Bobby Pierce wins his first Prairie Dirt Classic at Fairbury
Photo by Emily Schwanke
FAIRBURY, Ill. — The years of questioning Bobby Pierce’s ability to win the Prairie Dirt Classic were laid to rest on Saturday night at Fairbury Speedway.
With a miraculous performance from the rear of the field two times, Bobby Pierce claimed triumph for his fifth-straight Feature win with the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models at a crown jewel he’s been itching to win since his first attempt in 2011.
The victory means everything to Pierce, as the “PDC” win marks the first time in the event’s history that a father and son have won the crown jewel race.
“That was the first race that I blacked out and just wanted to get out and do a backflip,” Pierce said. “Matt Curl came to me at Victory Lane and we’ve been through a lot with this race. He’s put on the biggest race in Illinois for a long time now, and I’ve been so close so many times. He came up to the car and that was the first race that I cried after winning, with my dad winning this race five times and to see what this event has become, it’s the first time I got emotional from.”
After breaking a driveshaft on Friday night in Showdown Feature #2, Pierce had to use a points provisional on Saturday to start the 100-lap Feature from 24th position.
At the front of the field, a wide cast of drivers battled for the lead, with New Berlin, IL’s Brandon Sheppard taking early command over Bloomington, IL’s Jason Feger, Winfield, TN’s Mike Marlar, Chatham, IL’s Brian Shirley and Watertown, NY’s Tim McCreadie.
Those drivers could not hold back Mooresville, NC driver Nick Hoffman, who cut through each driver with precision and eventually grabbed the lead over Sheppard on Lap 21.
Meanwhile, Pierce used any and every lane and opportunity that arose to put his No. 32 closer to the front of the field.
While Hoffman set the pace at the front field with Shirley and McCreadie following behind the NOS Energy Drink No. 9, Pierce continued to drive through the field with the leaders in his eyesight.
He got to as high as fourth place until he clipped the left rear of McCreadie on Lap 60, spinning in Turn 4 to bring out the caution. The spin put him back to 19th with 40 laps to go.
Then, the hunt was on again for the 2023 Series champion, using a mix of the top and bottom lanes to try and fight his way back to the front.
At the front, Martinsville, IN driver Ricky Thornton Jr. had already performed a similar comeback from 21st position to challenge Hoffman for the lead. But with 10 laps to go, after having bounced off the front stretch wall a couple of times, Thornton pulled off the track with a broken driveshaft that ended his chances at back-to-back PDC wins.
Thornton’s loss was Pierce’s gain, as he sat in a primed position to chase glory in the event with single-digit laps remaining. He had to battle Marlar for second place by using every inch of the top lane to gain a run off of Turn 4 and have a clear shot at Hoffman.
Pierce only had one chance to take the lead from Hoffman, and that presented itself with the white flag waving in the air. In his usual gasser style, Pierce ripped around the cushion of Turns 1 and 2 to pass Hoffman and cross the finish line as the champion of the Prairie Dirt Classic.
“I definitely had to take more chances than before,” Pierce said. “I’m not in the tight points battle and I thought about that early in the race. I didn’t think I’d be able to get to the lead from 23rd even though everybody was saying I could do it. When I spun with 40 laps to go, I thought I lost the race because I should’ve been more patient. It took dicey moves to get to the front. To come back from that, this means everything.”
Hoffman came home second after the stinger of a finish. However, the results cut his gap to Sheppard, the Series points leader, to 26 markers heading into Wilmot Raceway. Hoffman also leaves with $59,000 in the bank for leading 79 laps in the Feature.
“I don’t know if there’s anything I could’ve done differently,” Hoffman said. “(Bobby) is the best at running the cushion in Late Model racing, he knew where I was going and he got clear of me on Turns 1 and 2, so for him to come back as far as he did there.
“The car was as good as I could make it. When we first started, I fired off really good and thought if it was a bad sign to be good so early then be terrible late. But once the track began to slow down there, I could run my middle lane, I still felt good. Knowing this track will change three or four times throughout that 100-lap race, I was chasing grip and slipping off the corner. If someone was gonna make it happen, it was going to be through Turns 1 and 2 and (Bobby) was able to do that.”
Fayetteville, NC driver Daulton Wilson picked up his first career Prairie Dirt Classic podium in his second career start in the Fairbury event. Wilson considers the night a win for him after consistently racing inside the top 10 throughout the night and mustering a late charge to take third place.
