BRANDON, S.D. (July 22) — Brandon Sheppard could let out a sigh of relief. Pocketing Saturday’s $53,000 top prize at Huset’s Speedway, the new home of the Silver Dollar Nationals, is certainly monumental during the height of a grueling summer for the driver of New Berlin, Ill., who’s struggled by his standards this year.

But Sheppard’s breath of fresh air upon reaching victory lane had more to do with holding off an eager Bobby Pierce down the stretch of the 80-lap feature. Leading every lap from the pole wasn’t as easy as the box score indicates.

"Them guys were making it hard on me, for sure,” said Sheppard, who never led by more than a second the last 49 laps. “The track was awesome, man. It was treacherous out there. I was really tight about halfway through the race through three and four. That had me messed up and kinda worried a little bit.

“Bobby and Hudson (O’Neal) have both been really tough this year. We've had our ups and downs all year long. Our win column isn't as good as we like it to be right now. But the two big wins we do have are really good ones, I feel like. This one means a lot to me. I won (the Silver Dollar Nationals in 2020) with the Rocket house car a couple years ago, and to do it at a new racetrack — a short track, man — we were battling hard there, and that's what you get when you run short tracks. This place was awesome.”

Sheppard’s victory on Saturday by 0.326 of a second over Pierce was a lot closer than his 2.778-second triumph over Ricky Thornton Jr. in 2020. In terms of excitement, Sheppard’s pair of Silver Dollar Nationals wins are similar.

Three years go, Sheppard rallied from behind to upend Chad Simpson with 13 laps to go.

On Saturday, Sheppard had to fend off numerous challenges from Pierce, particularly an aggressive slider rounding turn four with 30 laps to go. Right as Pierce thought he had him cleared, Sheppard stayed in the gas to punch through the narrow window between Pierce’s right-rear quarterpanel and the outside wall.

“Sheppard, I don’t know how he fit around me in turns three and four. That was nuts,” Pierce said. “Hudson and I were just talking about. We were like, ‘I don’t know how he fit around there.’ Like, I had the slider basically cleared, and he just got around. And that won the race.”

In Saturday’s early stages, Sheppard was most worried about Shane Clanton, who kept the eventual winner honest through the first batch of lapped cars around lap 13. Sheppard had operated around the middle of the high-banked 3/8-mile oval in those early laps until he encountered traffic 13 laps in.

“Once I moved to the top in one and two, I started slowing down my entry in three and four,” Sheppard said. “That helped me out a bunch. All the lapped cars ran the bottom, so I committed myself to the top for the rest of the race. I got a good, smooth rhythm going. I was able to hold them guys off.”

Pierce and O’Neal kept Sheppard within a second from lap 31 onward. A lot of that had to do with three cautions the last 47 laps: one on lap 33 for Daulton Wilson and two for Ross Robinson on laps 43 and 47. But the relentless attack of Pierce and O’Neal obviously had a lot to do with the riveting finish, too.

“I messed up a couple times in three and four and thought, ‘Welp, here it comes. Here it comes.’ I tell you what, man, Bobby is a lot of fun to race with,” Sheppard said. “He gets every bit out of that race car, there’s no doubt about that. He always races me clean, though, so good job to them guys. When we’re in opposite positions, I’m going to run him clean, too. … I just can’t say enough about my team and everyone involved.”

Pierce, meanwhile, just couldn’t find a way around Sheppard, who generated too much momentum circling the top.

“Man, I almost wish I tried the bottom a little sooner, but when Hudson got his hat thrown in the ring there for third and second, I didn’t want to lose that spot,” Pierce said. “You want to go for it as quickly as you can, but I was biding my time, waiting for him to make a mistake. And he made a couple, but you couldn’t make that run. I was hoping for some lapped cars to hold him off and maybe I’d cross him over. But man, what a heckuva race, coming from eighth like that.”

O’Neal occupied the second spot from laps 17 through 36, but slipped to third for the remainder of the running shortly after the lap-33 restart. The New Martinsville, Ind., driver had an opportunity to regain second from Pierce on the last restart on lap 47, but couldn’t get anything to materialize.

