{"id":20934,"date":"2014-02-15T14:30:33","date_gmt":"2014-02-15T14:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/?p=20934"},"modified":"2014-02-15T14:30:33","modified_gmt":"2014-02-15T14:30:33","slug":"brady-smith-steers-new-rocket-car-to-victory-in-world-of-outlaws-late-model-season-opener-at-bubba-raceway-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/front-page-news\/brady-smith-steers-new-rocket-car-to-victory-in-world-of-outlaws-late-model-season-opener-at-bubba-raceway-park\/","title":{"rendered":"Brady Smith Steers New Rocket Car To Victory In World of Outlaws Late Model Season Opener At Bubba Raceway Park"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wisconsin Standout Holds Off Substitute Rocket Chassis House Car Driver Brandon Sheppard For $7,000 Triumph<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"021414_BRPNt1VL\"OCALA, FL \u2013 Feb. 14, 2014 \u2013 Brady Smith loves his new car.<\/p>\n

After steering the three-race-old machine to a wire-to-wire victory in\u00a0Friday\u00a0night\u2019s caution-free 35-lap World of Outlaws Late Model Series season opener at Bubba Raceway Park, Smith\u2019s decision to join the Rocket Chassis fold in 2014 was vindicated.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just couldn\u2019t be happier with the support we\u2019ve been getting (from Rocket Chassis),\u201d Smith said after capturing the milestone 400th<\/sup>\u00a0WoO LMS A-Main contested since the national tour was reborn in 2004 under the World Racing Group banner. \u201cAll those guys over there \u2013 (Steve) Baker, Mark (Richards), Cody (Duncan), Matt (Barnes), Josh (Richards) \u2013 have been just so helpful. I couldn\u2019t be happier with the effort they\u2019ve been giving me to help us get going here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith, 36, of Solon Springs, Wis., took off from his pole position starting spot and led the entire distance in his Vic Hill-powered car, but his $7,050 triumph in the first of three Bubba Army Dirt Late Model Winter Nationals events didn\u2019t come easy. He had to hold off a furious late-race challenge from Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill. \u2013 the substitute driver of Mark Richards\u2019s Rocket Chassis house car while reigning WoO LMS champ Josh Richards is sidelined by undisclosed medical issues \u2013 to secure his fifth career win on the WoO LMS.<\/p>\n

The 21-year-old Sheppard\u2019s last-lap bid fell short by 0.367 of a second as he settled for runner-up money. Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., finished about one second behind Sheppard in third driving his new self-designed Club 29 car. Rick Eckert of York, Pa., burst forward from the 12th<\/sup>starting spot to fourth place in 11 laps and stayed there to the finish in his Bloomquist car, while seventh-starter Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., completed the top five in his Kennedy Motorsports Capital Race Car.<\/p>\n

In a non-stop race that was completed in a mere 9 minutes, 28.214 seconds, Smith found himself dealing with heavy lapped traffic throughout the closing stages. Never far behind was Sheppard, who started fourth and reached second with a lap-10 pass of Lanigan.<\/p>\n

Sheppard repeatedly slid underneath Smith in the corners of the egg-shaped, three-eighths-mile oval over the final 10 laps, but Smith made the correct moves to hang on for his first WoO LMS checkered flag since Aug. 20, 2011, at Merritt Speedway in Lake City, Mich.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe lapped traffic was somewhat hellacious tonight so we had our hands full out there,\u201d said Smith, whose best finish in four previous WoO LMS starts at BRP was a seventh on Feb. 16, 2013. \u201cI was just trying to do the best I could without roughing anybody up too bad and still keep my pace up.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw that blue nose (of Sheppard\u2019s car) poked under me a couple times but just got back up on the wheel and tried to finish the job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith smiled broadly through a bushy winter\u2019s beard while celebrating with family and friends during the post-race ceremonies. An annual competitor in Florida dirt Late Model Speedweeks events since 2005, Smith was triumphant during the February stretch of action for the first time since Feb. 13, 2010, at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m extremely happy to be here in Victory Lane,\u201d said Smith. \u201cI\u2019ve got almost all my best supporters here \u2013 my family (wife Jenni and young children Travis and Rowan), a couple of my great sponsors (Michaletz Trucking and Jim Gummerson from Mid-States Equipment Inc.). This means a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sheppard, meanwhile, graciously accepted his solid second-place finish.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe lapped traffic was just tough,\u201d said Sheppard, who registered a career-best WoO LMS finish in the state of Florida. \u201cEvery time I\u2019d get up there to (Smith), get close to him, we\u2019d always catch up to lapped traffic. Every batch of lapped traffic we got to was two-wide, so it was hard to do anything with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shane Clanton of Zebulon, Ga., improved four positions to finish sixth in his first WoO LMS start driving a car fielded by his father-in-law Ron Davies while Mike Marlar of Winfield, Tenn., was seventh and earned the $500 WoO LMS Bonus Bucks for being the highest-finished non-touring regular who has never won a series event. Ivedent Lloyd Jr. of Ocala, Fla., placed eighth at his hometown track; Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., advanced from the 20\u00a0th<\/sup>\u00a0starting spot to finish ninth; and possible WoO LMS Rookie of the Year contender Frankie Heckenast Jr. of Orland Park, Ill., rounded out the top five.<\/p>\n

