Sheppard Ends Winless Drought with Fourth Illini 100 Triumph
Photo by Emily Schwanke
FARMER CITY, Ill. — Brandon Sheppard and Rocket1 Racing are undoubtedly one of the most successful pairings in the history of dirt Late Model racing.
But ever since they reunited over the winter, the conversation surrounding them hasn’t been about how often they were winning. It was about when they would win again.
The answer to that question? Saturday night at Farmer City Raceway.
Sheppard hadn’t won a race since the 2024 Gateway Dirt Nationals, and his last outdoor win came in a preliminary Feature at last year’s Prairie Dirt Classic. The Rocket Chassis house team hadn’t celebrated in Victory Lane since Tim McCreadie won the Topless 100 last August. And Sheppard hadn’t won the Illini 100 since 2019.
The five-time and reigning World of Outlaws Late Models champion brought all those streaks to an end with 60 flawless laps around one of his favorite tracks.
“I’m so happy, man,” Sheppard said following the 88th win of his World of Outlaws career. “Everybody has been talking us down. Do you miss Longhorn, do you miss this, do you miss that? No. I’m not back because I never left.”
Sheppard’s race began in the 11th starting spot, while Bilstein Pole Award winner Cody Overton led the field to green alongside second-starting Drake Troutman. Troutman took the early advantage and went to work on building a gap in hopes of becoming the second rookie in as many nights to win their first World of Outlaws race.
A clean-and-green start to the Feature meant slower traffic quickly became a factor, but Troutman masterfully maneuvered his way through to hold onto the top spot. Behind him, Overton, Brian Shirley, Bobby Pierce and Devin Moran found themselves under a blanket as they dueled for second.
With 25 laps complete, Shirley got to the outside of Troutman in Turns 1 and 2 and briefly grabbed the lead, but Troutman found enough grip on the bottom in the next set of corners to wrestle the position back.
Moran spun in Turn 4 to bring out the first and only caution of the race, erasing Troutman’s gap to the field. On the restart, he would have a different Illinois driver to deal with, as Sheppard had made his way around Shirley and up to second before the pace slowed.
When the race went back green, Sheppard rode the cushion for all it was worth and blasted off Turn 4 and into the lead. Less than five laps later, Sheppard’s gap to the field was already over three seconds. From there, “B-Shepp” put the No. 1 on cruise control, slicing his way through traffic on the way to the checkered flag.
“That was Farmer City right there baby,” Sheppard said. “That was elbows-up, get it on, cushion right up against the wall. That was the Farmer City we like to see for sure.”
While Sheppard was driving off into the sunset, Pierce was busy battling Troutman for second in the laps following the restart. Pierce prevailed and kept Sheppard in sight in traffic, but came up one spot short of a third-straight Illini 100 victory.
“Really love racing here, such an up-on-the-wheel track,” Pierce said. “When I saw Brandon catching lap cars, I thought I was going to have a chance at catching him. Right when I saw him catching those lap cars, he went right through them like a hot knife through butter. He did a great job getting through them. That was my only chance.”
Troutman brought the No. 22* home third for his third podium of the season, enough to take the lead back in the MD3 Rookie of the Year standings by 34 points over Dotson.
“We’ve been so dang close, I just wish we could pull one off,” Troutman said. “That’s part of it, these two are by far the best guys in Illinois. They’re tough to beat, and I saw them up on the boards after that caution and knew I was kind of a sitting duck.”
Shirley ended up fourth for his second top five of the weekend while Dustin Sorensen picked up his best finish of the season in fifth.
RACE NOTES:
McKay Wenger set the Dirt King Simulators Fastest Hot Lap.
Brian Shirley won the Simpson Quick Time Award.
Brian Shirley won TheGreatestStoreOnDirt.com Heat 1.
Cody Overton won STAKT Products Heat 2.
Devin Moran won Keyser Manufacturing Heat 3.
Drake Troutman won Jarrett Rifles Heat 4.
Ryan Gustin and Tyler Erb won the Landa Pressure Washers Last Chance Showdowns.
Cody Overton won the Bilstein Pole Award.
Dennis Erb Jr. drove from 26th to 13th for the FOX Factory Hard Charger Award.
Drake Troutman was the MD3 Rookie of the Race.
Bobby Pierce won the WELD Racing Second-Place Finisher Award.
Brian Shirley was the ARP Fourth-Place Finisher.
Dustin Sorensen was the MSD Fifth-Place Finisher.
Ricky Thornton Jr. was the Swift Springs Sixth-Place Finisher.
Ryan Unzicker was the VP Racing Fuels Eighth-Place Finisher.
Garrett Alberson was the Lifeline USA Ninth-Place Finisher.
Tyler Bruening was the COMP Cams 10th-Place Finisher.
Kyle Bronson was the Cometic Gaskets 12th-Place Finisher.
UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws Late Models head south to the Talladega Short Track for the Alabama Gang 100 on Friday and Saturday, April 25-26. For tickets, click here.
RESULTS
WoO Late Model Feature (60 Laps): 1. 1-Brandon Sheppard[11]; 2. 32-Bobby Pierce[7]; 3. 22*-Drake Troutman[2]; 4. 3S-Brian Shirley[4]; 5. 19-Dustin Sorensen[5]; 6. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[16]; 7. 2-Cody Overton[1]; 8. 24-Ryan Unzicker[6]; 9. 58-Garrett Alberson[9]; 10. 16-Tyler Bruening[14]; 11. 96-Tanner English[19]; 12. 40B-Kyle Bronson[20]; 13. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[26]; 14. 19R-Ryan Gustin[17]; 15. 1T-Tyler Erb[18]; 16. 18-Shannon Babb[13]; 17. 25-Jason Feger[10]; 18. 9-Nick Hoffman[23]; 19. 9M-Tim McCreadie[8]; 20. 12-Ashton Winger[12]; 21. 111-Max Blair[25]; 22. 74X-Ethan Dotson[24]; 23. 60-Dan Ebert[15]; 24. 99-Devin Moran[3]; 25. 89-Mike Spatola[21]; 26. 99W-Mckay Wenger[22]
Landa Pressure Washers LCS 1 (10 Laps): 1. 19R-Ryan Gustin[1]; 2. 96-Tanner English[2]; 3. 89-Mike Spatola[3]; 4. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[5]; 5. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[4]; 6. 11-Austin Smith[7]; 7. 15-Justin Duty[6]; 8. 49-Jake Timm[9]; 9. 33H-Roben Huffman[11]; 10. 8-Matthew Larson[8]; 11. 43-Derrick Stewart[12]; 12. 21B-Rich Bell[10]
Landa Pressure Washers LCS 2 (10 Laps): 1. 1T-Tyler Erb[1]; 2. 40B-Kyle Bronson[4]; 3. 99W-Mckay Wenger[2]; 4. 9-Nick Hoffman[3]; 5. 111-Max Blair[7]; 6. 20-Jimmy Owens[6]; 7. 5S-Steve Sheppard Jr[10]; 8. 75-Daniel Adam[5]; 9. 74X-Ethan Dotson[12]; 10. B1-Brent Larson[8]; 11. 62-Randy Shuman[11]; 12. 84-Myles Moos[9]
WoO Late Model Heat Race 1 (8 Laps): 1. 3S-Brian Shirley[1]; 2. 24-Ryan Unzicker[2]; 3. 58-Garrett Alberson[3]; 4. 18-Shannon Babb[4]; 5. 19R-Ryan Gustin[6]; 6. 89-Mike Spatola[8]; 7. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[7]; 8. 11-Austin Smith[5]; 9. 49-Jake Timm[9]; 10. 33H-Roben Huffman[10]
STAKT Products Heat Race 2 (8 Laps): 1. 2-Cody Overton[2]; 2. 19-Dustin Sorensen[3]; 3. 1-Brandon Sheppard[1]; 4. 60-Dan Ebert[4]; 5. 96-Tanner English[8]; 6. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[7]; 7. 15-Justin Duty[6]; 8. 8-Matthew Larson[10]; 9. 21B-Rich Bell[9]; 10. 43-Derrick Stewart[5]
Keyser Mfg Heat Race 3 (8 Laps): 1. 99-Devin Moran[3]; 2. 32-Bobby Pierce[2]; 3. 25-Jason Feger[1]; 4. 16-Tyler Bruening[5]; 5. 1T-Tyler Erb[7]; 6. 9-Nick Hoffman[9]; 7. 75-Daniel Adam[4]; 8. 111-Max Blair[8]; 9. 84-Myles Moos[6]; 10. 62-Randy Shuman[10]
Jarrett Rifles Heat Race 4 (8 Laps): 1. 22*-Drake Troutman[1]; 2. 9M-Tim McCreadie[3]; 3. 12-Ashton Winger[2]; 4. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[5]; 5. 99W-Mckay Wenger[8]; 6. 40B-Kyle Bronson[7]; 7. 20-Jimmy Owens[6]; 8. B1-Brent Larson[9]; 9. 5S-Steve Sheppard Jr[10]; 10. 74X-Ethan Dotson[4]
