Brian Shirley
Hometown: Chatham, IL
Birthday: April 2, 1981
Marital Status: Single
Children: None
Car: No. 3s Petroff Towing/Jayco Construction/J&J Steel Rayburn/Rocket
Car Owner: Ed Petroff
Website: www.brianshirley.com 2007 World of Outlaws Late Model Series Stats: Events: 37
Starts: 34
Wins: 1 (Lincoln, Ill.)
Top 5: 5
Top 10: 14
Fast Times: 1
Heat Wins: 2
B-Main Wins: 5
Points Standings Finish: 9th (-1664)
Total Season Earnings: $91,004
WoO LMS History: Made first appearance in a WoO LMS feature on Sept. 2, 2005, at Twin Cities Raceway Park in North Vernon, Ind., finishing 10th… Registered finish of third in second A-Main start, on Sept. 17, 2005, at I-55 Raceway in Pevely, Mo. Also won his first heat that night... Also competed in WoO LMS features on Sept. 23, 2005, at Kentucky Lake Motor Speedway (finished seventh) and Aug. 15, 2006, at Lake Ozark Speedway in Eldon, Mo. (finished sixth)… Made trip to Florida’s Volusia Speedway Park for 2006 WoO LMS season-finale ‘Gator 100’ but did not qualify… Traveled the most he ever has in 2007 to chase WoO LMS Rookie of the Year Award. Got a late start on tour, but entered 37 of 45 events and scored first career WoO LMS win on May 13 at Lincoln (Ill.) Speedway… Became second driver in WoO LMS history to win an A-Main while a rookie contender… Had four runner-up finishes in 2007… Earned first career Fast Time Award on June 23, 2007, at Quebec’s Autodrome Drummond – the first-ever WoO LMS event held in Canada… Finished second to Tim Fuller in Rookie of the Year race, earning a $5,000 bonus… Drove NASCAR veteran Ken Schrader’s dirt Late Model in the 2007 Circle K Colossal 100 at The Dirt Track @ Lowe’s Motor Speedway…
Other Racing History: Fast-rising star has been racing dirt Late Models fulltime only since 2002… Was once one of the most promising young motorcycle aces in the American Motorcycle Association’s flat track ranks. Netted various championships and honors, including the highly coveted ‘600cc AMA National Championship’ and ‘AMA 600cc National Hot Shoe Championship’ titles. A racing injury sidelined Shirley in 1999 and his two-wheel career came to a sudden end in 2000…. In his first full season of competition in dirt Late Models, won a track championship at Macon (Ill.) Raceway and National Rookie of the Year honors with UMP DIRTcar Racing… Began to travel in 2004 and was both the points champion and Rookie of the Year with the Northern Allstars Late Model Series. Also scored first major win, capturing a UMP DIRTcar Racing Summernationals event at Peoria (Ill.) Speedway… In 2005, was offered an opportunity to partner with two legendary powerhouses in the dirt Late Model industry – chassis builder C.J. Rayburn and Illinois business owner and racing benefactor Ed Petroff of Petroff Towing. Honed his skills competing in a variety of national, regional and special events… Won seven times in 2005, including the $10,000 UMP Summernationals finale/‘Birthday Race’ at Oakshade (Ohio) Raceway… After struggling during the early part of 2006 while team leader Ed Petroff recovered from health problems, Shirley registered a career-high 12 feature wins. His victories included the USA World 50 at Paducah (Ky.) International Raceway, the Larry Phillips Memorial at Lebanon (Mo.) I-44 Speedway and the $35,000 Knoxville (Iowa) Late Model Nationals…. Shirley’s huge triumph at the legendary Knoxville Raceway came after an early spin forced him to restart at the rear of the field – and in his first career start in a 100-lap event outside of Macon Speedway… Returned to Knoxville Nationals in 2007 and won a preliminary feature…
Interesting Facts: Carries the nickname ‘Squirrel.’… Was one of two WoO LMS regulars under the age of 30 in 2007… Is known for his X-Games-cool style, which includes piercings in his ears and eyebrow…