“I got in line there with everybody,” Wilson said. “I was just trying to not lose too many spots and hold my spot there. Once the track slowed down because the top was so treacherous, we were able to gain some ground.
“It’s like a win for us. This place has not been kind to me. We’ve made the races, but haven’t contended for wins here. We ran good in our Feature (on Friday), and to finish second and third with the caliber of cars here, we’ve had a good car but not the luck. To go home and build on this trip, I’m happy.”
Marlar finished fourth, and Manhattan, KS driver Chase Junghans cemented the crown jewel race’s top-five finishers after a 10-place climb from a 15th starting spot.
RECAP NOTES:
Dirt King Simulator Hottest Hot Lap: Ethan Dotson
Last Chance Showdown Winners: Dennis Erb Jr, Devin Moran, Shannon Babb
Prairie Dirt Shootout Winner: Garrett Alberson
Bilstein Pole Award: Jason Feger
Fox Factory Hard Charger: Bobby Pierce
Up Next: The World of Outlaws CASE Late Models travels continue with a week of racing in Wisconsin as the Series makes its debut at Wilmot Raceway on Monday, July 29, before traveling to Cedar Lake Speedway for the USA Nationals on Thursday-Saturday, Aug. 1-3.
For tickets to Wilmot, CLICK HERE.
For tickets to Cedar Lake, CLICK HERE.
If you can’t make it to the track, watch every lap live on DIRTVision.
RESULTS
CASE Late Mode Feature (100 Laps): 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[24]; 2. 9-Nick Hoffman[8]; 3. 18D-Daulton Wilson[5]; 4. 157-Mike Marlar[3]; 5. 18C-Chase Junghans[15]; 6. 99-Devin Moran[18]; 7. 3S-Brian Shirley[7]; 8. 58-Garrett Alberson[23]; 9. 18-Shannon Babb[19]; 10. 16-Tyler Bruening[12]; 11. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[17]; 12. 97-Cade Dillard[25]; 13. 25F-Jason Feger[1]; 14. 40B-Kyle Bronson[13]; 15. B5-Brandon Sheppard[2]; 16. 22*-Max McLaughlin[28]; 17. 93-Carson Ferguson[20]; 18. 1-Tim McCreadie[10]; 19. 89-Mike Spatola[27]; 20. 10-Garrett Smith[22]; 21. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[21]; 22. 19-Dustin Sorensen[16]; 23. 111-Max Blair[14]; 24. 11S-Austin Smith[11]; 25. 24-Ryan Unzicker[26]; 26. B1-Brent Larson[29]; 27. 19R-Ryan Gustin[4]; 28. 99W-Mckay Wenger[9]; 29. 32S-Chris Simpson[6]
Last Chance Showdown 1 (15 Laps): 1. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[2]; 2. 93-Carson Ferguson[10]; 3. 26M-Bob Gardner[5]; 4. 11-Gordy Gundaker[6]; 5. 3-Dale Markham[15]; 6. T6-Tommy Sheppard Jr[18]; 7. 27-Colby Sheppard[8]; 8. 38-Thomas Hunziker[7]; 9. 33H-Billy Hough[20]; 10. 14JR-Trey Mills[9]; 11. 45-Kyle Hammer[11]; 12. 25W-Allen Weisser[4]; 13. 38J-Jake Little[14]; 14. 12-Ashton Winger[3]; 15. 24-Ryan Unzicker[1]; 16. 97-Cade Dillard[21]; 17. (DNS) 111R-Steven Roberts; 18. (DNS) 222-Dwight Falcon; 19. (DNS) 24H-Mike Harrison; 20. (DNS) 1W-Donny Walden; 21. (DNS) 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr
Last Chance Showdown 2 (15 Laps): 1. 99-Devin Moran[1]; 2. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[3]; 3. 58-Garrett Alberson[5]; 4. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[4]; 5. 49-Jonathan Davenport[7]; 6. 96-Tanner English[2]; 7. 74X-Ethan Dotson[6]; 8. 89-Mike Spatola[10]; 9. 84-Myles Moos[17]; 10. 122-Timmy Dick[13]; 11. 126-Kaede Loudy[11]; 12. 22-Chris Ferguson[15]; 13. 9Z-Lyle Zanker[19]; 14. 97JR-Cody Overton[9]; 15. T2-Brayton Wallace[12]; 16. 22*-Max McLaughlin[8]; 17. 18R-Ross Camponovo[14]; 18. 14W-Dustin Walker[20]; 19. (DNS) 57-Matt Tifft; 20. (DNS) 8L-Jeffrey Ledford; 21. (DNS) 66C-Matt Cosner
