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Press Release

Brandon Sheppard Rockets to Gateway Dirt Nationals Repeat Victory



NEW BERLIN, Ill. (12/09/24) – A year after winning the seventh annual Gateway Dirt Nationals in his Longhorn Factory Team debut, Brandon Sheppard enjoyed a triumphant return with Rocket Chassis on Saturday night with a $30,000 victory in the eighth edition of the marquee event at The Dome at America’s Center aboard his Valvoline / Sheppard Auto Sales & Salvage / Realtree No. B5 XR1 Rocket Chassis / Pro Power Racing Engine Super Late Model.



The New Berlin, Illinois, native drove around fellow front-row starter Gordy Gundaker on the 11th circuit of the feature and repelled Bobby Pierce’s late charge in the closing laps of the 40-lapper to claim his sixth win of the 2024 season.



"I'm emotional right now,” Sheppard said. "This crowd is … there's nothing like it. (Ohio’s) Eldora (Speedway) has got a lot of fans and you know, that one probably still tops this one, but I tell you, this up-close-and-personal and in-your-face underneath this Dome is something special.”



With his qualifying night set for Thursday at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, Mo., Sheppard secured an impressive heat race win, outrunning Tyler Carpenter, the 2019 and 2021 Gateway Dirt Nationals champion, to claim the eight-lap victory. Rolling off fifth for the $5,000-to-win preliminary feature, Brandon climbed two spots in the 25-lap affair to register a third-place finish. He joined race-winner Mike Spatola and Ashton Winger on the podium.



Back at the fifth-mile oval on Saturday, Brandon received the pole for the Gateway Dirt Nationals main event after the redraw scored him a front-row starting spot. With fellow front-row starter Gordy Gundaker setting the pace early, Sheppard shot ahead of Gundaker on lap 11 and paced the remainder of the 40-lapper to secure his second straight Gateway Dirt Nationals triumph. Sheppard kept a charging Bobby Pierce at bay in the final laps to capture his sixth win of the season and the $30,000 winner’s payday.



Sheppard noted his return to Rocket Chassis and Mark Richards Racing as a key contributor to the triumph.



“I'm super thankful to start off this new venture on a great note,” Sheppard said. “Actually, I’m thinking Mark Richards is probably smiling right now. He still had the old girl sitting around and it’s all cracked and beat up and busted, and he let me bring it out here and put my motor in it and let me go have a little fun. I’m sure he’s sitting at home smiling and proud of me right now.”



Full results from the eighth annual Gateway Dirt Nationals can be found at www.GatewayDirt.com.



With the 2024 season in the books, Sheppard is set to kick off his 2025 campaign at Vado Speedway Park in early January for the 19th annual Wild West Shootout. Six nights of action – January 4th-12th – culminates with a $25,000-to-win finale on Saturday night.



Full event details at www.WildWestShootout.net.



Brandon Sheppard would like to thank his marketing partners, which include Valvoline, Rocket Chassis, Fox Racing Shocks, Sheppard Auto Sales & Salvage, Mark Richards Racing, Paulson & Stussy Construction, American Racing, Corrigan Oil, Sunoco Race Fuel, Ultra Shield Race Products, Realtree, Guse's Pub & Eatery, Dennis G. Woodworth Attorney At Law, BSheppGear.com, PeeWee's Wrecker Service, Darrin Wood & Son - Heating & Cooling, Busch Light (Skeff Distributing Company, Inc.), Keyser Manufacturing, XS Power Batteries, Wilwood, Powers Performance, Storm Auto Mall, Gorsuch Performance, Wix Filters, Winters Rearends, Simpson Race Products, Wiles Racing, Strange Oval, Five Star Race Car Bodies, Allgaier Performance Parts, Lomelino Sign Company, and MyRacePass.com Marketing Services.



For more information and updates on Brandon Sheppard, please visit www.SheppardRacing.com.



