May 7, 2025 | By Ben Sheton

Bobby Pierce Wins FloRacing Night in America Opener at La Salle Speedway

LA SALLE, Ill.—The 2025 season for FloRacing Night in America presented by Kubota stormed to life on Tuesday night with the grand reopening of La Salle (Ill.) Speedway, and it was the 2023 miniseries champion, Bobby Pierce who emerged victorious.

The 50-lap feature was brought to the green flag by Ryan Gustin and Drake Troutman with Gustin capturing the lead for the first three laps. Troutman pursued Gustin until lap 4 when he rocketed to the top spot.

Through both open track and lapped traffic Troutman held the top spot as Bobby Pierce marched from the sixth spot up to the second position. The Oakwood, Illinois racer progressively began reeling Troutman in and as the leaders completed lap 27, Pierce used the high line to take the lead.

As Troutman slipped backwards the battle between Pierce and the seventh-starting Ricky Thornton Jr. began to heat up for the lead before a Midwest Sheet Metal caution flew with 8 laps remaining. On the ensuing restart Pierce motored away from the field to claim his first miniseries win of the year and his all-time series best eighth win.

“(Promoter) Tony Izzo (Jr.) did a great job, the track was phenomenal. I know the infield tires got knocked down here in (turns three and four), it got a little dusty and stuff,” Pierce said in Victory Lane. “If you could hit a good lap on the top, it was really fast. You could go to the bottom and kinda make some passes down there, too. Pretty cool to see a racetrack come back to life like this. You know there’s a lot of good fans in this area, they deserve a good track here so that’s cool to see.”

Ricky Thornton Jr., Nick Hoffman, Brandon Sheppard, and Jonathan Davenport completed the Top-5 finishers.

On Wednesday, May 7 the 2025 Illinois Speedweek continues at Spoon River Speedway (Banner, Ill.) the pit gate opens at 2 p.m. CT with the grandstand gate opening at 5 p.m., the driver’s meeting at 5:30 p.m., hot laps at 6 p.m. and racing action to follow.

On Thursday, May 8 at Lincoln (Ill.) Speedway the pit gate opens at 12 p.m. CT with the grandstand gate opening at 3 p.m., the driver’s meeting at 5:30 p.m., hot laps at 6 p.m. and racing action to follow.

2025 FloRacing Night in America presented by Kubota Standard Purse
1)$20,000 2)$10,000 3)$5,000 4)$4,000 5)$3,000 6)$2,750 7)$2,500 8)$2,300 9)$2,200 10)$2,000 11)$1,500 12)$1,250 13)$1,100 $14)1,050 15-24)$1,000
Total - $68,650

Entry Fee: $100 | Non-Qualifier Money: $50

FloRacing Night in American presented by Kubota Tire Rule for May 7, 8:
Left Front Tire: Open
Right Front Tire: NLMT2, NLMT3
Left Rear Tire: NLMT2, NLMT3
Right Rear Tire: NLMT3, NLMT4

For more information on the facilities, please visit www.SpoonRiverSpeedway.com and www.LincolnSpeedwayIL.com.

The three-race, season-opening swing precedes the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series (LOLMDS) Illinois Speedweek events at Farmer City Speedway and Fairbury Speedway, which are set for Friday and Saturday, May 9 – 10.

For more information on FloRacing Night in America presented by Kubota sponsors, visit the company websites at www.kubotausa.com;  \

For complete FloRacing Night in America presented by Kubota details, visit the series website at www.FloSeries.com. For other questions, contact Ben Shelton at msrmafia@gmail.com or 901-335-3037.


FloRacing Night in America presented by Kubota
La Salle (Ill.) Speedway (May 6, 2025)

A Feature (50 Laps): 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[6]; 2. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[7]; 3. 9H-Nick Hoffman[9]; 4. 1-Brandon Sheppard[4]; 5. 49-Jonathan Davenport[11]; 6. 3S-Brian Shirley[5]; 7. 157-Mike Marlar[3]; 8. 28E-Dennis Erb Jr[12]; 9. 74X-Ethan Dotson[10]; 10. 22*-Drake Troutman[2]; 11. 111-Max Blair[19]; 12. 9-Tim McCreadie[18]; 13. 1T-Tyler Erb[14]; 14. 58-Garrett Alberson[8]; 15. 19R-Ryan Gustin[1]; 16. 76-Brandon Overton[15]; 17. 96-Tanner English[21]; 18. 81-Jason Riggs[16]; 19. 18D-Daulton Wilson[24]; 20. (DNF) 40B-Kyle Bronson[17]; 21. (DNF) 99-Devin Moran[13]; 22. (DNF) 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[20]; 23. (DNF) 2-Cody Overton[23]; 24. (DNF) 89-Mike Spatola[22]