Last Chance Showdown 3 (15 Laps): 1. 18-Shannon Babb[4]; 2. 10-Garrett Smith[3]; 3. 11T-Trevor Gundaker[1]; 4. 8M-Dillon McCowan[5]; 5. 31-Tyler Millwood[7]; 6. M27-Mike Provenzano[11]; 7. 17SS-Brenden Smith[9]; 8. 15-Justin Duty[16]; 9. Z61-Alex Wilson[17]; 10. 25-Shane Clanton[18]; 11. 90-Brian Rickman[13]; 12. 19M-Spencer Hughes[8]; 13. 75-Daniel Adam[20]; 14. 43-Derrick Stewart[6]; 15. 32-Bobby Pierce[14]; 16. 1T-Tyler Erb[2]; 17. B1-Brent Larson[12]; 18. (DNS) 11R-Josh Rice; 19. (DNS) 71-Hudson O'Neal; 20. (DNS) 33-Kye Blight
Prairie Dirt Shootout (25 Laps): 1. 58-Garrett Alberson[2]; 2. 11-Gordy Gundaker[4]; 3. 11T-Trevor Gundaker[3]; 4. 31-Tyler Millwood[9]; 5. 49-Jonathan Davenport[8]; 6. 96-Tanner English[11]; 7. 26M-Bob Gardner[1]; 8. 84-Myles Moos[20]; 9. 15-Justin Duty[18]; 10. 3-Dale Markham[7]; 11. 27-Colby Sheppard[13]; 12. M27-Mike Provenzano[12]; 13. 17SS-Brenden Smith[15]; 14. T6-Tommy Sheppard Jr[10]; 15. Z61-Alex Wilson[21]; 16. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[5]; 17. 33H-Billy Hough[19]; 18. 8M-Dillon McCowan[6]; 19. 89-Mike Spatola[17]; 20. (DNS) 74X-Ethan Dotson; 21. (DNS) 38-Thomas Hunziker
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MICHAEL LONG WINS SUMMIT MODIFIED MAIN AT FAIRBURY
By Nick Graziano
FAIRBURY, iLL. -- The DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals closed the book on its 2024 season by crowning two new champions at Fairbury Speedway Saturday night – both Illinois natives.
Michael Long, of Fowler, IL, conquered the Prairie Dirt Classic for the first time, while Mike McKinney, of Plainfield, IL, was officially named the 2024 Summit Modified Nationals champion.
McKinney clinched the title Friday night after winning his Showdown Feature and made it official on Saturday, ending the 2024 season with eight wins, 12 top-five finishes and 16 top 10s.
“It’s pretty cool,” McKinney said with a sense of relief about winning the title. “The Series has been around for a long time. It’s really a short list of the guys that have won it. A lot of good guys. It’s awesome to have my name on that list. 2018, I led all summer and lost it at [the Prairie Dirt Classic]. This year, I was down all summer, and had to claw back and come back to win. It’s awesome. Growing up as an Illinois kid, the Summer Nationals is a staple.”
The Prairie Dirt Classic seemed to favor first timers this year as the Redraw resulted with the first six starters looking for their first “PDC” win. Up front, Ray Bollinger started on the pole with Long to his outside.
When the race took motion, Long used the tacky cushion to his advantage and drove around the outside of Bollinger to take the lead on the first lap. From there, he entered his own league, leaving the rest of the field to battle for a best finish of second for 40 laps.
“We’ve just been on a roll all year,” Long said. “The car has been consistent all year. We haven’t had to do anything to it. We do a few little changes from Heats to Feature and just go with it. We just had a good year going on. We’ve been really good here at Fairbury.”
The first half of the race saw Bollinger, Trent Young and Frank Marshall stand as prime contenders for the runner-up spot. Each took their turn in the position, but Marshall fell out of the picture after a poor lap on the Lap 14 restart that dropped him out of the top five.
By the halfway, Josh Harris entered the picture, finding speed around the bottom of the track. He and Bollinger battled side by side for four laps before Harris edged ahead of the yellow No. 77 with 12 laps to go.
At the same time, the 2024 Series champion started to enter the picture. Having to work his way forward from the seventh starting position, McKinney broke into the top five with less than 10 laps to go.
