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World of Outlaws Beat The Heat 40
Highland Speedway | Highland, Illinois
Wednesday, August 14, 2024
Race Recap  

PRAIRIE STATE DEFENSE: Brian Shirley Picks Up Ninth Career World of Outlaws Feature Win at Highland Speedway

“Squirrel” led the remaining 21 laps for his second win with the World of Outlaws CASE Late Models in 2024

 

Brian Shirley has gotten hot with momentum at the right time with the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models.

On Wednesday night, the Chatham, IL native scored a hard-fought win in the first Series race at Highland Speedway with Bobby Pierce, Tyler Bruening, and Brandon Sheppard using everything possible to chase down the No.3S Bob Cullen Racing Late Model.

Shirley began the night with a win in Heat 4, then drew the Bilstein Pole Award for the $10,000-to-win Beat The Heat 40 Feature.

He was then sent back to second place as Decorah, IA driver Tyler Bruening took the lead on the opening lap by using the top line of the track. While Shirley tried making the bottom work in the early going, Bruening could make speed off the turns to hold him at bay.

Bruening began to create a gap on Shirley as he dueled with New Berlin, IL driver Brandon Sheppard for second place.

Cautions aplenty in the first half of the race brought renewed opportunities for the field to get by Bruening, especially Shirley as he tried to catch the No.16 Skyline Motorsports machine by surprise to take the lead.

That opportunity for the lead came on Lap 19, as a slow start for Bruening was all Shirley needed to get by him with a run through the middle line of the 1/4-mile racetrack to claim the lead.

Throughout the second half, Shirley maintained a gap to the hornet’s nest of cars behind him, as Robeline, LA driver Cade Dillard, and Oakwood, IL driver Bobby Pierce found solid ground inside the top five with half of the Feature remaining.

While Dillard resorted to a battle with Sheppard, Pierce chopped his way up the field toward the runner-up spot behind Shirley after getting by Bruening.

When Pierce got clear of Bruening with four laps remaining, the time was too late for him to challenge Shirley, as “Squirrel” crossed the twin checkered flags for his second win of the 2024 season at his home state racetrack.

“It’s so awesome,” Shirley said. “There’s a lot of places to have World of Outlaws races at, so anytime you can win a race around home turf is special. We don’t come (to Highland) a lot, so it’s always important and it’s awesome to win in front of that kind of crowd.

“At the end of the day, anytime you win it always boosts morale. It gets you more confident. I’m not 100% perfect on where I wanna be with the car just yet, so I know we’re itching there. The more racing we can do, the better we’ll be by the end.”

Brian Shirley crosses the finish line to win the Beat The Heat 40 at Highland Speedway (Emily Schwanke Photo)

Pierce finished second to continue closing the distance in the battle for the Series title with 72 points separating him from the lead in the standings with 12 points races remaining in 2024.

“We went back to ninth at the start,” Pierce said. “The restarts helped me get back through (the field). If it wasn’t for those restarts, I would’ve been stuck back there. Hopefully, we can get some wins here. We need the wins if we’re gonna look at points at all. We need them badly. 

“I think we’ll be better though. I didn’t feel great tonight, so I’m looking forward to getting in the other car because I didn’t like the feel of this one tonight. Somehow, we came away with second. The crew is working hard so I gotta thank them. We got three races here and we’re gonna try and win all three.”

Bruening finished third to attain his first podium with the World of Outlaws CASE Late Models since 2022.

“Finally, a whole night put together from start to finish,” Bruening said. “Hot Laps, we didn’t start out great. We put the car back to what we’re familiar with, and it took right off. It’s a long week with three more races to look towards. It’s always good to start with a good result when you’re traveling to the next races. We’ve been good, we just haven’t had the finishes to show for it with bad luck and getting tangled up in stuff. Tonight, we got through a whole night and we’ll see what we can do here coming up.”

Sheppard finished fourth to help extend his lead on Mooresville, NC driver Nick Hoffman to 46 points leaving Highland, IL. Dillard went on to complete the Feature’s top five finishers.

RECAP NOTES:

Dirt King Simulator Hottest Hot Lap: Ryan Gustin

Simpson Quick Time Award: Cade Dillard

Heat Race Winners: Dennis Erb Jr, Brandon Sheppard, Tyler Bruening, Brian Shirley

Last Chance Showdown Winners: Shannon Babb, Tristan Chamberlain

Bilstein Pole Award: Brian Shirley

FOX Factory Hard Charger: Brent Larson (+9)

Up Next: The World of Outlaws CASE Late Models race in Illinois for the last time in 2024 on Thursday at Spoon River Speedway on August 15. Then, the “Most Powerful Late Models on the Planet” head to Iowa for two nights in the Hawkeye 100 at Maquoketa Speedway on Friday-Saturday, August 16-17.

