Following Tuesday’s all day rain that halted all of the action for Florida Speedweeks, the action returned on Wednesday at the 46th Annual Wrisco Winternationals for the Lucas Oil Dirt Late Model Series at East Bay Raceway Park.
70 cars clocked in during qualifying, with Brandon Sheppard putting his #1 Rocket house car to the top of the charts. Six Heat Races and Three B-Mains would determine the starting field for the $7,000 to win 40 lap feature event. A very slick racing surface throughout the night made for some wild racing.
Sheppard and current points leader Devin Moran would lead the 26 car field to green. Sheppard would pick up the race lead, opening up a nearly 2 second advantage on Brandon Overton. Overton would close the gap in lapped traffic and work by B-Shep on lap 7. The caution would then fly on lap 8 for a rare spin by Moran. Following the restart, Sheppard would work underneath Overton on lap 13 to once again take over the point. At the halfway mark, it would be Sheppard building a solid lead, over Tyler Erb, and Overton. The field would once again be slowed for a caution on lap 21 for “Fast” Freddie Carpenter. On the restart, Overton would get by Erb for 2nd, but a few laps later, Erb would work back around Overton. With Sheppard holding a solid lead and working through traffic at lap 29, the caution would fly after contact between Overton and Ricky Thornton Jr. The caution would be called for debris, allowing both drivers to retain their position.
On the restart, Sheppard would once again drive away, leaving Erb to battle with Ashton Winger for the runner-up spot. With almost a 4 second lead for Sheppard, the caution would once again fly for Overton with 4 laps remaining. But not even a late caution could stop Sheppard from picking up his 2nd series win of 2022, and his 7th career win at East Bay. Winger would get by Erb for 2nd, with Erb, Kyle Bronson (from the tail after pitting), and Thornton Jr completing the top 5.
The Lucas Oil Dirt Late Model Series is back at it again on Thursday, for another 40 lap, $7,000 to win event at the Tampa bullring.
Speedweeks - Results
Wednesday, February 9th
All-Tech Raceway - Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
A-Main: 1) 1S Brandon Sheppard, 2) 89 Ashton Winger, 3) 1T Tyler Erb
B-Main: 18J Chase Junghans
B-Main: 58W Mark Whitener
B-Main: 11 Spencer Hughes
Heat 1: 1S Brandon Sheppard
Heat 2: 76 Brandon Overton
Heat 3: 89 Ashton Winger
Heat 4: 9 Devin Moran
Heat 5: 46 Earl Pearson Jr.
Heat 6: 39 Tim McCreadie
Fast Qualifier: 1S Brandon Sheppard (14.980)
Race Entries: 70
Complete Results & Recap Available at - lucasdirt.com
Volusia Speedway Park - DIRTcar Nationals
Canceled due to Track Conditions
Speedweeks - Racing Tonight
Thursday, February 10th
East Bay Raceway Park - Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
⏱ My Race Pass
Volusia Speedway Park - DIRTcar Nationals
⏱ Race Monitor
Gallery
Wednesday, February 9th
Photos By - Jim Denhamer