8/9/2025
Brandon Sheppard Posts Strong Preliminary Results During North-South
Rocket1 Racing Sets Sights on Batesville’s Topless 100
SHINNSTON, W.Va. (08/11/25) – Brandon Sheppard followed up a pair of fourth-place finishes in Thursday and Friday preliminaries at Florence Speedway with a challenging 12th-place effort in Saturday’s Sunoco North-South 100 finale. A slowly deflating right-rear tire worsened after the lap-94 restart, forcing Sheppard to nurse his Valvoline / Seubert Calf Ranches No. 1 Rocket1 Racing / Ace Metal Works Super Late Model across the line just outside the top 10.
Despite the late-race setback, Sheppard made progress in the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (LOLMDS) point standings. He currently sits tied for fifth with Garrett Alberson, trailing the coveted Big Four in the Big River Steel Chase for the Championship presented by ARP by 215 points.
“Any time a tire issue ruins the night, it’s definitely disappointing,” Sheppard said. “We started pretty far back, so I’m still happy with the progress we made. None of this would be possible without my awesome crew and everyone back at the shop in West Virginia. We’ve been on the road for over a month straight now, so a big thanks to everyone involved with the team who keeps the wheels turning.”
The North-South 100 weekend began Thursday at the Kentucky oval, where Sheppard qualified through his heat race into one of the twin $6,000-to-win preliminaries. He charged forward five positions in the 25-lap opener to finish fourth.
He matched that result on Friday night, again finishing fourth in the final 25-lap preliminary.
Starting fourth in his heat on Saturday, Sheppard finished third to secure a spot on the ninth row for the $75,000-to-win North-South 100 main event. His run inside the top 10 was cut short late in the 100-lap feature when a caution on lap 94 led to a deflating tire, ultimately forcing him to settle for 12th.
Complete results from the North-South weekend are available at www.LucasDirt.com.
Sheppard and the Rocket1 Racing team will return to LOLMDS competition this weekend at Arkansas’ Batesville Motor Speedway for the 33rd annual Topless 100. A preliminary on Friday will set the stage for Saturday’s $50,000-to-win A-Main.
Full event details are available at www.BatesvilleMotorSpeedway.com.
Rocket1 Racing would like to thank all of their marketing partners, which include Valvoline, Seubert Calf Ranches, Collins Brothers Towing Of St.Cloud, Rocket Chassis, Ace Metal Works, Durham Racing Engines, Five Star RaceCar Bodies, Gunter’s Honey, Performance Grading, Stiles Marine & Maintenance, Hoosier Racing Tire, Fox Racing Shox, Keyser Manufacturing, Petroff Towing, On Time Body & Graphic, Franklin Enterprises, Bubba Army, Sweet Manufacturing, Sunoco Race Fuels, Accu-Force Shock Service, ATL Fuel Cells, Aurora Rod Ends, Barnes Dry Sump Oil Systems, Bazell Race Fuels, Beyea Custom Headers, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Brinn Transmissions, Sharp Advantage Safety Products, CP Carrillo, Dohm Cycles, Fibreworks Composites, Hardrock Powder Coating, Howe Racing Enterprises, Jones Racing Products, Kenny’s Components, MSD, E3 Spark Plugs, Tel Tac, Performance Bodies, Peterson Fluid Systems, Powers Performance, Performance Rod & Custom, QuickCar Racing Products, MatMan Designs, Allgaier Performance Parts, Rocket Pre-Owned Motors, Show Trucks Unlimited, Simpson, Stealth Carburetors, Strange Oval, Suave Talk, Total Power Valvoline Pro-V Racing, Walker Performance Filtration, Wiles Driveshafts, Wilwood Brakes, Winters Performance Products, Wrisco Aluminum, Xceldyne Valvetrain, and MyRacePass Marketing Services.
For the latest news and team updates, visit Rocket1 Racing’s official website at www.Rocket1Racing.com. Fans can also stay connected by subscribing to the official Rocket1 Racing mailing list at https://pages.insightly.services/Rocket1Racing.
Article Credit: Heath Lawson image
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