Sheppard topped the evening\u2019s 27-car field in Ohlins Shocks Time Trials with a lap of 14.872 seconds. It was his second career WoO LMS fast-time honor.<\/p>\n

Heat winners were Sheppard, Brandon Overton of Appleton, Ga., and Brady Smith. Morgan Bagley of Tyler, Texas, captured the B-Main.<\/p>\n

The Bubba Army Dirt Late Model Winter Nationals continue with a 50-lap, $10,000-to-win event\u00a0on Saturday\u00a0night (Feb. 15) and a 60-lap finale paying $12,000 to win\u00a0on Sunday\u00a0evening (Feb. 16).<\/p>\n

More information on the Winter Nationals is available by logging on towww.bubbaracewaypark.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

For more information on the WoO LMS, visit\u00a0www.worldofoutlaws.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Fans can also follow the WoO LMS on Twitter at\u00a0Twitter.com\/WoOLateModels\u00a0<\/a>and Facebook at\u00a0Facebook.com\/WorldofOutlaws\u00a0<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Results of World of Outlaws Late Model Series \u2018Bubba Army Dirt Late Model Winter Nationals\u2019 Night 1 at Bubba Raceway Park (Finishing Position\/Start\/Driver\/Laps Completed\/Money Won):<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1. (1) Brady Smith\/35 $7,050<\/p>\n

2. (4) Brandon Sheppard\/35 $3,500<\/p>\n

3. (3) Darrell Lanigan\/35 $2,650<\/p>\n

4. (12) Rick Eckert\/35 $2,400<\/p>\n

5. (7) Tim Fuller\/35 $2,050<\/p>\n

6. (10) Shane Clanton\/35 $1,650<\/p>\n

7. (9) Mike Marlar\/35 $1,900<\/p>\n

8. (15) Ivedent Lloyd Jr.\/35 $1,300<\/p>\n

9. (20) Tim McCreadie\/35 $1,450<\/p>\n

10. (18) Frankie Heckenast Jr.\/35 $1,050<\/p>\n

11. (5) Brandon Overton\/35 $950<\/p>\n

12. (6) Eric Wells\/35 $950<\/p>\n

13. (13) Chase Junghans\/34 $800<\/p>\n

14. (11) Chub Frank\/34 $850<\/p>\n

15. (14) Jack Sullivan\/34 $700<\/p>\n

16. (19) Morgan Bagley\/34 $680<\/p>\n

17. (17) Clint Smith\/34 $660<\/p>\n

18. (16) Dalton Myers\/34 $640<\/p>\n

19. (21) Raymond Merrill\/34 $620<\/p>\n

20. (23) Rick \u2018Boom\u2019 Briggs\/33 $600<\/p>\n

21. (22) Casey Roberts\/17 $600<\/p>\n

22. (8) Austin Kirkpatrick\/14 $600<\/p>\n

23. (2) Mark Whitener\/13 $700<\/p>\n

24. (24) John Winge\/3 $625<\/p>\n

*\u00a0Earnings include Winners Circle program and cash contingency award bonuses<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Time of Race: 9 Mins., 28.214 Secs.<\/p>\n

