Sheppard Sweeps Opening
Night of Mountain Moonshine Classic
(June
19, 2026) Brandon Sheppard completed a clean sweep Friday
night at Smoky Mountain Speedway, leading all 40 laps of the opening
night of the Mountain Moonshine Classic to earn his fourth Lucas
Oil Late Model Dirt Series victory of the season. (Heath
Lawson Photo)
The New Berlin, Illinois driver earned $10,000 for the victory
after setting overall fast time, winning his heat race, and capping
off a perfect evening in Wieland Victory Lane. The win marked
the 40th Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series triumph of Sheppard’s
career.
Sheppard crossed the finish line 1.342 seconds ahead of Dale
McDowell, who finished second. Garrett Alberson rounded out the
Big River Steel podium in third. Chris Madden and Sam Seawright
completed the top five.
With championship points leader Hudson O’Neal finishing
eighth, Sheppard trimmed his deficit from 150 points to 80 heading
into Saturday night’s $30,000-to-win Mountain Moonshine
Classic finale.
“It’s hard to win here. It’s nothing like any
place I grew up racing,” Sheppard said in Lucas Oil Victory
Lane. “I think we won a Southern All Stars race here a long
time ago, but we haven’t been able to get it done since.
Anytime you can run up front with Dale (McDowell) and those guys
at a place like this, you know you’ve accomplished something.”
“This is our Eldora car, and I knew it was really good.
I was happy with it from hot laps on. The guys did a phenomenal
job getting it back together, and it was definitely a fast piece.”
Sheppard admitted navigating lapped traffic was one of the biggest
challenges of the race.
“Honestly, while I was leading, I was already thinking
about what I was going to do when I got to traffic,” he
said. “I know better than to try passing those guys on the
outside here, but they were racing three-wide in front of me.
When Dale showed me a nose, I knew I had to figure out a way to
get back by him and get to the bottom. I just bided my time and
made it work.”
McDowell challenged Sheppard on multiple occasions but was never
able to complete a pass for the lead.
“I think I had a chance, but I hit the wall once and damaged
a spoiler support, and that hurt us,” McDowell said. “I
was trying to widen my entry and thought I had an opening going
into turn one. It was a good night for us. Once the race stayed
green, I thought lapped traffic might give us an opportunity,
but Brandon had really good speed in clean air. We’ll work
on it and see what we can do tomorrow night.”
Alberson continued his strong season with a third-place finish
and an important gain in the championship standings.
“I needed the start to go a little better,” Alberson
said. “If I could have gotten to Sheppard’s door at
the start-finish line, maybe it would have been a different race.
He did exactly what he was supposed to do. We just need a little
bit more. This car is really close, and honestly, this feels like
a win for us. This place has been tricky for us in the past, so
it’s a big confidence boost.”
Sheppard’s winning Mark Richards Racing Rocket Chassis
is powered by a Durham Racing Engine and backed by Valvoline,
Seubert Calf Ranches, Ace Metal Works, Performance Grading, Petroff
Towing, Franklin Enterprises, Sunoco Race Fuels, Gunter’s
Honey, Stiles Marine and Maintenance, and Collins Brothers Towing.
Completing the top ten were Devin Moran, Ricky Thornton Jr.,
Hudson O’Neal, Chris Ferguson, and Josh Rice.
The evening concluded with the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
crew chiefs taking center stage in a Crown Vic Challenge. Jason
Durham, crew chief for Hudson O’Neal, claimed the victory
in the 15-lap event. Danny White, crew chief for Brandon Sheppard,
finished second, while Anthony Burroughs, crew chief for Ricky
Thornton Jr., rounded out the podium in third.
Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series
Race Summary
Mountain Moonshine Classic | Night 1
Friday, June 19, 2026
Smoky Mountain Speedway | Maryville, TN
Allstar Performance Time Trials
Fast Time Group A: Brandon Sheppard | 16.019 seconds (Overall)
Fast Time Group B:Garrett Alberson | 16.036 seconds
Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1.
1-Brandon Sheppard[1]; 2. 16S-Sam Seawright[2]; 3. 93-Carson Ferguson[3];
4. 3S-Brian Shirley[5]; 5. 22F-Chris Ferguson[8]; 6. 111-Max Blair[4];
7. 15-Noah Phillips[7]; 8. 20-Jimmy Owens[6]; 9. 18P-Gray Parton[9]
Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer):
1. 17M-Dale McDowell[1]; 2. 40B-Kyle Bronson[3]; 3. 0-Jake O'Neil[2];
4. T1-Todd Morrow[5]; 5. 157-Mike Marlar[4]; 6. 17SS-Brenden Smith[8];
7. 76-Brandon Overton[6]; 8. 16W-Ben Watkins[7]; 9. 8-Dillon McCowan[9]
Cool-It Thermo-Tec Heat Race #3 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer):
1. 58-Garrett Alberson[1]; 2. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[2]; 3. 71-Hudson
O'Neal[4]; 4. 60-Dan Ebert[3]; 5. 17AU-Dylan Barrols[6]; 6. 91-Heath
Hindman[5]; 7. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[8]; 8. 11B-Stacy Boles[7];
9. 93L-Cory Lawler[9]; 10. (DNS) 48-Hunter Kohn
Simpson Race Products Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer):
1. 44M-Chris Madden[2]; 2. 99-Devin Moran[1]; 3. 11-Josh Rice[3];
4. 6-Clay Harris[5]; 5. 7M-Donald McIntosh[4]; 6. 93J-Donovan
Jackson[6]; 7. 101-Casey Roberts[8]; 8. 79-Joshua Sneed[9]; 9.
