BRL LM S22 R4 Recap

22 April 2023
Bootleg Racing League | Season 22 | Round 4
Late Model Series | Martinsville Speedway

At Martinsville Speedway, the Bootleg Racing League Late Model Series saw Matt Hoose from Thunder Ridge Racing take the checkered flag in a thrilling race. Hoose began the race from the pole position, while other notable drivers included Todd Liston, Donny Moore, Mike Holloway, Jeffery Hardin, and Kurt Smith, who started from various positions on the grid. As the green flag waved, Hoose took an early lead, with Lowell Jewell hot on his heels. However, the field was chaotic in the opening laps, with drivers struggling to settle into a single-file formation. Joe Segalla found himself stuck on the outside, losing positions to other drivers.

Holloway, on the other hand, quickly made up positions and began to climb through the field, with Hardin following suit. Segalla was eventually able to slot into the inside line in 13th and started his climb back up the field. Despite the challenges from other drivers, Hoose was able to maintain a 1-second lead over the rest of the field in the first 15 laps of the race. Unfortunately, a lap traffic incident caused a pile-up in turn 4, which collected several drivers, including Jeffery Hardin, Kurt Smith, and Adam Schoen, and brought out the first caution on lap 23.

After the restart on lap 29, Hoose again took the lead, with Bruce Pearson battling Jewell for 2nd. However, contact in the middle of the field brought out another quick caution, which halted the action. The racing resumed on lap 35, with Jewell eventually taking 2nd place from Pearson, while Hoose quickly pulled away again. Holloway, who had been climbing through the field quietly, was up to 4th place as the drivers crossed the halfway point of the race.

On lap 62, Darryl Wineinger tried to pass Donny Moore for 5th place, but contact caused a blockage on the track, which collected multiple drivers who couldn’t avoid the incident in time. This caused another caution flag, but Hoose was still in control of the field, with Jewell in 2nd. Holloway quickly took 3rd place from Pearson as the green flag came back out and started pressuring Jewell going into the last 30 laps of the race. Meanwhile, Segalla had started his climb back up the field and was running in 7th place, closing on Smith ahead.

Hardin and Pearson battled side by side for 4th place, but they collided with each other, and both hit the outside wall, allowing Smith to pass around both drivers. Segalla saw an opportunity and quickly dove low to move up into 5th place without incident. Holloway got a nose under Jewell, clearing into 2nd place on lap 82, with Smith taking advantage and pushing Jewell back to 4th place. Segalla and Schoen battled side by side, with Schoen eventually taking away 5th place.

In the final laps of the race, Smith and Holloway battled door to door for 2nd place, but Holloway made contact with the outside wall, dropping back to 4th place before he was able to recover. Hoose was the dominant driver throughout the race and took the checkered flag unchallenged as he crossed the finish line.

Holloway currently leads the point standings by one point over Moore, and the next event for the Bootleg Racing League Late Model Series will take place on April 29th at Lucas Oil Raceway. Fans can catch all the live action on the Virtual Grip Network at 8:55PM ET.

BRL LM S22 R3 Recap

15 April 2023
Bootleg Racing League | Season 22 | Round 3
Late Model Series | USA Speedway
Photograph by: Michael Goodman

On a warm evening at USA Speedway, the Bootleg Racing League Late Model Series was in full swing with a packed crowd cheering on the racers. The race was already promising to be exciting as drivers Mike Allen and Todd Liston started on the front row. As the green flag waved, Liston surged ahead, clearing Allen to take the lead on the backstretch. Behind them, Mike Holloway and Michael Goodman started making moves, with Goodman pushing his way up to fourth place.

For the next few laps, the drivers settled into a rhythm, staying mostly single file as they conserved their equipment. Liston and Holloway managed to break away from the pack, building up a lead of over a second on third-place driver Jeffrey Hardin. But the drivers knew that they had to keep pushing if they wanted to maintain their positions.

As the second half of the race began, Liston continued to dominate, with Holloway still patiently waiting for an opportunity to make a move. Hardin was starting to close in on the leaders, while the other drivers began to get more aggressive, jostling for position.

