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Sheppard, Mullens and Benson Headline WWS Round No. 3 Winner's List

Aaron Clay, SAN TAN VALLEY, Ariz. (January 15, 2020) - On a night that also featured two first-time winners, Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill., became the first repeat winner of the 2020 Keyser Manufacturing Wild West Shootout presented by O'Reilly Auto Parts with a triumph in the Dirt Track Bank Super Late Models presented by Black Diamond Race Cars.

After earning the $100 SportTruck RV and Screven Motor Speedway fast qualifier award earlier in the evening, sprinting around FK Rod Ends Arizona Speedway in 14.896 seconds, Sheppard also cruised to claim his heat race, winning by over two and a half seconds.  As customary for the event, all four heat race winners entered the redraw, to identify their starting spots in Wednesday night's 30-lap main event.  Jimmy Mars of Menomonie, Wis., pocketed the $100 Gorsuch Performance pole award and would be joined on the front row by Sheppard.  Fellow heat race winners, Ricky Weiss of Headingley, Manitoba and Cade Dillard of Robeline, La., made up the second row.

"B-Shepp" wasted no time on the start, easily firing out to the early lead over Dillard, Mars, Weiss and Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill.  Sheppard enjoyed a lead nearly the size of a straightaway by the 12th lap, when Garrett Alberson of Las Cruces, N.M. slowed out of turn four, to bring out the race's first Midwest Sheet Metal caution flag.  Sheppard again launched to a sizable lead on the ensuing restart, with Dillard, Mars and Weiss still in-tow.  Dillard began cutting into Sheppard's lead with 10 laps to go, as the leaders encountered lapped traffic.

The second caution flag occurred one lap later, as Jason Papich of Arroyo Grande, Calif., slowed to a stop at the entrance of turn one.  Dillard was determined to drive deep into the corner on the following restart, but he hopped the cushion and caught the wall with his right front, putting an end to his solid run and his night.  This represented the third and final Midwest Sheet Metal caution flag on Wednesday evening.

Still with nine laps remaining, Sheppard executed his fourth perfect start of the race and again launched to a large lead over the rest of the field.  While Sheppard was cruising to his second victory in as many races, chaos ensued behind him, as Mars and Weiss raced side-by-side for nearly the entire final nine laps, putting on an epic show for the runner-up spot.  Mars prevailed in that battle to finish second, while Weiss claimed the third position, his second consecutive podium finish.  Shirley recovered from an early-race bobble and fought through the final restarts to claim the fourth position on Wednesday, while Chase Junghans of Manhattan, Kan., benefited from the late race chaos and charged to round out the top-five.

Sheppard's second $5,000 feature victory of the brief year keeps him eligible for the Keyser Quarter-Million Challenge during the 2020 Wild West Shootout presented by O'Reilly Auto Parts.  Sheppard can become the second driver to ever stake claim to a piece of Keyser's bonus money, if he can win at least one more feature during the final three events.  He can earn as much as $100,000, if he were somehow able to win all three of those remaining races.

[caption id="attachment_1119" align="alignnone" width="640"] Wichita, Kansas racer Tanner Mullens won his first-career Wild West Shootout Modified feature on Wednesday night.[/caption]

The Mesilla Valley Transportation/Border Tire and Arizona Differential Modified main event featured a first-time winner in the desert, with Tanner Mullens of Wichita, Kan., leading all 25 laps and collecting the $1,000 prize.  Behind Mullens, Jake O'Neil of Tucson, Ariz., battled nearly all race with Calvin Iverson of Eleva, Wis.  The two exchanged the runner-up spot several times over the course of the feature, with O'Neil finishing second to Mullens by over three seconds.  Iverson settled for third place, finishing less than one second behind O'Neil, while Lucas Schott of Chatfield, Minn., finished fourth and extended his division points lead.  Sunday's winner, Rodney Sanders of Happy, Texas, rounded out the top-five on Wednesday night.

