OCALA, Fla. — It took Brandon Sheppard nine years to return to victory lane at Ocala Speedway, but on Wednesday night the New Berlin, Illinois, driver captured the 30-lap Wieland Winter Nationals feature for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series presented by FloRacing.
Sheppard earned his third victory at Ocala and his first since 2017, driving the Rocket 1 to a 0.583-second win over Hudson O’Neal. Devin Moran, Brandon Overton and Clay Harris rounded out the top five.
Kyle Bronson powered around the outside of the front row to grab the early lead, with Sheppard settling into second. Bronson, who was seeking his first Lucas Oil Series win since the 2021 Silver Dollar Nationals, maintained a steady two-car-length advantage through the opening laps.
However, as he exited Turn 4 to complete Lap 6, Bronson suddenly slowed with apparent drivetrain issues. Sheppard, closing quickly on the bottom, made slight, unavoidable contact as Bronson decelerated. The caution flag waved as Bronson headed to the hot pit, ending his night.
Sheppard inherited the lead, with O’Neal and Overton in pursuit until a caution on Lap 18 reset the field. Two laps after the restart, Moran slipped past Overton for third.
The final 10 laps featured an intense three-car battle as Sheppard, O’Neal, and Moran navigated heavy lapped traffic. Both challengers closed in, but Sheppard cleared a slower car on the white-flag lap, giving him just enough breathing room to secure the win at the checkers.
The victory marked Sheppard’s 37th Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series triumph. He also broke a tie with Don O’Neal for fourth place on the all-time Georgia-Florida Speedweeks win list with his 25th victory.
“It felt good to see the checkered flag,” Sheppard said. “We definitely had some stuff messed up on the front end from the contact with Kyle. I felt terrible about that. It looked like he missed it a little bit, and I was filling the gap on the bottom when we came together. I hate that for him, but we had a really fast car again tonight. It was just one of those deals where we got out front. My dad said last night I was messing around too much in lapped traffic, so this one’s for him.”
Sheppard became the winningest Rocket 1 driver during Georgia-Florida Speedweeks over the last 25 years, earning his 11th victory and breaking a tie with Josh Richards.
“I was running a different line in Turns 1 and 2 than I expected,” Sheppard added. “I would enter on the bottom and slide across the middle. I kept waiting for it to change because I knew it might go away at some point. I felt good on both the bottom and the top and was just trying to maintain speed. With the front end being jacked up, it was wherever the car put me. Turns 3 and 4 were tougher because I needed to carve down the hill and come off lower and straighter, and I struggled with that late in the race.”
O’Neal, who was seeking his second win at Ocala, closed the gap in the final laps but settled for second.
“Sheppy had a good race car,” O’Neal said. “I felt like we were pretty maneuverable and could really build momentum down the back straightaway. The longer the race went, the better I felt. I gained on him late, and lapped traffic definitely played a factor. I got caught behind Ross (Robinson), and I just wasn’t able to capitalize with a lap or two to go.”
Moran, who started eighth, advanced to third on Lap 20 and joined the late-race battle to round out the podium.
“I felt like my car was really good again,” Moran said. “I jumped the cushion in the heat race, got into the wall, and let Hud get by me, and that really dictated our night. You have to start up front here. I know they’re working hard on the track night in and night out, and I’m sure they’ll have it figured out by the end of the week.”
Wieland Winter Nationals Feature Finish (30 Laps):
Pos – Start – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Earnings
1 – 1 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – $7,000
2 – 4 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – $3,500
3 – 8 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – $2,000
4 – 5 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – $1,500
5 – 3 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – $1,400
6 – 14 – 22* – Drake Troutman – Hyndman, PA – $1,300
7 – 20 – 3S – Brian Shirley – Chatham, IL – $1,200
8 – 6 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – $1,100
9 – 10 – 93 – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – $1,000
10 – 17 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – $950
11 – 7 – 13 – Dallon Murty – Chelsea, IA – $900
12 – 13 – 28 – Dennis Erb Jr – Carpentersville, IL – $850
13 – 11 – 19M – Brenden Smith – Dade City, FL – $800
14 – 9 – 76N – Blair Nothdurft – Renner, SD – $750
15 – 24 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – $725
16 – 18 – 8 – Dillon McCowan – Urbana, MO – $700
17 – 19 – 7 – Ross Robinson – Georgetown, DE – $700
18 – 12 – 58V – Daulton Wilson – Fayetteville, NC – $700
19 – 22 – 10 – Garrett Smith – Madison, GA – $650
20 – 15 – 15K – Cody Overton – Thomson, GA – $625
21 – 2 – 40B – Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – $725
22 – 23 – 9 – Michael Leach – Sun River, MT – $600
23 – 21 – 11 – Josh Rice – Crittenden, KY – $600
24 – 16 – 1T – Tyler Erb – New Waverly, TX – $600