Reigning Series champion Bobby Pierce is the first man behind Sheppard in the standings, sitting 44 points back, with a season filled with new career achievements and a rising success ceiling for the Oakwood, IL native.<\/p>\n
Reigning Series Rookie of the Year Nick Hoffman had a strong showing in 2024 by exceeding every statistical column. With five wins, 18 top fives and 28 top-10 finishes, the Mooresville, NC driver sits 50 points back from Sheppard entering World Finals<\/i>.<\/p>\n
\u201cB-Shepp\u201d touted his consistency this year as a key factor to maintaining his points lead, boasted by only finishing outside the top 10 five times.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe consistency we\u2019ve been able to have is really the thing that\u2019s kept us in the lead,\u201d Sheppard said. \u201cWe were able to capitalize on guys having tough nights and put some wins together at crucial times that helped us keep the lead. We\u2019ve been able to maintain through the latter portion of this season. Cedar Lake was probably what hurt us the most really. We\u2019ve tried to maintain solid runs, putting ourselves in a position to get some crucial points. But it\u2019s still tighter than I\u2019d like it to be, that\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pierce\u2019s season has been a story filled with triumphant moments. With 2024 crown jewel wins at the NAPA Gopher 50<\/i>, Prairie Dirt Classic<\/i>, USA Nationals<\/i>, and the World 100<\/i> to start, Pierce spreads the credit to the people he\u2019s surrounded by.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been an incredible year,\u201d Pierce said. \u201cAll the credit goes to everyone on this team, my dad, Austin, Jeff, and Brad. All the sponsors and supporters that have gotten us through the year and helps make this car go fast. It\u2019s crazy that last year was my first one with Longhorn, and it was gonna be my learning year, then popped off and won 34 Late Model races. The mindset changed from going for a top five to tasting a championship and wanting to win all the time. When you have a car that good, you wanna capitalize on it.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis year has been a wild ride itself, and I\u2019d say it\u2019s better than last year. Last year, I won three crown jewels. This year, I won eight races that pay $50K or more. It\u2019s incredible, I never really imagined being in this situation. I think back to when I first won (at Volusia and Farmer City), then you go down the schedule and we won the Prairie Dirt Classic, USA Nationals, Knoxville, the World 100, and others. You think when this winning thing gonna end because you don\u2019t want it to stop since it feels so great. It\u2019s all my own team, so it\u2019s great to have built up a program to go win out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Bobby](\"https:\/\/worldofoutlaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/DSC_9393-1024x683.jpg\")
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Hoffman cited the spark to get his season started on the right foot was winning his first Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals<\/i> Golden Gator trophy in a Super Late Model. That confidence helped drive him to four more Feature wins and the ability to contend for a championship.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of things changed this year,\u201d Hoffman said. \u201cRight off the bat, winning at Volusia, which is my best and dominant track from my Modified days, was huge for my confidence level. Because it\u2019s not just an Outlaw race, you\u2019ve got every big hitter in the country there. Knowing you can beat these guys is huge, but trying to get my program better through racing, testing, and all the stuff to get better, and we\u2019ll go at it with what we know best about Charlotte.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen, building the new shop has helped the last few months, keeping all the business under one building. For instance, I could be working on my Modified one day, but the Late Model crew are on the other side so if they got questions or need help, I can do it right there. Different shops were a balancing act for which one I needed to be at, so that\u2019s only going to help my program as time goes on, so that was also a big deal for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/worldofoutlaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/150A6728-1024x683.jpg\")
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Though he has two World Finals<\/i> victories, Sheppard\u2019s last time finishing inside the top-10 came in a 2021 podium to officially claim his fourth Series title. He\u2019s mostly preparing for the effects he\u2019ll experience in the track\u2019s changing conditions.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs far as how we\u2019re preparing, it\u2019s not too different to how we normally do things,\u201d Sheppard said. \u201cCharlotte\u2019s just a track that can be typical for the area. It\u2019s hard on our tires, and it wears out quicker. It doesn\u2019t get slick; it slows down then all the grip comes back a little bit. It\u2019s different, but a lot of it is where it is and the characteristics of the surface. The Sprint Cars and Big Blocks make the track dusty, but it\u2019s one of them deals that you get when you enter (World Finals).\u201d<\/p>\n
