Entering the weekend, Brandon Sheppard was four races shy of tying the record for most wins in a season in the World of Outlaws Late Model series with eight races remaining on the schedule.

By Sunday night, he was one victory away from tying the all-time mark after sweeping the three-race weekend at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, KS; Salina (OK) Speedway; and I-81 Speedway in Park City, S. Equally remarkable to his weekend sweep, Sheppard had to fend off a different set of top three finishers each night to reach win No. 17.

Sheppard now has five chances remaining this season to find his way back to Victory Lane and add his name to the Outlaws history books. The current record was set by Josh Richards last year when he took home 18 checkered flags during the course of the season.

Friday Night at Lakeside Speedway: Win #15

Sheppard won Friday night at Lakeside after picking off the top four one-by-one until he stormed into first on lap 22 of 50. After that, Sheppard easily sailed to victory and crossed under the line nearly eight seconds in front of Shane Clanton in second.

It was a decision made by the crew before the race ever started that put Sheppard in place to score his 15th win of the year.

"Putting the hard tires on this thing helped us a little bit tonight," Sheppard said. "We were a little bit tight early, and I think the tires were a little bit too soft for the way that this track was. This track was pretty hard on the soft tires so the hard ones worked really good."

Brett Larson got off to an early lead after starting second. He held the top spot until lap 22 when Sheppard successful executed a slide job. Before the night was over, Larson would lose three more positions and settle for fifth as Clanton, Devin Moran, and Chris Madden found their way by as well.

Top 10 Finishers
1. Brandon Sheppard
2. Shane Clanton
3. Devin Moran
4. Chris Madden
5. Brent Larson
6. Rick Eckert
7. Chase Junghans
8. Logan Martin
9. Morgan Bagley
10. Raymond Merrill

Saturday at Salina Raceway: Win #16

On Saturday night, Sheppard had one less position to have to move up to claim the win. He started fourth in the 50-lap feature. The points leader took the lead on lap 14 and led most of the way.

The win helped pad Sheppard's points lead, but he remained focused on the race at hand. Even with a comfortable lead over Chris Madden, the team remains focused on solid clean runs to capture the championship.

"The championship is what's on our mind right now," Sheppard said from Salinas. "The ultimate goal when we come here is just to win the race. I have a hardworking team behind me. If I mess up, they have my back. And if I win a race they have my back, but just a good group of guys. We have a good thing going so I hope we can keep it going for quite a few years."

The rest of the podium looked different from Friday night, with Chase Junghans finishing second and Rick Eckert third.

While Sheppard led from lap 14 to 50, a final restart with five to go erased an eight-second lead and gave the field a chance to challenge.

Madden finished fourth after losing the lead, and Devin Moran rounded out the top five.

Top 10 Finishers
1. Brandon Sheppard
2. Chase Junghans
3. Rick Eckert
4. Chris Madden
5. Devin Moran
6. Shane Clanton
7. Eric Wells
8. Logan Martin
9. Brent Larson
10. Jesse Stovall

Sunday night at I-80: Win #17

Sheppard completed his sweep of the weekend at I-81 on Sunday night and moved into a tie for second place for wins in a single season in the World of Outlaws Late Models. Darrell Lanigan also won 17 races back in 2016.

The Great Plains states have been kind to Sheppard.

"Between Kansas and Oklahoma man, some heck of some race tracks," Sheppard said. "They have some really awesome race tracks out here. Kind of darker dirt which is more like what I'm used to, so I guess I just fit right in."

Sheppard claimed the lead on lap 24 from Tyler Erb, who jumped out to an early advantage from the outside pole. With a four-second lead over the field in the first half of the race, Erb must have thought he had the checkers in sight.

But Sheppard lurked. First, he had to pass the pole sitter Austin Siebert before he was in a position to battle Erb. Siebert wound up in third with Erb holding onto the second at the line.

A lap-20 caution wound up being Erb's undoing. It erased that lead and put Sheppard in striking distance. Within six laps of that caution, Sheppard was out front and cruising.

This was the fourth time Erb lost a race to Sheppard this season, making the driver feel like 'the bridesmaid'. Knowing he had lost to the best driver on the circuit softened the blow, however.

"I really didn't want to see the caution but it happens," said Erb. "It just wasn't my night. Running second to Sheppy is as close as you can get to a win. He's obviously the best car in the country. We were pretty good. We went a little softer on tires. It didn't really hurt us but once he got going I couldn't run that line up there. I'm just happy to run second. We've been kind of on a downhill for the past month or so."

Top 10 Finishers
1. Brandon Sheppard
2. Tyler Erb
3. Austin Siebert
4. Chase Junghans
5. Shane Clanton
6. Devin Moran
7. Chub Frank
8. Chris Madden
9. Frank Heckenast Jr.
10. Rick Eckert

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