HAGERSTOWN, MD (April 26, 2026) – Brandon Sheppard dominated Sunday night at Hagerstown Speedway, capturing the Conococheague 40 for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series in commanding fashion. The New Berlin, Illinois native earned $10,000 for his third LOLMDS victory of the season, taking the lead from Brandon Overton on lap three and pacing the remainder of the race. Sheppard crossed the finish line more than five seconds ahead of Overton, with 11th-starting Hudson O’Neal rounding out the Big River Steel podium in third. Current championship points leader Devin Moran finished fourth, and Max Blair completed the top five. Overton led the opening two laps of the annual event, which marked the Series’ 16th appearance at Hagerstown Speedway, before Sheppard surged past him for the top spot on lap three. Once out front, Sheppard quickly built a commanding lead, reaching lapped traffic by lap nine. The race’s only caution came on lap 10, but it did little to slow his momentum. On the restart, Sheppard remained firmly in control, leading the rest of the way in a race that featured just one caution flag. The victory marked the 38th of Sheppard’s Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series career—and his first at Hagerstown Speedway. “It was awesome. Mark, Dan, Austin, Joel, Steve Baker, and everyone at Rocket Chassis have been working their tails off,” Sheppard said. “They’ve been giving me a great car night in and night out. There’s so much competition out here—you can have the fastest car and still not win—but I really feel like we’ve been fast all year. I don’t think I’ve felt bad at the track once this season.” “You never really know how big of a lead you have. My signal guy showed me it was comfortable, but I wasn’t overdriving. I was going as fast as my tires would allow. A couple of times I pushed hard and felt the left rear getting hot, so I backed it down and let it come back to me.” Overton, who was aiming for a clean sweep of the night, settled for the runner-up finish. “He (Sheppard) had a little different tire than we did. I probably tried to block him too early—I moved down and pushed up the track,” Overton said. “Hats off to them—they did a great job. We were good, just not quite good enough.” O’Neal, who started sixth row inside, closed the gap late and now sits 25 points behind Moran in the championship standings heading into next weekend’s events at Circle City Raceway and Florence Speedway. “We just needed to qualify better,” O’Neal said. “We weren’t very good in qualifying and probably over-adjusted for the rough conditions. We got back to our normal program for the feature and were really good. We just didn’t get a caution at the right time. I was able to close in during lapped traffic, but Brandon was able to navigate through and pull away. Thanks to Hagerstown and Lucas Oil for the effort—they gave us a great racetrack.” 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 Bodies, Petroff Towing, Sunoco Race Fuels, Franklin Enterprises, Gunter’s Honey, Stiles Marine and Maintenance, and Collins Brothers Towing. Completing the top ten were Ricky Thornton Jr., Brian Shirley, Kyle Bronson, and Carson Ferguson. Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series Race Summary Conococheague 40Sunday, April 26, 2026Hagerstown Speedway | Hagerstown, MD Allstar Performance Time TrialsFast Time Group A: Brandon Sheppard | 17.671 secondsFast Time Group B: Brandon Overton | 17.428 seconds (Overall) Penske Shocks Heat Race #1 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 1-Brandon Sheppard[1]; 2. 3S-Brian Shirley[4]; 3. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[2]; 4. 55-Jamie Lathroum[6]; 5. 66C-Matt Cosner[7]; 6. 12M-Ryan Montgomery[5]; 7. C4-Freddie Carpenter[3]; 8. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[8] Summit Racing Products Heat Race #2 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 11-Josh Rice[1]; 2. 111-Max Blair[2]; 3. 71-Hudson O’Neal[3]; 4. 32J-Justin Weaver[5]; 5. 58-Garrett Alberson[6]; 6. 8-Dillon McCowan[4]; 7. 15K-Kyle Lee[7]; 8. (DNS) 1C-Alex Ferree
Cool-It Thermo-Tec Heat Race #3 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 76-Brandon Overton[1]; 2. 99-Devin Moran[4]; 3. 40B-Kyle Bronson[3]; 4. 19M-Brenden Smith[5]; 5. 93-Carson Ferguson[2]; 6. 93L-Cory Lawler[7]; 7. 4-Gary Stuhler[6]; 8. (DNS) 66K-Justin Kann