[caption id="attachment_1120" align="alignnone" width="960"] Minnesota's Zach Benson won the RHRSwag.com X-Mod feature presented by Barnett's Harley Davidson.[/caption]

It was another first-time winner in the RHRSwag.com Barnett Harley-Davidson X-Mod division, with Zach Benson of Princeton, Minn., leading all 20 laps and earning his first $500 payday of the 2020 Keyser Manufacturing Wild West Shootout presented by O'Reilly Auto Parts.  Another Minnesotan, Skeeter Estey of Kelly Lake, kept pace with Benson throughout the entire race, but didn't quite have enough and settled for the runner-up position.  This was Estey's second podium and third top-ten finish in as many races, solidifying himself as an early contender for the week-long points battle.  Sunday's main event winner, Josh Cain of Albuquerque, N.M., battled with Estey for nearly the entire feature and took the third and final podium position.  Lance Schill of Langdon, N.D., earned this third straight top-five finish of the event, finishing fourth on Wednesday, solidifying himself as an early challenger to Estey for the division points lead.

The 2020 Keyser Manufacturing Wild West Shootout presented by O'Reilly Auto Parts continues on Friday, January 17th, with hot laps scheduled to begin shortly after 5:00pm local time (7:00pm eastern) and heat race action at 6:30pm local (8:30pm eastern).  Online sales of single and multi-day tickets continue for the popular miniseries, which will pay over $200,000 in purses over six nights of Super Late Model, Modified and X-Mod racing with tripleheaders remaining on January 17, 18, and 19.  Fans can pick up their advanced tickets by visiting http://www.wildwestshootout.net/schedule/

Fans and competitors planning trips to FK Rod Ends Arizona Speedway can also now book rooms at the Wild West Shootout's official hotel, Hyatt Place Phoenix Gilbert, located approximately 20 minutes from the track in Gilbert, Ariz. Call 1-888-591-1234 or visit www.HyattPlaceGilbert.com to schedule your stay.

For more information on the 14th annual Wild West Shootout, please visit www.WildWestShootout.net .

The Wild West Shootout is made possible by Keyser Manufacturing, O'Reilly Auto Parts, FK Rod Ends, Dirt Track Bank, Black Diamond Race Cars, Shaw Trucking, Schaeffer Oil, SportTruck RV, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Border Tire, Arizona Differential, RHRSwag.com, Barnett Harley Davidson, Shocks by Hammer, Hoker Trucking, Premier Waste Services, MidWest Sheet Metal, Rodeo Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, VP Racing Fuel, Hoosier Racing Tires, Pro Power Engines, Penske Racing Shocks, Five Star Graphix, Beaver Stripes, Gorsuch Performance Solutions, Screven Motor Speedway, Total Ag Solutions and DirtonDirt.com

Keyser Manufacturing Wild West Shootout - January 15, 2020 Results
Dirt Track Bank Super Late Models presented by Black Diamond Race Cars
A Feature 1 (40 Laps): 1. B5-Brandon Sheppard[2]; 2. 28M-Jimmy Mars[1]; 3. 7-Ricky Weiss[3]; 4. 3S-Brian Shirley[9]; 5. 18-Chase Junghans[23]; 6. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[17]; 7. 32-Bobby Pierce[8]; 8. 0-Rick Eckert[15]; 9. 89-Mike Spatola[10]; 10. 42S-Don Shaw[13]; 11. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[21]; 12. 1ST-Johnny Scott[19]; 13. 2S-Stormy Scott[11]; 14. 32B-Cody Laney[12]; 15. 32S-Chris Simpson[6]; 16. 6T-Terry Carter[24]; 17. 78S-Steve Stultz[22]; 18. 97-Cade Dillard[4]; 19. 91P-Jason Papich[18]; 20. 99-Clay Fisher[16]; 21. 19R-Ryan Gustin[14]; 22. 74-Mitch McGrath[5]; 23. 2-Garrett Alberson[7]; 24. 37-Rob Mayea[20]

B Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[2]; 2. 1ST-Johnny Scott[1]; 3. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[3]; 4. 18-Chase Junghans[5]; 5. 86-Kyle Beard[4]; 6. 91T-Tony Toste[9]; 7. 15-Justin Duty[6]; 8. 77M-Jay Morris[8]; 9. 17-Mclain Beaudoin[7]; 10. 24-Rick Ortega[13]; 11. 74D-Dan Deibele[10]; 12. 81X-Matt Sparby[11]; 13. 83-Dennis Souza[14]; 14. 1-Earl Pearson Jr[12]

B Feature 2 (12 Laps): 1. 91P-Jason Papich[1]; 2. 37-Rob Mayea[2]; 3. 78S-Steve Stultz[5]; 4. 6T-Terry Carter[3]; 5. 6-Casey Skyberg[13]; 6. 28-John Cornell[6]; 7. 38-Thomas Hunziker[11]; 8. 7W-Richard Wallace[10]; 9. L8-Brian Schultz[8]; 10. 76-Blair Northdurft[9]; 11. 55D-Nick Deal[4]; 12. 75-Kenny Densman[7]; 13. 75T-Terry Phillips[12]; 14. 3X-Lyndon Bolt[14]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. B5-Brandon Sheppard[1]; 2. 74-Mitch McGrath[4]; 3. 3S-Brian Shirley[3]; 4. 42S-Don Shaw[7]; 5. 1ST-Johnny Scott[2]; 6. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[6]; 7. 18-Chase Junghans[5]; 8. 17-Mclain Beaudoin[9]; 9. 91T-Tony Toste[8]; 10. 81X-Matt Sparby[11]; 11. 24-Rick Ortega[10]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 7-Ricky Weiss[1]; 2. 32S-Chris Simpson[4]; 3. 89-Mike Spatola[2]; 4. 19R-Ryan Gustin[3]; 5. 91P-Jason Papich[7]; 6. 6T-Terry Carter[10]; 7. 78S-Steve Stultz[6]; 8. 75-Kenny Densman[11]; 9. 76-Blair Northdurft[5]; 10. 38-Thomas Hunziker[8]; 11. 3X-Lyndon Bolt[9]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 28M-Jimmy Mars[2]; 2. 2-Garrett Alberson[1]; 3. 2S-Stormy Scott[3]; 4. 0-Rick Eckert[4]; 5. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[11]; 6. 86-Kyle Beard[6]; 7. 15-Justin Duty[8]; 8. 77M-Jay Morris[5]; 9. 74D-Dan Deibele[9]; 10. 1-Earl Pearson Jr[7]; 11. 83-Dennis Souza[10]

Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 97-Cade Dillard[1]; 2. 32-Bobby Pierce[3]; 3. 32B-Cody Laney[4]; 4. 99-Clay Fisher[7]; 5. 37-Rob Mayea[6]; 6. 55D-Nick Deal[5]; 7. 28-John Cornell[9]; 8. L8-Brian Schultz[11]; 9. 7W-Richard Wallace[10]; 10. 75T-Terry Phillips[2]; 11. 6-Casey Skyberg[8]

Qualifying 1 (2 Laps): 1. B5-Brandon Sheppard, 00:14.896[2]; 2. 1ST-Johnny Scott, 00:14.906[5]; 3. 3S-Brian Shirley, 00:14.934[6]; 4. 74-Mitch McGrath, 00:14.965[3]; 5. 18-Chase Junghans, 00:15.094[7]; 6. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr, 00:15.201[11]; 7. 42S-Don Shaw, 00:15.259[9]; 8. 91T-Tony Toste, 00:15.383[10]; 9. 17-Mclain Beaudoin, 00:15.499[4]; 10. 24-Rick Ortega, 00:16.047[1]; 11. 81X-Matt Sparby, 00:16.964[8]

