{"id":20979,"date":"2014-02-17T17:06:56","date_gmt":"2014-02-17T17:06:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/?p=20979"},"modified":"2014-02-17T17:06:56","modified_gmt":"2014-02-17T17:06:56","slug":"super-sub-sheppard-powers-to-convincing-victory-in-saturdays-bubba-army-dirt-late-model-winter-nationals-a-main","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/front-page-news\/super-sub-sheppard-powers-to-convincing-victory-in-saturdays-bubba-army-dirt-late-model-winter-nationals-a-main\/","title":{"rendered":"Super-Sub Sheppard Powers To Convincing Victory In Saturday’s Bubba Army Dirt Late Model Winter Nationals A-Main"},"content":{"rendered":"

Young Star Drives Rocket Chassis House Car To Clean Sweep Of Program At Bubba Raceway Park<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\"021514_BSheppVL\"OCALA, FL \u2013 Feb. 15, 2014 \u2013 Just call him Super Sub.<\/p>\n

Continuing his spectacular performance as the interim driver of the Rocket Chassis house car, Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill., powered to a convincing victory in\u00a0Saturday\u00a0night\u2019s 50-lap World of Outlaws Late Model Series A-Main at Bubba Raceway Park.<\/p>\n

Sheppard, 21, surged forward from the fifth starting spot to take the lead from hometown favorite Ivedent Lloyd Jr. of Ocala, Fla., on lap seven and never looked back. The 2014 DIRTcar Summer Nationals and DIRTcar Late Model national champion easily handled four restarts over the remaining distance to defeatFriday-night winner Brady Smith of Solon Springs, Wis., by 4.348 seconds in the second night of action during the third annual Bubba Army Dirt Late Model Winter Nationals.<\/p>\n

Lloyd, who started from the pole position and led laps 1-6, swapped second place with Smith twice before settling for a career-best WoO LMS finish of third. Tim Fuller of Watertown, N.Y., ran as high as second midway through the race but slipped to fourth at the finish and outside-polesitter Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., placed fifth after starting from the outside pole.<\/p>\n

The $10,050 triumph was Sheppard\u2019s first of the young 2014 WoO LMS season and the fourth of his career on the national tour. Two of his World of Outlaws checkered flags have come behind the wheel of Mark Richards\u2019s familiar Valvoline-sponsored Rocket No. 1, which he is steering while reigning WoO LMS champion Josh Richards is sidelined by undisclosed medical issues.<\/p>\n

Sheppard also earned his first-ever win during Georgia\/Florida Speedweeks, which he has been attending annually since he was a high-school student.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been trying a lot of years to get a win down here and had never been able to do it,\u201d said Sheppard, who had made all his previous Speedweeks appearances in family-owned equipment. \u201cWe never really had any runs to write home about, but this year we\u2019ve had a really good car the whole time we\u2019ve been down here. This team is awesome and I felt like it was a matter of time before we\u2019d get one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sheppard\u2019s great start in the first 50-lapper of the WoO LMS campaign proved to be key to his success. He passed three cars on the opening lap to reach second place and then measured Lloyd\u2019s Snow Brothers car for several circuits before grabbing the lead on lap seven with an inside move rounding turn four.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything fell into place right,\u201d said Sheppard. \u201cWe came up through there pretty quick. We had a ton of traction off of four. I feel like that\u2019s where a lot of guys would lose time, but I could really get through there and get down on that bottom pretty good and drive off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sheppard maintained a modest edge once in command, holding his rivals at arm\u2019s length as he marched to a victory that gave him a rare sweep of a WoO LMS program. He had some close calls in lapped traffic late in the distance but turned up the wick to power away from the 36-year-old Smith in the final circuits.<\/p>\n

