Brandon Sheppard and Sheppard Riggs Racing are going forward with Longhorn Chassis.
The 4-time World of Outlaws Late Model champion announced the news Thursday less than a month away from the season kickoff event at Vado, New Mexico’s Wild West Shootout.
“We look forward to partnering with Longhorn during the upcoming season,” team owner Scott Riggs said in a release. “Steve, Matt, Kevin and their team will be hands-on with us as Brandon becomes an integral part of their long-term super late model development program.”
Sheppard had driven full-time in the Rocket Chassis house car since 2017, winning each of his four championships with the team and chassis.
He’s captured four Dirt Track World Championship feature wins, three World Finals feature wins, three Prairie Dirt Classic’s, and took home the 2019 Dirt Late Model Dream during his time in the Rocket.
Now, he’ll venture to dirt late model racing’s most popular chassis.
“I’m very blessed and appreciative for the opportunity I’ve had in a Rocket Chassis for the past 10 years,” Sheppard said in the release. “When I announced I was coming home to drive back in September, Steve Arpin was one of the very first people that reached out to me to wish me luck and that meant a lot to me being that we were right in the middle of a contested points battle with them. I wanted to focus on closing out the season with Mark before I even thought about 2023. So, after DTWC, we began talking with Steve and Paul about what their vision was for the next 5-10 years, and it seemed like there was a lot of things in line between what I wanted our program to become and theirs. For me as a driver, I still feel like there is plenty of room to grow and the opportunity to work with (Kevin) Rumley and Matt Langston is just one that I couldn’t pass up.”
Arpin, a former NASCAR Xfinity and Global RallyCross driver, now serves as a managing partner at Longhorn Chassis.
“Brandon is super talented on the track, but even more respected off the track for his character and humility,” Arpin said. “His feedback as a championship driver and his work ethic towards understanding what makes our cars better are going to be paramount in keeping us at the forefront of the Super Late Model world. We couldn’t be more excited to be working with Brandon and the entire SRR team this upcoming season.”
Sheppard Riggs Racing has yet to announce what tour he will be racing full-time in 2023, if he chooses to race any. His teammate Jack Riggs will pilot the No. 81J at the Wild West Shootout and Jason Riggs will be racing in the No. 81 at Florida speedweeks in February.
