FOUNTAIN CITY, Wis. (May 7) — All is well in Brandon Sheppard’s — and the Rocket Chassis house car team’s — world again.

But the 28-year-old superstar from New Berlin, Ill., didn’t break out of his uncharacteristically long checkered-flag drought in Friday night’s 40-lap Dairyland Showdown opener at Mississippi Thunder Speedway without facing a stiff test from an unexpected figure.

Sheppard secured the $12,500 victory — his first points-paying score of 2021 in World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series competition and the milestone 70th of his career — by denying the upset bid of Lake Elmo, Minn.’s Brent Larson, who surged past Sheppard and early pacesetter Tyler Bruening of Decorah, Iowa, to grab the lead on lap seven and set his sights on the biggest win of his career.

Larson, 44, built as much as a half-straightaway edge, but he couldn’t hold on for what would have been his first-ever WoO triumph. He ceded the top spot to Sheppard on lap 23 and settled for a runner-up finish, a career-best series run for the underdog driver who is in his fourth season as a regular on the national tour.

“I gotta say congratulations to Brent Larson,” Sheppard said in victory lane, hailing the performance of the racer who was 2.673 seconds behind him at the finish. “Man, he gave me a run for my money, and he did a great job tonight.”

Jimmy Mars of Menomonie, Wis., finished third in the 3/8-mile oval’s inaugural WoO event, capping his advance from the 11th starting spot with a gain of two positions following the race’s final restart on lap 35. Cade Dillard of Robeline, La., driving an MB Customs machine from Mars’s shop, started and finished fourth while 12th-starter Chris Madden of Gray Court, S.C., completed the top five in his Franklin Enterprises XR1 Rocket.

Winless in his last 19 WoO starts dating back to his last victory on Sept. 26, 2020, at Thunder Mountain Speedway in Knox Dale, Pa., Sheppard and his Mark Richards-led arrived at Mississippi Thunder with five top-five finishes in the last eight tour events. They also spent two of their off days on the road testing at tracks in the Upper Midwest in hopes of snapping out of their slump.

After Sheppard solved one of his biggest problems this season — qualifying well — by setting a new track record in time trials and winning a heat race, he put himself in position to resume his winning ways.

“Like I’ve been saying for the past few weeks, we’ve just got to get our consistency back,” said Sheppard, whose only previous win this season came in a split-field, split-field WoO preliminary feature worth $5,000 on March 26 at Cherokee Speedway in Gaffney, S.C. “I knew if we could rattle off a few top-three, top-five runs that a win would come eventually. We’re just really fortunate that it worked out for us tonight.

“Just thank God for this one. We’ve been not necessarily struggling, but we got messed up and turned around in Volusia (Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla., during February’s Speedweeks) and it just set us behind for the start of our year.

“Even though it’s not been a terrible beginning of the year — we’re still leading the points — it hasn’t been up to what we would like it to be. But we’re definitely back on track now. The guys have been working their tails off on this thing … they’ve not given up on me, and I’ve not given up on them for sure. I’m glad to finally get the monkey off my back.”

The victory also set up Sheppard for a rich weekend if he can complete a sweep of the Dairyland Showdown with a $22,500 victory in Saturday’s 60-lap headliner. Winning both races carries a $5,000 bonus courtesy of Dynamic Concrete Resurfacing that would push Sheppard’s earning too $40,000.

Starting from the outside pole didn’t produce a runaway for Sheppard, however. Larson, who has shown great improvement this season since debuting a new XR1 Rocket car, made sure of that.

Larson was on fire early in the race, vaulting from the seventh starting spot to third by lap three and then sliding underneath both Sheppard and the polesitting Bruening to assume command on lap seven. He initially left Sheppard in his tire tracks, but he couldn’t keep the three-time WoO champion down for long.

After Sheppard got rolling in the outside groove, he caught Larson at the A-main’s halfway mark and bolted ahead down the backstretch to assume command for good on lap 23.

Larson stayed within striking distance of Sheppard following a lap-32 restart, but Sheppard pulled away after a final caution period three circuits later.

“I think, looking at our (right-rear) tire, we were a little too aggressive on the way we cut (siped and groove) that,” said Larson, who topped his previous best WoO finish of fourth on July 5, 2019, at Independence (Iowa) Motor Speedway. “I beat the heck out of it. I punished it about as much as I possibly could and there wasn’t a whole lot left there with about 10 to go.”

There was no disappointment in Larson’s demeanor after the race. He relished the best WoO outing of his career and the confidence it instilled in him going forward.

“Brandon, maybe he’s not rated number one right now in the country, but he’s number one in my book,” related Larson, whose stint in front (laps 7-22) represented the first time he’s led a WoO feature. “So to take second to him is good.

“We’re gonna try to get one of these one of these days. We’ve had our learning curve and our struggles, but I think we’re starting to show that we deserve to be here. I’m gonna keep plugging away.

“I’ve just really been happy with the Rocket cars, (shock guru) Matt Logan and the people that have been helping me,” he continued. “I’ve really got a good crew, my wife and I are on the same page with tires. It’s just getting down to making changes that I’m comfortable with. There’s so many people who have helped put me here and have beared with me for what seems like decades to get to this point where we’re up on the podium.”

Mars, 49, used the inside lane to shoot past Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill., and Dillard over the final five circuits to snatch the final podium position despite racing with a handicap for much of the distance.

“We started off pretty good, we were passing some cars,” Mars said. “Then I messed up over in (turns) three and four and I bumped the inside tire just trying get a little bit more. I messed my front end up a little bit, but that’s all on me.”

Three caution flags slowed the feature. The first came on the original start when Chad Mahder spun in turn one. Bruening, who led laps 1-6, halted the race on lap 31 when he stopped on the track due to a broken driveshaft while running fourth. Ryan Gustin, who ran as high as second, brought out the final caution flag on lap 35 after slapping the turn-one and snapping a driveshaft while holding third place.

Notes: Sheppard became the third driver in WoO history to reach the 70-win plateau, joining Josh Richards (78) and Darrell Lanigan (74). … Sheppard’s car owner, Mark Richards, missed the victory lane ceremonies because he wasn’t feeling well on a chilly night and stayed back in his team’s hauler. … Sheppard dedicated the win his late friend “Guppy,” who passed away recently in a motorcycle accident. … Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series points leader Tim McCreadie had his Paylor Motorsports machine in Mississippi Thunder’s pit area but sat out Friday’s action due to an attack of kidney stones. He visited a hospital earlier Friday due to the pain he began experiencing overnight and a scan revealed the kidney stones, which he was hoping to pass so he could feel good enough to race in Saturday’s finale. … Sheppard was the 12th different winner in 15 WoO points races this season. … The event marked the 193rd facility the WoO circuit has visited.