DAVENPORT, Iowa (Aug. 27) — Former Major League Baseball Pitcher Lefty Gomez once said, “I’d rather be lucky than good.” For three-time and defending World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series champion Brandon Sheppard, why not both?
The New Berlin, Ill., driver, drew the outside pole and took advantage of his starting position to cruise to his seventh win of the season Friday night at Davenport Speedway, earning $10,000 during the second of two preliminary nights for the track’s $30,000-to-win Quad Cities 150 finale on Saturday.
Sheppard wasted no time getting the lead of Friday’s 40-lapper, using his momentum to blast around polesitter Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill., on the top of the racetrack. It’s a move Sheppard needed to make quickly, as the track started taking rubber near the halfway point.
"(Starting second) was definitely key tonight for sure,” Sheppard said. “We had a really good car for the slick before it rubbered, so that makes me feel good for (Saturday).”
Sheppard’s win is the 76th World of Outlaws triumph of his career and his third trip to victory lane in the last six races. He’s also won four of the last five series events at Davenport, with three wins coming on the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds' quarter-mile configuration and one victory coming on the half-mile.
“My guys have been just working their butts off on this thing ... getting it going good for me,” Sheppard said of his crew on the Rocket Chassis house car team. “We’re hit and miss some nights, but we’re doing a lot of trial and error and trying to fine-tune this thing in and get it figured back out again.”
Fourth-starting Bobby Pierce finished in the runner-up spot for the second consecutive night and had a chance at the lead toward the end. The Oakwood, Ill., driver stuck his nose underneath Sheppard but backed out of it when he realized he couldn’t make the pass.
“I didn’t want to try anything crazy,” Pierce said. “When you dip down on that rubber line, you’re kind of in a death slide. If I had a really clear shot, maybe, but it’s very unlikely to do that in the rubber, so you kind of hang on to your spot.”
Pierce made a move on an early restart to get to second after finding an open lane on the outside.
“I was unlucky with the draw, but I was lucky with that caution coming out,” Pierce said. “(Chris Madden) did the best thing he could’ve done for me and dive down to that middle. I knew the top was good for me, so I just found it out and basically rolled to second.”
Devin Moran started eighth and backed up his win in Thursday’s opening night feature with a third-place finish on Friday. The Dresden, Ohio, driver felt he had a good car again, but was limited to how far he could go.
“I felt like my (Longhorn) chassis was really good; I just couldn’t get any further than third,” Moran said.
Feger crossed the line fourth, and Madden, of Gray Court, S.C., rounded out the top five after starting third.
Notes: Pierce finished 0.753 seconds behind Sheppard. ... Friday's feature, the second night of the inaugural WoO-sanctioned Quad Cities 150 - a three-day extravaganza contested on the quarter-mile infield oval at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds - was slowed by only one incident on the first lap and lasted 13 minutes. ... Twenty competitors completed all 40 laps. ... Thursday and Friday's programs will be used to set the lineup for Saturday’s heat races for the weekend’s 70-lap finale. Drivers scored points based on the WoO tour’s every lap matters format during qualifying, heats and features on Thursday and Friday and will use those points to set Saturday’s heat lineups. … Devin Moran (1,479 points), Brandon Sheppard (1,473), Bobby Pierce (1,473) and Chris Madden (1,448) were the top four in points following Friday's program.
Preliminary results
Feature lineup
Row 1: Jason Feger, Brandon Sheppard
Row 2: Chris Madden, Bobby Pierce
Row 3: Jimmy Mars, Frank Heckenast Jr.
Row 4: Cade Dillard, Devin Moran
Row 5: Shannon Babb, Brian Shirley
Row 6: Boom Briggs, Nick Hoffman
Row 7: Spencer Diercks, Ryan Gustin
Row 8: Brent Larson, Jeremiah Hurst
Row 9: Dennis Erb Jr., Tyler Bruening
Row 10: Richie Gustin Jr., Chris Simpson
Row 11: Justin Kay, Ricky Weiss
Row 12: Jake Timm, Garrett Alberson
Consolation results
(10 laps; top four transfer)
First consolation: Dennis Erb Jr., Richie Gustin Jr., Justin Kay, Jake Timm, Lance Mathees, Todd Cooney, Matt Furman, David Webster. DNS: Brian Harris, Daniel Hilsbeck.
