FAIRBURY, Ill. — Capturing his first main event at Fairbury Speedway since 2022’s Prairie Dirt Classic, Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill., overtook polesitter Brian Shirley on the 13th lap and led the rest of Saturday's 60-lap Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series feature at the quarter-mile oval.
The Rocket Chassis house car driver earned $30,000 for his victor in the FALS Spring Shootout presented by Titan Industries that wrapped up a rain-plagued Illinois Speedweek. Three Speedweeks events fell to rain leaving Sheppard as the week’s lone winner after a Wednesday victory at Spoon River Speedway and Saturday’s triumph at Fairbury.
"It's seems like it's been forever since we won here,” the 33-year-old Sheppard said. “I seem to be able to win a prelim at the Prairie Dirt Classic every year, but these big ones have been avoiding me for a while, so man, it’s so sweet to win here. Anytime you can win at FALS it’s awesome. This place, when I was growing up, I dreaded coming here because it was so hard to win and it took such a different driving style and the track changes so much throughout the races.”
After working past Shirley, Sheppard cruised in the high groove before fighting off a mid-race challenge from hub-hugging Clay Harris, who started 12th, and a late-race challenge from eventual runner up Nick Hoffman, who started seventh.
Hoffman finished 0.423 of a second behind at the checkers with Shirley in third. Brandon Overton of Evans, Ga., and 11th-starting Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill., rounded out the top five.
Sheppard notched his fourth Lucas Oil victory of the season, the 39th of his career and 36th in full-field competition. The victory was his seventh overall this season.
Harris pulled within a few tenths of a second of Sheppard on several laps in the middle stages before fading, while Hoffman took the second spot on the 50th lap and made it interesting on a restart with eight laps remaining.
"Man, the last eight laps there, I felt like I was hanging on for dear life,” Sheppard said. “I think my right-rear tire is going down — I'm not 100 percent sure — I thought I ran something over up there when them guys were all wrecked for that last caution, and it just never felt right again after that. But man, this thing's a dream to drive right now.
“When I seen (Hoffman) on the board, I thought, well, yeah, that's about right because that's his condition. He’s really good at that momentum line, and he's been really good here the past few years. So I knew he was going to be tough and I knew I had to keep my marbles together to be able to stay in front of them.”
Hoffman, who said he’s endured a “week from hell” after battling transporter problems during the week, figured losing to Sheppard wasn’t bad. The World of Outlaws Late Model Series points leader was tuning up for July’s $50,000-to-win Prairie Dirt Classic.
"I mean, he's the Fairbury GOAT, so I felt like I was good, you know?” Hoffman said, adding that “he was just better than me where he could leave on that cushion and pull away down the straightaway.
“The biggest thing is coming here to learn something for the PDC and so I felt like we did and we definitely got better as the night went on and this was a 100-lap type racetrack.”
Like Harris, Hoffman primarily stuck to the inside lane while Sheppard ran the cushion virtually all race long.
“He was just really good and I'm not going to go up there and beat the boards down near as good as he is, so I’m wasting my time to even go up there and I'd end up losing spots,” Hoffman said. “So just focused on that middle to bottom. In the middle stages of the race, I was just kind of idling right around the infield tires and then I was like, ‘I've got to do something here to try and make more speed because I ain't going to win the race down here.’ So I started going out in the middle and searching a little bit and could carry speed.”
Shirley led the first 12 laps and stayed in contention for a third-place finish and his first top-five on the Lucas Oil circuit in 2026.
"I feel like we've not had as much track time as we've needed to get the feel of the car and the balance where we need to be, so it was nice to have a real solid finish and give my sponsors and everybody what they deserve,” Shirley said. “We’ve just got to start finishing good before we start worrying about winning them. And it was nice. Like I felt like in my heart we had a shot that we might be able (win if) things had fallen our way. I felt like we, in this condition, we definitely don't have probably a car as good as Nick or Sheppy for sure. So to be as competitive as we was tonight, it's a good shot in the arm.”
Four cautions slowed the action, the most serious on the 53rd lap when Ricky Thornton Jr. and Tyler Erb tangled in turn one with Hudson O'Neal collected in the mess. Other cautions were for flat tires for Trey Mills (lap 14), Thornton (lap 19) and Devin Moran (lap 28).
