PORTSMOUTH, OHIO (September 1, 2018) – 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 |
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Race Statistics
Entrants: 31
Lap Leaders: Kyle Bronson (Laps 1 – 12); Brandon Sheppard (Laps 13 – 50)
Wrisco Feature Winner: Brandon Sheppard
Margin of Victory: 2.331 seconds
Cautions: Shannon Thornsberry, Don O’Neal, Shanon Buckingham, Scott Bloomquist (Lap 12); Darrell Lanigan (Lap 14); Jimmy Owens (Lap 21); Earl Pearson Jr. (Lap 31); Kyle Bronson (Lap 33)
Series Provisionals: Don O’Neal
Miller Welders Fast Time Provisional: Jackie Boggs
Portsmouth Raceway Park Provisionals: Josh Bocook
Optima Batteries Hard Charger of the Race: Gregg Satterlee (Advanced 17 Positions)
Midwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Jonathan Davenport
Allstar Performance Power Move of the Race: Earl Pearson Jr.
Sunoco Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Brandon Sheppard
Hot Rod Processing Rookie of the Race: Mason Zeigler
COMP Cams Engine Builder of the Race: Durham Racing Engines
Ohlins Shocks Chassis Builder of the Race: Rocket Chassis
Outerwears Crew Chief of the Race: Robbie Allen (Gregg Satterlee)
Fastest Lap of the Race: Kyle Bronson (Lap #2 – 14.6717 seconds)
STEEL-IT Most Laps Led: Brandon Sheppard (38 Laps)
Dirty Girl Racewear Farthest Traveler: Ricky Thornton
PFC Brakes Pole Award: Scott BloomquistÂ
Time of Race: 32 minutes 03 seconds
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Lucas Oil Championship Point Standings:
| POS | CAR # | DRIVER NAME | HOMETOWN | POINTS | EARNINGS |
| 1 | 49 | Jonathan Davenport | Blairsville, GA | 6990 | $233,608.79 |
| 2 | 1R | Josh Richards | Shinnston, WV | 6815 | $155,489.67 |
| 3 | 0 | Scott Bloomquist | Mooresburg, TN | 6705 | $200,052.58 |
| 4 | 1 | Earl Pearson, Jr. | Jacksonville, FL | 6585 | $340,714.50 |
| 5 | 39 | Tim McCreadie | Watertown, NY | 6410 | $118,275.00 |
| 6 | 32 | Bobby Pierce | Oakwood, IL | 6330 | $167,507.90 |
| 7 | 20 | Jimmy Owens | Newport, TN | 6320 | $110,533.49 |
| 8 | 5 | Don O’Neal | Martinsville, IN | 6255 | $112,358.79 |
| 9 | 14 | Darrell Lanigan | Union, KY | 5850 | $89,997.00 |
| 10 | 22 | Gregg Satterlee | Indiana, PA | 5835 | $105,567.95 |
| 11 | 71 | Hudson O’Neal | Martinsville, IN | 5825 | $121,325.00 |
| 12 | 25Z | Mason Zeigler | Chalk Hill, PA | 5710 | $70,964.97 |
| 13 | 28 | Dennis Erb, Jr. | Carpentersville, IL | 5600 | $60,662.31 |
| 14 | 40B | Kyle Bronson | Brandon, FL | 5525 | $74,975.00 |
*Points are unofficial until Close of Business on the Tuesday following Race Day*