World of Outlaws Late Model Series
Farmer City Raceway
April 18, 2015
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Sheppard Outduels Lanigan & Babb At Farmer City, Scores $15,050 Victory In Douglas Ram Trucks Illini 100 Finale
Illinois Standout Becomes Second Home-State Driver To Win Farmer City's Prestigious World of Outlaws Late Model Series Event



WoOLMS PR
FARMER CITY, Ill. (April 18) - Brandon Sheppard put his experience at Farmer City Raceway to good use Saturday night, mastering the quarter-mile oval to score a $15,050 victory in the Douglas Ram Trucks Illini 100 finale.

Sheppard, the 22-year-old New Berlin, Ill., driver who cut his teeth at Farmer City and other central Illinois bullrings, advanced from his 12th starting spot in the 75-lap World of Outlaws Late Model Series event and overcame both Darrell Lanigan of Union, Ky., and Shannon Babb of Moweaqua, Ill., to become just the second home-state driver to win at the Illini 100.

"There's a reason why it's my favorite racetrack in the country," said Sheppard, who earned the fifth WoO LMS victory of his young career. "Not only do we run good here, but it usually produces pretty good racing."

Lanigan settled for second in the Illini 100 finale for the second consecutive year, while Babb, who last year became the first Land of Lincoln driver to win the event, finished third. Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill., was fourth with WoO LMS points leader Shane Clanton of Zebulon, Ga., rounding out the top five.

Sheppard entered the lead battle just before the race's halfway point as he and Lanigan began to catch Babb and second-running Pierce. Both Sheppard and Lanigan moved around Pierce shortly after halfway, but neither could get clear of the other long enough to make a serious challenge on Babb.



A lap-47 restart gave Sheppard the opportunity he needed. With a strong run off the top of turn two, Sheppard pulled ahead of Lanigan down the back straightaway and drove hard into turn three to slide ahead of Babb exiting turn four.

"I was trying to pace myself as much as possible," Sheppard said. "But once I got to third and me and Babb and Lanigan were battling it out, I knew if Lanigan got to the lead he was going to be hard to pass. After that restart when he choose the bottom, I didn't have any choice but to go as hard as I could for them two laps and try to get the lead."

Sheppard did get to the lead, but his work wasn't finished. After building nearly a straightway advantage, his car was hampered in the closing laps by damage from contact with the lapped car of Wendell Wallace of Batesville, Ark.

A furious late charge from Lanigan made matters worse, but Sheppard was up to the task. He avoided any more run-ins with slower cars and held on to beat Lanigan by 0.888 seconds at the finish line.

"I was getting real loose after me and Wendell got together and I was a little bit nervous," Sheppard said. "The top blew off a lot in one and two as the race went on. We just kept going slower and slower and slower, but my crew guy was telling me I was alright."

Settling for the runner-up finish for the second consecutive year at the Illini 100, Lanigan, who with the result closed to 68 points behind Clanton at the top of the WoO LMS championship chase, was disappointed to again come up short but was overall pleased with his weekend at Farmer City.

"We had a good piece here tonight, just qualified kind of bad," said Lanigan, the three-time and defending WoO LMS champion. "All in all, the car was pretty awesome in the feature. I think we've ran second here two or three times. It's about like (the Firecracker 100 at) Lernerville, but I like coming here. I like the crowd and I like the racetrack."



After pulling away from an early battle with fellow front-row starter Chase Junghans of Manhattan, Kan., Babb appeared to be headed for his second Illini 100 victory until he began to fade around halfway. Switching his line around the track allowed him to close back in on Sheppard and Lanigan during the race's closing laps, but the move came too late.

"I really wish I would've moved up a lot sooner on both ends," said Babb, who raced for the first time in 2015 during Farmer City's doubleheader Illini 100 weekend. "I rode around the bottom too long and the car got too tight down there. Brandon did a hell of a job and Darrell. Those guys are fun to race with."

The race's early portions featured an epic battle at the front between Babb and Junghans. The two No. 18 machines raced side-by-side for much of the race's opening 20 laps until Babb used the low line to clear Junghans for the lead on lap 22.