B Feature 1 (10 Laps): 1. 111-Max Blair[1]; 2. 96-Tanner English[2]; 3. 2-Cody Overton[4]; 4. 25-Jason Feger[3]; 5. 32S-Chris Simpson[9]; 6. 31-Tyler Millwood[6]; 7. 27-Rodney Melvin[13]; 8. 15D-Justin Duty[5]; 9. 51-Dean Carpenter[12]; 10. D1-Turk Letizia[8]; 11. 21-Billy Moyer Sr[10]; 12. M27-Mike Provenzano[11]; 13. 10N-Rob Sanders[15]; 14. 24-Ryan Unzicker[7]; 15. 25W-Allen Weisser[16]; 16. (DNS) 18-Shannon Babb

B Feature 2 (10 Laps): 1. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[2]; 2. 89-Mike Spatola[3]; 3. 18D-Daulton Wilson[5]; 4. 15-Clay Stuckey[1]; 5. 21B-Rich Bell[6]; 6. 75-Mike McKinney[7]; 7. 93-Carson Ferguson[11]; 8. 11T-Trevor Gundaker[4]; 9. 6-Clay Harris[8]; 10. 09-Michael Leach[13]; 11. 17A-Austin Howes[12]; 12. 11G-Gordy Gundaker[9]; 13. 60-Dan Ebert[10]; 14. 3-Dale Markham[14]; 15. 55X-Mike Lofgren[15]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 19R-Ryan Gustin[2]; 2. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[1]; 3. 99-Devin Moran[5]; 4. 111-Max Blair[3]; 5. 2-Cody Overton[4]; 6. 24-Ryan Unzicker[6]; 7. 21-Billy Moyer Sr[9]; 8. 27-Rodney Melvin[7]; 9. (DNS) 25W-Allen Weisser

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 157-Mike Marlar[2]; 2. 9H-Nick Hoffman[1]; 3. 76-Brandon Overton[3]; 4. 96-Tanner English[4]; 5. 15D-Justin Duty[5]; 6. D1-Turk Letizia[7]; 7. M27-Mike Provenzano[8]; 8. 18-Shannon Babb[6]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 3S-Brian Shirley[1]; 2. 49-Jonathan Davenport[3]; 3. 40B-Kyle Bronson[4]; 4. 25-Jason Feger[2]; 5. 31-Tyler Millwood[5]; 6. 32S-Chris Simpson[6]; 7. 51-Dean Carpenter[7]; 8. 10N-Rob Sanders[8]

Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 22*-Drake Troutman[3]; 2. 58-Garrett Alberson[2]; 3. 1T-Tyler Erb[1]; 4. 15-Clay Stuckey[5]; 5. 11T-Trevor Gundaker[7]; 6. 75-Mike McKinney[6]; 7. 60-Dan Ebert[4]; 8. 09-Michael Leach[8]

Heat 5 (8 Laps): 1. 1-Brandon Sheppard[1]; 2. 74X-Ethan Dotson[2]; 3. 81-Jason Riggs[4]; 4. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[5]; 5. 18D-Daulton Wilson[7]; 6. 6-Clay Harris[6]; 7. 93-Carson Ferguson[3]; 8. 3-Dale Markham[8]

Heat 6 (8 Laps): 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[3]; 2. 28E-Dennis Erb Jr[4]; 3. 9-Tim McCreadie[1]; 4. 89-Mike Spatola[2]; 5. 21B-Rich Bell[5]; 6. 11G-Gordy Gundaker[6]; 7. 17A-Austin Howes[7]; 8. 55X-Mike Lofgren[8]

