Brandon Sheppard Takes Second 2020 Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Win Thursday At East Bay

Story By: JAMES ESSEX / LOLMDS – TAMPA, FL – Brandon Sheppard charged from his 12th starting spot to take the lead on lap 14 and never looked back in claiming his second Wrisco Industries Winternationals victory of the week on Thursday Night at East Bay Raceway Park in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series-sanctioned event.

Sheppard was the fourth and final different leader of the race after Brandon Overton, Tim McCreadie and Boom Briggs each took a turn at leading the race in the first 14 circuits. Sheppard held a 1.7 second advantage over Richards at the finish line. Richards was originally slated to start 20th, but started in the tail after a rules violation before the race. Richards then charged to the front in the Clint Bowyer Racing IRacing Rocket to finish second.

Billy Moyer Jr, in his Nutrien Ag Solutions Capital Race Car Chassis equaled his best career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series finish with a third place after starting in sixth. Jimmy Owens came home in fourth with Devin Moran, the opening night winner at East Bay Raceway Park, completing the top five drivers.

Overton earned the PFC Brakes Pole Award by winning the first heat and was looking to break in the winner’s circle for the first time in the Georgia-Florida Speedweeks after coming up with three- second place finishes in the first four races. The 40-lap feature started off good for Overton and points leader Tim McCreadie, as the pair raced side-by-side in the early stages of the race.

Overton led the first lap before McCreadie took over the race lead for two laps, but by lap four Overton was back in front of the battle of the pair of Longhorn Chassis drivers. By lap six however, McCreadie was back in front as Boom Briggs started to show his strength working his way to second place. Briggs then made a power move on McCreadie on lap ten, to take over the point.

Briggs held the lead until 12th place starter, Sheppard zipped by for the lead. Sheppard held off a trio of drivers in the last half of the race to record his 17th career Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win, and his fifth at East Bay Raceway Park. Richards moved past Moyer Jr. on lap 33 but ran out of time in his efforts to catch Sheppard.

“It’s all thanks to my guys for not giving up on me. Our qualifying efforts weren’t what they needed to be tonight. Mark Richards and Steve Baker (of Rocket Chassis), Dan, Austin, and Joel all stuck behind me the whole time. They were confident I could get up through there,” said the Illinois native, Sheppard.

The winner went on to say, “I’ll tell you what, I think I’m going to have gray hair by the time we leave here, you just don’t know where to go. I knew at some point the cushion (high-side) was going to be the place to be, but the bottom was working for me at the beginning of the race, you don’t really know when to move. I just stuck with it and stuck with it and then I see the 14 (Richards) on the board and I knew I had to get my elbows up.”

Richards will have to wait another night for his eighth career win at East Bay Raceway Park. “We’ll certainly take it. Brandon’s been good and I just can’t thank those guys enough for the help, my dad and everybody. We’ve had a great car in the feature, we just haven’t been able to show it. We’ve just gotta get a little bit better and start closer to the front and I think we’ll be there.”

After a solid start to the week Moyer Jr. bounced back from a rough Wednesday Night finish. “First thing, congrats to the 1 and 14, they were on it. I didn’t have anything for Sheppard. I think on that one caution, my right-front (tire) completely went away and I couldn’t run that bottom like earlier in the race. Then you just gotta go up there and run like an idiot around that top and steer with the back tires. This Capital Race Car is awesome. I’m just tickled to death to drive it. My daughter, wife, and family were all watching, my brother’s probably yelling at the TV, so it’s nice to finally get on the screen.”

The winner’s Mark Richards Racing Rocket 1 House Car is powered by a Durham Racing Engine and sponsored by Valvoline, Seubert Calf Ranches, Gunters Honey, Ace Metal Works, Integra, Sunoco, Keyser Manufacturing and Rocket Pre-Owned Motors.

Completing the top ten were Boom Briggs, Brandon Overton, Brian Shirley, Billy Moyer and Tyler Erb.

Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Wrisco Industries Winternationals – presented by Lucas Oil
Thursday, February 6th, 2020
East Bay Raceway Park – Tampa, FL

Lucas Oil Time Trials
Fast Time Group A: Brandon Overton / 15.126 seconds (overall)
Fast Time Group B: Tim McCreadie / 14.985 seconds

Penske Race Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 76-Brandon Overton[1]; 2. 157-Mike Marlar[5]; 3. 50-Shanon Buckingham[7]; 4. J8-Jadon Frame[4]; 5. 94-Charles Powell[3]; 6. 51M-Joey Moriarty[8]; 7. 76B-Blair Nothdurft[9]; 8. 6H-Clay Harris[10]; 9. 20F-Trever Feathers[6]; 10. 98-Jason Rauen[2]

FK Rod Ends Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 99B-Boom Briggs[1]; 2. 28E-Dennis Erb Jr[2]; 3. 9-Devin Moran[4]; 4. 81E-Tanner English[6]; 5. 49-Jonathan Davenport[3]; 6. 0K-Freddie Carpenter[5]; 7. 1-Earl Pearson Jr[7]; 8. 81-Jason Riggs[8]; 9. 22B-Austin Burns[9]

Simpson Race Products Heat Race #3 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 20-Jimmy Owens[1]; 2. 3S-Brian Shirley[2]; 3. 10B-David Breazeale[5]; 4. 14-Josh Richards[4]; 5. 00-Jesse Stovall[6]; 6. 2W-Pearson Williams[8]; 7. 0E-Rick Eckert[7]; 8. 2D-Dan Stone[9]; 9. 71-Hudson O’Neal[3]

Ohlins Shocks Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 39-Tim McCreadie[1]; 2. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[2]; 3. 25-Shane Clanton[4]; 4. 7M-Donald McIntosh[6]; 5. 6S-Blake Spencer[5]; 6. 1ST-Johnny Scott[10]; 7. 2-Allen Murray[7]; 8. 16R-Justin Rattliff[9]; 9. 94M-Jason Miller[3]; 10. (DNS) 40-Joel Callahan

Wrisco Heat Race #5 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 40B-Kyle Bronson[1]; 2. 1T-Tyler Erb[2]; 3. 21M-Billy Moyer Sr[3]; 4. B1-Brent Larson[4]; 5. 11B-Stacy Boles[6]; 6. F1-Coleby Frye[9]; 7. 000-Kyle Lear[8]; 8. 2S-Stormy Scott[7]; 9. 48-Colton Flinner[5]; 10. (DNS) 27-Joe Denby

MyRacePass Heat Race #6 Finish (8 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 21-Billy Moyer Jr[1]; 2. 1S-Brandon Sheppard[4]; 3. 89-GR Smith[3]; 4. 66C-Matt Cosner[2]; 5. 18-David Seibers[6]; 6. 18J-Chase Junghans[5]; 7. 16-Tyler Bruening[7]; 8. 17-Logan Roberson[8]; 9. 33J-Jeff Mathews[9]

Tiger Rear Ends B-Main #1 Finish (10 Laps, Winner Transfers): 1. J8-Jadon Frame[1]; 2. 1-Earl Pearson Jr[8]; 3. 49-Jonathan Davenport[4]; 4. 0K-Freddie Carpenter[6]; 5. 94-Charles Powell[3]; 6. 22B-Austin Burns[12]; 7. 76B-Blair Nothdurft[7]; 8. 81-Jason Riggs[10]; 9. 81E-Tanner English[2]; 10. 51M-Joey Moriarty[5]; 11. (DNS) 20F-Trever Feathers; 12. (DNS) 6H-Clay Harris; 13. (DNS) 98-Jason Rauen

FAST Shafts B-Main #2 Finish (10 Laps, Winner Transfers): 1. 14-Josh Richards[1]; 2. 00-Jesse Stovall[3]; 3. 0E-Rick Eckert[7]; 4. 2W-Pearson Williams[5]; 5. 6S-Blake Spencer[4]; 6. 40-Joel Callahan[13]; 7. 2D-Dan Stone[9]; 8. 94M-Jason Miller[12]; 9. 2-Allen Murray[8]; 10. 16R-Justin Rattliff[10]; 11. 71-Hudson O’Neal[11]; 12. 7M-Donald McIntosh[2]; 13. (DNS) 1ST-Johnny Scott

Lucas Oil B-Main #3 Finish (10 Laps, Winner Transfers): 1. 18J-Chase Junghans[6]; 2. 66C-Matt Cosner[2]; 3. 18-David Seibers[4]; 4. 000-Kyle Lear[7]; 5. F1-Coleby Frye[5]; 6. B1-Brent Larson[1]; 7. 16-Tyler Bruening[8]; 8. 33J-Jeff Mathews[12]; 9. 11B-Stacy Boles[3]; 10. (DNS) 48-Colton Flinner; 11. (DNS) 27-Joe Denby; 12. (DNS) 17-Logan Roberson; 13. (DNS) 2S-Stormy Scott

