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12th-place finish in Dream opener at Eldora Speedway

Brandon Sheppard and the Rocket1 Racing team recently completed in an ultra-busy week with their Valvoline No. 1 Seubert Calf Ranches/ Durham Racing Engines-powered XR1 Rocket Chassis Super Late Model.

Tackling four-straight days of Dirt Late Model Dream action at Tony Stewart’s Eldora Speedway, Sheppard came away with a mixed bag of results, including a Top-5 finish in the 27th annual Dirt Late Model Dream. (Jacy Norgaard photo)

“We started the week by leading 60 laps in the 27th Dirt Late Model Dream, but I got a little tight late in the feature, and we slipped to fifth,” Sheppard said. “On Saturday night for the 26th Dirt Late Model Dream I was pacing myself for the first half of the feature. I don’t know that we had a car that could win, but I think we had a good shot at another Top 5, but a mechanical issue knocked us out before halfway. We would’ve obviously liked to win, but it was still a good weekend for our team, and now we’re ready to get rolling on the second half of the WoO season.”

Rocket1 Racing made the trek to Eldora Speedway (Rossburg, Ohio) on Wednesday afternoon to kick off the 27th annual Dirt Late Model Dream with the opening round of four days of racing.

With the 74-car field split into two separate groups for a pair of preliminary features, Sheppard recorded the fourth-fastest time in his group before placing third in his heat race. With $10,000 on the line in the main event, Brandon gained two spots in the 25-lap affair to finish 12th.

On Thursday afternoon with preliminary results positioning him on the pole of his heat, Sheppard streaked to a 10-lap heat race victory. Earning the pole position for the $127,000-to-win Dirt Late Model Dream, Brandon paced the field first half the 100-lapper until Brandon Overton snuck by on lap 61. Racing to a Top-5 performance in the remaining distance, Sheppard scored a fifth-place finish. He trailed Overton, Tim McCreadie, Kyle Bronson, and Dale McDowell to the checkers.

Preliminary action for the 26th Dirt Late Model Dream was contested on Friday evening, and Brandon improved one spot in his heat race to finish second behind Bobby Pierce. Holding his spot for all 25 laps of the A-Main, Sheppard recorded an eighth-place outing.

Rolling off on the front row of his heat race on Saturday, Sheppard lost the battle to Jonathan Davenport to finish second. Starting the $126,000-to-win finale in ninth, Brandon brought out the fourth caution of the race on lap 44 as mechanical issues forced him to retire from the event. He was credited with a 22nd-place finish.

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