\u201cI seen my guys telling me they were getting a little bit close to me when I was in lapped traffic,\u201d said Sheppard, whose perfect night included fast-time honors in qualifying and a heat-race win. \u201cI was kind of trying to save my tires a little bit there, but I knew we were pretty good on the top. I looked up and seen a couple laps to go and put it on the top and got something done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith, who hustled his Rocket machine forward from the eighth starting spot to reach second for the first time with a lap-26 restart pass of Fuller, happily accepted his runner-up finish.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not gonna complain about a second,\u201d said Smith, who ended the night tied for the WoO LMS points lead with Sheppard. \u201cI was probably a little too conservative trying to save my tires, but we\u2019ll take second.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lloyd, meanwhile, felt a prime opportunity to snatch a memorable first-ever WoO LMS win on home turf might have slipped through his fingers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe track got a little rough and we had hard tires on,\u201d said Lloyd, whose previous career-high WoO LMS finish was a fourth in last year\u2019s Winter Nationals opener at BRP. \u201cI never would\u2019ve thought four 10s (soft compound tires) would beat us here, but th<\/strong>at\u2019s how it goes. We were hoping for a little bit better, but it was a pretty good run. It\u2019s an accomplishment to run third with these guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finishing in positions 6-10 was Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., who charged forward from the 19th starting spot after running a B-Main for the second consecutive night; Mike Marlar of Winfield, Tenn., who briefly cracked the top five; 17th-starter Rick Eckert of York, Pa.; Frankie Heckenast Jr. of Orland Park, Ill., who ran as high as sixth; and Casey Roberts of Toccoa, Ga.<\/p>\n

Four caution flags slowed the event, including a notable lap-14 spin between turns one and two by Shane Clanton of Zebulon, Ga., who was bidding for fourth place when he lost control of his car. Other cautions flew for Eric Wells of Hazard, Ky., who spun in turns one and two on lap 10; Raymond Merrill of Sallisaw, Okla. (flat tire on lap 26); and Rick \u2018Boom\u2019 Briggs of Bear Lake, Pa. (slowed on lap 32).<\/p>\n

Thirty cars were signed in for the event.<\/p>\n

Sheppard was fastest in Ohlins Shocks Time Trials for the second consecutive night, turning a lap of 13.955 seconds. He was just over two-tenths of a second off the track record of 13.771 seconds set by Josh Richards exactly one year ago.<\/p>\n

Heat winners were Sheppard, Lloyd and Clanton, and McCreadie captured the B-Main.<\/p>\n

The Bubba Army Dirt Late Model Winter Nationals conclude\u00a0on Sunday\u00a0(Feb. 16) with the inaugural 60-lap \u2018Super\u00a0Sunday\u00a0Showdown,\u2019 which offers a $12,000 first-place prize. Gates are scheduled to open at\u00a012 noon\u00a0with hot laps set to start at\u00a04 p.m.<\/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 Twitter.com\/WoOLateModels and Facebook at Facebook.com\/WorldofOutlaws .<\/p>\n

Results of World of Outlaws Late Model Series \u2018Bubba Army Dirt Late Model Winter Nationals\u2019 Night 2 at Bubba Raceway Park (Finishing Position\/Start\/Driver\/Laps Completed\/Money Won):<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. (5) Brandon Sheppard\/50 $10,050
\n2. (8) Brady Smith\/50 $5,050
\n3. (1) Ivedent Lloyd Jr.\/50 $3,600
\n4. (3) Tim Fuller\/50 $2,550
\n5. (2) Darrell Lanigan\/50 $2,150
\n6. (19) Tim McCreadie\/50 $1,850
\n7. (9) Mike Marlar\/50 $1,400
\n8. (17) Rick Eckert\/50 $1,575
\n9. (6) Frankie Heckenast Jr.\/50 $1,250
\n10. (12) Casey Roberts\/50 $1,150
\n11. (10) Morgan Bagley\/50 $1,100
\n12. (21) Brandon Overton\/50 $1,000
\n13. (18) Chub Frank\/50 $1,050
\n14. (4) Shane Clanton\/50 $950
\n15. (23) Eric Wells\/50 $900
\n16. (7) Chase Junghans\/50 $800
\n17. (20) Austin Kirkpatrick\/50 $770
\n18. (11) Clint Smith\/49 $800
\n19. (16) Raymond Merrill\/49 $730
\n20. (13) Mark Whitener\/48 $700
\n21. (22) Rick \u2018Boom\u2019 Briggs\/41 $700
\n22. (24) John Winge\/22 $700
\n23. (14) Jack Sullivan\/18 $700
\n24. (15) John Garvin Jr.\/14 $700<\/p>\n

