DIRTRACKR Daily Podcast - Episode Transcript
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Does this mean Brandon Sheppard and the Rocket house car are back? | Daily 4-13-2025
Did Brandon Sheppard's run-in with Cody Overton provide the fuel he needed to win again? We'll talk about it, plus a possible turn around weekend for another late model driver, a David Gravel streak comes to an end, and a whole lot more. Let's go!
It's Sunday, April 13th, I'm Justin Fiedler. This is DIRTRACKR Daily presented by Kubota Genuine Parts.
I want to start today with the Illini 100 at Farmer City. The quote last night from Brandon Sheppard after he went 11th to the win was "Not back because I never left." It was one of the more impressive drives I think we've seen in a long time, especially given what happened in that heat race. If you missed it, Cody Overton and Sheppard tangled in heat two battling for the lead, with Sheppard getting pushed up over the race track out of turn two. Sheppard then ended up spun after contact from Justin Duty a lap later. Shepp not happy with Overton under the caution, but it seemed to motivate him. He rallied get back to third, which put him 11th to start the main event. And then in that feature, he drove like a guy with something to prove. And to be fair, I think he does have something to prove. We'll get back to that in a minute. But the Rocket 1 ripped through the field, going 11th to the lead by lap 36. He was in control from there for his first win of 2025. I know he won the Gateway Dirt Nationals back in December, but things have not gone great for a guy we had come to know as one of the most dominant dirt late model racers in the country. The Longhorn move didn't work out, and this return to Rocket has been a battle. Last night's win was the first that wasn't indoors for Sheppard since last July at Deer Creek. His Lucas season isn't going well, just one top five and five top tens in 11 races. And his three previous Outlaw races coming into Farmer City were 13th and 24th at Volusia, and a 17th at Smoky Mountain. There was speed though in the B5 at the Nippy 50, and they had a solid 12th to 4th charge on Friday night. In an alternate universe, I would love to know how last night would have played out had that heat race gone differently. Because I really think that lit a fire under him. We are at a moment in time where Rocket chassis is completely missing from the national conversation, and at Farmer City we watched two longtime Rocket teams roll Longhorns out of their trailer. Sheppard had 39 top tens in 41 races and 18 wins on tour with the Outlaws in 2019, but six years later he's no where near the front of the Lucas fight. I think he has something to prove and so does the Rocket brand. Going forward, is this the moment things turn around, or was this an outlier on a home track for BShepp on a night where he was pissed and suddenly heavily motivated. We'll see. A couple of other things worth mentioning... Ethan Dotson was a first time Outlaw winner on Friday night. He took advantage when early leader Devin Moran had issues in lap traffic. Tristan Chamberlain can't seem to stay away from tractor tires these days. Also, weekends like we saw from Bobby Pierce win championships. Caught up in a crash Friday night but still got back to sixth, and seventh to second last night. He extends over Ryan Gustin and Nick Hoffman who were not part of the front battles either night. I also like what we're seeing right now from Drake Troutman. We aren't far away from his first Outlaw victory. The World of Outlaws late models back in action in a few weeks at Talladega.
Another driver who potentially had a turning point weekend in his 2025 season was Hudson O'Neal. He swept the Spring Nationals wins at Wheatland, dominating on Friday night, and then flat outdriving Jonathan Davenport and Brandon Overton last night. These were O'Neal's first wins since that Hunt the Front score at Needmore in Kevin Rumley's car early in the year. This SSI team as we know recently hired Jason Durham as crew chief and the turnaround has been quick. They were good at Atomic and Brownstown, and now these two wins. O'Neal, like Sheppard, is way down the Lucas order, but if they keep racing like this, the 71 team could definitely drag itself back into the conversation. O'Neal won the Show-Me 100 at Lucas Oil Speedway in 2021, but since then, this isn't a track where he's had a ton of success. I know this wasn't a full blown national tour caliber field, but there was quality out front that O'Neal had to beat. In saying that though about the field, I was pleasantly surprised with the 40 plus cars they ended up with. The crowd wasn't good, but the field was solid.
Other weekend late model winners included Daulton Wilson bagging the $50,000 crate XR score at Fayetteville. Dalton Cook won $10k at East Alabama at a show that drew just 19 cars, with several loading up before the night was really going. Cory Hedgecock and Dillon Tidmore split Southern All Star wins, Josh Rice took the Northern All Stars show at Florence, and Layton Sullivan was a crate winner at Screven.
At Pevely, David Gravel's closest challengers for the World of Outlaws title in Carson Macedo and Logan Schuchart split weekend wins, and gained ground on the defending champion. It was Macedo-Schuchart on Friday, and Schuchart-Macedo on Saturday. Friday was a classic sliderfest, and exactly what you watch Pevely for. Things went sideways though on Saturday, with the track taking rubber around half way. Really difficult fields both night with 60 plus cars showing up. Some big names struggled, with Rico Abreu missing the Friday show, but he did rebound to a top five on Saturday. Chase Dietz struggled off the porch in the Stehman car, Emerson Axsom missed both features, and Spencer Bayston still not in the mix with the Meyers 14. If you are rooting against David Gravel, his top five streak ended last night at 20 races. The top ten streak continues though, as he was sixth at the end. And Donny Schatz was on a World of Outlaws podium for the first time since winning at Lincoln Speedway last October. Back to Logan Schuchart, we spotlighted him on a daily show not long ago, as he's working with new crew chief Kyle Pruitt this season. The Saturday win was his first Outlaw victory since Cedar Lake in June of 2024. It was only a matter of time, and leaving the weekend he and Macedo trail Gravel by 64 and 74 points respectively. Up next for the Outlaws is the first trip of the season to Knoxville.
In Indiana, Kyle Cummins and Justin Grant split USAC sprint car wins between Lincoln Park and Lawrenceburg. Cummins now leads Grant by 10 points for the title. Things definitely starting to separate out there, with Grant and Cummins off to hot starts. The sprint cars are back in a few weeks at Eldora for Let's Race Two. USAC though in action today with Silver Crown cars at Terre Haute. This is the season opener for that series, with Kody Swanson looking to begin another title defense. Ricky Thornton Jr. also set to make his Silver Crown debut today.
Other weekend open wheel winners included a Chico sweep for Justin Sanders. He won both 410 shows at the Silver Dollar Speedway, including a wild NARC feature last night. Tanner Holmes tracked him down and he actually led on the backstretch coming to the checkered. The Tarlton 21 though got tangled up in lap traffic in three and four, and Sanders slipped by on the bottom to complete the weekend sweep. It was a big turnaround for Sanders who had struggled early in the season. Sam Hafertepe won the ASCS race at the Salina Highbanks, Ricky Lewis and David Gasper were USAC CRA winners, and Jacob Denney and Karter Sarff split the Xtreme midget wins at Farmer City.
In weekend modified action, Rodney Sanders swept the USMTS races at Hamilton County, and the five-time champion now leads the standings by one point over Jim Chisholm.
Before we shut down today, sprint car driver Ayrton Gennetten has something cool going on that I wanted to share. He is looking for helmet designs for his next lid, and wants kids 14 years old or younger to help him out. You can send him hand drawn designs, and the winner will get to keep the helmet after he's done racing with it. You can find full details on how to enter at facebook.com/ag3racing.
That's the show for today. Hope you guys have a great Sunday out there, we'll see you back here tomorrow!