Group A Qualifying (2 Laps): 1. 3S-Brian Shirley, 00:12.814[1]; 2. 1-Brandon Sheppard, 00:12.829[19]; 3. 24-Ryan Unzicker, 00:12.899[17]; 4. 2-Cody Overton, 00:12.951[16]; 5. 58-Garrett Alberson, 00:12.978[15]; 6. 19-Dustin Sorensen, 00:13.047[11]; 7. 18-Shannon Babb, 00:13.063[5]; 8. 60-Dan Ebert, 00:13.109[2]; 9. 11-Austin Smith, 00:13.115[9]; 10. 43-Derrick Stewart, 00:13.116[8]; 11. 19R-Ryan Gustin, 00:13.140[14]; 12. 15-Justin Duty, 00:13.167[10]; 13. 28-Dennis Erb Jr, 00:13.182[7]; 14. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain, 00:13.216[18]; 15. 89-Mike Spatola, 00:13.255[6]; 16. 96-Tanner English, 00:13.276[12]; 17. 49-Jake Timm, 00:13.317[3]; 18. 21B-Rich Bell, 00:13.413[4]; 19. 33H-Roben Huffman, 00:13.694[13]; 20. 8-Matthew Larson, 00:13.726[20]
Group B Qualifying (2 Laps): 1. 25-Jason Feger, 00:12.824[19]; 2. 22*-Drake Troutman, 00:12.843[9]; 3. 32-Bobby Pierce, 00:12.860[15]; 4. 12-Ashton Winger, 00:12.882[13]; 5. 99-Devin Moran, 00:12.888[2]; 6. 9M-Tim McCreadie, 00:12.888[18]; 7. 75-Daniel Adam, 00:12.899[5]; 8. 74X-Ethan Dotson, 00:12.913[7]; 9. 16-Tyler Bruening, 00:12.972[20]; 10. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr, 00:12.990[8]; 11. 84-Myles Moos, 00:12.991[14]; 12. 20-Jimmy Owens, 00:13.019[16]; 13. 1T-Tyler Erb, 00:13.034[6]; 14. 40B-Kyle Bronson, 00:13.041[12]; 15. 111-Max Blair, 00:13.065[1]; 16. 99W-Mckay Wenger, 00:13.073[17]; 17. 9-Nick Hoffman, 00:13.083[3]; 18. B1-Brent Larson, 00:13.142[10]; 19. 62-Randy Shuman, 00:13.292[11]; 20. 5S-Steve Sheppard Jr, 00:13.472[4]
CURRENT WORLD OF OUTLAWS LATE MODEL SERIES STANDINGS
Points Updated: April 12, 2025
Pos. No. Driver Hometown Points Gap Starts Wins Top 5s Top 10s
1 32 Bobby Pierce Oakwood, IL 1448 10 2 5 8
2 19R Ryan Gustin Marshalltown, IA 1382 -66 10 2 4 6
3 9 Nick Hoffman Mooresville, NC 1382 -66 10 0 3 8
4 22* Drake Troutman Hyndman, PA 1356 -92 10 0 4 5
5 74X Ethan Dotson Bakersfield, CA 1322 -126 10 1 3 4
6 2 Cody Overton Thomson, GA 1314 -134 10 0 1 4
7 111 Max Blair Centerville, PA 1310 -138 10 0 1 5
8 3S Brian Shirley Chatham, IL 1300 -148 10 0 2 3
9 96 Tanner English Benton, KY 1286 -162 9 0 0 1
10 28 Dennis Erb Carpentersville, IL 1276 -172 9 0 0 1
11 9M Tim McCreadie Watertown, NY 1274 -174 9 0 1 2
12 40B Kyle Bronson Brandon, FL 1254 -194 10 0 0 2
13 19 Dustin Sorensen Rochester, MN 1234 -214 9 0 1 2
14 20 Jimmy Owens Newport, TN 1226 -222 5 0 1 3
15 12 Ashton Winger Hampton, GA 1182 -266 5 0 1 1
16 20TC Tristan Chamberlain Richmond, IN 1158 -290 8 0 0 0
17 B1 Brent Larson Lake Elmo, MN 1138 -310 7 0 0 0
18 75 Daniel Adam Peru, IL 1136 -312 3 0 0 0
19 49 Jake Timm Winona, MN 1132 -316 3 0 0 0
20 20RT Ricky Thornton Chandler, AZ 1128 -320 7 0 3 5
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DIRTcar UMP Modifieds (33 Modifieds)
Feature (30 Laps): 1. 09-Michael Ledford[4]; 2. 66-Cole Falloway[1]; 3. 18L-Michael Long[3]; 4. 45H-Chase Holland[2]; 5. 45-Kyle Hammer[8]; 6. 0-Damian Kiefer[14]; 7. 27D-Beau DeYoung[6]; 8. 89-Austin Friedman[5]; 9. 77-Ray Bollinger[12]; 10. J24-Jeremy Nichols[10]; 11. 777-Trevor Neville[19]; 12. B5-Matthew Baker[20]; 13. 88S-Alan Stipp[11]; 14. 98-Zeke McKenzie[16]; 15. 5B-Steven Brooks[18]; 16. 58R-Ryan Hamilton[17]; 17. (DNF) 25-Tyler Nicely[9]; 18. (DNF) 3-Carson Friedman[22]; 19. (DNF) 12-Jeff Curl[15]; 20. (DNF) 21-Lyndon Whitfill[21]; 21. (DNF) 96M-Mike McKinney[13]; 22. (DNF) 05-Dave Wietholder[7]