Margin of Victory: 0.367 Secs.<\/p>\n

Yellow Flags: None<\/p>\n

Lap Leaders: B. Smith (1-35)<\/p>\n

Provisional Starters: Briggs, Winge<\/p>\n

WoO LMS \u2018Bonus Bucks\u2019 Winner: Marlar ($500)<\/p>\n

Ohlins Shocks Time Trial Results (Position\/No.\/Driver\/Hometown\/Best Lap):<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1. 1-Brandon Sheppard\/New Berlin, IL 14.872<\/p>\n

2. 76-Brandon Overton\/Appleton, GA 15.176<\/p>\n

3. 29-Darrell Lanigan\/Union, KY 15.215<\/p>\n

4. 58-Mark Whitener\/Middleburg, FL 15.222<\/p>\n

5. 18-Eric Wells\/Hazard, KY 15.244<\/p>\n

6. 2-Brady Smith\/Solon Springs, WI 15.246<\/p>\n

7. 18c-Chase Junghans\/Manhattan, KS 15.275<\/p>\n

8. 11-Austin Kirkpatrick\/Ocala, FL 15.309<\/p>\n

9. 157-Mike Marlar\/Winfield, TN 15.310<\/p>\n

10. 25-Shane Clanton\/Zebulon, GA 15.400<\/p>\n

11. 14M-Morgan Bagley\/Tyler, TX 15.481<\/p>\n

12. 24-Rick Eckert\/York, PA 15.502<\/p>\n

13. 19-Tim Fuller\/Watertown, NY 15.547<\/p>\n

14. 18x-Jack Sullivan\/Greenbrier, AR 15.554<\/p>\n

15. 21L-Ivedent Lloyd Jr.\/Ocala, FL 15.196<\/p>\n

16. 101-Casey Roberts\/Toccoa, GA 15.557<\/p>\n

17. 1*-Chub Frank\/Bear Lake, PA 15.581<\/p>\n

18. 99Jr-Frankie Heckenast\/Orland Park, IL 15.591<\/p>\n

19. 39-Tim McCreadie\/Watertown, NY 15.716<\/p>\n

20. 44-Clint Smith\/Senoia, GA 15.815<\/p>\n

21. 2M-Allen Murray\/San Antonio, TX 15.925<\/p>\n

22. 54-Daltn Myers\/Riverview, FL 15.968<\/p>\n

23. 99B-Rick \u2018Boom\u2019 Briggs\/Bear Lake, PA 15.987<\/p>\n

24. 12M-Raymond Merrill\/Salisaw, OK 16.130<\/p>\n

25. 1G-Michael Lake\/Uniontown, PA 16.134<\/p>\n

26. 17J-John Winge\/Sioux Falls, SD 16.329<\/p>\n

27. 16H-Mike Hammerle\/St. Charles, MO 17.500<\/p>\n

Heat No. 1 (10 laps \u2013 Top 6 Transfer):\u00a0<\/strong>Sheppard, Whitener, Fuller, Clanton, Junghans, Myers, McCreadie, Roberts, Lake<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Heat No. 2 (10 laps \u2013 Top 6 Transfer):\u00a0<\/strong>Overton, Wells, Kirkpatrick, Frank, Sullivan, C. Smith, Bagley, Winge, Briggs<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Heat No. 3 (10 laps \u2013 Top 6 Transfer):\u00a0<\/strong>B. Smith, Lanigan, Marlar, Eckert, Lloyd, Heckenast, Merrill, Murray, Hammerle<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

B-Main (12 laps \u2013 Top 4 Transfer):\u00a0<\/strong>Bagley, McCreadie, Merrill, Roberts, Briggs, Lake, Winge, Hammerle<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

World of Outlaws Late Model Series Contingency Award Winners (awards presented to noted finisher\/qualifier or next highest displaying decal):<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ohlins Shocks ($50 cash to fast qualifier): Mark Whitener<\/p>\n

Comp Cams ($50 certificate to A-Main winner): Brady Smith<\/p>\n

MSD Ignition ($50 cash to A-Main winner): Brady Smith<\/p>\n

Quartermaster ($100 certificate to A-Main winner): Rick Eckert<\/p>\n

Wrisco (three sheets of aluminum\/certificate to A-Main winner): Brady Smith<\/p>\n

STP ($50 cash to 2nd<\/sup>-place finisher in A-Main): Darrell Lanigan<\/p>\n

Penske Racing Shocks ($50 to 3rd<\/sup>-place finisher in A-Main): Mark Whitener<\/p>\n

