Brandon Sheppard has won 14 WoO features in 2020
Brandon Sheppard has won 14 of the 34 World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series features so far in 2020. Picking the Rocket Chassis house car driver to win any race on the tour schedule is likely to be a safe choice when playing the role of prognosticator. At the same time, however, drivers who do not regularly participate on this national touring series have proven themselves to be serious challenges to the mainstays on the series in terms of pulling into victory lane at the end of the night.
This weekend, the WoO Late Models will visit the Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, SC on Friday night and the 411 Model Speedway in Seymour, TN the following evening. Outsiders have shown that they can win on each of these tracks in the past.
Brandon Overton doesn’t race on this series full-time has scored four WoO victories to date in 2020, tying him with Jimmy Owens for second most on the circuit behind Sheppard. The driver of the No. 76 Wells Motorsports Longhorn Chassis is a serious threat to win any race he enters which has been shown by the fact that he has ranked solidly inside the top-5 of the DirtonDirt.com Top-25 poll virtually all season long.
While not a regular on the tour, Brandon Overton has four WoO wins this season
The Wells Motorsports team does in fact have the two WoO races set for this weekend on their schedule. The fact that Overton and Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series regular Jimmy Owens have won a total of eight features so far this season illustrates the threat of outsiders who drop in on the tour occasionally.
Dale McDowell also has the 411 event on his website schedule for this Saturday. The National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame member has scored a total of 12 WoO Late Model wins throughout his career and will certainly be counted among the favorites on Saturday night.
Specifically for Cherokee and 411, there are other drivers who pose threats to grab checkered flags away from the regular stars.
Ross Bailes won a WoO Late Models feature at Cherokee in 2019. And so far in 2020 driving for multiple teams, the Clover, SC driver has proven that he can be a consistent front runner. And it’s not just in his home state where “The Boss” could also snag a victory as he also won a Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series main event at 411 back in 2019.
Cory Hedgecock has won a WoO feature at 411
Cory Hedgecock is another driver who has previously and could again upset the WoO regulars. The Loudon, TN racer achieved one of the biggest wins of his career in 2018 when he triumphed in a feature at 411. And further, this driver and family-owned team have begun to race more often outside of the east Tennessee region recently which could serve to benefit them at all future venues.
There are plenty of others who could nudge the series regulars out of victory lane this weekend. Zack Mitchell won a WoO feature earlier this season at Tennessee’s Volunteer Speedway. Trent Ivey scored a $10,000 Southern Nationals win at Cherokee back in 2019. Donald McIntosh has taken several checkered flags away from 411. And Ryan King, who recently earned and Iron-Man Late Model Series win at Kentucky’s Lake Cumberland Speedway, will be racing on his home track at 411.
As stated earlier, Sheppard is almost always the favorite to score a World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series feature win. As a matter of fact, no other series regular has won more than two races(Ricky Weiss & Cade Dillard have each won two) this season. But at the same time, outsiders seem to pose significant threats to the mainstays on race day.
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