BROWNSTOWN, Ind. - Brandon Sheppard denied Devin Moran his first Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series win of the season on Saturday night at Indiana’s Brownstown Speedway.
By doing so, Sheppard scored his first series victory of the season with his first career win at the historic raceway. Sheppard becomes the fifth different winner on the tour this season after holding off a late-race charge from Devin Moran for the win.
Blairsville, Georgia’s Jonathan Davenport finished third, with Hudson O’Neal in fourth and Tyler Erb in fifth.
Sheppard made a clean sweep of the night, setting fast time in qualifying and winning the first heat race of the night to earn the pole.
Sheppard took the lead at the start of the 50-lap main event with Hudson O’Neal giving chase until the caution for debris on lap 21. On the restart, Moran moved into second and held the runner-up position to the finish.
The final caution of the race came with just two laps remaining. Moran and Davenport managed to get within striking distance, but Sheppard forged ahead at the end.
“It is great to finally win at Brownstown,” said Sheppard. “We have won a lot of heat races and started up front but never been able to put it all together in a night. This car is on rail right now. Thanks to Mark, Austin, Joel, and Danny we are hitting on all cylinders. They have worked their tails off on this car. It is just phenomenal right now. It’s a dream to drive this car. I am ready to go to the next one.”
“I didn’t really know if the cautions were helping me or hurting me,” Sheppard added. “I was kind of maintaining my pace. The traffic was either in the bottom or the top because that was the line, they would be in. I was slowly breaking my way through the middle. I did all I could to get through there.”
Don O’Neal, Josh Richards, Earl Pearson, Jr., Tim McCreadie and Allen Weisser rounded out the top ten.
On Friday night, the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series was slated to compete in the Buckeye Spring 50 at Atomic Speedway in Chillicothe, Ohio, but that event was rained out. It has been rescheduled for Thursday, April 11.
For more information, visit LucasDirt.com.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Brownstown Speedway – Brownstown, IN
Indiana Icebreaker – March 16, 2019
| FINISH | START | CAR # | DRIVER NAME | HOMETOWN | EARNINGS |
| 1 | 1 | 1S | Brandon Sheppard | New Berlin, IL | $12,000 |
| 2 | 3 | 1M | Devin Moran | Dresden, OH | $6,200 |
| 3 | 7 | 49 | Jonathan Davenport | Blairsville, GA | $4,600 |
| 4 | 2 | 71 | Hudson O’Neal | Martinsville, IN | $3,450 |
| 5 | 5 | 1T | Tyler Erb | New Waverly, TX | $2,950 |
| 6 | 4 | 5 | Don O’Neal | Martinsville, IN | $2,600 |
| 7 | 8 | 14 | Josh Richards | Shinnston, WV | $2,300 |
| 8 | 14 | 1 | Earl Pearson, Jr. | Jacksonville, FL | $2,100 |
| 9 | 9 | 39 | Tim McCreadie | Watertown, NY | $1,900 |
| 10 | 12 | 25W | Allen Weisser | Bartonville, IL | $1,100 |
| 11 | 10 | 3s | Brian Shirley | Chatham, IL | $1,075 |
| 12 | 17 | C9 | Steve Casebolt | Richmond, IN | $1,050 |
| 13 | 15 | 28 | Dennis Erb, Jr. | Carpentersville, IL | $1,025 |
| 14 | 20 | 50 | Shanon Buckingham | Morristown, TN | $1,700 |
| 15 | 16 | 7R | Kent Robinson | Bloomington, IN | $1,000 |
| 16 | 22 | 17J | Greg Johnson | Bedford, IN | $1,000 |
| 17 | 18 | 40B | Kyle Bronson | Brandon, FL | $1,700 |
| 18 | 23 | 12J | Jason Jameson | Lawrenceburg, IN | $1,700 |
| 19 | 21 | 2s | Stormy Scott | Las Cruses, NM | $1,000 |
| 20 | 26 | 76 | Shelby Miles | Bloomington, IN | $1,000 |
| 21 | 13 | 29 | Darrell Lanigan | Union, KY | $1,000 |
| 22 | 19 | 96 | Tanner English | Benton, KY | $1,000 |
| 23 | 24 | 21 | Billy Moyer, Jr. | Batesville, AR | $1,000 |
| 24 | 6 | 20 | Jimmy Owens | Newport, TN | $1,900 |
| 25 | 11 | 32 | Bobby Pierce | Oakwood, IL | $1,000 |
| 26 | 25 | 1Gk | Ryan King | Seymour, TN | $100 |