Second consolation: Tyler Bruening, Chris Simpson, Ricky Weiss, Garrrett Alberson, Paul Parker, Rayce McCord, Chris Kratzer, Michael Gulkdenpfenning, Billy Moyer Jr. DNS: Tim Simpson.
Heat race results
(10 laps; top four transfer)
First heat: Brandon Sheppard, Jimmy Mars, Shannon Babb, Spencer Diercks, Todd Cooney, Jake Timm, Matt Furman, Lance Mathees.
Second heat: Jason Feger, Frank Heckenast Jr., Boom Briggs, Brent Larson, Richie Gustin Jr., Dennis Erb Jr., David Webster, Brian Harris, Daniel Hilsabeck.
Third heat: Chris Madden, Cade Dillard, Brian Shirley, Ryan Gustin, Chris Simpson, Tyler Bruening, Rayce McCord, Paul Parker, Michael Guldenpfenning.
Fourth heat: Bobby Pierce, Devin Moran, Nick Hoffman, Jeremiah Hurst, Garrett Alberson, Billy Moyer Jr., Ricky Weiss, Chris Kratzer. DNS: Tim Simpson.
Time trial results
Driver (car no.), hometown, time (unofficial)
First group
Brandon Sheppard (1), New Berlin, Ill., 13.842
Jason Feger (25), Bloomington, Ill., 13.878
Shannon Babb (18), Moweaqua, Ill., 13.911
Frank Heckenast Jr. (99jr), Frankfort, Ill., 13.998
Jimmy Mars (28), Menomonie, Wis., 14.035
Dennis Erb Jr. (28), Carpentersville, Ill., 14.092
Spencer Diercks (29D), Davenport, Iowa, 14.193
Brian Harris (99), Davenport, Iowa, 14.334
Todd Cooney (30), Pleasant Hill, Iowa, 14.402
Richie Gustin Jr. (19G), Gilman, Iowa, 14.407
Justin Kay (15K), Wheatland, Iowa, 14.423
Boom Briggs (99B), Bear Lake, Pa., 14.452
Jake Timm (49), Winona, Minn., 14.511
Brent Larson (B1), Lake Elmo, Minn., 14.542
Lance Matthees (90), Winona, Minn., 14.572
Daniel Hilsabeck (22), Waukee, Iowa, 14.661
Matt Furman (51), Iowa City, Iowa, 14.782
David Webster (44w), Monroe, Wis., 15.071
Second group
Chris Madden (44), Gray Court, S.C., 13.784
Devin Moran (9), Dresden, Ohio, 13.806
Cade Dillard (97), Robeline, La., 13.860
Bobby Pierce (32P), Oakwood, Ill., 13.874
Billy Moyer Jr. (21), Batesville, Ark., 13.944
Brian Shirley (3s), Chatham, Ill., 14.029
Garrett Alberson (59), Las Cruces, N.M., 14.083
Chris Simpson (32), Oxford, Iowa, 14.099
Nick Hoffman (0), Mooresville, N.C., 14.105
Tyler Bruening (16), Decorah, Iowa, 14.215
Ricky Weiss (7), Headingley, Manitoba, 14.257
Rayce McCord (27), Molt, Mont., 14.391
Jeremiah Hurst (41), Dubuque, Iowa, 14.411
Ryan Gustin (19r), Marshalltown, Iowa, 14.507
Paul Parker (10), Kaukauna, Wis., m14.507
Chris Kratzer (55), Haysville, Kan., 15.438
Michael Guldenpfennig (91), Muscatine, Iowa, 16.902
Tim Simpson (17), Iowa City, Iowa, no time
Friday's schedule
2 p.m. - Pit pass sales open
5 p.m. - Grandstand gates open
6 p.m. - Drivers’ meeting
6:30 p.m. - On-track activity
- Super Late Model hot laps
- Modified hot laps
- Super Late Model time trials
- Sport mod hot laps
Opening ceremonies
- Super Late Models heats (10 laps)
- Modified heats (8 laps)
- Sport mod heats (8 laps)
- Super Late Model consolations (10 laps)
- Modified consolations (8 laps)
- Sport mod consolations (8 laps)
- Super Late Model feature (40 laps)
- Modified feature (20 laps)
- Sport mod feature (15 laps)
Postrace concert (Just Cuz)