“I wanted to get involved. Man, that was brutal up around that cushion,” O’Neal said. “It wasn’t brutal for the race cars, but man, it was on us. I was dead the last 10 laps. It was a good race. Me, Sheppard and Bobby, I felt like you could throw a blanket over us for the whole last 30 or 40 laps, or whatever it was. I thought it was a great race. There were times I thought we’d have a shot. I got a great restart on the last one and was able to kind of sneak under (Sheppard) for a minute. I just couldn’t quite get clear of him … and Bobby got back by me.”

O’Neal also made sure to give Huset’s Speedway track workers proper recognition for weathering rainstorms throughout the hectic day that crammed in Friday’s preliminary events ahead of the grand finale.

“Appreciate Huset’s. They worked their butt off today, running this racetrack in all day long, trying to make it the best they could for us,” O’Neal said. “Whenever you’re racing in the daytime, it’s just a lose-lose situation for most racetracks. We appreciate them. I appreciate everybody here at Huset’s Speedway.”

Feature lineup

Row 1: Brandon Sheppard, Shane Clanton
Row 2: Daniel Hilsabeck, Hudson O’Neal
Row 3: Brandon Overton, Jonathan Davenport
Row 4: Tim McCreadie, Bobby Pierce
Row 5: Tyler Bruening, Max Blair
Row 6: Devin Moran, Tyler Erb
Row 7: Dennis Erb Jr., Chase Junghans
Row 8: Earl Pearson Jr., Ricky Thornton Jr.
Row 9: Garrett Alberson, Mike Marlar
Row 10: Chad Simpson, Daulton Wilson
Row 11: Ross Robinson, Kyle Bronson
Row 12: Spencer Hughes, Boom Briggs
Row 13: Matt Cosner

Non-qualifiers’ race

(10 laps; winner has option of taking $2,053 or feature starting spot)

Non-qualifiers’ race finish: Matt Cosner (opted to start feature), Morgan Bagley, Dillon McCowan, Jake Neal, Blair Nothdurft, Al Humphrey, Ben Sukup, Junior Coover.

Consolation results

(12 laps; top three transfer)

First consolation finish: Garrett Alberson, Chad Simpson, Ross Robinson, Boom Briggs, Matt Cosner, Dillon McCowan, Blair Nothdurft, Spencer Hughes, Al Humphrey.

Second consolation finish: Mike Marlar, Daulton Wilson, Kyle Bronson, Morgan Bagley, Jake Neal, Ben Sukup, Junior Coover (DNS) Bill Leighton Jr.

Rain delay

A pop-up shower brought a brief downpour to Huset's Speedway around 6:15 p.m., shortly after the afternoon program ended with Kyle Berck winning the 25-lap Malvern Bank Series feature. The precipitation pushed back the scheduled 7 o'clock start time for the evening action until just after 8 p.m. when Malvern Bank competitors rolled out to finish packing the track and run hot laps.

Consolation lineups

(12 laps; top three transfer)

First consolation
Row 1: Garrett Alberson, Chad Simpson
Row 2: Ross Robinson, Boom Briggs
Row 3: Matt Cosner, Dillon McCowan
Row 4: Blair Nothdurft, Spencer Hughes
Row 5: Al Humphrey
Second consolation
Row 1: Mike Marlar, Morgan Bagley
Row 2: Daulton Wilson, Kyle Bronson
Row 3: Jake Neal, Bill Leighton Jr.
Row 4: Ben Sukup, Junior Coover