Feature lineup
(60 laps)
Row 1: Brian Shirley, Brandon Sheppard
Row 2: Garrett Alberson, Tyler Erb
Row 3: Hudson O'Neal, Brandon Overton
Row 4: Nick Hoffman, Jason Feger
Row 5: Max Blair, Shannon Babb
Row 6: Bobby Pierce, Clay Harris
Row 7: Michael Leach, Dennis Erb Jr.
Row 8: Ryan Unzicker, Josh Rice
Row 9: Justin Duty, Trey Mills
Row 10: Frank Heckenast Jr., Devin Moran
Row 11: Ricky Thornton Jr., Kyle Bronson
Row 12: Carson Ferguson, Dan Ebert
Row 13: Dillon McCowan, Daniel Hilsabeck
Row 14: Brenden Smith
Consolation race results
(12 laps; top three transfer)
First consolation: Justin Duty, Frank Heckenast Jr., Ricky Thornton Jr., Drake Troutman, Carson Ferguson, Daniel Hilsabeck, Collen Winebarger, Dan Ebert, Cory Lawler, Timmy Dick, Tyler Wyant, Austin Howes, Kolby Vandenbergh, Jeffrey Ledford, Mike Winn, Mike Harrison.
Second consolation: Trey Mills, Devin Moran, Kyle Bronson, Dallon Murty, Kyle Hammer, Daniel Adam, Sam Seawright, McKay Wenger, Chris Simpson, Dillon McCowan, Tyler Bruening, Brenden Smith, Alex Wilson, Mike Spatola, Kevin Weaver. Scratched: Billy Hough.
Heat race recap
Brian Shirley led all 10 laps in winning the first heat race by 0.791 over Hudson O’Neal, who stalked Shirley the entire way. Fourth-starting Max Blair finished third with Michael Leach holding on for the fourth and final transfer spot into the night’s 60-lap main event. … Second-starting Garrett Alberson fired off from the outside front row and beat third-starting Nick Hoffman by 1.942 seconds to win the second heat. Polesitter Bobby Pierce settled for third while Ryan Unzicker started and finished fourth. … Brandon Sheppard rocketed off the outside pole and overcame a late-race restart in winning the third heat by 0.805 of a second over third-starting Brandon Overton. Polesitter Shannon Babb slipped to third while Dennis Erb Jr. held serve in fourth, punching his ticket into the $30,000-to-win feature along with Sheppard, Overton and Babb. The night’s first caution came on the seventh lap when Devin Moran slowed from sixth with a flat right-rear tire; Moran soldiered to an eighth-place finish after pitting to change the flat. … Tyler Erb led all 10 laps from the pole in winning the fourth and final heat race by 0.486 of a second over Jason Feger, who trailed him closely the entire way. Fifth-starting Clay Harris finished third with seventh-starting Josh Rice claiming the fourth and final transfer position. … All four prelims combined to last just shy of 12 minutes.
Heat race results
(10 laps; top four transfer)
First heat: Brian Shirley, Hudson O'Neal, Max Blair, Michael Leach, Justin Duty, Dan Ebert, Mike Harrison, Drake Troutman, Collen Winebarger, Kolby Vandenbergh, Timmy Dick, Tyler Wyant.
Second heat: Garrett Alberson, Nick Hoffman, Bobby Pierce, Ryan Unzicker, Carson Ferguson, Frank Heckenast Jr., Ricky Thornton Jr., Daniel Hislabeck, Austin Howes, Cory Lawler, Jeffrey Ledford, Mike Winn.
Third heat: Brandon Sheppard, Brandon Overton, Shannon Babb, Dennis Erb Jr., Dallon Murty, Daniel Adam, Sam Seawright, Devin Moran, Mike Spatola, Brenden Smith, Alex Wilson, Kevin Weaver.
Fourth heat: Tyler Erb, Jason Feger, Clay Harris, Josh Rice, Kyle Bronson, Trey Mills, Dillon McCowan, Kyle Hammer, McKay Wenger, Tyler Bruening, Chris Simpson. Scratched: Billy Hough.
