BRL GN S9 R2 Recap

15 Jan 2022
Bootleg Racing League | Season 9 | Round 2
Grand National Series | Hickory Motor Speedway

J R Shepherd of Different Path Motorsports won for the second week in a row tonight at the Bootleg Racing League Grand National Series at Hickory Motor Speedway ahead of Mathew Thunhorst and Kenny Kibbey. Thunhorst challenged Shepherd all the way to the finish, but didn’t have the run in the end take the lead away from the reigning champion as the checkered flag came out.

Back to back wins keeps Shepherd in the lead with a total of 80 points in the point standings, but that position is anything but safe with Thunhorst trailing behind by only 2 points. Kibbey holds onto 3rd ahead of Justin Morton in 4th. Austin Boelke is tied for 5th place with James Lowe 9 points off the lead. With the top six positions within 10 points altogether, this is still very much any driver’s championship as the season gets going.

“This is a tough, tough track”, Shepherd told us about his win tonight. “There was a lot of luck that went into it. I was in the right place on some of the restarts and got me some track positions.” Going forward, the drivers head out to Langley Speedway. “Langley’s a really tough facility and we haven’t been there in a several seasons, maybe a couple years. It’s going to be a lot about track position. I think if you get caught on that outside with these grand national cars you’re not going to be able to make a whole lot stick.”