Qualifying 2 (2 Laps): 1. 7-Ricky Weiss, 00:14.940[2]; 2. 89-Mike Spatola, 00:15.202[5]; 3. 19R-Ryan Gustin, 00:15.237[10]; 4. 32S-Chris Simpson, 00:15.389[7]; 5. 76-Blair Northdurft, 00:15.595[11]; 6. 78S-Steve Stultz, 00:15.658[1]; 7. 91P-Jason Papich, 00:15.680[4]; 8. 38-Thomas Hunziker, 00:15.742[3]; 9. 3X-Lyndon Bolt, 00:15.922[9]; 10. 6T-Terry Carter, 00:15.952[8]; 11. 75-Kenny Densman, 00:16.096[6]

Qualifying 3 (2 Laps): 1. 2-Garrett Alberson, 00:15.310[1]; 2. 28M-Jimmy Mars, 00:15.310[4]; 3. 2S-Stormy Scott, 00:15.385[5]; 4. 0-Rick Eckert, 00:15.459[9]; 5. 77M-Jay Morris, 00:15.532[10]; 6. 86-Kyle Beard, 00:15.699[11]; 7. 1-Earl Pearson Jr, 00:15.776[7]; 8. 15-Justin Duty, 00:16.194[6]; 9. 74D-Dan Deibele, 00:16.232[2]; 10. 83-Dennis Souza, 00:17.312[8]; 11. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr, 00:20.694[3]

Qualifying 4 (2 Laps): 1. 97-Cade Dillard, 00:15.365[7]; 2. 75T-Terry Phillips, 00:15.459[5]; 3. 32-Bobby Pierce, 00:15.494[6]; 4. 32B-Cody Laney, 00:15.549[3]; 5. 55D-Nick Deal, 00:15.560[10]; 6. 37-Rob Mayea, 00:15.732[9]; 7. 99-Clay Fisher, 00:15.873[2]; 8. 6-Casey Skyberg, 00:15.909[8]; 9. 28-John Cornell, 00:16.059[4]; 10. 7W-Richard Wallace, 00:16.896[1]; 11. L8-Brian Schultz, 00:16.896[11]

Mesilla Valley Transportation/ Border Tire Modifieds presented by Arizona Differential
A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 02-Tanner Mullens[1]; 2. 0-Jake O'Neil[4]; 3. 27X-Calvin Iverson[2]; 4. 69-Lucas Schott[5]; 5. 20-Rodney Sanders[3]; 6. 37-Kelly Estey[11]; 7. 30-Matt Leer[9]; 8. 71-Dustin Strand[17]; 9. 52-Mitch Keeter[8]; 10. 21X-Travis Saurer[19]; 11. 1TPO-Tyler Peterson[18]; 12. 2C-Dave Cain[10]; 13. 20T-Trevor Anderson[24]; 14. 5G-Scott Greer[7]; 15. 72-Dustin Grabowski[15]; 16. 24-Xavier Ortega[23]; 17. 98-Alex Stanford[20]; 18. 51T-Tim Thomas[21]; 19. 5M-Zachary Madrid[16]; 20. 85D-Mark Dotson[6]; 21. 2J-Blake Jegtvig[12]; 22. 111-Logan Drake[13]; 23. 11X-Matt Gilbertson[22]; 24. 75-Alan Sharpensteen[14]

B Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 71-Dustin Strand[8]; 2. 21X-Travis Saurer[5]; 3. 51T-Tim Thomas[10]; 4. 24-Xavier Ortega[1]; 5. 88-Nathan Smith[3]; 6. 8C-Chris Clark[2]; 7. 8-Joe Dietrich[6]; 8. 4W-Tyler Wolff[7]; 9. 54-Carlos Ahumada Sr[4]; 10. 111X-Bumper Jones[9]

