Brandon Sheppard, Nick Hoffman and Bobby Pierce are within 76 points with nine races remaining in 2024
With nine races remaining in the highly competitive World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models season, three drivers are on the verge of reaching a historic milestone in 2024.
Brandon Sheppard, the four-time World of Outlaws champion, is seeking his fifth title to break the tie with Josh Richards as the driver with the most series titles.
Nick Hoffman, the standout sophomore who excelled in the DIRTcar UMP Modified ranks, is seeking his first series title to cement his place as dirt Late Model’s newest star.
Reigning World of Outlaws champion Bobby Pierce overcame an early points deficit to earn a chance to join Billy Moyer, Richards and Sheppard as the fourth driver to win back-to-back titles in the series.
Despite having the fewest feature wins of the three drivers in 2024, Sheppard, of New Berlin, IL, leads the point standings through consistency by earning the most top-10 finishes of any driver with 26. He will look to finish the season with a fourth win to extend his lead heading into the World of Outlaws World Finals (Nov. 6-9).
“I think we had a good car for consistency,” Sheppard said. “It’s still a learning process with the Longhorn race car. At the end of the day, we’re going to keep learning, figure out what I like and do what we need to do to win. We’re trying to find the edge to keep up with Bobby’s pace. He’s a class act in the field, so we’ve got to find a way to keep up with him. It’s good to be at tracks that I know I’m good at and put in some good performances. We’ve had some bad luck, but all we can do is do the best we can during the races.”
Hoffman’s hunger for the championship comes with sadness following the passing of Scott Bloomquist on Friday, Aug. 14. Bloomquist, the architect of the Dirty Dozen and champion of the 2004 revival of World of Outlaws – which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year – was Hoffman’s mentor in dirt late model racing.
The driver from Mooresville, North Carolina, drove for Bloomquist in 2021, earning two top-five finishes with the World of Outlaws at Cedar Lake Speedway and Davenport Speedway.
“I was fortunate to be surrounded by really smart people in racing, but Scott was different than anyone else,” Hoffman said. “He thought and processed things about how a race car should work, even the smallest things outside of racing – he just had a different attitude to everything. It was very cool to spend time with him, learn a lot of that stuff and see why he was so successful over the years. He was definitely built differently.”
“I had a lot of great times with him, he was fun to hang out with and everyone knew he loved parties and late nights. That was really fun, but what I was able to learn from him about his racing skills and everything he did was much more than anyone else. He worked much harder and that’s why I think he was so successful for many decades. He only knew dirt racing. Every night I drove one of his cars, he gave the race team 100% effort so I could win races. I wouldn’t be here today if I hadn’t had the opportunity to drive for him. I’m lucky and honored to be one of the few guys who raced for him.”
Pierce, who hails from Oakwood, Illinois, saw the kind of person Bloomquist was from a young age. His father, Bob Pierce, raced against Bloomquist in the 2010s and 2020s before getting the chance to race against the driver from Mooresburg, Tennessee.
“I could see the relationship between (Scott) and my dad,” Pierce said. “Because they were very strong competitors back then, they always had a great friendship. They both knew a lot about race cars, so they could relate to each other. I grew up watching him race and learned a lot from him. He was the best to ever do it. He definitely has the longest streak of dominance. Like, if you saw his trailer coming in, he was the car to beat.
“I think all drivers have him to thank for where the sport is today. He shaped dirt late model racing.”
Sheppard was allowed to compete against Bloomquist in the World of Outlaws and finished second behind “Black Sunshine” in his last win in the 2020 Series Feature at Thunder Mountain Speedway.
“I think we had a mutual respect for each other,” Sheppard said. “He would come by and say hi, and we would chat every now and then. I think over the years, mine was just like everyone else’s. All the things he said and did made him exciting to watch. I’ll remember him, all the crazy things he did over the years. What he said after the race was what I liked the most because he wasn’t afraid to say what was on his mind. It’s a shame, but he went out and did what he loved.”