* Earnings include cash contingency award bonuses<\/p>\n

Time of Race: 23 Mins., 53.004 Secs.
\nMargin of Victory: 4.348 Secs.
\nYellow Flags: 4 (laps 10, 14, 26, 32)
\nLap Leaders: Lloyd (1-6); Sheppard (7-50)
\nProvisional Starters: Wells, Winge
\nWoO LMS \u2018Bonus Bucks\u2019 Winner: Lloyd ($500)<\/p>\n

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

1. 1-Brandon Sheppard\/New Berlin, IL 13.955
\n2. 21L-Ivedent Lloyd Jr.\/Ocala, FL 14.064
\n3. 29-Darrell Lanigan\/Union, KY 14.133
\n4. 18c-Chase Junghans\/Manhattan, KS 14.143
\n5. 18x-Jack Sullivan\/Greenbrier, AR 14.155
\n6. 25-Shane Clanton\/Zebulon, GA 14.159
\n7. 19-Tim Fuller\/Watertown, NY 14.263
\n8. 2-Brady Smith\/Solon Springs, WI 14.342
\n9. 39-Tim McCreadie\/Watertown, NY 14.373
\n10. 14M-Morgan Bagley\/Tyler, TX 14.410
\n11. 24-Rick Eckert\/York, PA 14.435
\n12. 76-Brandon Overton\/Appleton, GA 14.441
\n13. 18-Eric Wells\/Hazard, KY 14.520
\n14. 99Jr.-Frankie Heckenast Jr.\/Orland Park, IL 14.530
\n15. J4-John Garvin\/Sarver, PA 14.543
\n16. 58-Mark Whitener\/Middleburg, FL 14.563
\n17. 11-Austin Kirkpatrick\/Ocala, FL 14.586
\n18. 157-Mike Marlar\/Winfield, TN 14.588
\n19. 12M-Raymond Merrill\/Sallisaw, OK 14.600
\n20. 44-Clint Smith\/Senoia, GA 14.692
\n21. 101-Casey Roberts\/Toccoa, GA 14.707
\n22. 33-Brian Reese\/Sharpsburg, Ga 14.733
\n23. 1G-Michael Lake\/Uniontown, PA 14.915
\n24. 1*-Chub Frank\/Bear Lake, PA 14.932
\n25. 17J-John Winge\/Sioux Falls, SD 14.941
\n26. 99B-Rick \u2018Boom\u2019 Briggs\/Bear Lake, PA 15.045
\n27. 54-Dalton Myers\/Riverview, FL 15.187
\n28. 32-David Gibson Jr.\/Charleston, WV 15.439
\n29. 57-Chuck Julien\/Apopka, FL 16.540
\n30. 16H-Mike Hammerle\/St. Charles, MO 16.827<\/p>\n

Heat No. 1 (10 laps \u2013 Top 6 Transfer): Sheppard, Fuller, Junghans, Bagley, Whitener, Merrill, Wells, Gibson, Reese, Winge<\/p>\n

Heat No. 2 (10 laps \u2013 Top 6 Transfer): Lloyd, Heckenast, B. Smith, C. Smith, Sullivan, Eckert, Kirkpatrick, Briggs, Lake (DNS) Julien<\/p>\n

Heat No. 3 (10 laps \u2013 Top 6 Transfer): Clanton, Lanigan, Marlar, Roberts, Garvin, Frank, McCreadie, Overton, Myers, Hammerle<\/p>\n

B-Main (12 laps \u2013 Top 4 Transfer): McCreadie, Kirkpatrick, Overton, Briggs, Reese, Winge, Lake, Hammerle, Gibson (DNS) Wells, Julien, Myers<\/p>\n

