Brandon Sheppard will be seeking his 78th WoO win at Cherokee
The top-2 drivers in the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series standings each enter Friday night’s event at the Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, South Carolina on a mission.
Brandon Sheppard currently leads the WoO Late Models standings by 180 points over Chris Madden. But the New Berlin, Illinois native and his Rocket Chassis house car team will have another goal in mind when they roll through the gates of “The Place Your Mama Warned You About” as they seek a record-tying victory.
The three-time and defending series champion has accumulated a total of 77 WoO victories over the course of his career. One more win will tie “The Rocket Shepp” with previous Rocket house car driver Josh Richards for first on the all-time series list in terms of trophies attained. And should he go on to win his fourth series title at the end of this season, Sheppard would also tie Richards atop the list of championships earned on the tour.
Not only does Sheppard lead the series standings coming into this race but he also leads in the number of feature wins after having taken eight checkered flags so far in 2021.
Madden also has a point to prove in Gaffney. The driver from Gray Court, South Carolina would no doubt like nothing better than to deny Sheppard, or anyone else for that matter, from going to victory lane at the track located close to his Palmetto state home. And the ability to end his night on top is certainly there as “Smokey” has compiled an impressive total of 27 victories at Cherokee Speedway.
Madden has steered his Rocket Chassis into victory at the end of World of Outlaws Late Model Series feature events on four occasions this year but his last win on the tour came back on May 22nd at Pennsylvania’s Port Royal Speedway. Almost certainly, Madden would consider there to be no better place than his home track return to his winning ways.
Chris Madden will be looking to defend home turf at Cherokee
However, both drivers will have to contend with a full field of top Dirt Late Model aces if they are to capture the $10,000 first prize. Chief among those threats to win could very well be 2021’s top driver in terms of winnings as Brandon Overton will be looking to add to his win totals and follow up on the $40,000 payday he scored in the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series-sanctioned Rock Gault Memorial at Cherokee on September 2nd.
InsideDirtRacing.com will have live updates throughout the night on Friday from Cherokee Speedway.
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