(DNS) 7S-Justin Smith
Fast Shafts B-Main Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer):
1. 22F-Chris Ferguson[1]; 2. 157-Mike Marlar[2]; 3. 111-Max Blair[3];
4. 76-Brandon Overton[6]; 5. 17SS-Brenden Smith[4]; 6. 15-Noah
Phillips[5]; 7. 20-Jimmy Owens[7]; 8. 16W-Ben Watkins[8]; 9. 8-Dillon
McCowan[10]; 10. 18P-Gray Parton[9]
UNOH B-Main Race #2 Finish (10 Laps, Top 3 Transfer): 1. 91-Heath
Hindman[3]; 2. 93J-Donovan Jackson[4]; 3. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[5];
4. 17AU-Dylan Barrols[1]; 5. 101-Casey Roberts[6]; 6. 11B-Stacy
Boles[7]; 7. 93L-Cory Lawler[9]; 8. 7S-Justin Smith[10]; 9. 79-Joshua
Sneed[8]; 10. (DNS) 7M-Donald McIntosh; 11. (DNS) 48-Hunter Kohn
Mountain Moonshine Classic | Night 1 | Feature Finish (40 Laps):
Pos - Start - Car # - Competitor - Hometown - Earnings
1 - 1 - 1 - Brandon Sheppard - New Berlin, IL - $10,000
2 - 3 - 17M - Dale McDowell - Chickamauga, GA - $5,500
3 - 2 - 58 - Garrett Alberson - Las Cruces, NM - $3,500
4 - 4 - 44M - Chris Madden - Gray Court, SC - $2,700
5 - 5 - 16S - Sam Seawright - Fort Payne, AL - $2,500
6 - 8 - 99 - Devin Moran - Dresden, OH - $2,300
7 - 6 - 20RT - Ricky Thornton Jr - Chandler, AZ - $2,200
8 - 10 - 71 - Hudson O'Neal - Martinsville, IN - $2,200
9 - 17 - 22F - Chris Ferguson - Mt. Holly, NC - $2,050
10 - 12 - 11 - Josh Rice - Crittenden, KY - $2,100
11 - 7 - 40B - Kyle Bronson - Brandon, FL - $1,600
12 - 14 - 60 - Dan Ebert - Lake Shore, MN - $1,400
13 - 16 - 6 - Clay Harris - Jupiter, FL - $1,200
14 - 9 - 93 - Carson Ferguson - Lincolnton, NC - $1,000
15 - 13 - 3S - Brian Shirley - Chatham, IL - $950
16 - 21 - 111 - Max Blair - Centerville, PA - $925
17 - 11 - 0 - Jake O'Neil - Tucson, AZ - $900
18 - 19 - 157 - Mike Marlar - Winfield, TN - $875
19 - 15 - T1 - Todd Morrow - Penton, AL - $850
20 - 23 - 76 - Brandon Overton - Evans, GA - $825
21 - 24 - 8 - Dillon McCowan - Urbana, MO - $800
22 - 22 - 22 - Daniel Hilsabeck - Earlham, IA - $800
23 - 20 - 93J - Donovan Jackson - Hope Mills, NC - $800
24 - 25 - 17SS - Brenden Smith - Dade City, FL - $100
25 - 18 - 91 - Heath Hindman - Signal Mountain, TN - $800
Sportsman Late Models:
1. 40H-Jed Emert[1]; 2. 17-Hayden Cardwell[2]; 3. 118-Jared Delk[3];
4. 1G-Jesse Lowe[5]; 5. Z1-Zach Shannon[4]; 6. 22-Dustin Ward[11];
7. 31-Brady Lee[6]; 8. 2P-Terry Poore[9]; 9. P1-Andy Picklesimer[8];
10. 59-Shaun Sise[13]; 11. 00-Isaac Boring[10]; 12. 47-Jim Gray[17];
13. 87Z-Zane Littleton[19]; 14. 99-Robert Buchanan[14]; 15. 98-Hunter
Johnson[21]; 16. (DNS) 32-Maddex Manley; 17. (DNS) 11-Tim Bounds;
18. (DNS) 58-Camden Randolph; 19. (DNS) 3X-Keatin Lyons; 20. (DNS)
28-Brandon Stanfield; 21. (DNS) 25-Logan Amy; 22. (DNS) 19-Dillon
Arrington
Front Wheel Drive:
1. 88X-Dustin Duncan[1]; 2. A93-Nathan Adams[3]; 3. 17-Dustin
Holt[2]; 4. 32-Jeff Bloch[7]; 5. 117-Rick Beales[8]; 6. 10-Dan
Sandiford[10]; 7. J1-Jake Bumgarner[11]; 8. 45-John Elliott[5];
9. 88-Larry Rudd[12]; 10. 12-Trent Lee[6]; 11. 5-James Bridges[9];
12. (DNS) J4-Jacob Anderson; 13. (DNS) P15-Larry Patterson
Crown Vic Crew Chief Challenge:
1. 71-Jason Durham[3]; 2. 1-Danny White[1]; 3. 20-Anthony Burroghs[2];
4. 99-Chuck Kimble[4]; 5. 76-Ryder Cantillo[5]; 6. (DNS) 111-Rob
Blair
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