Hoffman got to take laps around The Dirt Track at Charlotte in an October test session. On the first night of testing, he drove his Tye Twarog Racing No.9 Late Model. On the second night, he helped out Cody Sommer by driving his new DRT Late Model chassis to point him in the right direction.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny laps around a racetrack is so vital to have, especially with a title to chase,\u201d Hoffman said. \u201cI was able to take my car out for some laps the first day, then ran Cody\u2019s car the next day just to help him out more than anything. To learn how the track and grip changes since I\u2019ve raced the Modified there for World Short Track. I\u2019ve been decent in the times I\u2019ve ran a Late Model there, and it\u2019s close to home so being able to sleep in your own bed definitely can\u2019t hurt either.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt like my car was really close in comparison to the guys that were there and we\u2019ll be up against. I think we can be just as good as any of them, so that\u2019s the nicest thing is being able to test there. One is for tire wear, to learn how tough it will be on them, what we\u2019re gonna have to do every night. I crashed my car the first night because there was a transition that was higher up the entrance of Turn 3, so that helps to know before you go racing.\u201d<\/p>\n
This year marks Pierce\u2019s fourth trip to The Dirt Track at Charlotte, racing in 2013 and 2014 before winning his first Series title in 2023. The \u201cSmooth Operator\u201d said he felt good after the Charlotte test in his preparation for the stakes associated with World Finals<\/i>.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always love to race because it always keeps me fresh,\u201d Pierce said. \u201cThough it\u2019s nice to have the week off to prepare for Charlotte, get both cars ready to go 100 percent. We go straight into Qualifying on Wednesday. We\u2019re really fast right now, coming off of two big wins. We tested at Charlotte and felt pretty good. I don\u2019t think we were the best one, but I feel alright with it\u2019s level of toughness. I\u2019ve only been to Charlotte three times to race before, so I\u2019m still trying to learn that track and what it\u2019s gonna do. So hopefully, we can qualify well and place ourselves for a good run.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the cusp of breaking the all-time title record in World of Outlaws CASE Late Models history, Sheppard said that winning his fifth title will make the perfect headway to enter the Late Model offseason.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to mean so much to be able to win (the championship) this year,\u201d Sheppard said. \u201cI feel like as bad of a season we\u2019ve had, to still be able to win the championship will be the pick-me-up that we need to get us through the offseason. It\u2019ll keep me excited going into next year to show how we persevered through tough situations we had to overcome.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Brandon](\"https:\/\/worldofoutlaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/JNP-234-1024x683.jpg\")
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Pierce knows fully how to make a rewarding comeback in 2024. In July, he had to pass 41 cars for position to win his first career Prairie Dirt Classic<\/i>. If he can breakthrough, he\u2019ll join Billy Moyer and Josh Richards as the third driver to win his first two Series titles consecutively.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019ll definitely be huge for us,\u201d Pierce said. \u201cIt\u2019s what we\u2019ve been trying to do all year is making that comeback. If it wasn\u2019t for some setbacks ourselves, we\u2019d already be there. Back in the summer, we had two engine mishaps in a row. I know it\u2019s happened to other guys, but it was damaging to us. It\u2019s a long season, we knew that we were capable of making it work, and we\u2019ve gotten ourselves in position.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf things go right, it can fall our way. It\u2019s gonna take us being really good and take a little luck along the way. If we don\u2019t, we don\u2019t. You definitely can\u2019t count us out because we\u2019ve been in situations this year like the Prairie Dirt Classic, where we had to come from the back twice. We don\u2019t give up, that\u2019s for sure. We\u2019re gonna give it our best and see what we got. But it\u2019s just cool to be back in position where we can do something with it, and see how the cards fall.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hoffman built his resume through a decade of success in the DIRTcar UMP Modifieds. That\u2019s all in the past, and \u201cThe Thrill from Mooresville\u201d wants to send the message to the dirt racing world that he is here to stay and compete for championships in dirt Late Models going forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like everyone still sees me as \u2018That Modified Guy,\u2019\u201d Hoffman said. \u201cFor me, it\u2019s trying to make it well known that I\u2019m here to stay in a Late Model, and I want to be that guy that can win championships and do what I did in my Modified. That\u2019d be my biggest thing is everyone seeing me as the Mod guy, but I don\u2019t want to be known as that guy anymore. I did that. I was able to be successful and win everything I wanted to win. Now, it\u2019s trying to make a name for myself on the Late Model side. There\u2019s no better way to do that than winning an Outlaw championship.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sheppard, Pierce, and Hoffman chase the World of Outlaws CASE Late Models championship one final time in 2024 at The Dirt Track at Charlotte in the World of Outlaws World Finals<\/i><\/a>, Nov. 6-9. For tickets to World Finals<\/i>, CLICK HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you can\u2019t make it to the track, every lap from the event will be live on DIRTVision.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"