Column: Sheppard, Madden, Bruening & WoO Late Models Prepping For Northeast Swing

Column By: MIKE WARREN / WORLD OF OUTLAWS – MIDDLETOWN, NY – Four races. Four tracks. Three States.

That’s what awaits the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models as they prepare for the final Northeast swing of the season. The Series will run four 40-lap Features, each paying $10,000-to-win.

The grueling stretch starts with a return to the Orange County Fair Speedway in Middletown, NY, on Thursday, Aug 19. It’s the first time the Series has raced at the “House of Power” since 2004.

Then, the Series moves west to the famed Williams Grove Speedway in Mechanicsburg, PA, on Friday, Aug. 20.

On Saturday, Aug. 21, The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet visit the Buckeye State for the first time in 2021, with a stop at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, OH.

The weekend finishes with one more trip to the Keystone State and a trek to Eriez Speedway in Erie, PA.

Here are the top storylines to watch for this week:

Keystone Contingent: When the World of Outlaws Late Models head to the Northeast, they know stout regional competitors aim to keep them out of Victory Lane.

Rick Eckert, the 2011 Series champion, and Max Blair are two drivers to keep an eye on this weekend as the Series returns to the area.

From York, PA, Rick Eckert won the last time the Series raced at Orange County Fair Speedway in 2004. “Scrub” already has a win in 2021, besting the World of Outlaws in June at Plymouth Speedway in Indiana.

Max Blair is coming into the weekend with momentum, finishing sixth at the USA Nationals at Cedar Lake Speedway.

The Centerville, PA driver is looking forward to Sunday’s event at Eriez Speedway, where the Viper Motorsports team has already won three times in 2021.

Freeze Warning: NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Stewart Friesen will make his second appearance of the season with the World of Outlaws Late Models Thursday at Orange County Fair Speedway.

He has more laps around the track than any other driver in the field and won a Super DIRTcar Series race last week at the “House of Power.”

The Sprakers, NY driver, will make history if he can win Thursday’s race. He’d be the first driver to win a Super DIRTcar Series, World of Outlaws NOS Energy Sprint Cars, and World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models Feature.

Friesen tested his Longhorn Chassis at Orange County last week, hoping to gain some knowledge before Thursday’s return to the speedway.

Rocketing to History: As the season moves toward Labor Day weekend, Brandon Sheppard continues his climb to the peak of World of Outlaws Late Models history. And this weekend he might have an edge over the field, having won at three of this weekend’s four tracks – Williams Grove, Sharon and Eriez.

A win this weekend would give the New Berlin, IL driver 74 career Victories, tying him with fellow three-time Series Champion Darrell Lanigan for second on the all-time wins list.

But the driver he’s trying to track down is Josh Richards—who’s at the top of the mountain with 78 Morton Buildings Feature wins.

The three-time and defending champion is also trying to match Richards for the most Series Championships. He has a comfortable advantage entering the Orange County Fair Speedway—102 points ahead of Chris Madden.

Chasing the “1”: Chris Madden has been consistent throughout the season but is still trying to gain ground on the Rocket1 racing team.

The good news for Madden is he’s found success in the Northeast in 2021 and on tracks a half-mile or bigger – like Orange County and Williams Grove. “Smokey” won twice at Port Royal Speedway and hasn’t finished outside the top-10 at tracks in New York or Pennsylvania.

He’s also found success on 3/8-mile tracks – the size of Sharon and Eriez, winning at Mississippi Thunder Speedway and finishing on the podium at Gondik Law Speedway and Red Cedar Speedway last month.

Madden has 20 top-fives and 28 top-10s this season. He’s also tied with Sheppard for the most wins (4).

Hawkeye State Rookie Battle: Rookie of the Year honors in 2021 will go to a driver from Iowa. The question is, will it be Tyler Bruening or Ryan Gustin.

Bruening, from Decorah, IA, leads the battle by 132 points entering this weekend. He extended his advantage over Gustin after engine troubles sidelined the Marshalltown, IA driver during Thursday’s portion of the USA Nationals at Cedar Lake Speedway.

The two “Hawkeye State” standouts are each looking for their first career Series win, which could give either one of them momentum toward being the Top Rookie when the season ends.

“The Reaper” has one more podium finish in 2021 than Bruening, but the Skyline Motorsports team has been more consistent.