BRL GN S9 R1 Recap

by Ryan Senneker
08 Jan 2022
Bootleg Racing League | Season 9 | Round 1
Grand National Series | Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway

J R Shepherd of Different Path Motorsports claimed the first win of the season at the Bootleg Racing League Grand National Series 100 lap event at the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway beating out Mathew Thunhorst and Kenny Kibbey. The intense battle for the lead never let up as the top 4 drivers crossed the finish line within .3 of a second. It was such a close finish between Shepherd and Thunhorst, crossing the line within .004 of each other, that there was some confusion over who had actually won, as Shepherd told us, “I didn’t even realize that I’d won it until the cool down lap and everybody told me. I thought I’d finished second.”

Tonight at Nashville was a great start to the new season showcasing how competitive the drivers in the series have become over the years. Last season, several drivers were in the battle for the championship with Shepherd taking it in the last event. This season is shaping up to be another tight battle in the point standings going forward.

“Matt ran me extremely, extremely clean. He definitely could’ve shoved me up the track at any point and he didn’t do that”, Shepherd commented with us as he celebrated his win. “Being able to win at Nashville, this is a track I’ve been wanting to win at for a very, very long time because it’s so close and I’ve raced at this track before in real life on the short track inside so it’s really cool and if I don’t get to race anymore this season I’d be okay with that.”