Then, on lap 46, Holloway made his move, diving under Liston to take the lead. Hardin saw his chance and tried to overtake Liston for second, but Liston tried to block him, resulting in a spin that collected Goodman and Matt Hoose behind them, causing the first caution of the night. Although Young also sustained significant damage, he managed to continue running, and when the race resumed, he was in third place behind Hardin.

As the front runners began to pull away, drivers further back in the field began to make more daring moves, resulting in another caution. But when the green flag flew again, Hardin managed to hold onto his position, even when Young tried to overtake him. With only ten laps to go, the top three drivers built up a significant lead over fourth-place driver Donny Moore.

Holloway continued to bide his time, waiting for his chance to make a move on the leaders. With only two laps to go, he tried to pass Hardin but misjudged his braking point and made contact, causing Hardin to lose control momentarily. Goodman saw his chance and quickly surged ahead, taking the white flag. Hardin managed to hold off Young for second place, while Holloway and Joseph Snyder battled it out for third.

In the end, Goodman took the checkered flag, with Young securing the points lead over Jason Menda. The crowd erupted into cheers as the drivers celebrated their hard-fought victories. The Bootleg Racing League Late Model Series would be back in action in a week, taking on the challenging Martinsville Speedway. Fans eagerly awaited the next thrilling installment of this exciting series.

BRL LM S22 R2 Recap

08 April 2023
Bootleg Racing League | Season 22 | Round 2
Late Model Series | Myrtle Beach Speedway
Photograph by: Michael Goodman

J R Shepherd with Different Path Motorsports took the lead in the last 9 laps to take the checkered flag at Myrtle Beach Speedway in the Bootleg Racing League Late Model Series presented by Gargamel’s Kitchen. It was an exciting night of racing, filled with intense battles for position and nail-biting moments for both drivers and fans alike.

Lowell Jewell started on the pole, taking the green flag and holding onto the lead for the first 30 laps. However, Donny Moore quickly emerged as a strong contender, battling Jewell for the top spot. Meanwhile, J R Shepherd started the night in 17th place, but he was patiently moving up through the field, picking off drivers one by one.

As the race progressed, Jason Menda also began to make his move, starting in 10th place and quickly pushing toward the front. Jewell put up a good fight, but Moore was eventually able to get a nose to the inside, taking control of the lead.

Menda, now in fifth place, found himself stuck behind Joe Segalla and Matt Hoose, who were running side by side and battling for third. But Menda was determined, and he eventually cleared around both drivers to take third place. He quickly closed on the rear bumper of Jewell, finally clearing into second place on lap 46.

With the race now in the second half, Menda was up on Moore’s bumper, pressuring him for the lead. He was finally able to secure the top spot on lap 54, becoming only the third different leader up to that point. Meanwhile, Shepherd had broken into the top 10 and was now running more aggressively, quickly moving up into third place and closing the gap to Moore.

Shepherd eventually got around Moore for second place on lap 74, keeping the pressure high on Menda. Aiden Young, who had been struggling to get through the dense traffic and was running in 13th place, started quickly climbing up the field, jumping up several positions in the late stages of the race and reaching eighth place with just 17 laps to go.

As the laps ticked by, Menda continued to hold off Shepherd, who was looking for any opportunity to take the lead. Shepherd got his nose to the inside of Menda on lap 88, and the two drivers battled side by side for multiple laps. Finally, after a tense back-and-forth, Shepherd was able to clear himself out front, leading the last nine laps to take the win.

“I just really, really enjoy this racecar, this limited late model,” Shepherd said after the race. “You really have to kind of play a chess game with this car and understand what it’s going to need in the long run.” His hard work and determination had paid off, and he had emerged victorious in what had been a thrilling night of racing.

The next round of the Bootleg Racing League Late Model Series will be held on April 15th at USA Speedway, with Mike Allen on the pole. Fans can catch all the action live at 8:50PM ET only on the Virtual Grip Network!

BRL LM S22 R1 Recap

25 March 2023
Bootleg Racing League | Season 22 | Round 1
Late Model Series | New Smyrna Speedway
Photograph by: Michael Goodman

Tyler Shadduck began the race on pole position, with Aiden Young starting alongside him. As the green flag dropped, Young settled into second place behind Shadduck, while Michael Goodman and Jason Menda engaged in a fierce battle for third, running side by side for the first five laps. Goodman eventually managed to secure the position.

