MECHANICSBURG, Pa. – He may have ended up on the short end of the stick after a wreck last week, but on Monday night Team Drydene eSports driver Corey Gordon sang a song of redemption as he picked up the win in the World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model iRacing Invitational at Williams Grove Speedway.

Gordon had an unfortunate end to his great run last week, when he got tangled up on a restart while leading and was sent to the tail of the field for bringing out the caution in the closing stages. But the feeling of disappointment quickly escaped him in the hours following and is surely gone now that he finds himself in victory lane once again.

“Last week was a different story,” Gordon said. “I had a really good car, and I think I could have got me another one, but it is what it is. It’s part of racing, that’s why they call it racing and not winning.”

The last time the Outlaws appeared at Williams Grove, it was last August in the real-world, where Rocket1 Racing driver Brandon Sheppard charged to victory as he was closing in on a record-setting championship season. On Monday night, it was a different situation in the virtual world for Sheppard.

After assembling a sim rig with the help of his Rocket1 team, the two-time champion made his World of Outlaws Morton Buildings Late Model Series iRacing debut Monday night, grabbing the final transfer spot in WRISCO Industries Last Chance Showdown and climbing nine spots in the feature for a 15th-place finish. His virtual Rocket1 Racing teammate, Logan Seavey, complemented Sheppard’s efforts with a stellar run of his own.

After struggling in Racing Electronics Qualifying, Seavey came from 10th to the lead in six laps to win heat two and start on the outside pole for the 50-lap feature, where he would eventually finish third.

“Just to make the show your first night, I feel like is pretty good,” Seavey said of Sheppard’s debut. “Hopefully, we’ll get to practicing with him soon, and, who knows, if he gets good enough, I’ll probably get fired and he’ll be back in full-time, so we’ll see how it goes.”

At the drop of the green in the feature, polesitter and real-life sprint car pilot Robbie Kendall took the early lead but was dethroned quickly after a restart on lap five. Former Invitational winner Trent Ivey grabbed the top spot around the outside of Kendall and led until fifth-starting Gordon got a great run to the inside of Ivey out of Turn 4 and swiped the lead away permanently on lap 12.

“To be able to run the bottom [at this track] … I was letting off just a little bit past the flag stand, that way I could roll the bottom,” Gordon said of the line he took to get the lead.

Meanwhile, a bit further back in the field, Seavey did not get off to the start he wanted.

“We got off to a pretty slow start there, I think we fell back to fifth or sixth pretty early. Just not very good on restarts, but as the race went on, we got better. I was kinda geared-up for the end of the race when it got slick. I think that was my biggest problem, trying to get off the corners on the bottom,” Seavey said.

As the race developed, North Carolinian Sprint Car pilot Eric Riggins Jr. began to cash-in on his patience in the low groove, picking off Ivey for second on lap 30. He held the spot the rest of the way for his first runner-up finish of the Late Model Invitational.

“Just running that bottom – that patience is so hard, especially when you’ve got people breathing down your neck, but it paid off to stick to it for 50 laps and I’m happy with a second place,” Riggins said.

Riggins gave a lot of credit to his car setup after the race, noting the difference it made in applying his real-world skill to the virtual track.

“This is one of those tracks that I’ve got real-life laps around, albeit not that many, but it’s always been one of my favorite tracks to run on [iRacing],” Riggins said. “But, to be able to have the setup help, that’s a big thing out of this deal.”

Two-time Late Model Invitational winner Mike McKinney kept his NOS Energy Drink No. 96 up front for most of the race and really began to come to life after a lap-35 restart, trading slide jobs with Ivey back-and-forth for a couple of corners before winning the battle for position on lap 39. But it didn’t last long, as Seavey was also in the midst of a late-race push for the front and tagged McKinney in the rear heading into turn one on lap 40, sending him into a 360-degree spin into the wall.

“I kinda cleaned-out Mikey [McKinney] there, just a mistake,” Seavey said. “I’m still learning how big these things are. I thought I was driving by him on the bottom and hit him with my right-front and turned him around on the straightaway. It sucks for him. I hate to crash somebody like that.”

McKinney kept going, losing minimal positions, but Seavey felt the most positive change from the incident. He took it to the outside of Ivey for third on lap 43 and made it stick, driving away in the final laps to claim the final podium spot.

Gordon now becomes the second repeat winner of the Late Model Invitational, after McKinney accomplished the feat one week ago. He’ll collect a $1,000 check for his efforts.

“I’m currently out of work due to the coronavirus, but my hat’s off to everyone at the World of Outlaws for giving us the opportunity to run,” Gordon said. “Big thanks to Drydene Performance Products and [Bill] Klingbeil for giving me the opportunity to represent Drydene, Team Zero Race Cars and Chris Madden.”

The finish:

1. 0-Corey Gordon [7][$1,000]; 2. 47-Eric Riggins [4]; 3. 1-Logan Seavey [2]; 4. 14-Tyler Clem [6]; 5. 88-Trent Ivey [5]; 6. 50-Kaeden Cornell [17]; 7. 96-Mike McKinney [8]; 8. 79-Kyle Hardy [23]; 9. 55-Chris Hile [14]; 10. 12-Ashton Winger [20]; 11. 95-Robbie Kendall [1]; 12. 66-Matt Cosner [9]; 13. 6-Nick Stroupe [13]; 14. 096-Tanner English [22]; 15. 1-Brandon Sheppard [24]; 16. 35-Mike Mahaney [15]; 17. 089-Mike Spatola [19]; 18. 5-Chase Briscoe [16]; 19. 99-Matty Watkins [11]; 20. 121-Michael Hensley [3]; 21. 10-Matt Dooley [21]; 22. 15-Matt Shannon [12]; 23. 010-Dalton Polston [18]; 24. 83-Zack Mitchell [10].