7/2/2023
RacinBoys
Bobby Pierce Wins World of Outlaws Heartland Speedweek Finale at I-94
By Mike Warren, WOO Late Model Series PR (Fergus Falls, MN) -- Bobby Pierce decided to break out his Eldora car Saturday night at I-94 emr Speedway. A decision that paid off for the Oakwood, IL, driver.
Pierce stormed past Series champion Dennis Erb Jr. on Lap 21 and cruised through the final 30 laps to score his fifth World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series win of 2023.
PHOTO CREDIT: Jacy Norgaard
Erb and Cade Dillard led the field to the green in the 50-lap Feature, with the Robeline, LA driver getting the early advantage. However, the reigning champion wouldn’t let him get away as Erb kept pace with Dillard on the bottom.
The Carpentersville, IL driver needed six laps to build his momentum, as he wrestled the lead away from Dillard, nosing his Rocket Chassis ahead at the completion of Lap 7.
While Erb tried to drive away, Pierce moved toward the front, reaching third by Lap 12. After sliding Dillard for second on Lap 17 in Turns 3 and 4, Pierce set his sights on his fellow Illinois driver, using the outside to close in on the #28 in traffic.
Pierce’s opportunity to strike came on Lap 21, as he used Todd Cooney, a lap car, as a pick as they raced off Turn 2. The “Smooth Operator” powered past Erb down the backstretch, taking the lead as they entered Turns 3 and 4.
It was a lead Pierce wouldn’t relinquish, as he aced the race’s only restart on Lap 31 to earn his third win of World of Outlaws Heartland Speedweek—one worth $15,000.
“Dennis was really a sitting duck,” Pierce said. “I know Dennis can rip the lip, but he likes to run the bottom. At the time, the top was really good, and I was like, just stay down there, and he did. But if he did move up, I was ready for it. It was a fun race.”
Saturday was the first time Pierce had ever raced at I-94. But he said it reminded him of a track where he’s found success, which helped him hone in his setup.
“I noticed right away it was going to be a fun track, and I feel like this track fits me,” Pierce said. “This place reminds me of Florence. I knew these boys were in trouble tonight if we hit our marks.”
With the win, Pierce extended his points lead to 52 points over Chris Madden, who finished sixth.
Four-time Series champion Brandon Sheppard finished second, moving up seven spots from ninth. The New Berlin, IL driver put on a show for the Minnesota crowd in the race’s top groove, getting by 2018 Series champion Mike Marlar and Tanner English before the race was complete.
Despite the strong runner-up finish, Sheppard said he knows what’s keeping him out of Victory Lane.
“We had a dang good car tonight,” Sheppard said. “We could run top, middle, bottom, wherever we needed to. We bided our time there early and passed a bunch of cars on the bottom. Then I saw some guys start to mess around on the top a little bit, so I went up there, and we just had a ton of speed.
“It was a good night. All in all, we just have to Qualify better. That’s the only thing we’re missing right now. We’re good in the Features; we just need to get Qualified better. I felt like we had the best car at the track tonight, it was just a matter of a few things that didn’t go our way, and that’s just how my year’s going so far.”
Tanner English finished third—his third consecutive podium in races 50 laps or more. The Benton, KY driver worked the bottom of the track to earn his fifth top-five of 2023.
“The bottom was good for a while, and then it kind of faded at the end,” English said. “There just wasn’t enough left, and I kind of got to those lap cars at the wrong time and should’ve moved up earlier.
“It was a hell of a race. The car is working really good right now. It’s just hard to beat that #32 car. He’s pretty damn fast. That’s why it sucks when we had him beat and gave it away. We’ll get it one of these days, and we’ll be there before you know it.”
Ryan Gustin, the Fox Factory Hard Charger, crossed the line fourth, after starting 15th. The Marshalltown, IA driver said wholesale changes to his Rocket Chassis helped him climb to the top five.
“We were really good there in the Feature," Gustin said. "I just wish we could’ve started about 10 positions further forward. We struggled obviously there early, and [Taylon Center] changed pretty much everything, and we were really good in the Feature. I guess we got a good package now for these types of tracks, too.”
Erb rounded out the top five after leading 14 laps.
UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws CASE Late Models head to the Midwest for a pair of $15,000-to-win races, starting with a trip to Ponderosa Speedway on Friday, July 14. Then, the Series heads North to Indiana for the Hoosier Dirt Classic at Brownstown Speedway on Saturday, July 15..
If you can’t make it to the track, watch all the action live on DIRTVision – either online on with the DIRTVision App.