On lap 14, the first caution was called due to contact between Rubin Altice and Steve Hilbert, which spun Hilbert around on the track. When the race resumed on lap 20, Menda and Goodman found themselves battling once again for third place, with neither driver willing to back down. Unfortunately, on lap 21, the two drivers made contact, causing a large pile-up on the track. Shadduck, who had been forced onto the grass to avoid a car that was trying to turn around on the track, had to pit to have his right front fender fixed. He rejoined the pack in eighth place.

As racing resumed on lap 27, Young was still leading, with Goodman in second place. However, on lap 29, the third caution was called after Mike Allen and Bruce Pearson collided coming out of turn three. When the green flag was waved again on lap 35, Shadduck was pushing aggressively through the pack to try and regain his position at the front. He quickly overtook Adam Schoen and Matt Hoose before setting his sights on Jeffrey Hardin for fourth place. On lap 54, Shadduck managed to clear Stephen Spies to take third place.

The fourth caution came out on lap 57 due to a collision between Joseph Snyder and Donny Moore, which resulted in Snyder spinning on the track and collecting several other drivers. Young was still leading when the green flag was waved on lap 62, but Shadduck was hot on his heels. Goodman managed to defend his position in third place, while Hardin moved up to fourth. Meanwhile, Menda was making a strong recovery from his earlier incident and had worked his way back up to sixth place.

On lap 65, the fifth caution was called when Spies and Hardin collided, causing another large pile-up on the front stretch. When the race resumed on lap 71, Shadduck used the restart to overtake Goodman and move into second place behind Young. The sixth caution was called on lap 73 after Menda and Schoen collided coming out of turn two, causing several drivers to spin.

With only 12 laps remaining, Young was working hard to defend his position against Shadduck, who was putting pressure on him. Menda attempted to overtake Shadduck for second place, but was unable to do so. In the end, Young managed to hold on to his lead and cross the finish line first, with Shadduck coming in second and Menda in third. Goodman was named the “Soup of the Day” driver, with an over-under set at fifth place. He ultimately finished the race in fourth place, while Matt Hoose rounded out the top five.

When interviewed after the race, Young said, “I just had to stay smooth… I wasn’t giving this one up. I just knew I had to stay focused and forget the mirror was even there.” Fans of the Bootleg Racing League Late Model Series are no doubt looking forward to the next event with excitement and anticipation. Lowell Jewell finished the night in 15th place, but he had reason to celebrate nonetheless. His performance during the race earned him pole position for the next Bootleg Racing League Late Model Series event, which would take place on April 8th at 8:55PM ET at Myrtle Beach Speedway.

BRL LM S21 R11 Recap

18 March 2023
Bootleg Racing League | Season 21 | Round 11
Late Model Series | Five Flags Speedway

Joseph Snyder with Rougarou Racing took his first win in the series and the final checkered flag of the season tonight in the Bootleg Racing League Late Model Series presented by Gargamel’s Kitchen at Five Flags Speedway ahead of Mike Holloway and Michael Goodman. “All I worked on this week was saving tires and I guess it paid off there because the guys I let by early, they kind of lost their tires and I got back into it”, Snyder shared with us as drivers were putting their cars on the trailers.

Michael Goodman threw down the quickest lap in qualifying clocked at 16.679 starting the night off in 10th from the Bootleg Racing League grid invert with Kevin Nunn sitting on the pole. “It’s a little bit of pressure”, Nunn commented before returning to his car to grid up, “I did learn a lot last week since I had the front tire blow at 82 laps, so I know I’m going to try to conserve a bit more this time around.” Coming out of turn 4, Nunn had a strong launch and quickly went single file ahead of Donny Moore.

Most of the field shuffled to get slotting in single file in the opening laps looks to preserve their equipment with so many laps ahead of them. Mathew Thunhorst was running back in 10th and was patiently taking one position after another as he moved up through the field. Moore took advantage of a mistake made by Nunn on lap 16 to overtake for the lead resulting in Nunn getting stuck on the outside and dropping far down in the running order. Snyder looking under Moore but could make it work allowing Lowell Jewell to take a look under Snyder pushing him back to 8th before slotting back in line behind Michael Goodman.

