Brandon Sheppard led all the way on Friday night
On the night before the $50,000-to-win ‘Rumble by the River’ at Port Royal Speedway the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series sanctioned a pair of twin features which will be used to set the heat race lineups for Saturday’s show. Brandon Sheppard cruised to victory in the Group A main event in dominating fashion.
The Rocket Chassis driver from New Berlin, Illinois collected $5,000 for his efforts at the Port Royal, PA track in a race shown live by FloRacing.com.
A total of 51 cars were signed in for competition
Qualifying Results: 1. Brandon Sheppard(18.293), 2. Ross Robinson, 3. Earl Pearson Jr., 4. Mike Marlar, 5. Gary Stuhler, 6. Jimmy Owens, 7. Dale Hollidge, 8. Daulton Wilson, 9. Rick Eckert, 10. Michael Norris
Heat 1 Results: 1. Brandon Sheppard, 2. Mike Marlar, 3. Dale Hollidge, 4. Michael Norris, 5. Jason Covert, 6. Jared Miley, 7. Justin Weaver, 8. Jim Yoder, 9. Chad Myers
Heat 2 Results: 1. Ross Robinson, 2. Gary Stuhler, 3. Daulton Wilson, 4. Mason Zeigler, 5. Bryan Bernheisel, 6. Tyler Emory, 7. Jason Miller, 8. Jason Schmidt, 9. Spencer Hughes
Heat 3 Results: 1. Jimmy Owens, 2. Earl Pearson Jr., 3. Rick Eckert, 4. Mike Lupfer, 5. Austin Berry, 6. Shaun Jones, 7. Dylan Creece, 8. Roy Deese Jr.
Feature Re-cap: At the start of the 25-lap feature it was Sheppard who would bolt to the lead with Owens, Robinson, Stuhler and Pearson following in his tire tracks. Stuhler looked to move forward as he got around Robinson for third on the second circuit. Robinson then fought back to briefly reclaim the position.
A yellow flag for the slowing car of Covert flew on lap 5. On that restart, Pearson flexed his muscle by jumping up to the fourth spot. At the front of the field, Sheppard began to slip away from the pack.
Pearson continued to climb when he passed Stuhler then got around Robinson to pull himself up to third. That move left Stuhler and Robinson to fight for fourth.
After a lap 15 caution, Pearson moved into the runner-up spot on the restart. Pearson and Owens kept Sheppard in their sights for a couple of laps but the No. 1 machine would eventually pull away on his way to a dominating win.
Feature Results: 1. Brandon Sheppard, 2. Earl Pearson Jr., 3. Jimmy Owens, 4. Mike Marlar, 5. Michael Norris, 6. Gary Stuhler, 7. Ross Robinson, 8. Daulton Wilson, 9. Rick Eckert, 10. Dale Hollidge, 11. Mason Zeigler, 12. Dylan Ceece, 13. Bryan Bernheisel, 14. Mike Lupfer, 15. Austin Berry, 16. Justin Weaver, 17. Jim Yoder, 18. TylerEmory, 19. Shaun Jones, 20. Jason Miller, 21. Jared Miley, 22. Chad Myers, 23. Roy Deese Jr., 24. Jason Covert, 25. Jason Schmidt, 26. Spencer Hughes
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Brandon Sheppard claims Friday night Lucas Oil Group A feature at Port Royal
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