The chance of rain was imminent Thursday night at I-96 Speedway, so the urgency of the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series racers was clear. Get to the lead and get to the lead quickly. That’s exactly how Brandon Sheppard raced.
From his outside front row starting position, Sheppard charged around Chase Junghans through turns 1 and 2 and into the top spot. The points leader from New Berlin, IL, continued to pull away while every spot behind him was tightly contested. Sheppard was going to leave no doubt en route to his 17th victory of the season, one short of tying the all-time single-season win mark.
Sheppard was blazing a trail through turns 3 and 4 on lap 24 when a group of cars spun in front of him. While under caution, the skies opened and that imminent rainstorm made its appearance. The race was declared official with Sheppard earning the victory, Junghans in second and Frank Heckenast Jr. in third.
World of Outlaws rules state officials can declare a Feature event complete at any time if the conditions create a reasonable inability to continue, ultimately leading officials to make that decision Thursday night.
Up next, the Outlaws take on Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio, on Friday and Saturday night in the brand-new “Battle at the Border” event. This two-day racing extravaganza kicks off with a 25-lap, $6,000-to-win Morton Buildings Feature on Friday night, culminating with a 75-lap, $15,000-to-win Feature on Saturday night.
Hot Laps go live on DIRTVision tonight at 6:30 p.m. ET!
I-96 Speedway
Morton Buildings Feature (24 Laps, rain shortened) 1. 1-Brandon Sheppard [2][$10,000]; 2. 18-Chase Junghans [1][$5,000]; 3. 99jr-Frank Heckenast [3][$3,000]; 4. 29-Darrell Lanigan [4][$2,500]; 5. 97-Cade Dillard [6][$2,000]; 6. M14-Brandon Thirlby [14][$1,700]; 7. 25-Shane Clanton [5][$1,400]; 8. 7-Ricky Weiss [12][$1,300]; 9. 99B-Boom Briggs [7][$1,200]; 10. 42-Chad Finley [8][$1,100]; 11. 87-David Mielke [13][$1,050]; 12. B1-Brent Larson [11][$1,000]; 13. 28-Dennis Erb [9][$950]; 14. 6-Blake Spencer [17][$900]; 15. 24n-Kyle Novak [19][$850]; 16. 5*-Bryant Dickinson [18][$800]; 17. CJ1-Rusty Schlenk [23][$770]; 18. 2s-Travis Stemler [10][$750]; 19. 52-Brad Harden [20][$730]; 20. 2-Bry Johnson [16][$700]; 21. 53-Hillard Miller [21][$700]; 22. 21-Logan Arntz [22][$700]; 23. 113-Kyle Roberts [15][$700] Hard Charger: M14-Brandon Thirlby[+8]
Qualifying 1. 99jr-Frank Heckenast, 15.838; 2. 18-Chase Junghans, 15.95; 3. 1-Brandon Sheppard, 16.005; 4. 29-Darrell Lanigan, 16.007; 5. 97-Cade Dillard, 16.043; 6. 21-Logan Arntz, 16.077; 7. 2s-Travis Stemler, 16.092; 8. 8-Rob Anderzack, 16.108; 9. 28-Dennis Erb, 16.122; 10. 27-Eric Spangler, 16.129; 11. B1-Brent Larson, 16.135; 12. 25-Shane Clanton, 16.145; 13. 87-David Mielke, 16.218; 14. M14-Brandon Thirlby, 16.316; 15. 7-Ricky Weiss, 16.316; 16. 99B-Boom Briggs, 16.331; 17. 42-Chad Finley, 16.471; 18. 5*-Bryant Dickinson, 16.624; 19. 15-Dave Baker, 16.636; 20. 6-Blake Spencer, 16.662; 21. 113-Kyle Roberts, 16.831; 22. 2-Bry Johnson, 16.917; 23. 52-Brad Harden, 17.106; 24. 53-Hillard Miller, 19.042; DNS. 24n-Kyle Novak, NT; DQ. CJ1-Rusty Schlenk, 18.731
Drydene Heat #1 (10 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer 1. 99jr-Frank Heckenast [1]; 2. 29-Darrell Lanigan [2]; 3. 99B-Boom Briggs [6]; 4. 2s-Travis Stemler [3]; 5. 87-David Mielke [5]; 6. 2-Bry Johnson [8]; 7. 24n-Kyle Novak [9]; 8. 27-Eric Spangler [4]; 9. 15-Dave Baker [7]
Drydene Heat #2 (10 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer 1. 18-Chase Junghans [1]; 2. 97-Cade Dillard [2]; 3. 42-Chad Finley [6]; 4. B1-Brent Larson [4]; 5. M14-Brandon Thirlby [5]; 6. 6-Blake Spencer [7]; 7. 52-Brad Harden [8]; 8. 8-Rob Anderzack [3]; 9. CJ1-Rusty Schlenk [9]
Drydene Heat #3 (10 Laps) – Top 6 Transfer 1. 1-Brandon Sheppard [1]; 2. 25-Shane Clanton [4]; 3. 28-Dennis Erb [3]; 4. 7-Ricky Weiss [5]; 5. 113-Kyle Roberts [7]; 6. 5*-Bryant Dickinson [6]; 7. 53-Hillard Miller [8]; 8. 21-Logan Arntz [2]