B Feature 2 (12 Laps): 1. 1TPO-Tyler Peterson[3]; 2. 98-Alex Stanford[1]; 3. 11X-Matt Gilbertson[4]; 4. 20T-Trevor Anderson[5]; 5. 65X-Carlos Ahumada Jr[2]; 6. 57-Duke Erickson[7]; 7. 23-Justin Rexwinkle[8]; 8. 55-Scott Green[6]; 9. 196-Joey Olschowka Jr[9]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 5G-Scott Greer[1]; 2. 0-Jake O'Neil[5]; 3. 69-Lucas Schott[7]; 4. 24-Xavier Ortega[3]; 5. 88-Nathan Smith[4]; 6. 98-Alex Stanford[8]; 7. 20T-Trevor Anderson[6]; 8. 57-Duke Erickson[2]; 9. 196-Joey Olschowka Jr[9]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 20-Rodney Sanders[3]; 2. 27X-Calvin Iverson[6]; 3. 85D-Mark Dotson[7]; 4. 30-Matt Leer[8]; 5. 1TPO-Tyler Peterson[4]; 6. 72-Dustin Grabowski[9]; 7. 8-Joe Dietrich[1]; 8. 71-Dustin Strand[2]; 9. 111X-Bumper Jones[5]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 02-Tanner Mullens[7]; 2. 37-Kelly Estey[1]; 3. 2J-Blake Jegtvig[4]; 4. 75-Alan Sharpensteen[5]; 5. 54-Carlos Ahumada Sr[2]; 6. 8C-Chris Clark[8]; 7. 55-Scott Green[9]; 8. 4W-Tyler Wolff[3]; 9. 23-Justin Rexwinkle[6]

Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 52-Mitch Keeter[1]; 2. 2C-Dave Cain[2]; 3. 111-Logan Drake[3]; 4. 5M-Zachary Madrid[4]; 5. 65X-Carlos Ahumada Jr[5]; 6. 11X-Matt Gilbertson[6]; 7. 21X-Travis Saurer[7]; 8. 51T-Tim Thomas[8]

Hotlaps 1: 1. 65X-Carlos Ahumada Jr[20]; 2. 54-Carlos Ahumada Sr[7]; 3. 20T-Trevor Anderson[21]; 4. 2C-Dave Cain[16]; 5. 8C-Chris Clark[31]; 6. 8-Joe Dietrich[2]; 7. 85D-Mark Dotson[26]; 8. 111-Logan Drake[12]; 9. 57-Duke Erickson[5]; 10. 37-Kelly Estey[3]; 11. 11X-Matt Gilbertson[32]; 12. 72-Dustin Grabowski[34]; 13. 5G-Scott Greer[1]; 14. 27X-Calvin Iverson[22]; 15. 2J-Blake Jegtvig[15]; 16. 111X-Bumper Jones[18]; 17. 52-Mitch Keeter[4]; 18. 30-Matt Leer[30]; 19. 5M-Zachary Madrid[24]; 20. 02-Tanner Mullens[27]; 21. 0-Jake O'Neil[17]; 22. 196-Joey Olschowka Jr[29]; 23. 24-Xavier Ortega[9]; 24. 1TPO-Tyler Peterson[14]; 25. 23-Justin Rexwinkle[23]; 26. 20-Rodney Sanders[10]; 27. 21X-Travis Saurer[28]; 28. 69-Lucas Schott[25]; 29. 75-Alan Sharpensteen[19]; 30. 88-Nathan Smith[13]; 31. 98-Alex Stanford[33]; 32. 71-Dustin Strand[6]; 33. 51T-Tim Thomas[8]; 34. 4W-Tyler Wolff[11]