Simpson Race Products Heat Race #4 Finish (8 Laps, Top 4 Transfer): 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[1]; 2. 60-Dan Ebert[2]; 3. 22G-Gregg Satterlee[3]; 4. 27-Trever Feathers[4]; 5. 6-Clay Harris[5]; 6. 7-Ross Robinson[6]; 7. 11H-JT Spence[7] Fast Shafts B-Main Race #1 Finish (10 Laps, Top 6 Transfer): 1. 66C-Matt Cosner[1]; 2. 58-Garrett Alberson[3]; 3. 93-Carson Ferguson[2]; 4. 7-Ross Robinson[8]; 5. 8-Dillon McCowan[7]; 6. 12M-Ryan Montgomery[5]; 7. 11H-JT Spence[12]; 8. 4-Gary Stuhler[10]; 9. 93L-Cory Lawler[6]; 10. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[13]; 11. C4-Freddie Carpenter[9]; 12. 6-Clay Harris[4]; 13. (DNS) 15K-Kyle Lee; 14. (DNS) 66K-Justin Kann; 15. (DNS) 1C-Alex Ferree Conococheague 40 Feature Finish (40 Laps):Pos – Start – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Earnings1 – 1 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – $10,9002 – 2 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – $6,4003 – 11 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – $4,8004 – 6 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – $4,1005 – 7 – 111 – Max Blair – Centerville, PA – $3,4006 – 4 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – $3,6007 – 5 – 3S – Brian Shirley – Chatham, IL – $3,1008 – 10 – 40B – Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – $3,0009 – 19 – 93 – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – $2,95010 – 9 – 25Z – Mason Zeigler – Chalk Hill, PA – $2,00011 – 8 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – $2,50012 – 12 – 22G – Gregg Satterlee – Indiana, PA – $1,40013 – 17 – 66C – Matt Cosner – Ridgeley, WV – $1,20014 – 15 – 32J – Justin Weaver – Clearspring, MD – $1,00015 – 14 – 19M – Brenden Smith – Dade City, FL – $1,85016 – 21 – 8 – Dillon McCowan – Urbana, MO – $1,92517 – 24 – C4 – Freddie Carpenter – Parkersburg, WV – $20018 – 13 – 55 – Jamie Lathroum – Mechanicsville, MD – $87519 – 3 – 11 – Josh Rice – Crittenden, KY – $1,75020 – 18 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – $1,72521 – 16 – 27 – Trever Feathers – Winchester, VA – $80022 – 20 – 7 – Ross Robinson – Georgetown, DE – $80023 – 25 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – $1,70024 – 23 – 22 – Daniel Hilsabeck – Earlham, IA – $90025 – 22 – 12M – Ryan Montgomery – Fairmont, WV – $800 Race Statistics Entrants: 31Bilstein Shocks Pole Sitter: Brandon SheppardMD3 Lap Leaders: Brandon Overton (Laps 1-2); Brandon Sheppard (Laps 3-40)Hellraizer Jacks Halfway Leader: Brandon SheppardWieland Feature Winner: Brandon SheppardMargin of Victory: 0.5733 secondsHellraizer Jacks Cautions: Daniel Hilsabeck (Lap 10)MyRacePass Series Provisional: Clay Harris; Daniel HilsabeckFast Time Provisional: n/aEmergency Provisionals: Freddie CarpenterTrack Provisional: n/aBig River Steel Podium Top 3: Brandon Sheppard, Brandon Overton, Hudson O’NealPenske Shocks Top 5: Brandon Sheppard, Brandon Overton, Hudson O’Neal, Devin Moran, Max BlairBehrent’s One-Lap-to-Go Top 3: Brandon Sheppard, Brandon Overton, Hudson O’NealPEM 4th Place Feature: Devin MoranDiversified Machine 5th Place Feature: Max BlairWilwood Brakes 7th Place Feature: Brian ShirleyWehrs Machine 11th Place Feature: Dan EbertVelocity Manufacturing 13th Place Feature: Matt CosnerXS Power Batteries 15th Place Feature: Brenden SmithHoker Trucking Hard Charger of the Race: Carson Ferguson (Advanced 9 positions)MD3 Most Laps Led: Brandon Sheppard (38 Laps)Sunoco Race Fuels Race for Gas Highest Finisher: Brandon SheppardMidwest Sheet Metal Spoiler Challenge Point Leader: Devin MoranO’Reilly Auto Parts Rookie of the Race: Dillon McCowanPro Fabrication Headers Fastest Lap of the Race: Brandon Sheppard | Lap 4 | 18.483 secondsFK Rod Ends Hard Luck Award: Daniel HilsabeckVictory Fuel Power Move of the Race: Brandon SheppardOuterwears Crew Chief of the Race: Danny WhiteARP Engine Builder of the Race: Durham Race EnginesMiller Welders Chassis Builder of the Race: Longhorn ChassisDirt Draft Fastest in Hot Laps: Hudson O’Neal | 17.521 secondsTime of Race: 18 minutes 18 seconds Big River Steel Championship Standings Presented by ARP:Pos – Car # – Competitor – Hometown – Points – Earnings1 – 99 – Devin Moran – Dresden, OH – 2095 – $134,0492 – 71 – Hudson O’Neal – Martinsville, IN – 2070 – $98,4003 – 76 – Brandon Overton – Evans, GA – 1925 – $49,4504 – 1 – Brandon Sheppard – New Berlin, IL – 1910 – $64,6005 – 111 – Max Blair – Centerville, PA – 1875 – $44,1006 – 20RT – Ricky Thornton Jr – Chandler, AZ – 1850 – $56,3507 – 6 – Clay Harris – Jupiter, FL – 1685 – $39,9008 – 58 – Garrett Alberson – Las Cruces, NM – 1670 – $34,7259 – 40B – Kyle Bronson – Brandon, FL – 1655 – $26,07510 – 93 – Carson Ferguson – Lincolnton, NC – 1620 – $28,80011 – 3s – Brian Shirley – Chatham, IL – 1615 – $27,60012 – 11 – Josh Rice – Crittenden, KY – 1600 – $26,97513 – 60 – Dan Ebert – Lake Shore, MN – 1525 – $26,47514 – 8 – Dillon McCowan – Urbana, MO – 1375 – $16,30015 – 19M – Brenden Smith – Dade City, FL – 1370 – $18,85016 – 22 – Daniel Hilsabeck – Earlham, IA – 1325 – $17,52517 – C4 – Freddie Carpenter – Parkersburg, WV – 1145 – $5,10018 – 93L – Cory Lawler – Hanover, PA – 1140 – $10,525 |