RESULTS
CASE Late Mode Feature (50 Laps): 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[3]; 2. B5-Brandon Sheppard[9]; 3. 96V-Tanner English[4]; 4. 19R-Ryan Gustin[15]; 5. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[1]; 6. 44-Chris Madden[6]; 7. 40B-Kyle Bronson[10]; 8. 9-Nick Hoffman[7]; 9. 157-Mike Marlar[5]; 10. 3S-Brian Shirley[12]; 11. 28S-Dustin Sorensen[11]; 12. 1ST-Johnny Scott[16]; 13. B1-Brent Larson[19]; 14. 1TPO-Tyler Peterson[14]; 15. 25-Shane Clanton[8]; 16. 76-Blair Nothdurft[13]; 17. 22-Nick Panitzke[20]; 18. 30-Todd Cooney[21]; 19. 55C-Chad Mahder[17]; 20. 18X-Shawn Meyer[22]; 21. 97-Cade Dillard[2]; 22. 11G-James Giossi[24]; 23. 11-Gordy Gundaker[18]; 24. 14W-Dustin Walker[23]
Last Chance Showdown (10 Laps): 1. B1-Brent Larson[1]; 2. 22-Nick Panitzke[4]; 3. 30-Todd Cooney[7]; 4. 18X-Shawn Meyer[6]; 5. 11G-James Giossi[2]; 6. 14W-Dustin Walker[8]; 7. 7S-Sam Zender[10]; 8. 27-Rayce McCord[3]; 9. 2-Dave Mass[5]; 10. (DNS) 44*-Cole Schill; 11. (DNS) 58-AJ Diemel
Case No.1 Engine Oil Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 44-Chris Madden[1]; 2. 96V-Tanner English[3]; 3. 9-Nick Hoffman[2]; 4. 40B-Kyle Bronson[5]; 5. 76-Blair Nothdurft[7]; 6. 1ST-Johnny Scott[4]; 7. B1-Brent Larson[9]; 8. 22-Nick Panitzke[6]; 9. 30-Todd Cooney[8]; 10. 7S-Sam Zender[10]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 157-Mike Marlar[2]; 2. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[1]; 3. 25-Shane Clanton[3]; 4. 28S-Dustin Sorensen[4]; 5. 1TPO-Tyler Peterson[5]; 6. 55C-Chad Mahder[7]; 7. 11G-James Giossi[8]; 8. 2-Dave Mass[9]; 9. 14W-Dustin Walker[10]; 10. 58-AJ Diemel[6]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 97-Cade Dillard[2]; 2. 32-Bobby Pierce[1]; 3. B5-Brandon Sheppard[3]; 4. 3S-Brian Shirley[5]; 5. 19R-Ryan Gustin[4]; 6. 11-Gordy Gundaker[8]; 7. 27-Rayce McCord[6]; 8. 18X-Shawn Meyer[9]; 9. 44*-Cole Schill[7]
Low-E Insulation Qualifying (2 Laps): 1. 44-Chris Madden, 00:16.490[6]; 2. 28-Dennis Erb Jr, 00:16.501[2]; 3. 32-Bobby Pierce, 00:16.611[20]; 4. 9-Nick Hoffman, 00:16.741[26]; 5. 157-Mike Marlar, 00:16.772[15]; 6. 97-Cade Dillard, 00:16.777[16]; 7. 96V-Tanner English, 00:16.803[9]; 8. 25-Shane Clanton, 00:16.834[22]; 9. B5-Brandon Sheppard, 00:16.843[21]; 10. 1ST-Johnny Scott, 00:16.914[3]; 11. 28S-Dustin Sorensen, 00:16.943[11]; 12. 19R-Ryan Gustin, 00:16.951[14]; 13. 40B-Kyle Bronson, 00:16.982[27]; 14. 1TPO-Tyler Peterson, 00:17.007[8]; 15. 3S-Brian Shirley, 00:17.050[24]; 16. 22-Nick Panitzke, 00:17.128[25]; 17. 58-AJ Diemel, 00:17.167[10]; 18. 27-Rayce McCord, 00:17.187[7]; 19. 76-Blair Nothdurft, 00:17.212[13]; 20. 55C-Chad Mahder, 00:17.220[17]; 21. 44*-Cole Schill, 00:17.262[5]; 22. 30-Todd Cooney, 00:17.287[18]; 23. 11G-James Giossi, 00:17.365[1]; 24. 11-Gordy Gundaker, 00:17.390[19]; 25. B1-Brent Larson, 00:17.472[28]; 26. 2-Dave Mass, 00:17.666[12]; 27. 18X-Shawn Meyer, 00:17.675[23]; 28. 7S-Sam Zender, 00:17.682[4]; 29. 14W-Dustin Walker, 00:18.847[29]