Thunhorst was up to 5th with the first 30 laps completed as Moore continued to lead the field around with Jewell tight on his bumper. Lowell saw his chance and dove low taking the lead going into lap 35 with Todd Liston following him through. Thunhorst took advantage of the situation to get around into 3rd place. Thunhorst started to turn up the aggression getting around Liston for 2nd and closing on Jewell only 40 laps into the night. Going into lap 42, Thunhorst secured the lead and started to break away from the rest of the field with Jewell and Liston still running 2nd and 3rd.

Matt Hoose was up 5 spots running in 4th and quickly closing on Liston going into the 2nd half of the night with Snyder close behind making a strong recovery. Liston was able to get a nose under Jewell with Hoose following him through pushing Jewell back to 4th with Stephen Spies closing the gap with a group of cars following him as the field merged back together from 2nd place back to 10th. Thunhorst had nearly a 3 second lead going into lap 60 as Hoose overtook Liston for 2nd.

With the laps quickly counting down, Thunhorst had extended his lead out to over 5 seconds with 25 laps remaining. Hoose still held onto 2nd place with Michael Goodman now running in 3rd. Spies was under pressure from Snyder making a strong charge back to front of the pack. Snyder continued his impressive pace making quick work of the drivers ahead clearing into 2nd place with 14 laps to go. Going into the final 10 laps, the gap between Snyder and Thunhorst was shrinking quickly.

Snyder continued to push in the final moments gaining on Thunhorst fast closing by 0.4 seconds each lap. Snyder caught Thunhorst in turn 3 making contact just as the caution flag and white flag came out together when Thunhorst had to check up unexpectedly with his right front tire giving out. Joseph Snyder lead the drivers around the final lap under caution to take the checkered flag with Mike Holloway, Michael Goodman, Kurt Smith, and Mathew Thunhorst round out the top 5 tonight at Five Flags Speedway.

J R Shepherd ran away in the point standings taking the season championship tonight with 471 points. Michael Goodman held onto 2nd place with 419 points. Lowell Jewell secured 3rd place with 377 points over Mathew Thunhorst with 344 points. Joseph Snyder rounds out the top 5 drivers with 342 points going into the final round of the season. Next season for the Bootleg Racing League kicks off at New Smyrna Speedway on March 25th with all of the intense racing action brought to you live at 9PM ET exclusively on the Virtual Grip Network!

BRL LM S21 R10 Recap

11 March 2023
Bootleg Racing League | Season 21 | Round 10
Late Model Series | South Boston Speedway

J R Shepherd with Different Path Motorsports took another win tonight in the Bootleg Racing League Late Model Series at South Boston Speedway ahead of Kenny Kibbey and Matt Hoose. “Definitely a new car, completely different than the old limited late model”, Shepherd commented at the end of the night, “The gameplan from the beginning was just to try to run a decent pace and not abuse that right front.”

J R Shepherd continues his streak of qualifying at the top of the boards with a fast lap put down at 15.173 starting the night off in 10th with the Bootleg Racing League grid invert giving control of the field over to Bryan Dehn to take the green flag. Ruben Altice started alongside Dehn on the outside and was able to slot in behind the leader off the jump, but an opening lap caution took away his strong start as multiple drivers came together going into the first corner blocking the track.

Several drivers were caught up in the incident, but drivers such as Kenny Kibbey and Shepherd slipped through to take the green flag from 4th and 5th going into lap 8 with Dehn still in control of the field. As racing resumed, Altice wasn’t as lucky with Joseph Snyder getting a nose under him off the jump with Shepherd and Donny Moore both lining up to follow him through. Kibbey was able to get down behind Snyder knocking Altice further and further back until Altice was able to drop down in front of Todd Liston in 6th.

Matt Hoose was up to 11th from starting 23rd and was quietly moving up through the field with the first 20 laps completed. Kibbey struggled to get around Moore as Dehn, Snyder, and Shepherd started to pull away with the lead building over 1 second between themselves and Moore. The laps started to quickly count down as the drivers settled into their grooves and got more comfortable with the new Late Model Stock with the field starting to spread out around the track.

Shepherd cleared into 2nd place on lap 33 and set his sights to Dehn as Kibbey worked to slowly reel the leaders in. Dehn was negotiating through dense lap traffic with Shepherd pressuring him going into lap 40. Shepherd was aggressively looking under and was able to eventually get his nose to the inside and take the lead away on lap 43 with Snyder trying to take advantage and get 2nd place away. Kibbey had caught the battle for 2nd and patiently waiting for an opening before clearing around Dehn into 3rd.