Qualifying 1: 1. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr, 00:12.437[17]; 2. 9H-Nick Hoffman, 00:12.456[9]; 3. 3S-Brian Shirley, 00:12.497[14]; 4. 19R-Ryan Gustin, 00:12.502[7]; 5. 157-Mike Marlar, 00:12.517[12]; 6. 25-Jason Feger, 00:12.566[3]; 7. 111-Max Blair, 00:12.625[11]; 8. 76-Brandon Overton, 00:12.633[6]; 9. 49-Jonathan Davenport, 00:12.698[1]; 10. 2-Cody Overton, 00:12.703[13]; 11. 96-Tanner English, 00:12.716[18]; 12. 40B-Kyle Bronson, 00:12.750[20]; 13. 99-Devin Moran, 00:12.771[25]; 14. 15D-Justin Duty, 00:12.782[8]; 15. 31-Tyler Millwood, 00:12.791[23]; 16. 24-Ryan Unzicker, 00:12.806[22]; 17. 18-Shannon Babb, 00:12.839[4]; 18. 32S-Chris Simpson, 00:12.842[21]; 19. 27-Rodney Melvin, 00:12.946[2]; 20. D1-Turk Letizia, 00:13.136[5]; 21. 51-Dean Carpenter, 00:13.142[24]; 22. 25W-Allen Weisser, 00:13.172[16]; 23. M27-Mike Provenzano, 00:13.182[15]; 24. 10N-Rob Sanders, 00:13.209[19]; 25. 21-Billy Moyer Sr, 00:14.663[10]

Qualifying 2: 1. 1T-Tyler Erb, 00:12.531[9]; 2. 1-Brandon Sheppard, 00:12.532[13]; 3. 9-Tim McCreadie, 00:12.556[5]; 4. 58-Garrett Alberson, 00:12.572[4]; 5. 74X-Ethan Dotson, 00:12.590[14]; 6. 89-Mike Spatola, 00:12.600[10]; 7. 22*-Drake Troutman, 00:12.648[18]; 8. 93-Carson Ferguson, 00:12.656[20]; 9. 32-Bobby Pierce, 00:12.724[6]; 10. 60-Dan Ebert, 00:12.825[1]; 11. 81-Jason Riggs, 00:12.838[3]; 12. 28E-Dennis Erb Jr, 00:12.877[8]; 13. 15-Clay Stuckey, 00:12.995[23]; 14. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr, 00:13.034[2]; 15. 21B-Rich Bell, 00:13.105[15]; 16. 75-Mike McKinney, 00:13.110[17]; 17. 6-Clay Harris, 00:13.131[12]; 18. 11G-Gordy Gundaker, 00:13.132[22]; 19. 11T-Trevor Gundaker, 00:13.150[16]; 20. 18D-Daulton Wilson, 00:13.165[24]; 21. 17A-Austin Howes, 00:13.181[21]; 22. 09-Michael Leach, 00:13.273[7]; 23. 3-Dale Markham, 00:13.279[19]; 24. 55X-Mike Lofgren, 00:14.058[11]

Entries: 49

Dirt Draft Hot Laps Fastest Lap:  Brandon Sheppard (12.468 sec.)
Sunoco Race Fuels Fast Qualifier Group A (& Overall): Ricky Thornton Jr. (12.437 sec.)
Sunoco Race Fuels Fast Qualifier Group B & Overall: Tyler Erb 12.531 sec.)
Integra Racing Shocks Heat Race #1 Winner: Ryan Gustin
K1 Race Gear Heat Race #2 Winner: Mike Marlar
Buzze Racing Heat Race #3 Winner: Brian Shirley
Eibach Springs Heat Race #4 Winner: Drake Troutman
Sweet Manufacturing Heat Race #5 Winner: Brandon Sheppard
Dave Poske Performance Race #6 Winner: Bobby Pierce
Coltman Farms B-Main Winners: Max Blair, Frank Heckenast Jr.
Lap Leaders: Ryan Gustin (1-3), Drake Troutman (4-26), Bobby Pierce (27-50)
Hoosier Tire Winners: Turk Letizia, Jonathan Davenport
$150 Drawing Winners: Ricky Thornton Jr., Chris Simpson


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DIRTcar UMP Modifieds (32 entries)

A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 09-Michael Ledford[2]; 2. 45-Kyle Hammer[3]; 3. 17N-Dillon Nusbaum[6]; 4. 35-David Stremme[4]; 5. 45H-Chase Holland[1]; 6. 777-Trevor Neville[12]; 7. 77-Ray Bollinger[7]; 8. 99-Blake Brown[8]; 9. 66-Cole Falloway[11]; 10. 7A-Tyler Nicely[18]; 11. 5B-Steven Brooks[16]; 12. 0F-Matt Fabrizius[10]; 13. T9-Ryan Thomas[15]; 14. 25-Greg Belyea[9]; 15. 110-Landen Miller[20]; 16. 75A-Daniel Adam[14]; 17. 11N-Gene Nicholas[13]; 18. 73-Mark Rhoades[17]; 19. (DNF) 1W-Bob Pohlman[19]; 20. (DNF) 48-Adam Pockrus[5]