Time trials
Group A
Driver (car no.), hometown, time (unofficial)
1. Brian Shirley (3s), Chatham, Ill., 12.882
2. Bobby Pierce (32), Oakwood, Ill., 12.902
3. Hudson O’Neal (71), Martinsville, Ind., 12.964
4. Garrett Alberson (58), Las Cruces, N.M., 12.965
5. Michael Leach (09), Sun River, Mont., 13.002
6. Nick Hoffman (9H), Mooresville, N.C., 13.157
7. Max Blair (111), Centerville, Pa., 13.158
8. Ryan Unzicker (24u), El Paso, Ill., 13.161
9. Kolby Vandenbergh (5s), Ashland, Ill., 13.233
10. Frank Heckenast Jr. (99jr), Frankfort, Ill., 13.259
11. Justin Duty (15D), Molalla, Ore., 13.306
12. Carson Ferguson (93), Lincolnton, N.C., 13.332
13. Mike Harrison (33), Highland, Ill., 13.339
14. Ricky Thornton Jr. (20rt), Chandler, Ariz., 13.342
15. Collen Winebarger (14s), Corbett, Ore., 13.407
16. Jeffrey Ledford (8L), Pontiac, Ill., 13.424
17. Dan Ebert (60), Lake Shore, Minn., 13.478
18. Daniel Hilsabeck (22), Earlham, Iowa, 13.507
19. Drake Troutman (22*), Hyndman, Pa., 13.516
20. Cory Lawler (93L), Hanover, Pa., 13.518
21. Timmy Dick (122), Monticello, Ill., 13.680
22. Austin Howes (17A), Lewistown, Mo., 13.766
23. Tyler Wyant (24), Oil City, Pa., 13.802
24. Mike Winn (729), Bourbonnais, Ill., 14.385
Group B
1. Shannon Babb (18), Moweaqua, Ill., 13.115
2. Tyler Erb (1T), New Waverly, Texas, 13.131
3. Brandon Sheppard (1), New Berlin, Ill., 13.142
4. Jason Feger (25), Bloomington, Ill., 13.173
5. Brandon Overton (76), Evans, Ga., 13.208
6. Kyle Bronson (40B), Brandon, Fla., 13.212
7. Dennis Erb Jr. (28), Carpentersville, Ill., 13.291
8. Tyler Bruening (16), Decorah, Iowa, 13.306
9. Daniel Adam (75), Peru, Ill., 13.352
10. Clay Harris (6), Jupiter, Fla., 13.355
11. Dallon Murty (13), Chelsea, Iowa, 13.362
12. McKay Wenger (42), Fairbury, Ill., 13.379
13. Devin Moran (99), Dresden, Ohio, 13.419
14. Josh Rice (11), Crittenden, Ky., 13.443
15. Mike Spatola (89), Manhattan, Ill., 13.474
16. Trey Mills (14), St. Augustine, Fla., 13.495
17. Sam Seawright (16s), Rainsville, Ala., 13.517
18. Dillon McCowan (8), Urbana, Mo., 13.525
19. Brenden Smith (19m), Dade City, Fla., 13.562
20. Kyle Hammer (45), Clinton, Ill., 13.566
21. Alex Wilson (z61), Chenoa, Ill., 13.797
22. Chris Simpson (32x), Oxford, Iowa, 13.828
23. Kevin Weaver (B12), Gibson City, Ill., 13.883
24. Billy Hough (33-4), Thomasboro, Ill., no time
Saturday’s schedule
(All times local)
Noon - Gates open
2 p.m. - Covered grandstands open
3:30 p.m. - Taylor Bruninga concert (North beer stand)
5:30 p.m. - Concert and beer sampling ends
5:30 p.m. - Drivers’ meeting
6 p.m. - On-track activity
- Late Model hot laps
- Modified group qualifying
- Late Model time trials (2 laps)
Opening ceremonies
- Late Model heats (10 laps)
- Modified heats (8 laps)
Intermission/track prep
- Late Model consolations (12 laps)
- Modified consolations (10 laps)
Feature events
- Late Models (60 laps)
- Modifieds (30 laps)
