Brandon Sheppard and Rocket1 Racing Win $100,000 in Prairie Dirt Classic
USA Nationals at Cedar Lake Speedway Await
SHINNSTON, W.Va. (08/01/22) – Rocket1 Racing and Brandon Sheppard enjoyed a banner night on Saturday night. The team led every lap of the 32nd annual Prairie Dirt Classic to bag the $100,000 payday with their Valvoline / Seubert Calf Ranches No. 1 Ace Metal Works / XR1 Rocket Chassis / Durham Racing Engine Super Late Model.
The victory marked their ninth and richest win of the season. Sheppard received $50,000 for the victory plus $50,000 in lap money after leading all 100 circuits.
The victory was a popular one for the home state favorite.
“It’s all hat's off to (Fairbury owner) Matt Curl and his team, and everybody with (FloRacing) and DirtonDirt, and everybody that helps put this deal together. This is a phenomenal event,” Sheppard said in Victory Lane. “I mean, there’s more hype here in the fans in the stands, in my opinion, than there is at Eldora. This place is electric. It’s awesome. It gives me goosebumps every time I come here.
“Then to start up front in the feature and lead all them laps is pretty amazing. I didn’t know if it could be done or not, but if I was going to do it, I was going to have to lead the first lap. I knew I had to get by (second-starting) Garrett (Smith) there, and I think we got into each other a little bit going into turn one. So, I want to apologize for that.”
The win allowed the team to shake the bad luck off their back that has plagued them off-and-on through the past few months.
“Honestly, it’s been leading up to this. Our guys have been working their tails off on this race car. It’s been fast night in and night out,” Sheppard noted. “We’ve just had a lot of bad luck lately and a little bit inconsistent. Part of it’s me. It’s good to get the confidence back at FALS here for sure. Thank you to each-and-every sponsor on this No. 1 because without them none of this is possible.”
Rocket1 Racing visited Fairbury Speedway (Fairbury, Ill.) on Friday afternoon with Brandon Sheppard piloting the Seubert Calf Ranches No. 1 Late Mode in the opening round of the 32nd annual Prairie Dirt Classic.
With time trial results setting the grid for the four preliminary features, Sheppard laid down the fourth-fastest time overall in a stout field of 81 World of Outlaws Case Late Model Series entries. Stealing the lead from fellow front-row starter McKay Wenger on the 10th circuit of the 25-lapper, Sheppard raced to the $3,000 victory ahead of Jason Feger and Kyle Bronson.
Earning the pole for Saturday’s 100-lap finale via the redraw, Brandon dominated all 100 laps to claim the $50,000 payday along with $50,000 bonus for laps led. The win marked his ninth of the season in the Rocket1 Racing entry and 80th career with the World of Outlaws.
Full results from the weekend are available at www.WoOLMS.com .
The team now turns their attention to the 2022 edition of the USA Nationals at Cedar Lake Speedway (New Richmond, Wisc.). The three-day WoO swing opens with a $6,000-to-win program on Thursday evening followed by the $50,000-to-win USA Nationals on Friday and Saturday.
Brandon and Rocket1 Racing won the crown jewel in 2018 with former team driver Josh Richards won the race in 2011.
For more information on the event, please visit www.CedarLakeSpeedway.com .
Rocket1 Racing would like to thank all of their marketing partners, which include Valvoline, Seubert Calf Ranches, Rocket Chassis, Ace Metal Works, Durham Racing Engines, Five Star RaceCar Bodies, Gunters Honey, Hoosier Racing Tire, Integra Racing Shocks, Keyser Manufacturing, Petroff Towing, Slavic Custom Racing Shirts & Decals, 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, Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, CP Carrillo, Dohm Cycles, Edelbrock, Fibreworks Composites, Hardrock Powder Coating, Howe Racing Enterprises, Jones Racing Products, Kenny’s Components, Maxima Racing Oils, MSD, E3 Spark Plugs, Tel Tac, Performance Bodies, Peterson Fluid Systems, Powers Performance, Performance Rod & Custom, Quarter Master, QuickCar Racing Products, Rocket Pre-Owned Motors, Safecraft, Show Trucks Unlimited, Simpson, Stealth Carburetors, Strange Oval, Suave Talk, Total Power Valvoline Pro-V Racing, Walker Performance Filtration, Weld Racing, Wiles Driveshafts, Wilwood Brakes, Winters Performance Products, Wrisco Aluminum, Xceldyne Valvetrain, and MyRacePass Marketing Services.
For the latest information on Rocket1Racing please visit the team website at www.Rocket1Racing.com as well as their social media channels at www.facebook.com/Rocket1Racing, www.twitter.com/Rocket1_Racing, and www.instagram.com/rocket1racing .
PR Contact:
Ben Shelton (ben.shelton@myracepass.com) |