How much money did Brandon Sheppard win this year altogether?

[2thextreme]

I know there is a statistician on here that keeps records of this type of thing. I know Sheppard won a lot and without a doubt, dominated everyone else when it comes to money and number of races won altogether. Who were the top 10 money winners in DLM racing in 2019? Thank you in advance.

[johnE]

I’m guessing north of $800K. Here’s another guess: he pocketed 1/3 of that himself.

[BTExpress]

I love seeing stats like money won $$$. There is a tremendous website for sprint cars www.sprintcarratings.com that shows this type of information. I am not sure if someone has taken the time and effort to do it for the Dirt Late Models?

[grt74]

had to be the best money year ever recorded, I've heard of 600 but they blew by that one and set a new standard

I'm sure someone has it somewhere

[kazual]

To me the second part of the question is “did the race team break even”? My opinion is no.

[jog49]

Doesn't matter if they broke even or not. Rocket can write off the whole thing as advertising and promotion expenses which, in turn, sells more Rockets. Win - win, if you know what I mean.

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

Doesn't matter if they broke even or not. Rocket can write off the whole thing as advertising and promotion expenses which, in turn, sells more Rockets. Win - win, if you know what I mean.

A write off can only lessen your tax bill so much.

[Highside Hustler25]

Did they break even?

I'd say better than. Mark has some pretty good sponsors on board. As most teams run a losing operation, I'd guess Team Blue turns a profit.

[latemodelman]

I would say no one will beat the year Donnie Moran had in 2001. He won the Million at Eldora and I dont see any team winning 1.2 million or 1.3 million in an entire year.

[Highside Hustler25]

latemodelman<agree

also considering the costs were not near what they are today.

[t4g2]

he had 650k just in first place winnings. I'd say close to the million $ mark. as this doesn't include points funds or his 2nd third 4th place finishes.an so on

[bleedblue55]

Doesn't matter if they broke even or not. Rocket can write off the whole thing as advertising and promotion expenses which, in turn, sells more Rockets. Win - win, if you know what I mean.
I'd guess that Mark Richards Racing Ent. aka Rocket 1 Racing and the actual Rocket Chassis shop are run as separate entities.

[Dlmfan123]

I'd guess that Mark Richards Racing Ent. aka Rocket 1 Racing and the actual Rocket Chassis shop are run as separate entities.I was thinking the same thing

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

he had 650k just in first place winnings. I'd say close to the million $ mark. as this doesn't include points funds or his 2nd third 4th place finishes.an so on

Second place finishes dont add up to much.

[kipling]

I thought 2nd place at the dome paid 15K, that adds up pretty quick.

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

I thought 2nd place at the dome paid 15K, that adds up pretty quick.

That's not the norm, and when you need to account for $300k+...

[Crossbones]

If you can't turn a profit winning $800,000+ I doubt anyone would be doing this.

[SDLM Rankings]

I create a ranking system called American Dirt Late Model Rankings. You can find my rankings on Twitter. Brandon Shepard's 2019 race winnings + contingencies + points fund are in the range of $908,972 to $909,998. Approximately $411,750 is from WOO competition. Approximately $296,873 is from Lucas Oil competition. This is a darn good year for DLM team. I am not going figure out the which money was earned in the 1 car vs. other rides.

[Dlmfan123]

I create a ranking system called American Dirt Late Model Rankings. You can find my rankings on Twitter. Brandon Shepard's 2019 race winnings + contingencies + points fund are in the range of $908,972 to $909,998. Approximately $411,750 is from WOO competition. Approximately $296,873 is from Lucas Oil competition. This is a darn good year for DLM team. I am not going figure out the which money was earned in the 1 car vs. other rides.I’m going to say Brandon got 30-50 percent of this. Probably doesn’t get much or anything out of his grandpas equipment. But from rocket 1 I’d say he makes 30-50%

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

If you can't turn a profit winning $800,000+ I doubt anyone would be doing this.

You need about $650000.

