Rocket? Any trouble in Paradise?

[Rajflyboy]

With Shepp leaving to Longhorn and Rocket having a tough 2023 is Paradise in a bit of trouble up there in West Virginia? Or is this just a blip on a radar screen?

[foxfire2dirtracing]

BShepp/Rocket1 won the most races in 2022 on theLucas Tour- “trouble in paradise”- Dream on!
Mark Richards is a survivor! I am definitely not a Mark Richards Fan but his record speaks for itself.

[Rajflyboy]

I do think Rocket will make a comeback. Chris Madden might be the driver/team to do it 👍

[foxfire2dirtracing]

Make a comeback from what?

[MIdlmfan]

Obviously longhorn is dominant but I still believe Madden and O’Neal will both have very very solid seasons

[ZERO25]

I thought they were all Blue Horns???

[Flathead]

I hope Hudson and Madden both have good seasons just to show some of you people on here that racers are capable of winning without Kevin Rumleys magic wand…

[play4kps]

I agree flat, this worship and you can only win in a longhorn junk has gone on long enough! Landers and Wells have millions to throw at their cars. Rockets and other chassis are winning at tracks all across America.

[manwplan]

I agree flat, this worship and you can only win in a longhorn junk has gone on long enough! Landers and Wells have millions to throw at their cars. Rockets and other chassis are winning at tracks all across America.

Let's not act like the worship is only on the Longhorn side. Plenty of Rocket nut huggers out there.

[Raceready]

Let's not act like the worship is only on the Longhorn side. Plenty of Rocket nut huggers out there.

^^ No denying that at all about them starring at Rocket with rose colored glasses ! ! ^^

[Snake X3]

I'm no fan of Rocket, but for the good of the sport, I hope more chassis brands will be competitive next season. Rocket certainly was competitive. I have no reason to believe they won't be next year. That said, horns up! \m/

[BTExpress]

I will give you an example of one chassis dominating the sport. The Northeast Big Block Modifieds are now totally dominated by one chassis brand. BICKNELL. Just about every race, whether a local Saturday night race or the Super DirtCar Series, has nothing but Bicknells in the field. They have left the other prominent builders like Troyer, Teo, Hig Fab, PMC and DKM in their dust. Not sure if that is good for the sport?. At least there are other builders in the DLM world besides Rocket and Longhorn.

[Dirt Frog]

I will give you an example of one chassis dominating the sport. The Northeast Big Block Modifieds are now totally dominated by one chassis brand. BICKNELL. Just about every race, whether a local Saturday night race or the Super DirtCar Series, has nothing but Bicknells in the field. They have left the other prominent builders like Troyer, Teo, Hig Fab, PMC and DKM in their dust. Not sure if that is good for the sport?. At least there are other builders in the DLM world besides Rocket and Longhorn.

Maybe Rocket and Longhorn needs to start building Big Block Mods. Cars !!!

[Barbecueboy]

Paradise in West Virginia? Snowshoe or Davis area maybe……..shineston, nope.

[Josh Bayko]

Shinnston isn’t terrible. It does have a little bit of small town charm.

[foxfire2dirtracing]

BBQ
As always we just have to look over the original poster. I am definitely not a Rocket1/Mark Richards fan- but their Chasis won the WOO Championship with Dennis Erb and BShepp won the most races on the Lucas Tour. Longhorns are winning big with their big roster of talented drivers/teams- but I would being willing to bet on a total national win numbers- Rocket had more overall wins. They have many more cars out there running regional and local.
CJ Rayburn use to say “they all come back.”
Back in the Hav-A-Tampa days- Most everyone was using GRT’S. Hopefully for the betterment of the racing industry - more Chasis brands will get some major wins in 2023
It was just a few years ago that many racers thought you had to have an Andy Durham engine to win. How many teams now are using his engines? Racing is a monkey-see-monkey do bussines. Look at all the teams that have switched to Clements Racing Engines. The mentality is people see this team winning with a certain manufacturer and they think that’s all it takes. Wrong- it takes money, talent and lots of hard work and determination to be successful-regardless if you’re using a Longhorn/Clements or an EdHowe with a Briggs & Straton.

[BIG MAC ATTACK]

Mark Richards pretty much made B Shep a star,then he sticks it right in him deep switching to Longhorn,shows how much B Shep appreciates him,all the BS about staying home close to his family,almost like a college football portal

[foxfire2dirtracing]

Big Mac
Well said! B Shepp left to supposedly race his family’s car- then announced teaming with Riggs - then switches to Longhorns. I would think Mark feels betrayed?
Yes it’s like the college transfer portal and the new NIL deal. So many in today’s society only look at “what have you done for me this week.”

[Pennsboro32]

Bridgeport is 5 mins from Shinnston and may be the nicest town in the entire state.

[bleedblue55]

I worked at the big power plant just outside of Shinnston for 40 yrs. The Rocket shop is not in Shinnston but a 7-8 mile drive away across Saltwell Rd. When Bridgeport expanded for the FBI and hospital area they are now right against the Rocket property. Has always been listed as Shinnston because of the zip code associated with Saltwell Rd. I drove past the shop and Mark's house everyday for 15 years. Morgantown has Bridgeport beat because of 2 major hospitals and WVU. BBQ likes Snowshoe and Davis. The ski area is full of Gen X and Z douches, and Davis has a bunch of wanna be hippie homos.