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Sheppard notches second-place finish in eastern swing opener at Stateline

In a weekend, where Mother Nature was the big winner, Brandon Sheppard and the Rocket1 Racing were able to enter only one event with their Valvoline No. 1 Seubert Calf Ranches/ Durham Racing Engines-powered XR1 Rocket Chassis Super Late Model. (Jacy Norgaard photo)

The team’s lone start resulted in a runner-up performance with the World of Outlaws (WoO) Morton Buildings Late Model Series on Thursday night at New York’s Stateline Speedway.

“It was a bummer to only get to run one event this weekend, but weather is just part of the game,” Sheppard said. “We got the one race in on Thursday at Stateline Speedway. Congrats to Dave (Hess Jr.), he did a phenomenal job there. He moved up when he needed to move up, and he was really good there through lapped traffic. We could both kind of get through them about the same amount. They were all on the bottom and that didn’t leave me much room to do anything with ‘em.

“I think we had a really good race car, but it just wasn’t our night,” he added. “Sometimes it goes that way. This week we’re looking forward to the Firecracker 100. That’s a race I want to win. We’ve won prelims there, but never the finale. Hopefully this year is the year we can make it happen.”

Embarking on a scheduled three-race, eastern swing weekend with the World of Outlaws (WoO) Morton Buildings Late Model Series, Brandon Sheppard and the Rocket1 Racing traveled to Stateline Speedway (Busti, N.Y.) on Thursday afternoon. With 36 Late Models entered, Sheppard clocked in fourth fastest in his group before picking up a 10-lap heat race victory.

Earning the third-starting position for the opening night feature via the redraw, Brandon was unable to close the distance on race-long leader Dave Hess Jr. in the 40-lapper, crossing the finish line in the second position. Max Blair, Boom Briggs, and Chris Madden completed the Top-5 finishers.

Mother Nature won both Friday and Saturday night’s events at Thunder Mountain Speedway (Knox Dale, Pa.) and Selinsgrove Speedway (Selinsgrove, Pa.).

Brandon sits atop the latest World of Outlaws point standings with a 52-point advantage.

For complete results from this event, please visit www.WorldofOutlaws.com.

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