In addition to the racing on the track at Maquoketa, there will be off-track activities for fans to enjoy on Saturday, including a car show from 9 a.m.-3 p.m., a kids zone from 12 p.m.-4 p.m., the Hoker Trucking Toys for Tots donation drive, a driver autograph session at 4:30 p.m., and a cornhole tournament starting at 12:30 p.m..

Get tickets for Spoon River Speedway HERE.

Get tickets for Maquoketa Speedway HERE.

If you can’t make it to the track, watch every lap of the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models season on DIRTVision – through your computer or mobile device.

CASE Late Model Feature (40 Laps): 1. 3S-Brian Shirley[1]; 2. 32-Bobby Pierce[7]; 3. 16-Tyler Bruening[2]; 4. B5-Brandon Sheppard[4]; 5. 97-Cade Dillard[5]; 6. 19R-Ryan Gustin[12]; 7. 10-Daryn Klein[6]; 8. 40B-Kyle Bronson[8]; 9. 25-Jason Feger[14]; 10. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[3]; 11. 18-Shannon Babb[17]; 12. 19-Dustin Sorensen[13]; 13. 97JR-Cody Overton[15]; 14. 9-Nick Hoffman[19]; 15. B1-Brent Larson[24]; 16. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[18]; 17. 78-Chad Zobrist[16]; 18. 4-Jordan Suhre[22]; 19. 52-Matt Bailey[9]; 20. 22*-Max McLaughlin[23]; 21. 17-Todd Rehg[25]; 22. 11G-Gordy Gundaker[20]; 23. 24H-Mike Harrison[10]; 24. 27-Rodney Melvin[11]; 25. 15-Clayton Stuckey[21]