RHRSwag.com X-Mods presented by Barnett's Harley Davidson
A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 17B-Zach Benson[1]; 2. 37X-Skeeter Estey[11]; 3. 3J-Josh Cain[9]; 4. 17-Lance Schill[7]; 5. 476X-Troy Hovey[15]; 6. 10-Cole Searing[16]; 7. 27X-Andy Miskowic[5]; 8. 112X-Brennan Gave[14]; 9. 71AZ-Tyler Mecl[8]; 10. 13B-Jess Brekke[17]; 11. 4H-Grant Hall[12]; 12. 65-Kris Jackson[19]; 13. 7B-Bailey Cousins[2]; 14. 10C-Cole Haugland[22]; 15. 16-Brock Hess[3]; 16. 33S-Ben Stockton[24]; 17. 20-Al Ferguson[21]; 18. 39-Stephen Muilenburg[13]; 19. 15X-Blake Davis[10]; 20. 2SS-Mark Smith[20]; 21. 17X-Mike Striegel[18]; 22. 11-Bryan Kakela[6]; 23. 2G-Brock Gronwold[4]; 24. 37XXX-Mack Estey[23]

B Feature 1 (10 Laps): 1. 13B-Jess Brekke[1]; 2. 65-Kris Jackson[12]; 3. 20-Al Ferguson[2]; 4. 37XXX-Mack Estey[11]; 5. 32-Robbe Ewing[13]; 6. 79-Allen Owen Jr[3]; 7. 56-Terry Bahr[7]; 8. 97X-Don Schaefer[9]; 9. 22-Matt Heinzerling[6]; 10. 32H-Eric Haugland[4]; 11. 11G-Josh Griggs[10]; 12. 25-Kenneth McDonald[5]; 13. X44-Mark Maga[8]

B Feature 2 (10 Laps): 1. 17X-Mike Striegel[1]; 2. 2SS-Mark Smith[5]; 3. 10C-Cole Haugland[10]; 4. 33S-Ben Stockton[4]; 5. 44JT-Jaime Torres[2]; 6. 19-Lucas Rodin[8]; 7. 37-Clint Johnson[11]; 8. 14M-Blake Meyer[7]; 9. 08-Glen Maga[6]; 10. 12S-Chad Switzenberg[12]; 11. 96F-Eric Folstad[3]; 12. 11X-Tyler Griggs[9]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 15X-Blake Davis[1]; 2. 71AZ-Tyler Mecl[4]; 3. 10-Cole Searing[5]; 4. 112X-Brennan Gave[8]; 5. 44JT-Jaime Torres[3]; 6. 17X-Mike Striegel[9]; 7. 08-Glen Maga[2]; 8. 14M-Blake Meyer[7]; 9. 11X-Tyler Griggs[6]; 10. 19-Lucas Rodin[11]; 11. 12S-Chad Switzenberg[10]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 37X-Skeeter Estey[1]; 2. 2G-Brock Gronwold[5]; 3. 17B-Zach Benson[9]; 4. 476X-Troy Hovey[8]; 5. 79-Allen Owen Jr[3]; 6. 33S-Ben Stockton[4]; 7. 56-Terry Bahr[2]; 8. X44-Mark Maga[7]; 9. 11G-Josh Griggs[6]; 10. 32-Robbe Ewing[10]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 4H-Grant Hall[1]; 2. 27X-Andy Miskowic[5]; 3. 7B-Bailey Cousins[8]; 4. 16-Brock Hess[10]; 5. 20-Al Ferguson[6]; 6. 32H-Eric Haugland[4]; 7. 96F-Eric Folstad[9]; 8. 97X-Don Schaefer[2]; 9. 10C-Cole Haugland[3]; 10. 37-Clint Johnson[7]

Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 39-Stephen Muilenburg[1]; 2. 3J-Josh Cain[4]; 3. 11-Bryan Kakela[7]; 4. 17-Lance Schill[9]; 5. 13B-Jess Brekke[8]; 6. 2SS-Mark Smith[2]; 7. 22-Matt Heinzerling[6]; 8. 25-Kenneth McDonald[10]; 9. 37XXX-Mack Estey[3]; 10. 65-Kris Jackson[5]

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