LAKE ODESSA, Mich. — The chance of rain was imminent Thursday night at I-96 Speedway, so the urgency of the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series racers was clear.

Get to the lead and get to the lead quickly. That’s exactly how Brandon Sheppard raced.

From his outside front row starting position, Sheppard charged around Chase Junghans through turns one and two and into the top spot.

The point leader from New Berlin, Ill., continued to pull away while every spot behind him was tightly contested. Sheppard was going to leave no doubt en route to his 17th victory of the season, one short of tying the all-time single-season win mark.

Sheppard was blazing a trail through turns three and four on lap 24 when a group of cars spun in front of him. While under caution, the skies opened and that imminent rainstorm made its appearance.

The race was declared official with Sheppard earning the victory, Junghans in second and Frank Heckenast Jr. in third.

The finish:

Feature (24 Laps, rain shortened) 1. 1-Brandon Sheppard [2][$10,000]; 2. 18-Chase Junghans [1][$5,000]; 3. 99jr-Frank Heckenast [3][$3,000]; 4. 29-Darrell Lanigan [4][$2,500]; 5. 97-Cade Dillard [6][$2,000]; 6. M14-Brandon Thirlby [14][$1,700]; 7. 25-Shane Clanton [5][$1,400]; 8. 7-Ricky Weiss [12][$1,300]; 9. 99B-Boom Briggs [7][$1,200]; 10. 42-Chad Finley [8][$1,100]; 11. 87-David Mielke [13][$1,050]; 12. B1-Brent Larson [11][$1,000]; 13. 28-Dennis Erb [9][$950]; 14. 6-Blake Spencer [17][$900]; 15. 24n-Kyle Novak [19][$850]; 16. 5*-Bryant Dickinson [18][$800]; 17. CJ1-Rusty Schlenk [23][$770]; 18. 2s-Travis Stemler [10][$750]; 19. 52-Brad Harden [20][$730]; 20. 2-Bry Johnson [16][$700]; 21. 53-Hillard Miller [21][$700]; 22. 21-Logan Arntz [22][$700]; 23. 113-Kyle Roberts [15][$700] Hard Charger: M14-Brandon Thirlby[+8]