Shepherd Dominates at Oulton Park

If there was ever any question about who the favorite was to win this year's YesterYear IROC Championship, it was settled on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, on a sunny day at the Oulton Park Circuit in Little Budworth, England. The 40-lap event was Round 4 of the Series and took many of the oval drivers out of their comfort zone by putting them on a tricky, technical European road course. Points leader J.R. Shepherd, known simply as "The Institution" due to his dominance for many years in the Bootleg Racing League, started at the back of the 11-car grid but before the first lap was completed, he was already up into fifth place. His rival for this year's title,Red Light Racing League's Chris Hammett, was in fourth place and proved hard for J.R. to get around. Hammett was quick, but an early mistake on lap six cost him a decent finish. Hammett slammed into a tire barrier after getting loose coming out of one of the many tricky corners on the circuit and his day was done. Once Hammett's day ended, it was smooth sailing for Shepherd throughout the remainder of the event.

As Shepherd checked out from the rest of the field, many drivers began to make unforced errors on the difficult English road course. Kenny Allen, who looked surprisingly quick early on, had issues on lap three destroying his Cadillac CTS-V. Skitter Creek Drivers Club racer David Shreve was next. Shreve was battling for third place with Chris Worrell when he misjudged a corner and was disqualified for exceeding the points limit on lap19. Six laps later on lap 25, Jerry Isaacs succumbed to the Oulton Park Circuit by misjudging a corner and damaging his car beyond repair. As attrition began to mount, the only question that remained was if Shepherd would lap the entire field. That question was answered with two laps remaining in the race when Shepherd got around OBRL's Josh Robinson, who finished second, and put him a lap down. OBRL's Roger Hurley, who had a damaged car but kept his car on the track and remained quick enough, rolled home in third place to round out the podium.

With the win, Shepherd has all but claimed the 2026 YesterYear IROC Championship title. He basically needs to grid up at Daytona and he will have defended his title. The 5th and final round of the Series will take place on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, at the Daytona International Speedway oval. The race will be broadcast live on the Virtual Grip Network.