Brandon Sheppard took advantage of a green-white-checkered finish to add to his win total on Saturday night.
Sheppard edged out Jared Miley at the finish line to score the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series victory at Thunder Mountain Speedway in Knox Dale, Pennsylvania.
It’s the 14th series win of the season for the New Berlin, Illinois racer, and the 69th of his career. It meant a $10,000 payday as well.
Miley was very close to his first career series win. He was leading by a large margin on the final lap when a car stopped in turn four, drawing the caution.
That set up a green-white-checkered finish. Miley got a great restart, but a miscue in turn two allowed Sheppard to drive by down the backstretch. Miley charged into turn three, pulling alongside Sheppard as the pair raced side-by-side to the white flag.
Sheppard pulled back to the point in turn one, and went on to edge our Miley by .302 seconds at the checkered flag.
“There’s no doubt that Jared definitely had that race won,” Sheppard was quick to admit in victory lane. “That was tough race, but man that was a lot of fun. I got by him down the backstretch then he slid across my nose over there in turn three and I got him back down here in turn one; what a great finish. You had to drive the heck out of it here tonight. This Rocket Chassis is a dream to drive right now, especially in front of a packed crowd like this.”
“I saw Sheppard was in second on that last restart and I knew it would be the toughest one on me,” Miley noted on the lap 48 restart. “We had a great car, but I just got in too high and caught a push there at the exit of turn two. I tried to get back by him, but I wasn’t gonna take him out or anything. It was great racing and he did what he needed to. This sucks, but whenever we get that first one, I know it’ll be awesome. At least the fans got to see such an awesome race.”
Following Sheppard and Miley to the finish line was leading Rookie of the Year contender Ashton Winger of Hampton, Georgia in third.
“I know what it’s like when the blue No. 1 car (Sheppard) slides you for your first Outlaw win, your heart skips a couple beats,” Winger, who beat Sheppard straight up for his first win in July, joked afterwards. “For us, it was a tough weekend, but we’re getting there. I’m exciting about this rookie year we’ve put together. I’m learning a ton and having a lot fun out here.”
Mike Norris finished in fourth, with Dennis Erb, Jr. in fifth.
The World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series returns to action on Friday at Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, South Carolina, followed on Saturday at 411 Motor Speedway in Seymour, Tennessee.
For more information, visit WorldofOutlaws.com.
WoO Morton Buildings Late Model Series
Thunder Mountain Speedway – Knox Dale, PA
Race Results – September 26, 2020
1. 1-Brandon Sheppard
2. 10-Jared Miley
3. 12-Ashton Winger
4. 72N-Mike Norris
5. 28-Dennis Erb
6. 111-Max Blair
7. 29V-Darrell Lanigan
8. 7-Ricky Weiss
9. 111L-Matt Lux
10. 12D-Doug Drown
11. 18-Chase Junghans
12. 97-Cade Dillard
13. B1-Brent Larson
14. 11H-Gale Huey
15. 55-Denny Fenton
16. 22-Gregg Satterlee
17. 99B-Boom Briggs
18. X3-Wyatt Scott
19. 94-Charles Powell
20. 4S-David Scott
21. 72-Jason Covert
22. 25Z-Mason Zeigler
23. 84-Andrew Wylie
24. 0-Scott Bloomquist
25. 119-Chub Frank