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Full Results:

Super Late Models

Velocita Super Late Models Main Event A Feature (40 Laps): 1. B5-Brandon Sheppard[1]; 2. 32-Bobby Pierce[12]; 3. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[4]; 4. 89-Mike Spatola[3]; 5. 9-Nick Hoffman[5]; 6. 11G-Gordy Gundaker[2]; 7. 11R-Josh Rice[16]; 8. 71-Hudson O'Neal[18]; 9. 45-Kyle Hammer[9]; 10. 5S-Steve Sheppard Jr[13]; 11. 28-Tyler Carpenter[11]; 12. 96-Tanner English[10]; 13. 49-Jonathan Davenport[17]; 14. 76-Brandon Overton[20]; 15. 24-Ryan Unzicker[8]; 16. (DNF) 12W-Ashton Winger[6]; 17. (DNF) 19R-Ryan Gustin[7]; 18. (DNF) 21B-Rich Bell[19]; 19. (DNF) J8-Jadon Frame[15]; 20. (DNF) 81J-Jack Riggs[14]


Allstar Performance Win & You're In Last Chance (10 Laps): 1. 21B-Rich Bell[1]; 2. 25-Jason Feger[3]; 3. 91-Rusty Schlenk[8]; 4. 29-Jason Welshan[6]; 5. 19M-Spencer Hughes[10]; 6. 219-Gavin Cowan[11]; 7. 10-Joseph Joiner[5]; 8. C4-Freddie Carpenter[4]; 9. 38-Derek Fisher[2]; 10. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[9]; 11. 14JR-Michael King Jr[7]; 12. (DNS) 17A-Austin Howes


MatMan Designs Qualifier 1 (10 Laps): 1. 19R-Ryan Gustin[1]; 2. 5S-Steve Sheppard Jr[6]; 3. 21B-Rich Bell[9]; 4. 14JR-Michael King Jr[7]; 5. 11T-Trevor Gundaker[3]; 6. 8L-Jeffrey Ledford[5]; 7. 32F-Derek Fetter[10]; 8. 20-Jimmy Owens[2]; 9. 34-Chad Wallace[8]; 10. (DNF) 32S-Chris Simpson[4]; 11. (DNF) 1-Tyler Erb[11]

Hellraizer Jacks Qualifier 2 (10 Laps): 1. 24-Ryan Unzicker[3]; 2. 81J-Jack Riggs[5]; 3. 38-Derek Fisher[2]; 4. 91-Rusty Schlenk[11]; 5. 99-Devin Moran[6]; 6. LIL91-Carter Schlenk[4]; 7. 17SS-Brenden Smith[7]; 8. 222-Manny Falcon[8]; 9. (DNF) 10J-TeeJay Janousek[10]; 10. (DNF) 84-Myles Moos[1]; 11. (DNS) 4-Ryan Wilson


National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame Qualifier 3 (10 Laps): 1. 45-Kyle Hammer[2]; 2. J8-Jadon Frame[1]; 3. 25-Jason Feger[4]; 4. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[8]; 5. 74-Mike Franklin[7]; 6. 93-Zak Blackwood[10]; 7. 11-Lance Brasington[9]; 8. 76-Brandon Overton[11]; 9. 18-Shannon Babb[3]; 10. (DNF) 4G-Bob Gardner[6]; 11. (DNF) 121-Jon Mitchell[5]


FK Rod Ends Qualifier 4 (10 Laps): 1. 96-Tanner English[2]; 2. 11R-Josh Rice[3]; 3. C4-Freddie Carpenter[1]; 4. 19M-Spencer Hughes[5]; 5. 2B-Jordan Barbee[4]; 6. C2-Corey DeLancey[10]; 7. 34C-Delbert Crum III[6]; 8. 99T-Dylan Thompson[11]; 9. 97-Steven Dotson[9]; 10. 19X-Cody Bauer[7]; 11. (DNF) 2*-Cole Babcock[8]


Illinois State Rifle Associatons Qualifier 5 (10 Laps): 1. 28-Tyler Carpenter[2]; 2. 49-Jonathan Davenport[3]; 3. 10-Joseph Joiner[4]; 4. 219-Gavin Cowan[10]; 5. 14X-Wil Herrington[11]; 6. 17-Todd Rehg[9]; 7. (DNF) 81R-Jason Riggs[6]; 8. (DNF) C6-Oakley Johns[1]; 9. (DNF) 4S-Ryan Montgomery[7]; 10. (DNF) 27-Rodney Melvin[5]; 11. (DNF) C66-Donald Johns[8]


Walker Filtration Qualifier 6 (10 Laps): 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[1]; 2. 71-Hudson O'Neal[3]; 3. 29-Jason Welshan[6]; 4. 17A-Austin Howes[4]; 5. 75-Daniel Adam[7]; 6. 93F-Carson Ferguson[2]; 7. 1E-Amelia Eisenschenk[8]; 8. 14-Quentin White[10]; 9. 51-Dean Carpenter[5]; 10. 78-Chad Zobrist[11]; 11. (DNS) B89-Dakota Smith