[grt74]

I would say no one will beat the year Donnie Moran had in 2001. He won the Million at Eldora and I dont see any team winning 1.2 million or 1.3 million in an entire year.

excluding the million dollar race (one race) its pretty dam good

[Josh Bayko]

You need about $650000.

ROI depends largely on where you start from. I mean, if you buy a new hauler to start the year you’re already at 650k in costs.

[Crossbones]

You need about $650000.

No way you need $650,000 a year to run the lucas or woo series. I highly doubt someone like Dennis Erb Jr. is spending anywhere near $650,000 a year.

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

I'm assuming you have been doing it a while, have 3 paid crewmen, and the driver takes home about a third.

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

No way you need $650,000 a year to run the lucas or woo series. I highly doubt someone like Dennis Erb Jr. is spending anywhere near $650,000 a year.
I bet Dennis isn't. Some most assuredly are.

[NeedforLMspeed]

No way you need $650,000 a year to run the lucas or woo series. I highly doubt someone like Dennis Erb Jr. is spending anywhere near $650,000 a year.

And his finishing results show...

[grt74]

I bet Dennis isn't. Some most assuredly are.

really depends on if you kill a car or two and if you kill an engine or two, I've talked to someone who footed the bill for a year, he says 250 per year and probably up 10% from then, but they get alot of product sponsors, so there cars are built really cheap (rocket sells so may parts for there customer cars, there house stuff is free I'm sure), tire help if you in the top 10 in points, fuel help, ect
if you really smart and keep up with it, ill bet you can do ok but there is no way are you getting rich doing it
now if someone foots the bill and all you do is show up and get a %, life could be good if your getting it done
hence sheppy
i would take 33.4% of this year for driving (i don't know his deal at all, just guessing)

[dirtcrazy4u]

And I bet Brandon understands he is in the best ride out there so it wouldn't surprise me if he was on a base salary plus a percentage. If that's the case he could be bringing in a 60K salary + 10%

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

I'd say most don't own the hauler, Bayko.

[Josh Bayko]

I'd say most don't own the hauler, Bayko.

Fair point. There are a few that do though.

[ZERO25]

I'd say most don't own the hauler, Bayko.

And I bet very very few pay cash for one!

[chupp n bloomer fan]

What a year. Didn’t think anyone would beat JD’s 2015 year, but I think overall they did.

Rocket definitely turns a profit. Just to be in that car and sold on new Rockets there are definitely companies giving them products. I’d say their main expense is the crew, Brandon, and hauler maintenance. I’d bet they got someone to cover hauler fuel too.

Guessing Brandon gets 30-50%. Gary Balough back in the day was getting 50% because he worked on the cars too. So I’d say Brandon is probably around 30-40%. Hopefully with Mark he gets some insurance, and is trying to build up a retirement on his own.

They are just a very well run team with a great crew.

[ZERO25]

Theres no doubt, Mark and Steve aren't doing all this work just for the fun of it

You better believe they turn a healthy profit on both parts of their business!

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

Theres no doubt, Mark and Steve aren't doing all this work just for the fun of it

You better believe they turn a healthy profit on both parts of their business!

I'm sure they did in 2019. Race team make Bank in 2014? No way.

[dirty-white-boy]

No way you need $650,000 a year to run the lucas or woo series. I highly doubt someone like Dennis Erb Jr. is spending anywhere near $650,000 a year.

Maybe Rigsby will do a series on his site about the true costs of fielding a DLM team now that he claims he can say what he wants to. Remember that people cost money!

[dirty-white-boy]

I'd say most don't own the hauler, Bayko.

That is where guys like Petroff Towing, Reese and other come in. They buy and own assets.

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

Maybe Rigsby will do a series on his site about the true costs of fielding a DLM team now that he claims he can say what he wants to. Remember that people cost money!

Yes. A good crew chief can cost 100k or more.

[dirtcrazy4u]

Most crews guys make pennies and there's darn few crew chiefs making big dollars. Many drivers out there today make the calls on the car.

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

Most crews guys make pennies and there's darn few crew chiefs making big dollars. Many drivers out there today make the calls on the car.

