Brandon Sheppard Sails To Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Portsmouth Score

Story By: JAMES ESSEX / LUCAS OIL LATE MODEL DIRT SERIES – PORTSMOUTH, OH – Brandon Sheppard capitalized on his success in recent years at Portsmouth Raceway Park, winning the Bob Miller Memorial presented by Pepsi on Saturday night.

Sheppard took the lead from Kyle Bronson on a lap-12 restart when Bronson jumped the cushion in turn number two. Sheppard then went unchallenged the rest of the way to take the win. Josh Richards held off Jonathan Davenport for the runner-up spot. Gregg Satterlee came from the 21st starting spot to finish fourth. Bobby Pierce rounded out the top-five.

Sheppard’s win was his fourth Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory of the season. “This car is awesome every time we come here. I don’t know what it is about this place. I can’t thank my crew enough, Mark, Danny, Joel, and Austin; they have worked their tails off on this car. To get to come race night in and night out with those guys is great because I know it’s not going to fall apart and we can run up front. I couldn’t do it without them,” said Sheppard.

“Thanks to all the fans for coming out tonight. I want to thank my family for all of their support. Thanks to Lucas Oil for giving us big paying races to run. Hopefully we can get another win tomorrow at Tyler County. I really didn’t know what line to run early in the race. I was moving around from high to low a little bit to figure it out.”

Richards was pleased with his second podium finish of the weekend. “That was a tough deal in turn two with that wreck with Scott [Bloomquist] getting collected in. It was pretty sketchy to get through, but we did. We had a good race with JD for several laps. Great job to Brandon and his team. We had a great car again tonight.”

Davenport continues to lead the series points standings after taking the third spot at the finish line. “I could never get a good start. I had a run on Josh there once. I really couldn’t see good enough and I couldn’t get to the cushion soon enough. We could get a good run off the corner, but we did have a good points night. We finally ran half-way decent here. I really like the facility and how the race track is laid out. I have just never been really good here. Hopefully we learned a lot tonight to get ready for the $100,000 race here in October.”

The winner’s Mark Richards Racing, Rocket Chassis is powered by an Andy Durham Racing Engine and sponsored by: Valvoline, Seubert Calf Ranches, Gunter’s Honey, Ace Metal Works, Sallack Well Services, Sunoco Race Fuels, Keyser Manufacturing and Integra Shocks.

The remainder of the top-ten finishers were: Mason Zeigler, Dennis Erb Jr., Earl Pearson Jr., Tim McCreadie, and Steve Casebolt.

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Saturday, September 1, 2018
Bob Miller Memorial – presented by Pepsi
Portsmouth Raceway Park – Portsmouth, OH

Miller Welders Time Trials
Fast Time Group A: Scott Bloomquist / 13.840 seconds (overall)
Fast Time Group B: Kyle Bronson / 14.442 seconds

Eibach Springs Heat Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Scott Bloomquist, Jimmy Owens, Darrell Lanigan, Jason Jameson, Shannon Thornsberry, Jackie Boggs, Delmas Conley, Gregg Satterlee

FK Rod Ends Heat Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Josh Richards, Jonathan Davenport, Bobby Pierce, Ricky Thornton Jr., Rod Conley, Audie Swartz, Don O’Neal, Scott Lemaster-DNS

Simpson Performance Products Heat Race #3 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Kyle Bronson, Earl Pearson, Jr., Eddie Carrier, Jr., Chris Ferguson, Tim McCreadie, Dennis Erb, Jr., Kevin Wagner, Josh Bocook

QA1 Heat Race #4 Finish (10 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): Brandon Sheppard, Steve Casebolt , Mason Zeigler, Shanon Buckingham, Brandon Overton, Michael Meyers, RJ Conley

Penske Racing Shocks B-Main #1 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Shannon Thornsberry, Audie Swartz, Gregg Satterlee, Rod Conley, Jackie Boggs, Don O’Neal, Delmas Conley-DNS, Scott Lemaster-DNS
FAST Shafts B-Main #2 Finish (12 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): Tim McCreadie, Brandon Overton, Dennis Erb, Jr., Michael Meyers, Kevin Wagner, Josh Bocook, RJ Conley-DNS

Lucas Oil Feature Finish (50 Laps):

FINISH	START	CAR #	DRIVER NAME	HOMETOWN	EARNINGS
1	4	1S	Brandon Sheppard	New Berlin, IL	$12,000
2	3	1R	Josh Richards	Shinnston, WV	$6,500
3	7	49	Jonathan Davenport	Blairsville, GA	$4,400
4	21	22	Gregg Satterlee	Indiana, PA	$3,500
5	11	32	Bobby Pierce	Oakwood, IL	$2,950
6	12	25Z	Mason Zeigler ®	Chalk Hill, PA	$2,600
7	22	28	Dennis Erb, Jr.	Carpentersville, IL	$2,200
8	6	1	Earl Pearson, Jr.	Jacksonville, FL	$2,100
9	18	39	Tim McCreadie	Watertown, NY	$1,900
10	8	C9	Steve Casebolt	Richmond, IN	$1,100
11	10	10C	Eddie Carrier, Jr.	Salt Rock, WV	$1,075
12	1	0	Scott Bloomquist	Mooresburg, TN	$1,950
13	24	4B	Jackie Boggs	Grayson, KY	$1,025
14	9	14	Darrell Lanigan	Union, KY	$1,700
15	13	12J	Jason Jameson	Lawrenceburg, IN	$1,000
16	2	40B	Kyle Bronson ®	Brandon, FL	$1,000
17	5	20	Jimmy Owens	Newport, TN	$1,800
18	20	76	Brandon Overton	Evans, GA	$1,000
19	15	20RT	Ricky Thornton Jr.	Sedgwick, KS	$1,000
20	14	22F	Chris Ferguson	Mount Holly, NC	$1,000
21	17	17T	Shannon Thornsberry	Martin, KY	$1,000
22	16	50	Shanon Buckingham	Morristown, TN	$1,000
23	23	5	Don O’Neal	Martinsville, IN	$1,800
24	25	B1	Josh Bocook	Wheelersburg, OH	$1,000
25	19	1A	Audie Swartz	Minford, OH	$1,000