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Heartbreak at Eldora: Sheppard's Dream Run Ends with Late Tire Failure
Muskingum County, Racefest Summer Championship Await
SHINNISTON, W. VA. (June 8, 2026) — Brandon Sheppard’s bid for a second Dirt Late Model Dream victory came to an abrupt halt Saturday night when a blown right-front tire sent him slamming into the turn-three wall on lap 80.
The 2019 Dirt Late Model Dream champion and Rocket1 Racing driver paced laps 25-58 from his front-row starting position before an ill-timed flat tire ended his bid for the six-figure payday.
“It just sent me straight into the wall," Sheppard said following the incident. “I was really hoping to get to charge back at that 32. It’s disappointing, but that’s racing sometimes. We’ll regroup, get ready for Wednesday and come back stronger. I can’t thank my team enough for all of their hard work.”
Sheppard’s Dirt Late Model Dream XXXII week began Wednesday with the FloRacing Night in America event, where 84 entries packed the famed half-mile oval. After slipping from fourth to sixth in his heat race, Sheppard rebounded with a fifth-to-first charge in his consolation event to earn a transfer into the feature.
The momentum continued in the 50-lap main event as Sheppard advanced 17 positions to finish fourth.
Back at the famed Ohio oval on Friday for his Dream preliminary program, Sheppard secured a transfer spot with a fourth-place finish in his heat race before advancing two positions in the $30,000-to-win prelim to record a ninth-place finish.
Saturday proved to be the team's strongest performance of the week. Sheppard led all 15 laps of his heat race from the pole to lock into the Dirt Late Model Dream finale. Starting from the outside front row in the 100-lap main event, he tracked down early leader Trey Mills and took command on lap 25.
Sheppard paced the next 33 laps before Bobby Pierce wrestled away the lead on lap 59. He remained within striking distance as the laps wound down, but a right-front tire failure on lap 80 abruptly ended his hopes of victory and relegated him to an 18th-place finish.
Complete results from the Dirt Late Model Dream weekend can be found at www.EldoraSpeedway.com.
Rocket1 Racing and Sheppard return to action Wednesday for the inaugural Shale Crescent Dirt Cup Trophy at Muskingum County Speedway before heading to West Virginia Motor Speedway for the World of Outlaws Racefest Summer Championship.
Additional event info is available at www.MuskingumCountySpeedway.com and www.WorldofOutlaws.com.
Rocket1 Racing would like to thank all of their marketing partners, which include Valvoline, Seubert Calf Ranches, Collins Brothers Towing Of St.Cloud, Rocket Chassis, Ace Metal Works, Durham Racing Engines, Five Star RaceCar Bodies, Gunter’s Honey, Performance Grading, Stiles Marine & Maintenance, Hoosier Racing Tire, Fox Racing Shox, Keyser Manufacturing, Petroff Towing, On Time Body & Graphic, Franklin Enterprises, Bubba Army, Sweet Manufacturing, Sunoco Race Fuels, Accu-Force Shock Service, ATL Fuel Cells, Aurora Rod Ends, Barnes Dry Sump Oil Systems, Bazell Race Fuels, Beyea Custom Headers, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Brinn Transmissions, Sharp Advantage Safety Products, CP Carrillo, Dohm Cycles, Fibreworks Composites, Hardrock Powder Coating, Howe Racing Enterprises, Jones Racing Products, Kenny’s Components, MSD, E3 Spark Plugs, Tel Tac, Performance Bodies, Peterson Fluid Systems, Powers Performance, Performance Rod & Custom, QuickCar Racing Products, MatMan Designs, Allgaier Performance Parts, Rocket Pre-Owned Motors, Show Trucks Unlimited, Simpson, Stealth Carburetors, Strange Oval, Suave Talk, Total Power Valvoline Pro-V Racing, Walker Performance Filtration, Wiles Driveshafts, Wilwood Brakes, Winters Performance Products, Wrisco Aluminum, Xceldyne Valvetrain, and MyRacePass Marketing Services.
For the latest news and team updates, visit Rocket1 Racing’s official website at www.Rocket1Racing.com. Fans can also stay connected by subscribing to the official Rocket1 Racing mailing list at https://pages.insightly.services/Rocket1Racing.