Junghans continued to run second until lap-27 contact from third-running Kevin Weaver of Gibson City, Ill., sent both cars spinning, ending strong runs for both drivers.

The run-in between Junghans and Weaver was the first of the race's six cautions. A lap-39 tangle between Josh Richards of Shinnston, W.Va., and Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill., caused the second yellow flag, while a slowing Richards caused the third caution on lap 45.

A spin by Junghans back in the pack brought out the race's fourth caution, while the fifth yellow flag waved when contact on the front straightway sent Don O'Neal of Martinsville, Ind., spinning from a top-10 position. Rick Eckert of York, Pa., slowed to bring out the final caution on lap 56.

The World of Outlaws Late Model Series returns to action May 1-2 with a North Carolina doubleheader at Friendship Motor Speedway in Elkin, N.C., on Fri., May 1 and Fayetteville (N.C.) Motor Speedway on Sat., May 2. Both events pay $10,000 to the winner.

For more information on the WoO LMS, visit www.worldofoutlaws.com.

A-Main
1 B5 Brandon Sheppard New Berlin, IL $15,000
2 29 Darrell Lanigan Union, KY
3 18b Shannon Babb Moweaqua, IL
4 32 Bobby Pierce Oakwood, IL
5 25 Shane Clanton Zebulon, GA
6 20 Jimmy Owens Newport, TN
7 1* Chub Frank Bear Lake, PA
8 28 Jimmy Mars Menomonie, WI
9 39 Tim McCreadie Watertown, NY
10 15 Steve Francis Ashland, KY
11 14M Morgan Bagley Tyler, TX
12 99Jr Frank Heckenast Jr. Orland Park, IL
13 28e Dennis Erb Jr. Carpentersville, IL
14 7v Rick Eckert York, PA
15 76 Brandon Overton Appleton, GA
16 1 Josh Richards Shinnston, WV
17 18 Eric Wells Hazard, KY
18 6m Wendell Wallace Batesville, AR
19 89 Darren Friedman Forest, IL
20 5 Don O'Neal Martinsville, IN
21 18c Chase Junghans Manhattan, KS
22 42 Mckay Wenger Fairbury, IL
23 25f Jason Feger Bloomington, IL
24 b12 Kevin Weaver Gibson City, IL
25 77 Jordan Yaggy Rochester, MN

B-Main #1    
1 2 25f Jason Feger Bloomington, IL
2 3 28 Jimmy Mars Menomonie, WI
3 8 99Jr Frank Heckenast Jr. Orland Park, IL
4 5 38c John Gardner Germantown, IL
5 7 Z Joe Harlan El Paso, IL
6 9 35 Derek Chandler Pontiac, IL
7 4 157 Mike Marlar Winfield, TN
8 13 99m Devin Moran Dresden, OH
9 11 8k Levi Kissinger Mt. Vernon, IN
10 6 99B Rick Briggs Bear Lake, PA
11 10 782 Mark Larson Ottawa, IL
12 1 9d Daniel Flessner Thawville, IL
13 12 77 Jordan Yaggy Rochester, MN
14 14 10 Scott Schmitt Tonica, IL

B-Main #2    
1 2 7v Rick Eckert York, PA
2 5 15 Steve Francis Ashland, KY
3 1 1 Josh Richards Shinnston, WV
4 3 3s Brian Shirley Chatham, IL
5 7 14M Morgan Bagley Tyler, TX
6 9 83 Scott Bull Fairbury, IL
7 8 45 Kyle Hammer Clinton, IL
8 4 7T Steve Thorsten Milford, IL
9 11 18s Jack Sullivan Greenbriar, AR
10 10 116 Torin Mettille Cullom, IL
11 13 89s Mike Spatola Manhattan, IL
12 12 33 Billy Hough Thomasboro, IL
13 6 39 Tim McCreadie Watertown, NY