Hot Laps: 1. 32-Bobby Pierce, 00:15.865[20]; 2. B5-Brandon Sheppard, 00:15.873[21]; 3. 25-Shane Clanton, 00:15.874[22]; 4. 9-Nick Hoffman, 00:15.907[26]; 5. 3S-Brian Shirley, 00:15.958[24]; 6. 40B-Kyle Bronson, 00:16.032[27]; 7. 76-Blair Nothdurft, 00:16.157[13]; 8. 55C-Chad Mahder, 00:16.166[17]; 9. 44-Chris Madden, 00:16.186[6]; 10. 97-Cade Dillard, 00:16.191[16]; 11. B1-Brent Larson, 00:16.313[28]; 12. 30-Todd Cooney, 00:16.315[18]; 13. 157-Mike Marlar, 00:16.340[15]; 14. 1ST-Johnny Scott, 00:16.361[3]; 15. 19R-Ryan Gustin, 00:16.375[14]; 16. 96V-Tanner English, 00:16.445[9]; 17. 28S-Dustin Sorensen, 00:16.445[11]; 18. 28-Dennis Erb Jr, 00:16.459[2]; 19. 11-Gordy Gundaker, 00:16.507[19]; 20. 18X-Shawn Meyer, 00:16.714[23]; 21. 22-Nick Panitzke, 00:16.951[25]; 22. 44*-Cole Schill, 00:17.114[5]; 23. 58-AJ Diemel, 00:17.123[10]; 24. 7S-Sam Zender, 00:17.168[4]; 25. 14W-Dustin Walker, 00:17.255[29]; 26. 1TPO-Tyler Peterson, 00:17.479[8]; 27. 11G-James Giossi, 00:17.548[1]; 28. 27-Rayce McCord, 00:17.582[7]; 29. 2-Dave Mass, 00:17.582[12]
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WISSOTA MIDWEST MODS
A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 19-Lucas Rodin[3]; 2. L1-Shane Howell[2]; 3. 33C-Cole Boston[1]; 4. 10-Justin VanEps[5]; 5. 67-Mike Nichols[4]; 6. 66-Kyle Langland[6]; 7. 50H-Haley Lee[18]; 8. 28-Tommy Nichols[13]; 9. 69R-Terry Reilly[8]; 10. 87-Reise Stenberg[15]; 11. 2-Scott Splittstoesser[9]; 12. 9M-Jake Molitor[11]; 13. 11R-Landyn Randt[16]; 14. 18X-Connor Drewry[12]; 15. 4-Phil Christlieb[14]; 16. 62-Aaron Michel[7]; 17. H1-Matthew Larson[17]; 18. 4W-Joey Wagamon[19]; 19. 01-Alex Tschakert[23]; 20. 75-Randy Klein[22]; 21. 97-Michelle Hutt[21]; 22. 21Z-Zach Kort[25]; 23. 74-Ethan Dutchak[20]; 24. 28K-Nick Preston[26]; 25. (DNF) 71-Nate Reinke[10]; 26. (DNS) X-Tucker Jacobson
B Feature 1 (10 Laps): 1. 97-Michelle Hutt[2]; 2. 75-Randy Klein[5]; 3. 01-Alex Tschakert[9]; 4. X-Tucker Jacobson[1]; 5. 21Z-Zach Kort[6]; 6. 28K-Nick Preston[10]; 7. 17-Jaden Gannott[8]; 8. 10K-Kailey VanEps[7]; 9. (DNF) 3T-Tucker Tschakert[3]; 10. (DNF) 30-Cole Neset[4]; 11. (DNS) 44-Austin Hunter; 12. (DNS) 22Z-Zach Reinke; 13. (DNS) 69T-Nick Thoreson
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 33C-Cole Boston[4]; 2. 66-Kyle Langland[7]; 3. 9M-Jake Molitor[3]; 4. 11R-Landyn Randt[6]; 5. X-Tucker Jacobson[2]; 6. 75-Randy Klein[1]; 7. (DNF) 22Z-Zach Reinke[5]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 10-Justin VanEps[2]; 2. 62-Aaron Michel[6]; 3. 18X-Connor Drewry[7]; 4. H1-Matthew Larson[5]; 5. 97-Michelle Hutt[4]; 6. 21Z-Zach Kort[1]; 7. 01-Alex Tschakert[3]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. L1-Shane Howell[2]; 2. 69R-Terry Reilly[1]; 3. 28-Tommy Nichols[3]; 4. 50H-Haley Lee[4]; 5. 3T-Tucker Tschakert[6]; 6. 10K-Kailey VanEps[7]; 7. 28K-Nick Preston[5]
Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 19-Lucas Rodin[5]; 2. 2-Scott Splittstoesser[4]; 3. 4-Phil Christlieb[6]; 4. 4W-Joey Wagamon[2]; 5. 30-Cole Neset[1]; 6. 17-Jaden Gannott[3]
Heat 5 (8 Laps): 1. 67-Mike Nichols[3]; 2. 71-Nate Reinke[1]; 3. 87-Reise Stenberg[5]; 4. 74-Ethan Dutchak[2]; 5. (DNF) 69T-Nick Thoreson[6]; 6. (DNF) 44-Austin Hunter[4]
WISSOTA STREET STOCK
A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 11K-Kyle Dykhoff[5]; 2. 16X-Kyle Genett[1]; 3. 40-Nick Traynor[7]; 4. 51-Eric Riley[14]; 5. 20-Andrew Hanson[11]; 6. 79J-Jaden Christ[2]; 7. 46-Jonny Carter[10]; 8. 79-Jeff Nowak[24]; 9. 11-Sam Fankhauser[22]; 10. 10V-Justin Vogel[21]; 11. 05-Kyle Howland[15]; 12. 22B-Ethan Beckler[20]; 13. 55-Thomas Worth[3]; 14. 26-Ty Agen[19]; 15. 10T-Darek Turner[9]; 16. G19-Cole Greseth[18]; 17. 2K-Tyler Klugman[6]; 18. 19H-Hunter Carter[12]; 19. 59-Kyle Anderson[8]; 20. 12-Kevin Pender[23]; 21. (DNF) 11JR-Jeff Ekdahl[4]; 22. (DNF) 15F-Zachary Flickinger[13]; 23. (DNF) 54H-Geoff Hellman[17]; 24. (DNF) 21-Jim Gullikson[26]; 25. (DNF) 67-Ryan Satter[16]; 26. (DNF) 2*-Dustin Schultz[25]
B Feature 1 (10 Laps): 1. 10V-Justin Vogel[3]; 2. 12-Kevin Pender[2]; 3. 2*-Dustin Schultz[5]; 4. 24-Ashley Wampler[7]; 5. 11R-Levi Randt[1]; 6. 84-Doug Martin[6]; 7. (DNF) 30B-Wade Bergerud[4]; 8. (DNS) 16-Greg Platzer
B Feature 2 (10 Laps): 1. 11-Sam Fankhauser[1]; 2. 79-Jeff Nowak[2]; 3. 21-Jim Gullikson[8]; 4. 2-Joe Martin[5]; 5. 5-Royce Jawaski[3]; 6. 17B-Rachel Boston[4]; 7. (DNF) 23-Maverick Janssen[6]; 8. (DNF) 17-Nick Shumansky[7]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 10T-Darek Turner[1]; 2. 55-Thomas Worth[2]; 3. 20-Andrew Hanson[7]; 4. 67-Ryan Satter[4]; 5. 11R-Levi Randt[6]; 6. 5-Royce Jawaski[5]; 7. 84-Doug Martin[3]; 8. 16-Greg Platzer[8]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 79J-Jaden Christ[1]; 2. 2K-Tyler Klugman[4]; 3. 19H-Hunter Carter[5]; 4. 54H-Geoff Hellman[6]; 5. 11-Sam Fankhauser[7]; 6. 30B-Wade Bergerud[3]; 7. 23-Maverick Janssen[2]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 11K-Kyle Dykhoff[1]; 2. 46-Jonny Carter[3]; 3. 15F-Zachary Flickinger[2]; 4. G19-Cole Greseth[7]; 5. 12-Kevin Pender[5]; 6. 17B-Rachel Boston[6]; 7. (DNF) 21-Jim Gullikson[4]
Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 59-Kyle Anderson[2]; 2. 40-Nick Traynor[3]; 3. 51-Eric Riley[1]; 4. 26-Ty Agen[6]; 5. 79-Jeff Nowak[7]; 6. 2*-Dustin Schultz[4]; 7. 24-Ashley Wampler[5]
Heat 5 (8 Laps): 1. 16X-Kyle Genett[2]; 2. 11JR-Jeff Ekdahl[6]; 3. 05-Kyle Howland[3]; 4. 22B-Ethan Beckler[1]; 5. 10V-Justin Vogel[5]; 6. 2-Joe Martin[7]; 7. 17-Nick Shumansky[4]
Submitted By: Kirk Elliott
