5/9/2026
Brandon Sheppard Rules Rain-Shortened Illinois Speedweek
Eagle Raceway’s High Bank Heist Up Next
SHINNISTON, W. VA. (May 11, 2026) — Brandon Sheppard turned a rain-soaked Illinois Speedweek into a winning week for Rocket1 Racing, collecting a pair of home-state victories aboard the Valvoline / Seubert Calf Ranches No. 1 Late Model.
The Rocket1 Racing driver opened the stretch with a FloRacing Night in America triumph at Spoon River Speedway before backing it up with a victory in Saturday’s FALS Spring Shootout at Fairbury Speedway. The wins marked Sheppard’s third career FloRacing Night in America victory and the 18th Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series triumph of his career.
“This feels awesome. It seems like it’s been forever since we won here,” Sheppard said in Lucas Oil Victory Lane on Saturday night. “We always seem to win prelims at the Prairie Dirt Classic, but these bigger races have avoided me for a while, so it’s really special to win one here tonight.”
Illinois Speedweek was originally scheduled to begin Tuesday at La Salle Speedway before Mother Nature forced a cancellation, shifting the opener to Spoon River Speedway on Wednesday. Sheppard proved to be a serious threat from the early stages of the night, winning his heat race over Bobby Pierce before leading all 50 laps of the feature to secure the $20,000 payday.
“I’m kind of 50-50 here,” Sheppard said following the Spoon River victory. “Some nights I feel really good, and other nights I feel like I run about 16th. But our car's been phenomenal all year long. We've just had a good balance. The guys give me a great race car every time we unload and that put it back in my hands. Late in the race I knew I was struggling a bit off of turn two and if I could find the right line that I’d be in good shape, and that’s what I was able to do and we got the win."
After Thursday’s program was halted by rain midway through the night and Friday’s event at Farmer City Raceway also falling victim to wet weather, the weekend concluded with Saturday’s FALS Spring Shootout at Fairbury Speedway, where Sheppard continued his strong run.
Starting from the front row in the feature, Sheppard powered around Brian Shirley for the lead on lap 13 and controlled the remainder of the 60-lap affair to secure his seventh victory of the season.
Following the weekend, Sheppard climbed to third in the latest Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series point standings.
Complete results from both events can be found at www.FloSeries.com and www.LucasDirt.com.
The Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series resumes this weekend with the second annual Malvern Bank High Bank Heist at Nebraska’s Eagle Raceway. The three-day event runs Thursday through Saturday with a $50,000 top prize up for grabs in the finale.
Additional event info can be found at www.EagleRaceway.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/Rocket1Racing.
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