Round 2 heats recap

A blazing sun remained out during the second round of heats, making it difficult to keep moisture in the racing surface. The Huset’s track crew farmed the speedway before the first and second heats and again before the third and fourth prelims to provide competitors the best possible conditions. … Devin Moran scored a dominant victory in the first heat. … Brandon Overton led from wire-to-wire to capture the second heat, which was slowed by a single caution flag for debris on lap five. … Nebraska veteran Junior Coover experienced a rapid fall in the second heat, plunging from his outside pole starting spot to last in the running order by the backstretch on the opening lap. … Ben Sukup of Norfolk, Neb., outgunned front-row mate Tim McCreadie for the lead at the start of the third heat and stayed ahead of the Watertown, N.Y., star for the remainder of the distance to cross the finish line first. But his joy turned to despair when his car’s rear deck measured a half-inch too high in the post-race droop check, penalizing him four spots to fifth place in the finishing order; Sukup also received no passing points for Round 2 while McCreadie was elevated to the win. … Tyler Bruening’s bid to overtake Sukup and McCreadie on the opening lap of Heat 3 resulted in the Iowa driver making contact with Sukup in turn three and bouncing over the infield berm. Bruening survived to tally a third-place finish. … Sixth-starting Brandon Sheppard authored the drive of the afternoon in Heat 4, charging around the top of the third-mile oval to grab the lead from Matt Cosner on lap four and then beating Bobby Pierce to the checkered flag. … Mike Marlar smoked the outside wall off turn four on lap six of the fourth heat but continued on to finish fifth with right-rear bodywork damage. … The second round of heats ended at 4:39 p.m.; a consolation and 30-lap feature for the Malvern Bank Series was to follow before a break in advance of the scheduled 7 p.m. hot-lap time for the evening program. ... Sheppard totaled 124.56 passing points over the two rounds of heats to earn the pole position for the 80-lap feature. … Shane Clanton was second in overall passing points (118.80), followed by Daniel Hilsabeck (113.04), Hudson O’Neal (113.04) and Overton (113.04).

Round 2 heat results

(Passing points format; distance is number of cars plus two laps)

First heat: Devin Moran, Jonathan Davenport, Dennis Erb Jr., Hudson O'Neal, Ricky Thornton Jr., Tyler Erb, Kyle Bronson, Boom Briggs. Scratched: Al Humphrey.

Second heat: Brandon Overton, Max Blair, Shane Clanton, Daniel Hilsabeck, Earl Pearson Jr., Jake Neal, Morgan Bagley, Junior Coover.

Third heat: Tim McCreadie, Tyler Bruening, Chad Simpson, Ross Robinson, Ben Sukup, Bill Leighton Jr., Blair Nothdurft, Daulton Wilson. (Ben Sukup crossed the finish line first but was penalized four positions because of a postrace deck-height violation)

Fourth heat: Brandon Sheppard, Bobby Pierce, Garrett Alberson, Matt Cosner, Mike Marlar, Chase Junghans, Dillon McCowan, Spencer Hughes.

Round 1 heats recap

After hot laps were contested under overcast skies that helped keep moisture in the racing surface following the Friday downpours that postponed the qualifying program, a bright sun appeared just as the first heat rolled into the infield staging area. … Hudson O’Neal shot forward from the fifth starting spot to grab the lead from Boom Briggs and ran away to capture the first heat. … Outside front-row starter Spencer Hughes slid sideways and caught the turn-four wall on the opening lap of the first heat, damaging his car’s right-rear corner and leading to a dismal eighth-place finish. … Jonathan Davenport snuck under Tyler Bruening exiting turn four to steal a fourth-place finish at the line in Heat 1. … Outside front-row starter Daniel Hilsabeck overtook Daulton Wilson for the lead on lap three and controlled the remainder of the distance to win the second heat. … Shane Clanton and Tyler Erb won the third and fourth heats from their pole positions. … Fourth-starting Chad Simpson slid high and grazed the wall between turns one and two on the opening lap of Heat 3, causing him to immediately lose two spots. The fourth-place finisher in Thursday’s Go 50 went on to finish seventh. … Seventh-starting Tim McCreadie gained two spots for a fifth-place finish in Heat 4, but he returned to his trailer with damage to his car’s right-rear spoiler after pounding the outside wall between turns one and two on lap five. … Sixth-starting Bobby Pierce attempted a slider for third place on Earl Pearson Jr. through turns three and four on the final lap, but Pearson crossed the Illinois driver back over off the corner to preserve third at the line. … The first round of heat races ended at 2:20 p.m. … Saturday’s heats pay $250-to-win. ... Saturday's 33-car field is down from Thursday's 36 entries; Andrew Kosiski, Tad Pospisil, Jesse Sobbing and Jake Timm competed on Thursday but opted to bypass the SDN finale (Kosiski, Pospisil and Sobbing are running Saturday's twin Malvern Bank Series events), while veteran Al Humphrey has joined the action. ... O'Neal tops the event points standings after Round 1 with 66.04 points, followed by Hilsabeck (60.76), Clanton (59.0), Tyler Erb (59.0), Brandon Sheppard (56.76) and Davenport (55.8).