Berry Barn Strawberry Dash – presented by DirtonDirt.com Finish: 1. 00-Jesse Stovall[2]; 2. 1-Earl Pearson Jr[1]; 3. 18-David Seibers[3]; 4. 0E-Rick Eckert[5]; 5. 2W-Pearson Williams[8]; 6. F1-Coleby Frye[9]; 7. 000-Kyle Lear[6]; 8. 22B-Austin Burns[10]; 9. B1-Brent Larson[12]; 10. 6S-Blake Spencer[11]; 11. 0K-Freddie Carpenter[4]

Lucas Oil Feature Finish (40 Laps):

Pos	Start	Car #	Competitor	Hometown	Earnings
1	12	1S	Brandon Sheppard	New Berlin, IL	$7,000
2	20	14	Josh Richards	Shinnston, WV	$3,500
3	6	21	Billy Moyer Jr	Batesville, AR	$2,000
4	5	20	Jimmy Owens	Newport, TN	$1,500
5	15	9	Devin Moran	Dresden, OH	$1,400
6	3	99B	Boom Briggs	Bear Lake, PA	$1,300
7	1	76	Brandon Overton	Evans, GA	$1,200
8	11	3S	Brian Shirley	Chatham, IL	$1,100
9	16	21M	Billy Moyer Sr	Batesville, AR	$1,000
10	10	1T	Tyler Erb	New Waverly, TX	$950
11	4	40B	Kyle Bronson	Brandon, FL	$900
12	18	89	G.R. Smith	Statesville, NC	$850
13	23	71	Hudson O’Neal	Martinsville, IN	$800
14	14	25	Shane Clanton	Zebulon, GA	$750
15	26	1	Earl Pearson Jr	Jacksonville, FL	$725
16	22	49	Jonathan Davenport	Blairsville, GA	$700
17	7	157	Mike Marlar	Winfield, TN	$700
18	13	50	Shanon Buckingham	Morristown, TN	$700
19	28	16	Tyler Bruening	Decorah, IA	$150
20	24	66C	Matt Cosner	Ridgeley, WV	$625
21	17	10B	David Breazeale	Four Corners, MS	$625
22	30	81E	Tanner English	Benton, KY	$100
23	29	F1	Coleby Frye	Dover, PA	$100
24	8	25Z	Mason Zeigler	Chalk Hill, PA	$600
25	21	18J	Chase Junghans	Manhattan, KS	$600
26	2	39	Tim McCreadie	Watertown, NY	$700
27	25	0	Jesse Stovall	Billings, MO	$600
28	9	28E	Dennis Erb Jr	Carpentersville, IL	$600
29	27	2S	Stormy Scott	Las Cruces, NM	$100
30	19	J8	Jadon Frame	Winchester, TN	$600

Race Statistics
Entrants: 58
Lap Leaders: Brandon Overton (Lap 1); Tim McCreadie (Lap 2); Brandon Overton (Laps 3 – 5); Tim McCreadie (Laps 6 – 8); Boom Briggs (Laps 9 – 13); Brandon Sheppard (Laps 14 – 40)
Wrisco Feature Winner: Brandon Sheppard
Margin of Victory: 1.797 seconds
Cautions: Jadon Frame (Lap 3); Earl Pearson Jr. (Lap 10); Mason Zeigler (Lap 18); Debris (Lap 20); Jesse Stovall, Tim McCreadie, Mike Marlar (Lap 21); Coleby Frye (Lap 32)
Series Provisionals: Jonathan Davenport; Hudson O’Neal
Wrisco Industries Fast Time Provisional: Matt Cosner
Berry Barn Strawberry Dash Presented by DirtonDirt.com Provisionals: Jesse Stovall; Earl Pearson Jr.
Series Emergency Provisionals: Stormy Scott; Tyler Bruening; Coleby Frye; Tanner English
Big River Steel Podium Top 3: Brandon Sheppard; Josh Richards; Billy Moyer Jr.
Optima Batteries Hard Charger of the Race: Josh Richards (Advanced 18 Positions)
Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Tim McCreadie
Allstar Performance Most Laps Led: Brandon Sheppard (27 Laps)
Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Brandon Sheppard
Eibach Springs Rookie of the Race: n/a
Engine Builder of the Race: Durham Racing Engines
Miller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Rocket Chassis
Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Danny White (Brandon Sheppard)
Dirty Girl Racewear Fastest Lap of the Race: Brandon Overton (Lap #3 – 15.452 seconds)
Hot Rod Processing Tough Break of the Race: Coleby Frye
PFC Brakes Pole Award: Brandon Overton
Time of Race: 38 minutes 49 seconds