Cedar Lake Speedway
Notes: B-Shepp's trusty XR2 in mix at Cedar Lake
By Kyle McFadden
DirtonDirt staff reporter
Brandon Sheppard at Cedar Lake. (photosbyboyd.smugmug.com)
NEW RICHMOND, Wis. (July 30) — Another race night, another convincing drive from Brandon Sheppard and Rocket1 Racing.
DirtonDirt's top-ranked driver and team collected another podium Thursday in the USA Nationals opener at Cedar Lake Speedway with their runner-up behind Tyler Erb, marking their 11th top-three finish in the last 18 races. One constant throughout what's shaping up to be a resurgent season for the sport's former standard bearers? | RaceWire
They've relied on virtually the same car in every race they've entered since the DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla. That's notable during a time when many top Dirt Late Model teams routinely cycle through multiple cars over the course of a season — and sometimes even during a single race weekend.
“I really think that all the XR2 cars are really good,” Sheppard said. “I mean, the first one, we brought it out of the box (last July), and it was really good. We ran it all last year up until this year, and then we got this car out and have run it primarily. So it's not necessarily all about the car by itself. I mean, I think that the XR2s as a whole are really good, and what we're doing to them is working really good in certain conditions, and in its own way.”
Since debuting his current XR2 car for the Lucas Oil Late Model Series opener at All-Tech Speedway in Ellisville, Fla., on Feb. 19-21, Sheppard has strayed from it only twice — during the May 28-30 weekend at Wayne County Speedway in Orrville, Ohio, and at Mansfield (Ohio) Speedway. He finished 17th, 10th and fifth in those three starts.
Since July 19’s victory at Smoky Mountain Speedweek in Maryville, Tenn., Sheppard owns a 3.8 average finish over his last 18 races for Mark Richards Racing and the Rocket house car.
“Me and Mark are clicking really well, so I think it's just a matter of all the cars being good,” Sheppard said. “That just doesn't show how good the XR2 cars are. You know, all the guys that are in them right now too are really good. Yeah, they're speaking for themselves right now.”
The redraw and a sluggish start ultimately limited Sheppard's chances Thursday. Starting sixth, he slipped three spots in the opening two laps, dropping to ninth before methodically climbing back through the field.
By the lap-seven caution, Sheppard had already recovered to seventh. On the restart, he ripped the cushion to gain three positions, vaulting into the top five.
From there, his march continued. It took eight laps to climb from fourth to third (laps 7-15) and another eight laps to reach second (laps 15-23). But by the time he cleared into the runner-up spot, only seven laps remained — not enough time to size up and pass Erb, a steadfast Rocket driver in an era where Longhorn Chassis has risen to the top of the chassis heap.
"We definitely got a little bit behind there right off the beginning,” Sheppard said. “The bottom was a lot better than I thought it was going to be to start the race. We definitely had to bail on the top early and get back down to the bottom and try to figure out another way to pass some cars there. And luckily, we were able to get up through there and we were able to pass quite a few cars, just kinda rolling the middle and the cushion a little bit. And I felt good on the bottom, too.
“Congrats to Tyler. … It was a heck of a race. The racetrack was pretty awesome, really. And thanks to all the fans for coming out. … We’ll try again tomorrow. All in all it was a great night for us.”
Gustin’s search
Returning to a crown jewel like the USA Nationals as the previous winner usually comes with a little extra swagger. Just not for Ryan Gustin, at least not through Thursday night's opener at Cedar Lake Speedway.
The Marshalltown, Iowa, driver is without the Infinity Race Car he won the $100,000 event last year and trying to find a package for his newer car his time around that suits him has been a challenge.
“Unfortunately hurt our car that we won it with last year. We put it on a lift not too long after we won this race last year, trying to save it,” Gustin said. “Well, we got struggling, got the car back out in Fountain City (for the Dairyland Showdown at Mississippi Thunder). Then took it down to Mansfield (on May 29-30) and unfortunately destroyed it. So, yeah, just trying to duplicate what we had on that car to the best our ability to make this car the same. We might have to get the welder out tomorrow to see what we can do.”
Gustin’s Thursday consisted of a 13th-fastest qualifying effort in Group A, a punchless fifth-place run in his heat race and a salvageable 22nd-to-11th performance in the 30-lap feature after getting swept up in a lap-seven crash while running 21st. If there’s a silver lining, it’s that last year’s USA Nationals preliminary night was forgettable as well.
“Last year we came 15th on Thursday, so hopefully, that's a good sign,” Gustin said. “We’re working right now and we're gonna go to work tomorrow to try to get even closer to, you know, what they had on my car last year.”
Last season, Gustin made most of his speed around the top of Cedar Lake early on before eventually settling into the middle groove. He says that getting his car to roll through the middle part of the track effectively once again will be the difference between contending or not come Saturday.
“Majority of it was around the top — the top was so fast after a fresh farm for so long,” Gustin said when asked how he recalls the lines he choose during his march to victory last year. “Then just kind of floated the middle and kind of slide myself a little bit there in three and four at the end, just try to protect. It was definitely really good in the middle there at the end of the race.
“And that's kind of what I've been focusing on here tonight to just try to get good — get good in the middle of the racetrack and steer and not have to slide your right-rear around entry and then go across the whole racetrack. That's what that's what we’re focused on.”
Odds and ends
Retired Hall of Fame racer Bob Pierce, 74, returned to the track for the second straight week as he continues recovering from the serious stroke he suffered July 15. Asked how he was doing in a brief conversation with DirtonDirt, the crew chief for son Bobby simply smiled, nodded and softly repeated the mantra he's embraced since being discharged from the hospital last week: “Slow and easy. Slow and easy.” Bob's wife, Angie, expressed her gratitude in a passing conversation with DirtonDirt, saying the care her husband received at the University of Nebraska Medical Center couldn't have been better. Their focus now is finding a physician — preferably in the Indianapolis area, despite the Pierces living in Oakwood, Ill. — who can oversee his continued recovery, she said. … After starting 20th and finishing 16th, Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill., said he's struggled this year under tire rules requiring the NLMT-3 compound on the right-front and left-rear. The 48-year-old added that the bulk of his races have been run under rules allowing the softer NLMT-2 compound on those corners, so that's the package around which he's built his setup. … Dallon Murty of Chelsea, Iowa, saw his feature end on lap seven Thursday with heavy left-front damage when he couldn’t avoid the lap-seven tangle involving Dan Ebert, Ethan Dotson and Ryan Gustin. … Dustin Sorensen of Rochester, Minn., welcomes Gift of Life Transplant House and Donate Life America on his No. 19 this weekend that’s received a sharp makeover in an electric royal blue and highlighter yellow wrap. Sorensen says longtime sponsor Andrew Altenburg of Altenburg Construction, an organ recipient himself, put the partnerships together. Gift of Life Transplant House provides affordable lodging and support for transplant patients and families, while Donate Life America works to increase organ, eye and tissue donation through education and donor registration. … Hudson O'Neal of Martinsville, Ind., and his SSI Motorsports team Thursday debuted a brand-new Longhorn Chassis. The car battled some "new car blues," as crew chief Jason Durham put it after hot laps, but stayed near the front the rest of the night en route to a third-place finish. … Chris Madden of Gray Court, S.C., was able to successfully change motors in his primary car after scratching from Thursday’s program following the night’s qualifying session. The 51-year-old Madden and 2019 event winner still feels hopeful about his chances at another USA Nationals victory.