B Feature 1 (8 Laps): 1. 73-Mark Rhoades[4]; 2. 1W-Bob Pohlman[2]; 3. 75M-Shane Mecum[1]; 4. 17H-Scott Hauge[8]; 5. 99M-Charlie Mohr[5]; 6. 1-Dave Lilja[7]; 7. (DNS) 21G-Coltin Grace; 8. (DNS) 1J-Kelly Jones

B Feature 2 (8 Laps): 1. 7A-Tyler Nicely[2]; 2. 110-Landen Miller[1]; 3. 57-Tim Hamburg[3]; 4. 01-Billy Knippenberg[4]; 5. B5-Matthew Baker[6]; 6. 14K-Shane Kelley[7]; 7. 5-Bobby Bagley[5]; 8. (DNS) 75-Ronnie Chance

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 45H-Chase Holland[1]; 2. 48-Adam Pockrus[2]; 3. 25-Greg Belyea[5]; 4. 11N-Gene Nicholas[4]; 5. 75M-Shane Mecum[7]; 6. 21G-Coltin Grace[8]; 7. 99M-Charlie Mohr[3]; 8. 1-Dave Lilja[6]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 09-Michael Ledford[2]; 2. 17N-Dillon Nusbaum[3]; 3. 0F-Matt Fabrizius[5]; 4. 75A-Daniel Adam[4]; 5. 110-Landen Miller[1]; 6. 57-Tim Hamburg[6]; 7. 5-Bobby Bagley[8]; 8. (DNS) 14K-Shane Kelley

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 45-Kyle Hammer[1]; 2. 77-Ray Bollinger[2]; 3. 66-Cole Falloway[3]; 4. T9-Ryan Thomas[4]; 5. 1W-Bob Pohlman[6]; 6. 73-Mark Rhoades[5]; 7. 1J-Kelly Jones[7]; 8. 17H-Scott Hauge[8]

Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 35-David Stremme[1]; 2. 99-Blake Brown[3]; 3. 777-Trevor Neville[2]; 4. 5B-Steven Brooks[4]; 5. 7A-Tyler Nicely[5]; 6. 01-Billy Knippenberg[6]; 7. B5-Matthew Baker[7]; 8. 75-Ronnie Chance[8]

Qualifying 1: 1. 45H-Chase Holland, 00:13.926[5]; 2. 48-Adam Pockrus, 00:14.172[7]; 3. 99M-Charlie Mohr, 00:14.482[8]; 4. 11N-Gene Nicholas, 00:14.908[1]; 5. 25-Greg Belyea, 00:14.945[4]; 6. 1-Dave Lilja, 00:15.045[3]; 7. 75M-Shane Mecum, 00:15.693[6]; 8. 21G-Coltin Grace, 00:16.074[2]

Qualifying 2: 1. 110-Landen Miller, 00:13.920[7]; 2. 09-Michael Ledford, 00:13.970[1]; 3. 17N-Dillon Nusbaum, 00:14.166[3]; 4. 75A-Daniel Adam, 00:14.195[8]; 5. 0F-Matt Fabrizius, 00:14.545[2]; 6. 57-Tim Hamburg, 00:14.688[5]; 7. 14K-Shane Kelley, 00:15.043[6]; 8. (DNS) 5-Bobby Bagley

Qualifying 3: 1. 45-Kyle Hammer, 00:14.083[3]; 2. 77-Ray Bollinger, 00:14.172[7]; 3. 66-Cole Falloway, 00:14.243[5]; 4. T9-Ryan Thomas, 00:14.249[6]; 5. 73-Mark Rhoades, 00:14.437[1]; 6. 1W-Bob Pohlman, 00:14.614[2]; 7. 1J-Kelly Jones, 00:14.707[4]; 8. 17H-Scott Hauge, 00:15.652[8]

Qualifying 4: 1. 35-David Stremme, 00:13.881[7]; 2. 777-Trevor Neville, 00:14.142[8]; 3. 99-Blake Brown, 00:14.289[5]; 4. 5B-Steven Brooks, 00:14.313[6]; 5. 7A-Tyler Nicely, 00:14.415[2]; 6. 01-Billy Knippenberg, 00:14.515[3]; 7. B5-Matthew Baker, 00:15.185[4]; 8. 75-Ronnie Chance, 00:15.278[1]