Going into the 2nd half of the night, Shepherd was starting to walk away with the lead as Kibbey dove under Snyder for 2nd over 1 second behind the leader. Jeffery Hardin was one of the drivers caught up in the opening incident and was now making his way back up through the field up to 7th showing a strong pace. Shepherd continued to pull away from Kibbey lap after lap with lap traffic at all points around the track. Hardin continued his push to the front climbing up to 6th and pressuring Stephen Spies ahead.

With 20 laps remaining, Hardin was looking to the inside of Spies, but lap traffic forced him to stay single file. Their battle caught the back of Snyder and they both quickly made their way around moving Spies up into 4th going into the final laps. Hardin saw an opportunity on lap 95 and got his nose to the inside pulling ahead of Spies securing 4th. Going into the last 4 laps, contact between Altice and lap traffic resulted in 3rd, 4th, and 5th place getting collected on the front stretch bringing out the caution and ending Hardin’s great charge up through the field.

J R Shepherd had stretched his lead out to over 3 seconds before the caution came out and took the checkered flag under yellow flag conditions with Kenny Kibbey, Matt Hoose, Joseph Snyder, and Lowell Jewell rounding out the top 5 tonight at South Boston Speedway.

J R Shepherd is the unofficial season 21 champion currently with 471 points, 100 points ahead of Michael Goodman in 2nd place. Lowell Jewell holds onto 3rd place with 345 over Mathew Thunhorst with 345 points. Joseph Snyder rounds out the top 5 drivers with 301 points going into the final round of the season. Next week, the Bootleg Racing League is heading to Five Flags Speedway on March 18th to close out the season with all of the intense racing action brought to you live at 9PM ET exclusively on the Virtual Grip Network!

BRL LM S21 R9 Recap

04 March 2023
Bootleg Racing League | Season 21 | Round 9
Late Model Series | Hickory Motor Speedway

J R Shepherd with Different Path Motorsports claimed his 2nd win of the season tonight in the Bootleg Racing League Late Model Series at Hickory Motor Speedway ahead of Mathew Thunhorst and Michael Goodman. “I was hoping we’d have a lot more green flag racing… A little bit lucky after last week not being able to finish the race for sure this is a better week”, Shepherd shared with us. When asked about the car change coming next week, he commented, “I’m excited that we’re getting the new body, the new car it’s got a few different specs on it a little bit more power. We’ll have to see how it is, I’m optimistic about it for sure but this has been a great car at least for league racing.”

J R Shepherd continued his streak taking the top spot again in qualifying putting down a 14.567 taking the 10 bonus points and starting in 10th place with Joe Segalla of Segalla Motorsports taking the pole from the Bootleg Racing League grid invert. Segalla came out of turn 4 to take the green flag and quickly cleared ahead of Stephen Spies who started to his outside. Spies was able to slot in behind Segalla off the jump with Joseph Snyder holding onto 3rd.

Lowell Jewell was on the outside trying under pressure from Jeffery Hardin running side by side for 4th as the two drivers came together bringing out an early caution and collecting several other drivers in the chaos to include Shepherd, Kenny Kibbey, and Aiden Young while Donny Moore and Mathew Thunhorst were able to weave through mostly untouched jumping far up through the running order. As racing resumed, the leaders again quickly single filed out with Segalla still in control of the field with the first 10 laps completed.

Spies was pressuring Segalla for the lead and similar to the earlier incident, the two made contact sending both drivers around giving control of the field to Snyder. The green flag came back out going into lap 17 with both Shepherd and Thunhorst closing in on the front of the field. Moore was up into 3rd with Jason Menda running in 2nd behind Snyder as the drivers started to get spread out for the first time of the night. Shepherd continued his charge to the front quickly overtaking Moore and set his sights on Menda with the first 25 laps behind them.

Shepherd made short work of Menda and Snyder taking the lead and running away with it as they came up on lap traffic while Thunhorst was back in 5th feeling the pressure with Shepherd having open track ahead of him to stretch out his lead going into the 2nd half of the night. The laps were quickly counting down with everyone spaced out around the track as Shepherd extended the gap ahead of Hoose to over 2 seconds with Thunhorst running in 3rd. A caution came out with 32 laps to go giving Thunhorst exactly what he needed closing the gap to Shepherd and giving him a perfect chance to get around Hoose into 2nd off the restart.