PR Contact:
Jeremy Peters (jeremy.peters@myracepass.com)
Muskingum County, Racefest Summer Championship Await
SHINNISTON, W. VA. (June 8, 2026) — Brandon Sheppard’s bid for a second Dirt Late Model Dream victory came to an abrupt halt Saturday night when a blown right-front tire sent him slamming into the turn-three wall on lap 80.
The 2019 Dirt Late Model Dream champion and Rocket1 Racing driver paced laps 25-58 from his front-row starting position before an ill-timed flat tire ended his bid for the six-figure payday.
“It just sent me straight into the wall," Sheppard said following the incident. “I was really hoping to get to charge back at that 32. It’s disappointing, but that’s racing sometimes. We’ll regroup, get ready for Wednesday and come back stronger. I can’t thank my team enough for all of their hard work.”
Sheppard’s Dirt Late Model Dream XXXII week began Wednesday with the FloRacing Night in America event, where 84 entries packed the famed half-mile oval. After slipping from fourth to sixth in his heat race, Sheppard rebounded with a fifth-to-first charge in his consolation event to earn a transfer into the feature.
The momentum continued in the 50-lap main event as Sheppard advanced 17 positions to finish fourth.
Back at the famed Ohio oval on Friday for his Dream preliminary program, Sheppard secured a transfer spot with a fourth-place finish in his heat race before advancing two positions in the $30,000-to-win prelim to record a ninth-place finish.
Saturday proved to be the team's strongest performance of the week. Sheppard led all 15 laps of his heat race from the pole to lock into the Dirt Late Model Dream finale. Starting from the outside front row in the 100-lap main event, he tracked down early leader Trey Mills and took command on lap 25.
Sheppard paced the next 33 laps before Bobby Pierce wrestled away the lead on lap 59. He remained within striking distance as the laps wound down, but a right-front tire failure on lap 80 abruptly ended his hopes of victory and relegated him to an 18th-place finish.
Complete results from the Dirt Late Model Dream weekend can be found at www.EldoraSpeedway.com.
Rocket1 Racing and Sheppard return to action Wednesday for the inaugural Shale Crescent Dirt Cup Trophy at Muskingum County Speedway before heading to West Virginia Motor Speedway for the World of Outlaws Racefest Summer Championship.
Additional event info is available at www.MuskingumCountySpeedway.com and www.WorldofOutlaws.com.
Rocket1 Racing would like to thank all of their marketing partners, which include Valvoline, Seubert Calf Ranches, Collins Brothers Towing Of St.Cloud, Rocket Chassis, Ace Metal Works, Durham Racing Engines, Five Star RaceCar Bodies, Gunter’s Honey, Performance Grading, Stiles Marine & Maintenance, Hoosier Racing Tire, Fox Racing Shox, Keyser Manufacturing, Petroff Towing, On Time Body & Graphic, Franklin Enterprises, Bubba Army, Sweet Manufacturing, Sunoco Race Fuels, Accu-Force Shock Service, ATL Fuel Cells, Aurora Rod Ends, Barnes Dry Sump Oil Systems, Bazell Race Fuels, Beyea Custom Headers, Brown & Miller Racing Solutions, Brinn Transmissions, Sharp Advantage Safety Products, CP Carrillo, Dohm Cycles, Fibreworks Composites, Hardrock Powder Coating, Howe Racing Enterprises, Jones Racing Products, Kenny’s Components, MSD, E3 Spark Plugs, Tel Tac, Performance Bodies, Peterson Fluid Systems, Powers Performance, Performance Rod & Custom, QuickCar Racing Products, MatMan Designs, Allgaier Performance Parts, Rocket Pre-Owned Motors, Show Trucks Unlimited, Simpson, Stealth Carburetors, Strange Oval, Suave Talk, Total Power Valvoline Pro-V Racing, Walker Performance Filtration, Wiles Driveshafts, Wilwood Brakes, Winters Performance Products, Wrisco Aluminum, Xceldyne Valvetrain, and MyRacePass Marketing Services.
For the latest news and team updates, visit Rocket1 Racing’s official website at www.Rocket1Racing.com. Fans can also stay connected by subscribing to the official Rocket1 Racing mailing list at https://pages.insightly.services/Rocket1Racing.
PR Contact:
Jeremy Peters (jeremy.peters@myracepass.com)