Column: Sheppard, Madden & WoO Late Model’s Best Set For Swing Through Badger State

Column By: MIKE WARREN / WORLD OF OUTLAWS – SEYMOUR, WI – Four nights of jam-packed action for the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Models will make for an epic final trip to Wisconsin this season.

On Tuesday, Aug. 3, the events kick off with the FVP Platinum Battery Showdown at Outagamie Speedway in Seymour, WI. The Series will run a 40-lap Morton Buildings Feature, paying $10,000-to-win.

The tour through the Badger State ends with a crown jewel event for the second straight weekend. The Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet head to Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, WI, on Aug. 5-7, for the 34th annual USA Nationals.

On Thursday, Aug 5, the event starts with an entire World of Outlaws show, including a 30-lap Feature paying $6,000-to-win.

The Series returns on Friday, Aug. 6, to run double Drydene Heat Races and a dash. Those races will set the lineups for the 100-lap, $50,000 finale on Saturday, Aug. 7.

If you can’t make it to either track, watch all the action live on DIRTVision with the annual Platinum FAST PASS subscription for $299/year or the monthly FAST PASS subscription for $39/month.

Here are the top storylines to watch for this week:

Dairyland Dominator: Wisconsin has been good to Brandon Sheppard in 2021. Three of his four wins this season have come in the Badger State, including two last month.

He’s also found success at both tracks the Series visits this week. “The Rocket Shepp” won last season at Outagamie Speedway and has four wins at Cedar Lake, including the 2018 USA Nationals title.

Sheppard is tied for the most wins this season with Chris Madden (4). He also leads Madden in the chase for the championship by 86 points.

If the New Berlin, IL finds Victory Lane this week, it’ll be his 74th career World of Outlaws win, tying him with Darrell Lanigan for second on the all-time wins list.

Running Out of Time: Madden has been chasing Sheppard in the standings all season, but he only has 19 races left to try and pass the three-time and defending champion.

The good news for “Smokey” is that he’s also found success in Wisconsin. The Gray Court, SC driver, won at Mississippi Thunder in May and finished on the podium in three of the four races in the Badger state.

Madden’s also had success at USA Nationals, winning the $50,000 prize in 2019 along with a preliminary victory in 2017.

Cedar Lake Experience: The driver with more experience than any other World of Outlaws tour regular at Cedar Lake is Brent Larson.

The Lake Elmo, MN driver, has won the speedway’s track championship five times and has 28 victories at the 1/3-mile oval.

Larson is still looking for his first World of Outlaws triumph after coming close at Mississippi Thunder Speedway in May when he finished second. He has two top-fives and seven top-10s this season, so far.

The Reaper Returns: Another driver who’s found success at Cedar Lake is standout Rookie-of-the-Year contender Ryan Gustin. However, it came in a Modified. “The Reaper” is a two-time Cedar Lake Speedway Masters Champion, winning the prestigious Modified race in 2017 and 2019.

The Marshalltown, IA driver has seven top-fives and 17 top-10s, but like Larson, he’s still searching for that elusive first World of Outlaws win. He enters the weekend with some winning momentum on his side, though, having won one of the preliminary events for the Prairie Dirt Classic.