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Results  
Feature Results
POSStart+/-#DriverLapsBehindLedStatusPointsMoney
1103SBrian Shirley 400.00025Running150$10,000
27+532Bobby Pierce 40-1.198Running146$6,000
32-116Tyler Bruening 40-1.82818Running144$3,500
440B5Brandon Sheppard 40-2.261Running142$2,800
55097Cade Dillard 40-3.533Running140$2,500
612+619RRyan Gustin 40-4.923Running138$2,300
76-110Daryn Klein 40-6.494Running136$2,200
88040BKyle Bronson 40-7.055Running134$2,100
914+525Jason Feger 40-7.299Running132$2,050
103-728Dennis Erb Jr40-7.820Running130$2,000
1117+618Shannon Babb 40-8.620Running128$1,600
1213+119Dustin Sorensen 40-8.922Running126$1,400
1315+297JRCody Overton 40-9.493Running124$1,200
1419+59Nick Hoffman 40-10.111Running122$1,100
1524+9B1Brent Larson 40-11.827Running120$1,050
1618+220TCTristan Chamberlain 40-12.306Running118$1,000
1716-178Chad Zobrist 40-13.831Running116$1,000
1822+44Jordan Suhre 40-14.502Running114$1,000
199-1052Matt Bailey 40-15.167Running112$1,000
2023+322*Max McLaughlin 39-1 LapsRunning110$1,000
2125+417Todd Rehg 39-1 LapsRunning108$1,000
2220-211GGordy Gundaker 26-14 LapsRunning106$1,000
2310-1324HMike Harrison 21-19 LapsRunning104$1,000
2411-1327Rodney Melvin 18-22 LapsRunning104$1,000
2521-415Clayton Stuckey 9-31 LapsRunning104$1,000
FOX Factory Hard Charger: Brent Larson
Last Chance Showdown 1 Results
POSStart+/-#DriverLapsBehindLedStatusPointsMoney
12+118Shannon Babb 00.000Running0$0
23+19Nick Hoffman 0-3.181Running0$0
38+515Clayton Stuckey 0-4.948Running0$0
41-316GRusty Griffaw 0-6.255Running0$0
56+1B1Brent Larson 0-6.421Running0$110
64-217Todd Rehg 0-6.550Running0$110
77011Shannon Kuhn 0-7.093Running0$110
85-316WTony Wolf 0-9.149Running0$110
99022Dan Jacober 0-9.149DNS0$110
Last Chance Showdown 2 Results
POSStart+/-#DriverLapsBehindLedStatusPointsMoney
12+120TCTristan Chamberlain 00.000Running0$0
23+111GGordy Gundaker 0-1.866Running0$0
34+14Jordan Suhre 0-2.688Running0$0
47+322*Max McLaughlin 0-3.332Running0$0
56+118MJimmy Miller 0-4.935Running0$110
68+238Thomas Hunziker 0-5.174Running0$110
75-24DDoug Tye 0-6.470Running0$110
81-714WDustin Walker 0303.924Running0$110
Heat 1 Results
Pos.Start+/-#DriverLaps CompletedBehindLaps LedStatus
12+128Dennis Erb Jr00.000Running
21-197Cade Dillard 0-0.643Running
33052Matt Bailey 0-2.093Running
44019Dustin Sorensen 0-3.013Running
55016GRusty Griffaw 0-4.625Running
68+29Nick Hoffman 0-5.332Running
77016WTony Wolf 0-5.673Running
86-211Shannon Kuhn 0-6.485Running
99022Dan Jacober 0-6.485Running
Heat 2 Results
Pos.Start+/-#DriverLaps CompletedBehindLaps LedStatus
12+1B5Brandon Sheppard 00.000Running
21-110Daryn Klein 0-0.614Running
33027Rodney Melvin 0-1.379Running
44097JRCody Overton 0-3.855Running
55018Shannon Babb 0-4.664Running
68+217Todd Rehg 0-5.067Running
76-1B1Brent Larson 0-5.646Running
87-115Clayton Stuckey 0-6.724Running
Heat 3 Results
Pos.Start+/-#DriverLaps CompletedBehindLaps LedStatus
11016Tyler Bruening 00.000Running
23+140BKyle Bronson 0-0.209Running
34+124HMike Harrison 0-2.008Running
45+125Jason Feger 0-2.632Running
56+114WDustin Walker 0-3.671Running
67+111GGordy Gundaker 0-4.471Running
78+14DDoug Tye 0-8.412Running
82-622*Max McLaughlin 0-8.412Running
Heat 4 Results
Pos.Start+/-#DriverLaps CompletedBehindLaps LedStatus
1103SBrian Shirley 00.000Running
24+232Bobby Pierce 0-0.487Running
35+219RRyan Gustin 0-1.590Running
43-178Chad Zobrist 0-2.170Running
52-320TCTristan Chamberlain 0-4.281Running
6604Jordan Suhre 0-4.666Running
77018MJimmy Miller 0-5.332Running
88038Thomas Hunziker 0-8.606Running
Qualifying Flight 1 Results
POSStartCarDriverHometownTimeDifference
1397Cade Dillard Robeline, LA13.0430.000
2510Daryn Klein Trenton, IL13.185-0.142
31128Dennis Erb JrCarpentersville, IL13.250-0.207
414B5Brandon Sheppard New Berlin, IL13.252-0.209
51652Matt Bailey Highland, IL13.357-0.314
61727Rodney Melvin Benton, IL13.364-0.321
71519Dustin Sorensen Rochester, MN13.411-0.368
8197JRCody Overton Evans, GA13.429-0.386
9616GRusty Griffaw Festus, MO13.535-0.492
10418Shannon Babb Moweaqua, IL13.638-0.595
111311Shannon Kuhn Highland, IL13.697-0.654
127B1Brent Larson Lake Elmo, MN13.776-0.733
13816WTony Wolf Highland, IL13.814-0.771
141215Clayton Stuckey Shreveport, LA13.835-0.792
15109Nick Hoffman Mooresville, NC13.853-0.810
16917Todd Rehg St. Jacob, IL13.961-0.918
17222Dan Jacober Highland, IL13.961-0.918
Qualifying Flight 2 Results
POSStartCarDriverHometownTimeDifference
11416Tyler Bruening Decorah, IA13.2280.000
2103SBrian Shirley Chatham, IL13.249-0.021
3922*Max McLaughlin , 13.284-0.056
4220TCTristan Chamberlain Richmond, IN13.362-0.134
51240BKyle Bronson Brandon, FL13.378-0.150
6678Chad Zobrist Highland, IL13.405-0.177
7524HMike Harrison Highland, IL13.482-0.254
8432Bobby Pierce Oakwood, IL13.486-0.258
9825Jason Feger Bloomington, IL13.499-0.271
101519RRyan Gustin Marshalltown, IA13.510-0.282
111314WDustin Walker Polk, MO13.575-0.347
12164Jordan Suhre Alhambra, IL13.693-0.465
13111GGordy Gundaker St. Charles, MO13.761-0.533
14718MJimmy Miller Highland, IL13.817-0.589
1534DDoug Tye Troy, IL14.262-1.034
161138Thomas Hunziker Bend, OR14.262-1.034
Hot Laps Results
POSStartCarDriverHometownTimeDifference
13219RRyan Gustin Marshalltown, IA13.3540.000
21519Dustin Sorensen Rochester, MN13.582-0.228
314B5Brandon Sheppard New Berlin, IL13.606-0.252
42940BKyle Bronson Brandon, FL13.629-0.275
51128Dennis Erb JrCarpentersville, IL13.638-0.284
6273SBrian Shirley Chatham, IL13.658-0.304
71727Rodney Melvin Benton, IL13.671-0.317
8334Jordan Suhre Alhambra, IL13.683-0.329
9418Shannon Babb Moweaqua, IL13.788-0.434
10917Todd Rehg St. Jacob, IL13.811-0.457
112132Bobby Pierce Oakwood, IL13.833-0.479
12397Cade Dillard Robeline, LA13.847-0.493
132224HMike Harrison Highland, IL13.852-0.498
142622*Max McLaughlin , 13.897-0.543
151652Matt Bailey Highland, IL13.946-0.592
162378Chad Zobrist Highland, IL13.949-0.595
17109Nick Hoffman Mooresville, NC13.996-0.642
182525Jason Feger Bloomington, IL14.024-0.670
191215Clayton Stuckey Shreveport, LA14.027-0.673
203014WDustin Walker Polk, MO14.073-0.719
21616GRusty Griffaw Festus, MO14.140-0.786
223116Tyler Bruening Decorah, IA14.181-0.827
232418MJimmy Miller Highland, IL14.291-0.937
24197JRCody Overton Evans, GA14.312-0.958
25204DDoug Tye Troy, IL14.332-0.978
267B1Brent Larson Lake Elmo, MN14.375-1.021
271311Shannon Kuhn Highland, IL14.567-1.213
28816WTony Wolf Highland, IL14.571-1.217
291920TCTristan Chamberlain Richmond, IN14.635-1.281
301811GGordy Gundaker St. Charles, MO15.114-1.760
312838Thomas Hunziker Bend, OR15.114-1.760
32222Dan Jacober Highland, IL15.114-1.760
33510Daryn Klein Trenton, IL15.114-1.760
DIRTVision Highlights  
Event Info  