“[Shepherd’s] going to have to make a mistake which, well, I’d rather get a lottery number and see how that goes instead.”, Thunhorst shared with us briefly under the caution regarding how to get to the lead. As the race went back green, Thunhorst cleared around Hoose, but Shepherd had a great jump off the start and pulled out to a strong lead. Going into the final stretch, Shepherd was outpacing the rest of the field pulling away from Thunhorst as a late race caution came out on lap 98 bringing the race to an early end. J R Shepherd paced the field around to take the checkered flag with Mathew Thunhorst, Michael Goodman, Matt Shinoski, and Lowell Jewell rounding out the top 5 tonight at Hickory Motor Speedway.

J R Shepherd seems to have to the season championship locked in currently with 421 points, now 85 points ahead of Michael Goodman in 2nd place. Lowell Jewell holds onto 3rd place with 309 over Mathew Thunhorst 1 point behind. Donny Moore rounds out the top 5 drivers going into the final 2 rounds of the season. Next week, the Bootleg Racing League is going to tackle South Boston Speedway in the all-new Late Model Stock with all of the intense racing action brought to you live at 9PM ET exclusively on the Virtual Grip Network!

BRL LM S21 R8 Recap

25 February 2023
Bootleg Racing League | Season 21 | Round 8
Late Model Series | Southern National Speedway

Mathew Thunhorst with Forge Racing took his first checkered flag of the season tonight in the Bootleg Racing League Late Model Series at Southern National Speedway ahead of Aiden Young and Matt Hoose. “It was just craziness out there”, Thunhorst commented at the end of the night, “Got a couple bites at the apple and finally just got enough that I could get in there and try to work [Young] over and, you know, got it done.”

J R Shepherd with Different Path Motorsports continued his top qualifying streak for the 8th week in a row setting down the fastest lap at 14.731 starting the night off in 10th place with the Bootleg Racing League grid invert with Kurt Smith leading the 24-car field around to take the green flag for the 100-lap feature event alongside Stephen Spies on the front row.

Smith jumped out to the lead with Spies tucking in behind him. Adam Schoen and Austin Boelke made contact trying ot get single filed out bringing out an early caution restacking the field to resume racing going into lap 7. Off the jump, Matt Hoose got under Spies to take away 2nd place before more contact further back in the field resulted in several drivers having to come down pit road for repairs very early in the night to include Shepherd who could avoid an incident directly ahead of him.

Smith continued to lead the field as the green flag came back out with 14 laps completed. Hoose was able to hold 2nd place as Spies found himself under pressure from Aiden Smith clearing around the outside to take 3rd. Tyler Shadduck was coming up through the field trying to get around the outside of Michael Goodman but unable to complete the move getting loose which allowed several drivers past him on the inside line pushing him back to 8th. Young got to the outside of Hoose and was trying to repeat the move he made on Spies a few laps earlier getting a nose to the outside of Smith in the lead.

Smith held the lead leaving Young nowhere to go other than the outside line with Hoose still to his inside. Hoose conceded the battle allowing Young to clear around with Hoose slotting in behind him holding onto 3rd. On lap 43, an incident involving several drivers in the back half of the field blocked up the track on the backstretch as the leaders were coming around unaware and Smith was collected bring an unfortunate end to his strong run and giving the lead to Young for the restart going into the 2nd half of the night.

Mathew Thunhorst was quietly moving up through the field throughout the chaotic race patiently avoiding incidents and was up 15 spots into 3rd. With 40 laps remaining, Thunhorst was pressuring Young for the lead as the 2 drivers pulled away from the rest of the field. In a shocking upset, Shepherd and Shadduck made contact ending the point leader’s night early as Young and Thunhorst continued to battle for the lead with 28 laps to go.

Going into the final 8 laps, Thunhorst got a nose to the inside of Young running side by side with both drivers trying to get their nose out front. After a few tense laps, Thunhorst cleared into the lead and started to pull away from Young. Coming around the last corner, Mathew Thunhorst took the checkered flag over 1 second ahead of Aiden Young in 2nd place. Matt Hoose, Justin Morton, and Lowell Jewell round out the top 5 tonight at Southern National Speedway.

