Lapped Traffic Erases Sheppard’s Bid for $20,000 Win
SHINNSTON, W.Va. (03/28/22) – Brandon Sheppard and Rocket1 Racing saw their chances for a $20,000 victory in Saturday night’s Rock Gault Memorial erased by a tangle with a lapped car while leading.
The Illinois racer rebounded from the tail of the field to register a 12th-place finish in their Valvoline / Seubert Calf Ranches No. 1 Ace Metal Works / XR1 Rocket Chassis / Durham Racing Engine Super Late Model.
He recorded a sixth-place finish one night earlier at the ½-mile oval.
“I guess you can say it just wasn’t our weekend. Friday night was a decent outing for us, but on Saturday night we had the car to beat. However, we just ended up being in the wrong place at the wrong time and got spun while trying to work through lapped traffic. It happens though, and we’ll move onto the next one,” Sheppard said. “I’m definitely looking forward to racing close to home at Farmer City (Raceway) this weekend. I’ve enjoyed a lot of success there, and we’ll have a lot of family and friends in attendance. This is a weekend I always circle on the calendar.”
On Friday afternoon, Rocket1 Racing returned to competition with the World of Outlaws Case Construction Late Model Series in the opening round of the two-day Rock Gault Memorial at Cherokee Speedway (Gaffney, S.C.).
After topping the 40-car field in time trials, Sheppard outdueled Dennis Erb Jr. in his heat race, sending him into the redraw. Receiving the fourth-starting position for the feature, Brandon slipped two spots in the 40-lapper to register a sixth-place finish.
Following the fastest-time in his group on Saturday, Brandon secured his spot into the redraw with a heat race win. Rolling off second for the $20,000-to-win Rock Gault Memorial A-Main, Sheppard took control of the lead early and built a commanding margin out front until a scrape with a slower lapped-car sent him spinning. He salvaged a 12th-place finish from the tail of the field.
Despite Saturday’s misfortune, Brandon climbed to second in the latest World of Outlaw point standings.
For full results from the weekend as well as the latest series standings, please visit www.WorldofOutlaws.com .
The upcoming weekend – April 1-2 – brings Rocket1 Racing into Brandon Sheppard’s backyard with the 2022 edition of the Illini 100 at Farmer City (Ill.) Raceway. The WoO weekend is headlined by a $20,000-to-win finale on Saturday night. Sheppard is a three-time Illini 100 Champion with his most recent title coming in 2019.
Rocket1 Racing would like to thank all of their marketing partners, which include Valvoline, Seubert Calf Ranches, Rocket Chassis, Ace Metal Works, Durham Racing Engines, Five Star RaceCar Bodies, Gunters Honey, Hoosier Racing Tire, Integra Racing Shocks, Keyser Manufacturing, Petroff Towing, Slavic Custom Racing Shirts & Decals, Sweet Manufacturing, Sunoco Race Fuels, Accu-Force Shock Service, ATL Fuel Cells, Aurora Rod Ends, Barnes Dry Sump Oil Systems, Bazell Race Fuels, Beyea Custom Headers, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Brinn Transmissions, Cometic Gasket, COMP Cams, CP Carrillo, Dohm Cycles, Edelbrock, Fibreworks Composites, Hardrock Powder Coating, Howe Racing Enterprises, Jones Racing Products, Kenny’s Components, Maxima Racing Oils, MSD, NGK Spark Plugs, Tel Tac, Performance Bodies, Peterson Fluid Systems, Powers Performance, Performance Rod & Custom, Quarter Master, QuickCar Racing Products, Rocket Pre-Owned Motors, Safecraft, Show Trucks Unlimited, Simpson, Stealth Carburetors, Strange Oval, Suave Talk, Total Power Valvoline Pro-V Racing, Walker Performance Filtration, Weld Racing, Wiles Driveshafts, Wilwood Brakes, Winters Performance Products, Wrisco Aluminum, Xceldyne Valvetrain, and MyRacePass Marketing Services.
For the latest information on Rocket1Racing please visit the team website at www.Rocket1Racing.com as well as their social media channels at www.facebook.com/Rocket1Racing, www.twitter.com/Rocket1_Racing, and www.instagram.com/rocket1racing .
PR Contact:
Ben Shelton (ben.shelton@myracepass.com)