World of Outlaws Late Model Series Contingency Award Winners<\/strong>\u00a0(awards presented to noted finisher\/qualifier or next highest displaying decal):<\/p>\n

Ohlins Shocks ($50 cash to fast qualifier): Ivedent Lloyd Jr.
\nComp Cams ($50 certificate to A-Main winner): Brandon Sheppard
\nMSD Ignition ($50 cash to A-Main winner): Brandon Sheppard
\nQuartermaster ($100 certificate to A-Main winner): Ivedent Lloyd Jr.
\nWrisco (three sheets of aluminum\/certificate to A-Main winner): Brandon Sheppard
\nSTP ($50 cash to 2nd-place finisher in A-Main): Brady Smith
\nPenske Racing Shocks ($50 to 3rd-place finisher in A-Main): Ivedent Lloyd Jr.
\nRoush-Yates ($50 cash to 4th-place finisher in A-Main): Rick Eckert
\nJE Pistons ($50 cash to 5th-place finisher in A-Main): Darrell Lanigan
\nLincoln Welders ($50 cash to 6th-place finisher in A-Main): Tim McCreadie
\nAmerican Racing Wheels ($50 cash to 7th-place finisher in A-Main): Rick Eckert
\nVP Racing Fuels ($50 cash to 8th-place finisher in A-Main): Rick Eckert
\nEdelbrock ($50 cash to 9th-place finisher in A-Main): Frankie Heckenast Jr.
\nComp Cams ($50 cash to 10th-place finisher in A-Main): Casey Roberts
\nCometic ($50 cash to 12th-place finisher in A-Main): Chub Frank
\nJRI Shocks ($50 cash to 13th-place finisher in A-Main): Chub Frank
\nSuperflow Dynos ($50 cash to 14th-place finisher in A-Main): Shane Clanton
\nQuartermaster ($25 certificate to 15th-place finisher in A-Main): Eric Wells
\nJE Pistons (one set of rings certificate to 16th-place finisher in A-Main): Chase Junghans
\nRoush-Yates ($50 certificate to 18th-place finisher in A-Main): Raymond Merrill
\nQuartermaster ($50 certificate to 19th-place finisher in A-Main): Raymond Merrill
\nArizona Sports Shirts ($100 certificate to 20th-place finisher in A-Main): Mark Whitener
\nJE Pistons (one set of rings certificate to 21st-place finisher in A-Main): Rick \u2018Boom\u2019 Briggs
\nRoush-Yates ($50 certificate to 22nd-place finisher in A-Main): John Winge
\nMSD Ignition ($25 cash to 24th-place finisher in A-Main): Rick Eckert
\nArmor All (one case of product to highest-finishing non-WoO driver): Brady Smith<\/p>\n

2014 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Point Standings as of Feb. 15 – 2 A-Mains completed<\/strong>\u00a0(rank\/driver\/points\/deficit to leader):<\/p>\n

1. (tie) Brady Smith 296
\n1. (tie) Brandon Sheppard 296
\n3. Darrell Lanigan 284 (-12)
\n4. Tim Fuller 282 (-14)
\n5. Ivedent Lloyd Jr. 278 (-18)
\n6. Rick Eckert 276 (-20)
\n7. Mike Marlar 272 (-24)
\n8. Tim McCreadie 270 (-26)
\n9. Frankie Heckenast Jr. 262 (-34)
\n10. Shane Clanton 260 (-36)
\n11. Brandon Overton 254 (-42)
\n12. (tie) Chub Frank 248 (-48)
\n12. (tie) Morgan Bagley 248 (-48)
\n14. Eric Wells 246 (-50)
\n15. Casey Roberts 238 (-58)<\/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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Young Star Drives Rocket Chassis House Car To Clean Sweep Of Program At Bubba Raceway Park OCALA, FL \u2013 Feb. 15, 2014 \u2013 Just call […]<\/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":[17,22,3,71,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ocala-speedway","category-featured","category-front-page-news","category-late-models","category-race-results"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20979","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=20979"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20979\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20984,"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20979\/revisions\/20984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/karnac.com\/flanews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}