PeeWees Wrecker Service Non Qualifier 1 (12 Laps): 1. 32F-Derek Fetter[1]; 2. 10J-TeeJay Janousek[8]; 3. 81-Daniel Garrett[15]; 4. 48-Brody Yarbrough[14]; 5. 18X-Michael Seibers[4]; 6. 41-Casey White[7]; 7. (DNF) 19J-Justin Green[3]; 8. (DNF) 71W-Zach Wohlers[6]; 9. (DNF) 10M-Jacob Magee[10]; 10. (DNF) 21M-Chris McKeehan[11]; 11. (DNF) 41M-Matt Menzie[17]; 12. (DNF) 4E-Scott Geaschel[9]; 13. (DNF) 111-Jonathan Woods[13]; 14. (DNF) 44-James O'Hara[19]; 15. (DNF) 69-Doug Cooper[21]; 16. (DNF) 128N-James Nash[2]; 17. (DNF) 11C-Rachel Snider[5]; 18. (DNF) 25P-Mike Petersilie[12]; 19. (DNS) 11W-Darin Weisinger Jr; 20. (DNS) 45B-Scott Bell; 21. (DNS) M5-David Scott Jr


ZAMP Non Qualifier 2 (12 Laps): 1. 93-Zak Blackwood[2]; 2. C2-Corey DeLancey[7]; 3. J0-John Ownbey[4]; 4. 12-Devon Morgan[8]; 5. 88-Dustin Rollins[3]; 6. NE11-Matthew Tribble[1]; 7. 9Z-Jayme Zidar[17]; 8. 114-Evan Koehler[16]; 9. 7D-Austin Theiss[6]; 10. 18D-David Seibers[20]; 11. 122-Timmy Dick[11]; 12. 2X4-Chase Collins[22]; 13. 27E-Kyle Mixon[9]; 14. 47-Cyle Forgy[5]; 15. (DNF) 28K-Tate O'Leary[13]; 16. (DNF) 25J-Ted Johnson Jr[21]; 17. (DNF) 20H-Glen Hounshell[10]; 18. (DNF) 57-Blake Higginbotham[12]; 19. (DNF) 17J-Jared Bamberger[19]; 20. (DNS) 11-Lance Brasington; 21. (DNS) 21-Will Harris; 22. (DNS) 18S-Robbie Scott


Nightowl Designs Non Qualifier 3 (12 Laps): 1. 219-Gavin Cowan[4]; 2. 14-Quentin White[3]; 3. 16-Rusty Griffaw[1]; 4. 27K-Greg Kimmons[6]; 5. 77-William Rose[7]; 6. 1M-Blake Morris[11]; 7. 96K-Matt Koch[10]; 8. 15F-Chris Fetter[16]; 9. 75D-Patrik Daniel[18]; 10. 17SR-Brody Smith[12]; 11. 55-Benji Hicks[15]; 12. H1-Steve Hewitt Sr[20]; 13. 1S-Daniel Shelton[13]; 14. 8-Megan Sanders[17]; 15. (DNS) 115-Grimsley Fulford; 16. (DNS) 22-Bree Whittmore; 17. (DNS) 128-Kylan Garner; 18. (DNS) 57H-Nathan Higginbotham; 19. (DNS) USA 1-Devon Andrews; 20. (DNS) 18C-Cameron Reynolds; 21. (DNS) 51B-Brandon Carpenter; 22. (DNS) M14-David Marlow


Top 6 A Hot Laps: 1. 89-Mike Spatola, 00:12.673[1]; 2. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr, 00:12.689[2]; 3. B5-Brandon Sheppard, 00:12.795[5]; 4. 11G-Gordy Gundaker, 00:13.081[6]; 5. 12W-Ashton Winger, 00:12.835[3]; 6. 9-Nick Hoffman[4]


Modifieds

Summit Racing Equipment A Feature (30 Laps): 1. 777-Trevor Neville[1]; 2. 10Y-Trent Young[4]; 3. 24H-Mike Harrison[9]; 4. 1TPO-Tyler Peterson[8]; 5. 65X-Carlos Ahumada Jr[2]; 6. 18L-Michael Long[6]; 7. 65-Tyler Davis[16]; 8. 02-Tanner Mullens[18]; 9. 45-Chase Holland[13]; 10. 36-Kenny Wallace[10]; 11. 18Z-Zane DeVilbiss[14]; 12. J3-Jimmy Lennex Jr[20]; 13. (DNF) 4TW-Tim Ward[12]; 14. (DNF) 4W-Tyler Wolff[15]; 15. (DNF) 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[5]; 16. (DNF) 5-Drake Troutman[7]; 17. (DNF) 96M-Mike McKinney[17]; 18. (DNF) 37L-Michael Ledford[11]; 19. (DNF) 30-Jordan Grabouski[3]; 20. (DNF) 22A-Austen Becerra[19]