Heat #1 (top 4 transfer)
1 1 b12 Kevin Weaver Gibson City, IL
2 2 20 Jimmy Owens Newport, TN
3 4 42 Mckay Wenger Fairbury, IL
4 7 29 Darrell Lanigan Union, KY
5 3 9d Daniel Flessner Thawville, IL
6 5 28 Jimmy Mars Menomonie, WI
7 6 38c John Gardner Germantown, IL
8 8 Z Joe Harlan El Paso, IL
9 9 35 Derek Chandler Pontiac, IL
10 10 8k Levi Kissinger Mt. Vernon, IN
11 11 99m Devin Moran Dresden, OH

Heat #2    
1 1 76 Brandon Overton Appleton, GA
2 2 32 Bobby Pierce Oakwood, IL
3 3 28e Dennis Erb Jr. Carpentersville, IL
4 6 89 Darren Friedman Forest, IL
5 4 25f Jason Feger Bloomington, IL
6 10 157 Mike Marlar Winfield, TN
7 8 99B Rick Briggs Bear Lake, PA
8 9 99Jr Frank Heckenast Jr. Orland Park, IL
9 11 782 Mark Larson Ottawa, IL
10 7 77 Jordan Yaggy Rochester, MN
11 5 10 Scott Schmitt Tonica, IL

Heat #3    
1 1 25 Shane Clanton Zebulon, GA
2 2 5 Don O'Neal Martinsville, IN
3 3 18 Eric Wells Hazard, KY
4 5 6m Wendell Wallace Batesville, AR
5 8 1 Josh Richards Shinnston, WV
6 6 3s Brian Shirley Chatham, IL
7 7 15 Steve Francis Ashland, KY
8 4 14M Morgan Bagley Tyler, TX
9 10 83 Scott Bull Fairbury, IL
10 9 18s Jack Sullivan Greenbriar, AR
11 11 89s Mike Spatola Manhattan, IL

Heat #4    
1 2 18c Chase Junghans Manhattan, KS
2 1 18b Shannon Babb Moweaqua, IL
3 4 B5 Brandon Sheppard New Berlin, IL
4 5 1* Chub Frank Bear Lake, PA
5 6 7v Rick Eckert York, PA
6 7 7T Steve Thorsten Milford, IL
7 8 39 Tim McCreadie Watertown, NY
8 9 45 Kyle Hammer Clinton, IL
9 3 116 Torin Mettille Cullom, IL
10 10 33 Billy Hough Thomasboro, IL

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Group A Qualifying
1 B12 Kevin Weaver 12.957
2 76 Brandon Overton 12.972
3 20 Jimmy Owens 13.007
4 32 Bobby Pierce 13.039
5 9D Daniel Flessner 13.060
6 28E Dennis Erb Jr 13.066
7 42 Mckay Wenger 13.116
8 25F Jason Feger 13.130
9 28 Jimmy Mars 13.185
10 10 Scott Schmitt 13.198
11 38c John Gardner Jr 13.303
12 89 Darren Friedman 13.326
13 29 Darrell Lanigan 13.363
14 77 Jordan Yaggy 13.366
15 Z Joe Harlan 13.423
16 99B Boom Briggs 13.436
17 35 Derek Chandler 13.457
18 99jr Frank Heckenast Jr 13.507
19 8K Levi Kissinger 13.523
20 157 Mike Marlar 13.806
21 99M Devin Moran 14.007
22 782 Mark Larson 14.422

Group B Qualifying
1 25 Shane Clanton 13.194
2 18b Shannon 13.226
3 5 Don O'Neal 13.338
4 18c Chase Junghans 13.347
5 18 Eric Wells 13.373
6 116 Torin Mettille 13.376
7 14M Morgan Bagley 13.379
8 B5 Brandon Sheppard 13.382
9 6m Wendell Wallace 13.419
10 1* Chub Frank 13.436
11 3s Brian Shirley 13.461
12 7V Rick Eckert 13.671
13 15 Steve Francis 13.695
14 7T Steve Thorsten 13.720
15 1 Josh Richards 13.779
16 39 Tim McCreadie 13.785
17 18s Jack Sullivan 13.836
18 45 Kyle Hammer 14.036
19 83 Scott Bull 14.120
20 33 Billy Hough 14.471
21 89s Mike Spatola 26.053