4/12/2025
Brandon Sheppard
Brandon Sheppard Breaks Through with Illini 100 Win at Farmer City Raceway
Claims $20,000 Payday for Fourth Illini 100 at Illinois Oval
SHINNSTON, W.Va. (04/14/25) – Brandon Sheppard and Rocket1 Racing roared back into victory lane Saturday night, snapping their recent drought with a $20,000 World of Outlaws Late Model Series triumph at Farmer City Raceway.
Sheppard powered to his fourth career Illini 100 victory, with Saturday night’s victory marking his third in the driver’s seat of the Valvoline / Seubert Calf Ranches No. 1 Rocket1 Racing / Ace Metal Works / XR1 Rocket Chassis / Durham Racing Engine Super Late Model.
The five-time WoO champ outran Bobby Pierce to secure his first win for Rocket1 Racing in 2025.
"Just so happy and so thankful. ... Steve Francis (WoO director), thank you for not prepping the track. That was Farmer City right there, baby," Sheppard said. "Elbows up, get it right on the cushion up against the wall. That's the Farmer City we like to see for sure. I'm so happy, man. Everybody has been counting us out. Do you miss Longhorn? Do you miss this? Do you miss that? No, not that, because I never left."
Sheppard and the Rocket1 Racing team unloaded at Farmer City (IL) Raceway on Friday afternoon as 42 World of Outlaws Late Model Series competitors embarked on the quarter-mile oval.
Following the sixth-fastest qualifying effort in his 21-car group, Sheppard raced into the Illini 100 preliminary with a third-place finish in his heat. Starting in 12th, Brandon stormed forward eight spots to register a fourth-place finish.
On Saturday, Sheppard rallied to finish third in his heat race after a lap-two tangle dropped him from the lead. Rolling off 10th for the Illini 100 finale, Brandon made an impressive charge forward as he made it to fifth on lap 22 and overtook Brian Shirley for second on lap 29. Surging ahead of front-running Drake Troutman following a lap-36 restart, Sheppard paced the remainder of the 60-lapper to claim his first win of the season and his fourth career Illini 100 trophy.
Sheppard banked the $20,000 payday ahead of Bobby Pierce and Troutman.
Complete results from the two-day event are available at www.WorldofOutlaws.com.
The Rocket1 Racing team is scheduled to return to action in two weeks as the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series heads east for a tripleheader weekend across three states.
April 25th: Georgetown (DE) Speedway - $20,049-To-Win
April 26th: Hagerstown (MD) Speedway - $25,000-To-Win
April 27th: Port Royal (PA) Speedway - $10,000-To-Win
Full event details can be found at www.LucasDirt.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.
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