However, his hopes of sweeping both titles this weekend unraveled after a Lap 33 caution. He fumbled on the restart, falling out of the top five and a few laps later found himself out of the race. His championship competitor Trevor Neville jumped the cushion, nearly flipping on his side, and landed into oncoming traffic. The multi-car accident resulted in McKinney and Neville being towed off track to finishes of 18th and 16th, respectively.
With two laps to go once the race resumed, Harris tried to give Long a scare, staying within a car length the first lap. But once Long found his rhythm up top again, he drove away to a 1.1 second lead and win.
“We won some big Mod races at other tracks, we won the Labor Day MARS deal here last year, but just the hype of the Prairie Dirt Classic and all the fans here, it’s just definitely one there at the top of my list,” Long said. “We’ve been trying the past four or five years to get it… Thankful to get it.”
Harris, who said he felt like he could have been fast around the center, but was stuck defending the bottom, had to settle for second. Kyle Hammer finished third after starting 11th, Bollinger fell to fourth and Zeke McKenzie had the drive of the race, charging from 20th to finish fifth.
Long’s win was his fifth DIRTcar Summer Nationals victory of the 2024 season – the most he’s ever won in a year with the Series.
McKinney concluded the year with a 21-point advantage over Trevor Neville, who still had a career year with four Series wins.
The DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals will return in June 2025, again paired with the DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models.
DIRTCAR UMP MODIFIED RESULTS
Feature (40 Laps): 1. 18L-Michael Long[2]; 2. 22-Josh Harris[3]; 3. 45-Kyle Hammer[11]; 4. 77-Ray Bollinger[1]; 5. 24Z-Zeke McKenzie[20]; 6. 10Y-Trent Young[4]; 7. 99-Hunt Gossum[15]; 8. 21A-Nick Allen[14]; 9. 8A-Austin Holcombe[9]; 10. 89-Austin Friedman[18]; 11. 28M-Frank Marshall[6]; 12. 14L-Dalton Lane[21]; 13. 5-Steven Brooks[22]; 14. 5S-Owen Steinkoenig[12]; 15. 54-Zachary Hawk[24]; 16. 777-Trevor Neville[5]; 17. C40-Mike Chasteen Jr[16]; 18. 96M-Mike McKinney[7]; 19. 1D-Dean Hoffman[8]; 20. 37-Michael Ledford[17]; 21. 67-Austin Seets[13]; 22. 18S-Jarrett Stryker[19]; 23. 24H-Mike Harrison[10]; 24. 32-Mason Duncan[23]
Last Chance Showdown 1 (12 Laps): 1. 37-Michael Ledford[1]; 2. 18S-Jarrett Stryker[3]; 3. 5-Steven Brooks[4]; 4. 01-Billy Knippenberg[5]; 5. J82-Treb Jacoby[6]; 6. 8-Kyle Strickler[8]; 7. J24-Jeremy Nichols[7]; 8. 18-Ryan Sutter[12]; 9. 16C-John Clippinger[11]; 10. 14-Caden McWhorter[20]; 11. 21-Lyndon Whitfill[9]; 12. 757-Bradley Jameson[21]; 13. 83-Kasey Schrock[19]; 14. 7-Brad Deyoung[15]; 15. 3-Mike Brooks[14]; 16. 110-Landen Miller[10]; 17. 24T-Trevor Ringle[18]; 18. 21D-Danny Schwartz[13]; 19. 7N-Tim Nash[17]; 20. 43-Jared Thomas[2]; 21. T9-Ryan Thomas[16]
Last Chance Showdown 2 (12 Laps): 1. 89-Austin Friedman[1]; 2. 24Z-Zeke McKenzie[3]; 3. 3F-Carson Friedman[6]; 4. 8S-Kyle Steffens[5]; 5. 58-Ryan Hamilton[18]; 6. 54-Zachary Hawk[7]; 7. 36-Eric Vaughan[13]; 8. 121-Deece Schwartz[11]; 9. 1W-Bob Pohlman[12]; 10. 0F-Matt Fabrizius[15]; 11. 10-Garrett Jameson[17]; 12. 12-Jeff Curl[2]; 13. 7M-Jason Markewitz[20]; 14. 88S-Alan Stipp[4]; 15. 15-Chris Smith[10]; 16. 20S-Tanner Sullivan[9]; 17. 5CS-Curt Spalding[21]; 18. 32-Mason Duncan[16]; 19. 8K-Levi Kissinger[19]; 20. 14L-Dalton Lane[8]; 21. 13-Charlie Mefford[14]
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