The Rocket Chassis house car will make its first appearance in the Show-me 100
There are a few races that just stand out above the rest. The Memorial Day weekend typically serves as the time for some of those events to take place. The Indianapolis 500 is the highlight of the IndyCar Series season, the Coca-Cola 600 is one of NASCAR’s top shows, and the Monaco Grand Prix is a marquee race on the Formula 1 schedule.
The May holiday is also an important time in the Dirt Late Model racing world as many drivers and teams will roll through the gates beginning on Thursday at the Lucas Oil Speedway in Wheatland, Missouri for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series-sanctioned Show-Me 100. Not only does Memorial Day serve as the symbolic beginning of summer but many consider this race to be the beginning of the crown jewel season as well.
Hudson O’Neal
To add to the significance of this year’s Show-Me 100, additional money has been added to the purse raising the stakes as the victor will receive $50,000 at the completion of Saturday’s racing action on the 3/8 mile clay oval. Previously, winners of this race have been awarded $30,000.
Hudson O’Neal won the 2021 Show-Me 100 and looks forward to defending that victory this weekend. Following Sunday’s Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series event at 34 Raceway in Iowa, the driver of the No. 71 Rocket Chassis spoke of the importance of this three-day event for his Double Down Motorsports crew.
“We’re excited, man,” O’Neal told MavTV Plus announcer James Essex following the 34 Raceway feature where he finished fifth. “Anytime you can win a big race like that it’s impressive but it’s even harder to back them up. Hopefully we’ve got the race car to do it. We’ll go there and we’ll see in about four or five days.”
The Martinsville, Indiana native recently won a FloRacing Night in America feature in Marshalltown, Iowa. The emotional win last year by “The New Deal” allowed him to join Don O’Neal in becoming the only father/son combination to win the Show-me 100.
Brandon Sheppard finished second to O’Neal last year driving his family’s No. B5 machine. But something is different this time around for the New Berlin, Illinois driver. For the first time, the Mark Richards-owned Rocket Chassis house car will enter the Show-me 100. After years of competing as regulars on the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Late Model Series, the No. 1 organization has moved to the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series for the 2022 season.
Sheppard will enter the race as the leader in the Lucas Oil standings.
“We’ve got a lot of momentum behind us and we’ve been solid so I can’t ask for much more than that,” Sheppard declared. “We’ve got a really good car right now and we’re just looking forward to the next one. We’re really excited about going there. The house car team hasn’t been to Wheatland so I’m excited for them guys to get there and see it. It’s an awesome facility and it’s a fun race track. We’re looking forward to it.”
Earl Pearson, Jr.
Another driver who hasn’t won the Show-me 100 but would like to change that this year is four-time Lucas Oil Series champion Earl Pearson Jr. Now driving a Longhorn Chassis for owner Jason Papaich, the Jacksonville, Florida driver knows how difficult the task will be.
After a third-place finish at 34 Raceway, ‘The Hurricane’ looks forward to the challenge of the season’s first crown jewel.
“We’re proud to come in third here and that gives us some momentum going into Wheatland,” Pearson stated. “We’ve been awfully close, second many times. Hopefully this year is our turn but the competition level is so tough nowadays that if you’re off a little bit it will show in a 100-lap race. The big thing is to qualify good and see what we can do.”
The Show-me 100 weekend will begin on Thursday evening with a $6,000-to-win show followed by a repeat of that program on Friday night. The $50,000-to-win main event will play out on Saturday and will be aired live by MavTV.
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