Column: Brandon Sheppard Makes History, Recording His Fifth WoO Late Model Series Title In ’24
News Director 
Column By: NICK GRAZIANO / WORLD OF OUTLAWS – CONCORD, NC – Brandon Sheppard made history in 2024, becoming the winningest World of Outlaws Late Model champion in Series history by claiming his fifth Series championship – breaking the tie with Josh Richards.
However, this was his first with the Sheppard Riggs Racing Longhorn Factory Team.
“It’s crazy to think about now,” Sheppard said. “These things are not easy to win, and we did it the absolute hardest way possible, that’s for sure. Longhorn and the whole Riggs family gave me everything I needed to get the job done. It’s been a trying year with a ton of ups and downs. We’ve showed a lot of speed but haven’t had the wins that we needed. It was a battle of attrition to keep the thing up front and just be consistent…
“The stars lined up, man. I’ve battled for this a lot of years now. I know how to do it, it’s just a matter of putting together the package to be consistent and be OK when you’re not going to win that night.”
Sheppard’s championship season was tame in the win column, grabbing three Series wins on the year – compared to his other four championship years, which saw him earn 18 wins with his first and second titles, 14 wins with this third title and eight with his fourth. However, he too was a master of consistency. He only had eight finishes worse than eighth in 41 starts – and only one outside the top 20.
Although, one of those finishes outside the top 10 came during the first World Finals Feature of the week, putting Nick Hoffman within 26 points of him. And then Bobby Pierce won Friday night’s Feature, while Hoffman suffered a mechanical failure, moving Pierce to second in points – 22 points behind Sheppard.
The drama continued on the final night as Pierce battled for the lead, while Sheppard fought to stay within the top 10 to hold on to his points lead. But Pierce suffered a flat tire near the halfway point and could only recover to a 17th-place finish. Sheppard finished ninth and clinched the title by 38 points.
“It was a crazy year,” Sheppard said. “We’re super happy and thankful for all the sponsors that have stuck behind us. My dad and my grandpa. The whole Riggs family. The whole Longhorn family. Just everybody that’s involved with this team. It’s wild to think about standing here right now. I know the Riggs family has been trying to get one of these for a while.”