J R Shepherd continues to lead in the point standings, even with an unfortunate end tonight, with 371 points. Michael Goodman holds onto 2nd place with 294 points. Lowell Jewell sits in 3rd with 273 points with Mathew Thunhorst sitting in 4th with 269 points. Justin Morton rounds out the top 5 in the point standings with 241 points going into the next round of the season. The Bootleg Racing League now heads over to Hickory Motor Speedway for the next round of Season 21 on March 4th with all of the intense racing action brought to you live at 9PM ET exclusively on the Virtual Grip Network!

BRL LM S21 R7 Recap

18 February 2023
Bootleg Racing League | Season 21 | Round 7
Late Model Series | Stafford Motor Speedway

Justin Morton with Total Downforce Racing claimed his 4th win of the season tonight in the Bootleg Racing League Late Model Series at Stafford Motor Speedway ahead of Aiden Young and J R Shepherd. “It’s very hard to pass at this track. The car was very, very tight the entire way around the track”, Morton explained at the end of the night, “That made passing even trickier, but I think at the same point it also made it easier because if you got on the gas just a little bit too soon you’re just going to lose a ton of time and the guy behind you would be able to stick their nose under you.”

J R Shepherd with Different Path Motorsports continued his streak of qualifying on pole by putting down a 20.728 gridding up in 10th place with Jospeh Snyder sitting on the pole through the Bootleg Racing League grid invert. “I’ll do my best to keep it up here for a little while”, Snyder shared with us before joining the grid, “To be honest, I am struggling with this car. I was just getting used to the super late models, we changed to the late models, and I just can’t figure this car out.”

Snyder, driving with Rougarou Racing, led the 22-car field around to take the green flag getting a good jump off the start but so did Ruben Altice to his outside as the two drivers ran side by side around the first few laps before Snyder cleared into the lead. Further back in the field, contact between Tyler Shadduck and Darryl Wineinger resulted in several drivers receiving severe damage to include Donny Moore and Shepherd. Moore came down pit road for repairs, but Shepherd stayed out on track and continued to run in 8th place.

Altice was able to slot into line between Snyder and Matt Hoose holding onto 2nd place. Shadduck was up to 5th and aggressively working on Michael Goodman as Justin Morton ran behind Shadduck patiently putting laps behind him without pushing the car. Aiden Young was running in 7th behind Morton with Shepherd directly behind him. Going into lap 16, Shadduck got Goodman up off his line opening the lane for Morton, Young, and Shepherd to take pushing Goodman back to 8th as Shadduck quickly closed the gap to Hoose in 3rd.

Snyder found himself stranded on the outside as Altice got to his inside and dropped back to 7th before slotting in behind Shepherd. Going into lap 29. Shadduck dove deep into the corner to get under Hoose and tried the same move again a few laps later on Altice running all the way down onto the apron. Altice was able to defend against Shadduck but Morton, Young, and Shepherd had dropped back slightly not sure as Shadduck continued to pressure Altice.

With 40 laps behind them, Shadduck got a nose to the inside of Altice taking the lead away with Altice falling back to 7th after contact between the two leaders forced him up the track. Going into the 2nd half of the night, Morton seemed content to follow Shadduck around the track letting the laps count down. Young, Shepherd, and Hoose rounded out the lead pack all running single file showing a lot of patience. Shepherd was showing a strong pace staying with the leaders even with significant damage to his car from the incident in the opening laps.

With 40 laps remaining, Shadduck was showing signs of excessive tire wear sacrificing a lot of speed through the corners to stay close to the inside line to hold off the line of cars behind him. Lap traffic were giving the leaders a lot of room as they came through while Morton started applying pressure on Shadduck to try and force a mistake out of the struggling leader. Going into lap 84, Morton saw his opportunity getting a nose to the inside of Shadduck and quickly cleared into the lead with Young, Shepherd, and Hoose following him through.

With open track ahead of him, Morton showed his pace as he broke away from the leading pack with Young following close behind. The group broke up into 2-car packs as Shepherd and Hoose battled over 3rd and Michael Goodman started challenging Shadduck for 5th. Coming out of the final corner, Justin Morton took the checkered flag ahead of Aiden Young while J R Shepherd defended 3rd from Matt Hoose and Tyler Shadduck held onto 5th tonight at Stafford Motor Speedway.