B Feature 1 (10 Laps): 1. 58R-Ryan Hamilton[1]; 2. 777-Trevor Neville[4]; 3. 3-Carson Friedman[2]; 4. Z24-Zach Taylor[7]; 5. 99-Charlie Mohr[6]; 6. 67-Austin Seets[3]; 7. (DNF) 2M-Scott McDonald[9]; 8. (DNF) 21-Lyndon Whitfill[5]; 9. (DNS) 23-Billy Justice
B Feature 2 (10 Laps): 1. 5B-Steven Brooks[1]; 2. B5-Matthew Baker[2]; 3. 73-Mark Rhoades[6]; 4. 27-Kyle Barker[7]; 5. 2-Wes Harms[5]; 6. (DNF) 2D-Brayden Doyle[3]; 7. (DNF) 10-Michael Mennel[4]; 8. (DNS) C40-Mike Chasteen Jr
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 45H-Chase Holland[1]; 2. 89-Austin Friedman[2]; 3. 25-Tyler Nicely[3]; 4. 96M-Mike McKinney[4]; 5. 58R-Ryan Hamilton[6]; 6. 67-Austin Seets[8]; 7. 21-Lyndon Whitfill[7]; 8. Z24-Zach Taylor[5]; 9. 2M-Scott McDonald[9]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 09-Michael Ledford[1]; 2. 05-Dave Wietholder[4]; 3. 88S-Alan Stipp[2]; 4. 12-Jeff Curl[6]; 5. 3-Carson Friedman[3]; 6. 777-Trevor Neville[5]; 7. 99-Charlie Mohr[7]; 8. (DNF) 23-Billy Justice[8]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 18L-Michael Long[1]; 2. 27D-Beau DeYoung[2]; 3. J24-Jeremy Nichols[4]; 4. 0-Damian Kiefer[6]; 5. 5B-Steven Brooks[3]; 6. (DNF) 2D-Brayden Doyle[5]; 7. (DNF) 2-Wes Harms[8]; 8. (DNF) 27-Kyle Barker[7]
Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 66-Cole Falloway[1]; 2. 45-Kyle Hammer[2]; 3. 77-Ray Bollinger[3]; 4. 98-Zeke McKenzie[5]; 5. B5-Matthew Baker[4]; 6. 10-Michael Mennel[7]; 7. 73-Mark Rhoades[6]; 8. (DNS) C40-Mike Chasteen Jr
Qualifying 1: 1. 45H-Chase Holland, 00:14.052[4]; 2. 09-Michael Ledford, 00:14.081[13]; 3. 89-Austin Friedman, 00:14.088[2]; 4. 88S-Alan Stipp, 00:14.090[12]; 5. 25-Tyler Nicely, 00:14.128[9]; 6. 3-Carson Friedman, 00:14.142[5]; 7. 96M-Mike McKinney, 00:14.178[1]; 8. 05-Dave Wietholder, 00:14.227[10]; 9. Z24-Zach Taylor, 00:14.265[14]; 10. 777-Trevor Neville, 00:14.421[3]; 11. 58R-Ryan Hamilton, 00:14.433[6]; 12. 12-Jeff Curl, 00:14.440[7]; 13. 21-Lyndon Whitfill, 00:14.461[15]; 14. 99-Charlie Mohr, 00:14.516[8]; 15. 67-Austin Seets, 00:15.083[16]; 16. 23-Billy Justice, 00:15.228[17]; 17. 2M-Scott McDonald, 00:15.611[11]
Qualifying 2: 1. 18L-Michael Long, 00:14.176[15]; 2. 66-Cole Falloway, 00:14.196[11]; 3. 27D-Beau DeYoung, 00:14.236[8]; 4. 45-Kyle Hammer, 00:14.241[13]; 5. 5B-Steven Brooks, 00:14.277[10]; 6. 77-Ray Bollinger, 00:14.321[2]; 7. J24-Jeremy Nichols, 00:14.359[1]; 8. B5-Matthew Baker, 00:14.447[12]; 9. 2D-Brayden Doyle, 00:14.513[3]; 10. 98-Zeke McKenzie, 00:14.540[7]; 11. 0-Damian Kiefer, 00:14.563[5]; 12. 73-Mark Rhoades, 00:14.645[4]; 13. 27-Kyle Barker, 00:14.788[9]; 14. 10-Michael Mennel, 00:14.936[16]; 15. 2-Wes Harms, 00:15.758[6]; 16. (DNS) C40-Mike Chasteen Jr, 00:15.758
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