credit: Heath Lawson image
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