With experience racing in points, having won three Modified National titles and five DIRTcar Modified Summer Nationals championships, Hoffman knows how to get the job done under pressure. With the 32-year-old driver seeking his first World of Outlaws title, Hoffman needs every point he can get to cap his second full-time Late Model season with his biggest milestone.
“You always expect to win races and the championship,” Hoffman said. “This year has been great for us and just shows what we can do in the years to come. To win the title, we have to win races. Bobby might win a few more races and Sheppard is consistently up there every night. We can’t afford to have any problems, we have to win races and that will be a big turning point.”
“That would be the biggest milestone of my career. Sheppard has done it four times and Bobby did it last year. Just to win one (title) is a huge deal. Everyone wants to ride with the Outlaws as a kid, so to win a championship would be incredible and a milestone. We just have to keep going and get it done.”
Pierce had a similar motivation to Hoffman: He wanted to win as many races as possible in order to get close to Sheppard in the points with the No. 32 Low Voltage Solutions Late Model and to compete against him in the season finale in November on the dirt track in Charlotte.
“We need as many races as possible,” Pierce said. “You never know how things are going to go. If nobody drops out of the races and everyone is up front, we need to win everything we can. We’re going to take it one race at a time and try to win the rest of the year and then see where we are when Charlotte comes. After the start of the year, I feel like if I had the same year as 2023, I would have a chance to move back up. We’ve won seven of the last 11 races, but some retirements have hurt us. If it hadn’t been for those, we’d be right here now. We need to get stuck in for these last few races, take advantage of the opportunity given and go from there.”
Winning a fifth championship reminds Sheppard of his journey as a World of Outlaws driver. As he looks to increase the points gap with Hoffman and Pierce, “B-Shepp” looks to add more feature wins to his current career total of 86 series victories.
“It would definitely mean a lot to me,” Sheppard said. “Anyone who’s on the road has dealt with the ups and downs of dirt late model racing. You know wins are hard to come by and championships are even harder. If you told me 10 years ago that I’d have four World of Outlaws championships by the time I was 30, I would have told you you were crazy. Looking at it now, we’re trying to win the fifth one and we’re not where we want to be yet.
“You always think about the next day, the next race, the next year and so on. If we can’t look forward to the next race, what are we racing for? We’ll try to get some wins and see what the points look like. When it comes to points racing, I’ll make sure I get a decent result if I know my car isn’t capable of winning. That’s what it takes to win everything this year. So if it’s your year, it’s your year.”
Hoffman is looking forward to the remaining races of the World of Outlaws CASE Late Models, where every position can have an impact on the championship battle. The series concludes the August series with the Fireball 50 at the Atomic Speedway.
“Atomic will be a good track for all three of us,” Hoffman said. “Then we have the south track to Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas. That will be a crucial point to win the championship. Charlotte can suit anyone. You can easily lose 50 points at the World Finals, so I think that’s where it will all be decided and hopefully we’ll be right in the thick of it.”
Pierce is 76 points behind Sheppard and leads the series standings. His comeback in the championship battle makes the “Smooth Operator” believe that winning his second championship is more important than his Prairie Dirt Classic His performance included a 21-place comeback and his first win at this crown jewel event.
“It would mean a lot to us because Scott, Mark Richards and the Dirty Dozen have played a big part in where the World of Outlaws is today,” said Pierce. “Right now we are determined to win a second title. That would be crazy. Maybe even crazier than the comeback win in the PDC. It would be great to do it again, so we will do our best.”
The driver trio continues their fight for the 2024 World of Outlaws CASE Late Models title in Chillicothe, OH, for two nights at Fireball 50 on Friday and Saturday, August 23-24.
For more information on upcoming events in the 2024 World of Outlaws CASE Late Models season CLICK HERE.
If you can’t make it to the track, watch every round of the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models season on DIRTVision – from your computer or mobile device.
