Brandon Sheppard, Longhorn Factory Team Parting Ways After 2024 Season
Brandon Sheppard, Longhorn Factory Team Parting Ways After 2024 Season
Brandon Sheppard is parting ways with the Longhorn Factory Team and Riggs Racing at the conclusion of the 2024 World of Outlaws season.
Brandon Sheppard will part ways with the Longhorn Factory Team and Riggs Racing at the conclusion of the 2024 World of Outlaws Case Late Model Series season, the 31-year-old driver from New Berlin, Ill., announced today.
Sheppard’s final ride with the Longhorn operation will be Nov. 6-9’s World of Outlaws World Finals at The Dirt Track at Charlotte in Concord, N.C. He has not yet revealed his full-time plans for the 2025 campaign. Longhorn Chassis, meanwhile, intends to keep its house car team with the Riggs Racing, which will rebrand into Riggs Motorsports in 2025, per the team's press release.
“It’s been a fun and good run with the Longhorn Factory Team and Riggs Racing, but we’ve amicably decided to go our separate ways at the end of this season,” Sheppard said in a press release. “There’s no hard feelings or drama. We just all are looking to different goals for 2025.
“(Longhorn’s) Steve Arpin and the Riggs Family have been good to me and they’ll always be great friends. I wish those guys nothing but the best of luck and I’m fully focused on ending our tenure together with a World of Outlaws title.”
Scott and Jason Riggs released a statement Thursday saying "we’re very proud of what we’ve been able to do together in the last two years."
"We knew from the very start just how important it was for Brandon to be home close to the family, but still have a business partner who could support the team competing on a national tour while he transitioned into a new phase of his career," the Riggs' joint-statement continued. "It has been a pleasure watching him drive our cars and win in big moments like the Silver Dollar Nationals, The Dome, East Bay, and most recently during a prelim of the Prairie Dirt Classic."
Sheppard currently leads the WoO standings by 54 points over Nick Hoffman and Bobby Pierce with seven points races remaining on the schedule as he pursues his record fifth championship on the national tour. He’s scheduled to resume action with the series this Saturday and Sunday at Senoia (Ga.) Raceway and Talladega Short Track in Eastaboga, Ala.
As Sheppard looks to the future, he is actively working on details for his racing program. Speculation is swirling that he will return to the Rocket Chassis fold after spending the last two years driving Longhorn cars but no mention of chassis-brand choice was included in his announcement.
“We are going to open the 2025 season at the Wild West Shootout in New Mexico (in January) in my family-owned B5, and then past that point we are still looking to lock some things down,” Sheppard said. “I’m open to marketing partners who might be looking to get involved with my racing endeavors.”
Sheppard had demonstrated plenty of consistency this season but has a modest six victories overall, including three on the WoO circuit. He’s recorded just two checkered flags worth five-figures ($15,000 is his richest win) and is winless since capturing a Prairie Dirt Classic semifeature on July 26 at Fairbury (Ill.) Speedway.
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