The big money guys are the ones heading winning efforts.

[Crossbones]

The big money guys are the ones heading winning efforts.

The talented drivers are the ones heading the winning efforts.

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

The talented drivers are the ones heading the winning efforts.

A talented driver in a car that's off does not win today.

[Crossbones]

A talented driver in a car that's off does not win today.

A talented driver isn't going to be in an off car for very long and won't need a $100,000 crew chief either.

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

A talented driver isn't going to be in an off car for very long and won't need a $100,000 crew chief either.

Who's going to fix it? Madden and Bloomer seem to go ok on their own. There are guys out there who pay 6 figs and need to. That covers more than just making calls. Leading a crew and taking care of the business (stocking parts, handling product sponsor obligations, etc) is important and not a job for a $300/wk helper.

[Stefan2k4]

I agree with MasterSbilt_Racer here. This is big time dirt track racing we are talking about. If you want to win it costs money and little guys are never going to stand a chance against the teams who have the funding. Good people who know what they are doing don't come cheap. In fact, I'd say this has accounted for much of Bloomquist less than normal performance the past couple of years. I know he's been hurt this year and he's not quite fully recovered yet, but last year before he got injured, he probably should have won the lucas series championship, had he had a decent crew and crew chief. In Bloomquist case, I think, it's that he sometimes tries to bite off more than he can chew and do too much by himself. Remember the problems he had with his crew chief being in all sorts of trouble and controversy. Remember the mechanical and electrical issues he had with his car. Remember the times he showed up late and was driving the hauler himself. Clearly, he needed a good chief and a good team manager of some sort to manage all the other stuff, so that he could focus on doing what he does best, driving the car.

For a local saturday night weekend warrior, it might be a different story, but if you're going to follow the big show and race against the best of the best for the big money, you got to spend some money on good people. That's why I don't agree with all this rhetoric about dumbing down the cars to help the little guys compete. If the little guys can't afford to run with the big guys, they're never going to be competitive anyway. It doesn't matter what rules you change and what limits you impose. And modern motorsports is not a money making venture without big sponsorship involvement. That ship sailed decades ago. Instead of regulating the cars and dumbing down the sport, the focus needs to be on promotion, putting more fans in the stands, making the sport more exciting, and getting more exposure through things like more TV coverage, internet streaming, etc. Things like that will get more attention form sponsors and without sponsors there is simply no way to be profitable.

[JTB75]

I’m not sure if this has been talked about, but who gets the T shirt sales. I’ve heard of guys who have had bad seasons and the shirt sales made it possible to keep going

[Dlmfan123]

Slavic does most of rocket 1 t shirt stuff

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

Bloomquist sold his merchandise rights to Arizona.

[golddirt]

Fans are like drivers, dwindling

[baker1b]

JTB75 I was getting ready to ask the same question. Pierce and Bloomquist I would think make more at the Tshirt trailer at big events then the winner does for winning the race I would say. It's a amount that would change the season for them I'm sure. I used these two because I think they probably do the the most. JD is probably pretty close to them as well. It's a very big business.

[Zonks32x]

JTB75 I was getting ready to ask the same question. Pierce and Bloomquist I would think make more at the Tshirt trailer at big events then the winner does for winning the race I would say. It's a amount that would change the season for them I'm sure. I used these two because I think they probably do the the most. JD is probably pretty close to them as well. It's a very big business.

Sometimes it's beneficial to do the math.

A driver would have to sell 1667 T-shirts @ $30 to generate $50,000 in revenue.

That's revenue, not profit, so subtract the cost of the shirts, gas to get the t-shirt trailer to the track, paying the person in the trailer, etc.

$40,000 would be 1333 T-shirts, and $30,000 would be 1000 shirts.

No driver is selling 1000 shirts in a weekend. Two-day event, t-shirt trailer open 6 hours each day. That's 83 shirts/hour. Want to open the trailer 10 hours/day, that's 50 shirts/hour, every hour.

I'm calling HORNSWOGGLE!!!