Brandon Sheppard earned $53,000 at Huset’s
A constantly challenged Brandon Sheppard fought off all comers leading every lap to claim the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series-sanctioned Silver Dollar Nationals on Saturday night. The highly competitive feature was the first for this event held at Huset’s Speedway after having spent its first 12 years at Nebraska’s I-80 Speedway.
The Longhorn Chassis driver from New Berlin, Illinois earned $53,000 from the track located in Brandon, SD in a race aired live by FloRacing.com.
A total of 33 cars were signed in for competition.
The feature lineup was set by a series of heat races and B-mains held on Saturday afternoon.
Feature Lineup: 1. Brandon Sheppard, 2. Shane Clanton, 3. Daniel Hilsabeck, 4. Hudson O’Neal, 5. Brandon Overton, 6. Jonathan Davenport, 7. Tim McCreadie, 8. Bobby Pierce, 9. Tyler Bruening, 10. Max Blair, 11. Devin Moran, 12. Tyler Erb, 13. Dennis Erb Jr., 14. Chase Junghans, 15. Earl Pearson Jr., 16. Ricky Thornton Jr., 17. Garrett Alberson, 18. Mike Marlar, 19. Chad Simpson, 20. Daulton Wilson, 21. Ross Robinson, 22. Kyle Bronson, 23. Spencer Hughes, 24. Boom Briggs
Feature Re-cap: At the start of the 80-lap feature it was Sheppard who went to the early lead although constantly challenged by Clanton. O’Neal, Hilsabeck and Davenport trailed the lead duo during the opening laps. Davenport took fourth away from Hilsabeck on lap 3.
Pierce looked to move forward on lap 9 when he passed Overton for sixth. Meanwhile, Sheppard and Clanton continued their tight battle at the front of the field. Pierce gained another spot on lap 12 when he passed Hilsabeck for fifth just before a caution flag for debris was displayed.
When green flag racing resumed, O’Neal jumped to second by passing Clanton with Pierce taking fourth pushing Davenport to fifth. Pierce moved in to take on Clanton for third just behind Sheppard and O’Neal.
By lap 30, Sheppard and O’Neal found themselves racing among slower traffic. Pierce’s efforts paid off on lap 35 when he passed Clanton for third and quickly closed in on the front runners. O’Neal went side-by-side with Sheppard for the lead on lap 34 but when that move failed, Pierce was able to grab second behind Sheppard.
Wilson slowed on lap 37 to bring out a yellow flag. At that time, Sheppard led, Pierce, O’Neal, Clanton and Davenport.
Pierce and O’Neal continued to shadow Sheppard when green flag racing resumed until a caution came out on lap 42 for Robinson. Pierce moved in to threaten the lead of Sheppard, but once again, Robinson spun bring out a yellow on lap 46.
Davenport wrested fourth away from Clanton on the lap 46 restart still trailing Sheppard, Pierce and O’Neal. Further back, a hornet’s nest of activity involving Tyler Erb, Junghans, Thornton and Clanton contested positions at the back of the top-10.
Lap 55 saw Sheppard, Pierce and O’Neal in near three-wide formation as they fought for the lead of the race. Meanwhile, Erb rose to fourth by passing Davenport. Slower traffic became a factor for the leaders as the feature moved under 20 laps remaining.
Thornton emerged as a contender on lap 67 when he broke into the top-5. He then passed Erb for fourth on lap 73.
The top-3 continued their fierce battle as the laps clicked away with traffic still an issue. In the end, Sheppard held back the advances of his foes to score the victory.
Feature Results: 1. Brandon Sheppard, 2. Bobby Pierce, 3. Hudson O’Neal, 4. Ricky Thornton Jr., 5. Tyler Erb, 6. Tim McCreadie, 7. Chase Junghans, 8. Kyle Bronson, 9. Jonathan Davenport, 10. Devin Moran, 11. Garrett Alberson, 12. Shane Clanton, 13. Mike Marlar, 14. Max Blair, 15. Dennis Erb Jr., 16. Spencer Hughes, 17. Tyler Bruening, 18. Chad Simpson, 19. Earl Pearson Jr., 20. Daulton Wilson, 21. Daniel Hilsabeck, 22. Brandon Overton, 23, Matt Cosner, 24. Ross Robinson, 25. Boom Briggs
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