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Sheppard grabs Firecracker opener at Lernerville

Brandon Sheppard recorded a $6,000 prelim feature win on Thursday night and a fifth-place finish in Saturday’s finale during Lernerville Speedway’s 15th annual Firecracker 100 weekend. He added an additional Top-5 finish in Friday’s prelim. (Jacy Norgaard photo)

His strong performances came behind the wheel of the Rocket1 Racing / Valvoline No. 1 Seubert Calf Ranches/ Durham Racing Engines-powered XR1 Rocket Chassis Super Late Model.

“It seemed like we got different track conditions every night, and as a racer that keeps you on your toes. We got the win on Thursday night, and backed it up with a Top-5 finish on Friday, which put us in a good position on Saturday. We were able to get the heat race win on Saturday night, but then drew the fifth-starting position for the feature in the redraw. We rode in the Top 5 throughout the feature, and ultimately crossed the finish line in fifth,” Sheppard said. “Again, not a bad weekend for the team. Now we’ll get ready for the World of Outlaws western swing.”

On Thursday evening, Rocket1 Racing and Brandon Sheppard headed east to Lernerville Speedway (Sarver, Pa.) to lift the lid on the 15th annual Firecracker 100 weekend. Drawing a stout field of 53 World of Outlaws (WoO) Morton Buildings Late Model Series entries, Sheppard qualified second fastest in his group before picking up a heat race win.

Leading flag-to-flag in the night’s 30-lap preliminary feature, Brandon cruised to his third win of the season with Rocket1 Racing, which came over Chris Madden, Scott Bloomquist, Tyler Bruening, and Spencer Hughes. His 71st career World of Outlaws triumph was worth $6,000.

The following night with another $6,000-to-win preliminary feature on the docket, Brandon topped his group in time trials before placing second in his heat race. Starting the A-Main in eighth, Sheppard improved three spots in the 30-lapper to register a fifth-place finish. He trailed Brandon Overton, Michael Norris, Mark Whitener, and Dennis Erb Jr. to the checkers.

With Saturday’s heat race line-ups being determined by preliminary night performances, Sheppard started on the pole before scoring a 10-lap heat race victory, which transferred him to the redraw.

Rolling off fifth for the 100 lapper, Brandon maintained steady momentum throughout the finale, scoring a fifth-place finish when the checkered flag flew. He followed Brandon Overton, Chris Madden, Dennis Erb Jr., and Darrell Lanigan across the line.

Brandon sits atop the latest World of Outlaws point standings with a 58-point advantage.

Brandon remains out front in the latest World of Outlaws point standings.

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