Allstar Performance Win & You're In Last Chance (10 Laps): 1. 22A-Austen Becerra[3]; 2. J3-Jimmy Lennex Jr[4]; 3. 6ST-Joseph Thomas[8]; 4. 24C-Jim Chisholm[12]; 5. 6-Ryan Ayers[6]; 6. 21CZ-Cole Czarneski[10]; 7. (DNF) 0-Jake O'Neil[9]; 8. (DNF) 47-Jack Sartain[2]; 9. (DNF) 6X-Zach Johnson[5]; 10. (DNF) 22-Brandon Copp[7]; 11. (DNF) 01-Peyton Taylor[1]; 12. (DNS) 74M-Manix Furqueron


STAKT Products Qualifer 1 (10 Laps): 1. 5-Drake Troutman[1]; 2. 37L-Michael Ledford[3]; 3. 4W-Tyler Wolff[5]; 4. 01-Peyton Taylor[2]; 5. 6X-Zach Johnson[6]; 6. 0-Jake O'Neil[8]; 7. 54-Zach Hawk[14]; 8. 1-Drake Powell[12]; 9. (DNF) 15W-Alex Williamson[7]; 10. (DNF) 49-Jake Timm[4]; 11. (DNF) 2-Darrell Hoffman[9]; 12. (DNF) 77-Ray Bollinger[10]; 13. (DNF) 18-Charlie Mefford[11]; 14. (DNF) 26-Adam Ogle[13]; 15. (DNF) B75-Braydon Berry[15]


PPM Racing Products Qualifier 2 (10 Laps): 1. 1TPO-Tyler Peterson[2]; 2. 4TW-Tim Ward[3]; 3. 65-Tyler Davis[4]; 4. 47-Jack Sartain[11]; 5. 6-Ryan Ayers[10]; 6. 21CZ-Cole Czarneski[9]; 7. 44-KC Burdette[5]; 8. 7N-Tim Nash[12]; 9. (DNF) 38T-Dylan Thornton[1]; 10. (DNF) 05-Dave Wietholder[13]; 11. (DNS) B1-Jeff Larson; 12. (DNS) 19-Tom Berry Jr; 13. (DNS) 44H-Dave Hess Jr; 14. (DNS) 20S-Rodney Sanders


MatMan Designs Qualifier 3 (10 Laps): 1. 24H-Mike Harrison[1]; 2. 45-Chase Holland[4]; 3. 96M-Mike McKinney[3]; 4. 22A-Austen Becerra[2]; 5. 22-Brandon Copp[9]; 6. 74M-Manix Furqueron[7]; 7. 12-Jason Hughes[8]; 8. 33C-Cole Chernosky[14]; 9. 43LV-Logan Veloz[5]; 10. (DNF) 8A-Austin Holcombe[10]; 11. (DNF) 07X-Troy Morris III[11]; 12. (DNF) 7-Clay Money[12]; 13. (DNF) 99-Tim Luttrell[13]; 14. (DNF) J82-Treb Jacoby[6]


Deatherage Opticians Qualifier 4 (10 Laps): 1. 36-Kenny Wallace[1]; 2. 18Z-Zane DeVilbiss[3]; 3. 02-Tanner Mullens[2]; 4. J3-Jimmy Lennex Jr[5]; 5. 6ST-Joseph Thomas[7]; 6. 24C-Jim Chisholm[9]; 7. 8S-Kyle Steffens[6]; 8. 1D-Dean Hoffman[4]; 9. 14-Rick Conoyer[12]; 10. 75JR-Chaz Baca[10]; 11. (DNF) 82-Gary Dillon[11]; 12. (DNF) 20-Jimmy Owens[8]; 13. (DNS) 130-Chase Allen; 14. (DNS) C4-Chris Soutiea


Dirt Draft Top 6 Hot Laps: 1. 777-Trevor Neville, 00:12.571[2]; 2. 30-Jordan Grabouski, 00:12.602[4]; 3. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr, 00:12.616[1]; 4. 10Y-Trent Young, 00:12.720[6]; 5. 18L-Michael Long, 00:12.737[5]; 6. 65X-Carlos Ahumada Jr, 00:12.791[3]

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