12/7/2024
Brandon Sheppard
Brandon Sheppard Rockets to Gateway Dirt Nationals Repeat Victory
Vado Speedway Park’s Wild West Shootout in Early January Up Next
NEW BERLIN, Ill. (12/09/24) – A year after winning the seventh annual Gateway Dirt Nationals in his Longhorn Factory Team debut, Brandon Sheppard enjoyed a triumphant return with Rocket Chassis on Saturday night with a $30,000 victory in the eighth edition of the marquee event at The Dome at America’s Center aboard his Valvoline / Sheppard Auto Sales & Salvage / Realtree No. B5 Late Model.
The New Berlin, Illinois, native drove around fellow front-row starter Gordy Gundaker on the 11th circuit of the feature and repelled Bobby Pierce’s late charge in the closing laps of the 40-lapper to claim his sixth win of the 2024 season.
"I'm emotional right now,” Sheppard said. "This crowd is … there's nothing like it. (Ohio’s) Eldora (Speedway) has got a lot of fans and you know, that one probably still tops this one, but I tell you, this up-close-and-personal and in-your-face underneath this Dome is something special.”
With his qualifying night set for Thursday at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, Mo., Sheppard secured an impressive heat race win, outrunning Tyler Carpenter, the 2019 and 2021 Gateway Dirt Nationals champion, to claim the eight-lap victory. Rolling off fifth for the $5,000-to-win preliminary feature, Brandon climbed two spots in the 25-lap affair to register a third-place finish. He joined race-winner Mike Spatola and Ashton Winger on the podium.
Back at the fifth-mile oval on Saturday, Brandon received the pole for the Gateway Dirt Nationals main event after the redraw scored him a front-row starting spot. With fellow front-row starter Gordy Gundaker setting the pace early, Sheppard shot ahead of Gundaker on lap 11 and paced the remainder of the 40-lapper to secure his second straight Gateway Dirt Nationals triumph. Sheppard kept a charging Bobby Pierce at bay in the final laps to capture his sixth win of the season and the $30,000 winner’s payday.
Sheppard noted his return to Rocket Chassis and Mark Richards as a key contributor to the triumph.
“I'm super thankful to start off this new venture on a great note,” Sheppard said. “Actually, I’m thinking Mark Richards is probably smiling right now. He still had the old girl sitting around and it’s all cracked and beat up and busted, and he let me bring it out here and put my motor in it and let me go have a little fun. I’m sure he’s sitting at home smiling and proud of me right now.”
Full results from the eighth annual Gateway Dirt Nationals can be found at www.GatewayDirt.com.
With the 2024 season in the books, Sheppard is set to kick off his 2025 campaign at Vado Speedway Park in early January for the 19th annual Wild West Shootout. Six nights of action – January 4th-12th – culminates with a $25,000-to-win finale on Saturday night.
Full event details at www.WildWestShootout.net.
Brandon Sheppard would like to thank his marketing partners, which include Valvoline, Rocket Chassis, Fox Racing Shocks, Sheppard Auto Sales & Salvage, Mark Richards Racing, Paulson & Stussy Construction, American Racing, Corrigan Oil, Sunoco Race Fuel, Ultra Shield Race Products, Realtree, Guse's Pub & Eatery, Dennis G. Woodworth Attorney At Law, BSheppGear.com, PeeWee's Wrecker Service, Darrin Wood & Son - Heating & Cooling, Busch Light (Skeff Distributing Company, Inc.), Keyser Manufacturing, XS Power Batteries, Wilwood, Powers Performance, Storm Auto Mall, Gorsuch Performance, Wix Filters, Winters Rearends, Simpson Race Products, Wiles Racing, Strange Oval, Five Star Race Car Bodies, Allgaier Performance Parts, Lomelino Sign Company, and MyRacePass.com Marketing Services.
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