Roush-Yates ($50 cash to 4th<\/sup>-place finisher in A-Main): Rick Eckert<\/p>\n

JE Pistons ($50 cash to 5th<\/sup>-place finisher in A-Main): Tim Fuller<\/p>\n

Lincoln Welders ($50 cash to 6th<\/sup>-place finisher in A-Main): Shane Clanton<\/p>\n

American Racing Wheels ($50 cash to 7th<\/sup>-place finisher in A-Main): Tim McCreadie<\/p>\n

VP Racing Fuels ($50 cash to 8th<\/sup>-place finisher in A-Main): Tim McCreadie<\/p>\n

Edelbrock ($50 cash to 9th<\/sup>-place finisher in A-Main): Tim McCreadie<\/p>\n

Comp Cams ($50 cash to 10th<\/sup>-place finisher in A-Main): Frankie Heckenast Jr.<\/p>\n

Cometic ($50 cash to 12th<\/sup>-place finisher in A-Main): Eric Wells<\/p>\n

JRI Shocks ($50 cash to 13th<\/sup>-place finisher in A-Main): Chub Frank<\/p>\n

Superflow Dynos ($50 cash to 14th<\/sup>-place finisher in A-Main): Chub Frank<\/p>\n

Quartermaster ($25 certificate to 15th<\/sup>-place finisher in A-Main): Jack Sullivan<\/p>\n

JE Pistons (one set of rings certificate to 16th<\/sup>-place finisher in A-Main): Morgan Bagley<\/p>\n

Roush-Yates ($50 certificate to 18th<\/sup>-place finisher in A-Main): Dalton Myers<\/p>\n

Quartermaster ($50 certificate to 19th<\/sup>-place finisher in A-Main): Raymond Merrill<\/p>\n

Arizona Sports Shirts ($100 certificate to 20th<\/sup>-place finisher in A-Main): Casey Roberts<\/p>\n

JE Pistons (one set of rings certificate to 21st<\/sup>-place finisher in A-Main): Casey Roberts<\/p>\n

Roush-Yates ($50 certificate to 22nd<\/sup>-place finisher in A-Main): Mark Whitener<\/p>\n

MSD Ignition ($25 cash to 24th<\/sup>-place finisher in A-Main): John Winge<\/p>\n

Armor All (one case of product to highest-finishing non-WoO driver): Brady Smith<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The World of Outlaws Late Model Series is brought to fans across the country by many important sponsors and partners, including: American Racing Custom Wheels (Official Custom Wheel), Arizona Sport Shirts (Official Apparel Company), Armor All (Official Car Care Products), Hoosier Racing Tires (Official Racing Tires), KMC (Official Custom Truck Wheel), STP (Official Fuel Treatment), Vicci (Official Uniform), VP Racing Fuel (Official Racing Fuel), DirtonDirt.com (Hard Charger Award) and McCarthy’s One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning (Raye Vest Memorial Pill Draw Award); in addition to contingency sponsors: Butlerbuilt, Cometic Gasket, Comp Cams, Dominator Race Products, Edelbrock, Eibach Springs, JE Pistons, JRI Shocks, Klotz Synthetic Lubricants, MSD Ignition, Ohlins Shocks, QuarterMaster, Roush Yates Performance Parts, Superflow Dynos, Wrisco Aluminum and XS Power Racing Batteries; along with manufacturer sponsors Capital Race Cars, Integra Shocks, GRT Chassis, Jake\u2019s Carts, Racing Electronics, Rocket Chassis, TNT Rescue, and Warrior Chassis.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wisconsin Standout Holds Off Substitute Rocket Chassis House Car Driver Brandon Sheppard For $7,000 Triumph OCALA, FL \u2013 Feb. 14, 2014 \u2013 Brady Smith loves […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"publish_to_discourse":"","publish_post_category":"","wpdc_auto_publish_overridden":"","wpdc_topic_tags":"","wpdc_pin_topic":"","wpdc_pin_until":"","discourse_post_id":"","discourse_permalink":"","wpdc_publishing_response":"","wpdc_publishing_error":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17,22,3,71],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20934","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ocala-speedway","category-featured","category-front-page-news","category-late-models"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20934","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20934"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20934\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20938,"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20934\/revisions\/20938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20934"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20934"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20934"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}