J R Shepherd continues to lead in the point standings with 338 points. Michael Goodman takes 2nd place away from Mathew Thunhorst with 257 points. Lowell Jewell moves up into 3rd with 237 points with Thunhorst sitting in 4th with 229 points. Justin Morton rounds out the top 5 in the point standings with 204 points going into the next round of the season. The Bootleg Racing League now heads over to Southern National Speedway for the next round of Season 21 on February 25th with all of the intense racing action brought to you live at 9PM ET exclusively on the Virtual Grip Network!

BRL LM S21 R6 Recap

11 February 2023
Bootleg Racing League | Season 21 | Round 6
Late Model Series | Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway
Photograph by: Michael Goodman

Justin Morton with Total Downforce Racing claimed his 3rd win of the season tonight in the Bootleg Racing League Late Model Series at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway ahead of Mathew Thunhorst and J R Shepherd. [Thunhorst and Shepherd] got side by side on that last restart and that kind of sealed it up for me just trying to take it home from there.”, Morton commented at the end of the run.

J R Shepherd with Different Path Motorsports continues his streak of sitting at the top of the timing and scoring boards in qualifying with a fast lap put down at 19.196 beating his teammate, Austin Boelke, in 2nd place by over 0.1 seconds at the line. Darryl Wineinger qualified 10th fastest and, with the Bootleg Racing League’s invert, started the night off on the pole leading the 22-car field around to take the green flag. Wineinger had a good launch off the start clearing out ahead of Mark Snyder as Justin Morton stuck low to slot into 2nd place.

Morton wasted no time going after the lead getting around Wineinger 3 laps into the run and quickly started to pull away while Shepherd was struggling to get through traffic running back in 10th being Michael Goodman. Mathew Thunhorst was aggressively pushing through traffic up to 12th from 17th with no signs of slowing his progress as he closed on Shepherd getting to the inside of Jeffrey Hardin. Boelke was quietly taking positions as opportunities presented themselves up to 4th and patiently running behind Donny Moore.

With 30 laps behind them, Thunhorst had gotten around Shepherd and was working over Mark Hertzog for 6th while Morton was trying to save his equipment out front maintaining a healthy gap ahead of Moore and Boelke. Boelke took a chance going into lap 36 and challenged for 2nd by going to the outside of Moore able to clear after a couple tight corners. Thunhorst was still making his charge to the front up to 4th with Shepherd running directly behind him.

Going into the 2nd half of the night, Morton continued to control the field while Thunhorst and Shepherd moved up to 3rd and 4th closing the gap to Boelke. Morton had stretched his lead out to over 1.3 seconds as Thunhorst started working over Boelke who wasn’t giving Thunhorst any chances keeping the door firmly closed for the moment which allowed Shepherd to join the battle for 2nd. A rare mistake from Boelke going into lap 70 allowed Thunhorst to get a nose to the inside. Boelke tried to reclaim the position, but the damage had already been done and Boelke had to concede in 4th slotting in behind Shepherd.

Thunhorst and Shepherd quickly pulled away together as they tried to reel Morton back in who had built up the gap between them to over 3 seconds with 25 laps remaining. A late race caution on lap 92 brought Thunhorst and Shepherd to Morton’s bumper for the restart with 3 laps to go. Off the jump, Shepherd got alongside Thunhorst trying to take away 2nd allowing Morton to pull away. Coming out of the final corner, Justin Morton took the checkered flag with Mathew Thunhorst holding 2nd place over J R Shepherd. Austin Boelke and Michael Goodman rounded out the top 5 tonight at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.

J R Shepherd continues to lead in the point standings with 290 points. Mathew Thunhorst holds onto 2nd place with 229 points. Michael Goodman sits in 3rd with 221 points with Lowell Jewell holding onto 4th with 209 points. Donny Moore rounds out the top 5 in the point standings with 180 points going into the next round of the season. The Bootleg Racing League now heads over to Stafford Motor Speedway for the next round of Season 21 on February 18th with all of the intense racing action brought to you live at 9PM ET exclusively on the Virtual Grip Network!