The Headline(s)
Brandon Sheppard isn’t a World of Outlaws regular anymore, but his return to the tour saw him score a dominant Prairie Dirt Classic triumph.
How it Happened
2022 Prairie Dirt Classic (World of Outlaws Late Models)
Where: Fairbury American Legion Speedway – Fairbury, Ill. (streamed on DirtVision)
Winner’s Purse: $50,000
Mike Marlar pushed him early. Bobby Pierce pushed him mid-race. But timely yellows and a dominant racecar saw defending series champion Brandon Sheppard wire the Prairie Dirt Classic feature, leading all 100 laps at Fairbury to score a $50,000 win, his biggest of the 2022 season to date and his third time scoring Fairbury’s crown jewel event.
.@B_Sheppard_B5 and the @Rocket1_Racing crew cash the Prairie Dirt Classic check at the Bank of Pontiac! pic.twitter.com/H58HP1UIpq
— World of Outlaws Late Models (@WoOLateModels) July 31, 2022
What’s more, this year’s PDC feature also had a $500 per lap led bonus, essentially doubling Sheppard’s race winnings on the night.
There were two cars who mounted serious challenges for Saturday’s race win (July 30). From laps 25-35, Marlar used the bottom of the track to run down Sheppard and was within a car length of passing him before lapped traffic would break his momentum. Following a lap 52 restart, Pierce, who had charged from outside the top 10 to second in the first half of the feature, stalked Sheppard but was never able to get alongside the eventual race winner.
2022 PRAIRIE DIRT CLASSIC RACE RESULTS
Current WoO late model series points leader Dennis Erb Jr. finished a disappointing 16th and saw his edge reduced after series rookie Max Blair surged from 24th to an eighth-place finish. Blair, however, fell to third in points behind Tanner English, who finished a strong third in Saturday’s feature.
Success Stories
With his wire-to-wire victory on Saturday, Brandon Sheppard became only the third super late model racer in 2022 to score a six-figure payday, joining Eldora Million winner Jonathan Davenport and Bristol Dirt Nationals points champion Chris Madden.
Mike Marlar and Tanner English not only completed the Prairie Dirt Classic podium Saturday night, they also put on a whale of a race in the third “showdown” qualifier feature Friday night. It was a striking contrast to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race going on almost simultaneously at IRP, a lesson in what hard racing can look like when drivers aren’t treating their machines like…
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