World of Outlaws Beat The Heat 40
Wednesday, August 14, 2024
Highland Speedway
2020 Park St
Highland, Illinois 62249 

Event Description
The World of Outlaws CASE Late Models visit Highland Speedway for the first time in a Wednesday night battle, August 14.

Series Racing
World of Outlaws Late Model Series

To Win Amount
$10,000.00

Event Schedule

12PM Pit Gates Open
4PM Grandstand Gates Open
6PM Driver's Meeting
6:30PM Hot Laps/Qualifying with racing to follow


*All times Central

Ticket Options  
Options And Prices

Adult General Admission: $40
Kids General Admission (12 & Under): $10
Reserved Seating: $50
Box Seats (Front 2 rows, includes drink/food server): $75



Grandstand Type

Covered Grandstand and Bleachers with No Backs



Reserved Seating

Top 3 Rows



Family Section Location

Yes, in the turn 1 Grandstands. No smoking and no alcohol in the Family Section.



Handicapped Seating Location

Handicapped section is located at the top of the grandstands near the front entrance



Pit Pass Price

Adult Pit Pass: $50
Kids Pit Pass (12 & Under): $30



Handicapped Parking Location

Handicapped parking is near the front entrance and golf cart shuttle will be running



Camping Availability

Camping is located South of the track just a short walk from the Grandstands. Both full service (water and electric) and primitive camping are available



Frequently Asked Questions  
To Win Amount
$10,000.00

Reserved Seating

Top 3 Rows



Type of Grandstand

Covered Grandstand and Bleachers with No Backs



Stadium Seating

No seat backs or stadium seats allowed



Handicapped Seating

Handicapped section is located at the top of the grandstands near the front entrance



Handicapped Parking

Handicapped parking is near the front entrance and golf cart shuttle will be running



Personal Coolers

No coolers allowed.



ATMs
1

Alcohol Sales

Sold on site, not allowed in.



Smoking Policy

Allowed



Family Section

Yes, in the turn 1 Grandstands. No smoking and no alcohol in the Family Section.



Camping Availability

Camping is located South of the track just a short walk from the Grandstands. Both full service (water and electric) and primitive camping are available



Track Info  

Highland Speedway
2020 Park St
Highland, Illinois 62249 

Track Phone
(618) 654-6656

Track Email
[email protected]

Track Size
0.25

Track Map
Competitor Info  
Competitor Downloads
 https://www.dirtcarmembers.com/downloads.php

Tire Rules

Left Front Tire: Hoosier (Open)

Left Rear & Right Front Tire: Hoosier (90) NLMT2, (90) NLMT3 

Right Rear Tire: Hoosier (92) NLMT3, (92) NLMT4

** Grooving and siping will be allowed. **



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