1. Don’t rush to conclusions about No. B5 team
Brandon Sheppard struggled to an 11th-place finish in Friday’s (Oct. 21) World of Outlaws late model race at Humboldt Speedway, his first race in the family-owned No. B5 since the end of the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series season marked the end of his tenure as the driver of the Rocket Chassis house car.
It was a result that had Sheppard fielding caustic remarks about his decision to leave the Rocket team according to an interview with DirtonDirt’s Kyle McFadden. And it was thus framed as a kind of quick redemption that Sheppard rebounded then to win on the same WoO tour Saturday night at 81 Speedway.
.@B_Sheppard_B5 picked up where he left off the last time the World of Outlaws @CaseCE Late Model Series visited @81_speedway.
Like in 2017, the New Berlin, IL driver found Victory Lane on Saturday, earning his 81st career Series win.
READ MORE: https://t.co/AKIyB0qz20
— World of Outlaws Late Models (@WoOLateModels) October 23, 2022
But just as Sheppard (through McFadden’s column) admonished critics for jumping to conclusions after Friday night’s struggles, the same can be said for drawing conclusions about Sheppard’s form at 81 Speedway. Why? Because Sheppard’s resume at said 81 Speedway is deep and frequent, with the Illinois driver having raced at the track every fall for years in the family-owned No. B5 modified as part of the United States Modified Touring Series Spooktacular every October. Translation: The Sheppard team had a deep notebook entering Saturday’s race, and to their credit, exploited it.
Frankly, there’s no conclusions to be drawn from the WoO late model Kansas swing. They’re not racing in late model country or are on tracks that are going to be a major fixture on any national tour in 2023.
2. The one-man (& woman) band go platinum
One conclusion that can be drawn on the WoO late model tour is the 2022 champion, as longtime veteran Dennis Erb Jr. clinched the series title with a fourth-place finish Sunday night in Missouri.
With his 4th place finish tonight at @US36raceway, @DennisErbJr has mathematically secured his first World of Outlaws @CaseCE Late Models championship.
Dennis will officially claim the 2022 championship at the @World_Finals at @TheDirtTrack! pic.twitter.com/F2Lc9JMqaJ
— World of Outlaws Late Models (@WoOLateModels) October 24, 2022
What’s also notable about this title run for Erb is that it was done with a female crew chief…
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