Round 1 heat results

(Passing points format; distance is number of cars plus two laps)

First heat: Hudson O'Neal, Boom Briggs, Morgan Bagley, Jonathan Davenport, Tyler Bruening, Dillon McCowan, Ross Robinson, Spencer Hughes, Junior Coover.

Second heat: Daniel Hilsabeck, Daulton Wilson, Ricky Thornton Jr., Mike Marlar, Max Blair, Devin Moran, Bill Leighton Jr., Matt Cosner.

Third heat: Shane Clanton, Brandon Sheppard, Kyle Bronson, Brandon Overton, Dennis Erb Jr., Garrett Alberson, Chad Simpson, Ben Sukup.

Fourth heat: Tyler Erb, Chase Junghans, Earl Pearson Jr., Bobby Pierce, Tim McCreadie, Blair Nothdurft, Jake Neal, Al Humphrey.

Round 1 heat lineups

(Passing points format; distance is number of cars plus two laps)

First heat
Row 1: Boom Briggs, Spencer Hughes
Row 2: Ross Robinson, Morgan Bagley
Row 3: Hudson O’Neal, Dillon McCowan
Row 4: Tyler Bruening, Junior Coover
Row 5: Jonathan Davenport
Second heat
Row 1: Daulton Wilson, Daniel Hilsabeck
Row 2: Ricky Thornton Jr., Mike Marlar
Row 3: Bill Leighton Jr., Max Blair
Row 4: Devin Moran, Matt Cosner
Third heat
Row 1: Shane Clanton, Kyle Bronson
Row 2: Brandon Sheppard, Chad Simpson
Row 3: Brandon Overton, Dennis Erb Jr.
Row 4: Garrett Alberson, Ben Sukup
Fourth heat
Row 1: Tyler Erb, Chase Junghans
Row 2: Blair Nothdurft, Earl Pearson Jr.
Row 3: Al Humphrey, Bobby Pierce
Row 4: Tim McCreadie, Jake Neal

Round 2 heat lineups

(Passing points format; distance is number of cars plus two laps)

First heat
Row 1; Jonathan Davenport, Devin Moran
Row 2: Dennis Erb Jr., Al Humphrey
Row 3: Hudson O’Neal, Ricky Thornton Jr.
Row 4: Kyle Bronson, Tyler Erb
Row 5: Boom Briggs
Second heat
Row 1: Jake Neal, Junior Coover
Row 2: Max Blair, Brandon Overton
Row 3: Earl Pearson Jr., Morgan Bagley
Row 4: Daniel Hilsabeck, Shane Clanton
Third heat
Row 1: Ben Sukup, Tim McCreadie
Row 2: Tyler Bruening, Bill Leighton Jr.
Row 3: Chad Simpson, Blair Nothdurft
Row 4: Ross Robinson, Daulton Wilson
Fourth heat
Row 1: Matt Cosner, Garrett Alberson
Row 2: Bobby Pierce, Dillon McCowan
Row 3: Mike Marlar, Brandon Sheppard
Row 4: Chase Junghans, Spencer Hughes

Saturday’s schedule

(All times local)

10 a.m. - Gates open
12:30 p.m. - Drivers’ meeting
1 p.m. - On-track activity
- Lucas Oil Series hot laps (based off Round 1 heats)
- Malvern Bank Late Model hot laps
Opening ceremonies
- Lucas Oil Series first round heat races (distance is one-lap-per-car plus two laps)
- Malvern Bank Late Model time trials
- Track prep (if necessary)
- Malvern Bank Late Model heat races (8 laps)
- Lucas Oil Series second round heat races (distance is one-lap-per-car plus two laps)
- Malvern Bank Late Model B-main
- Lucas Oil heat winners presentation
- Malvern Bank Series feature (30 laps)
(Break before evening program)
5 p.m. - Driver autographs near souvenir trailers
7 p.m. - On-track activity
- Malvern Bank Series hot laps
- Lucas Oil Series hot laps (consolation entrants)
Opening ceremonies
- Malvern Bank Series heat races (8 laps)
- Lucas Oil Series consolations (12 laps)
- Lucas Oil Series hot laps (locked-in feature entrants)
- Malvern Bank Series B-main (10 laps)
- Lucas Oil Series non-qualifiers’ race (16 laps)
- Malvern Bank Series feature (30 laps)
- 13th annual Silver Dollar Nationals feature (80 laps)