GREENWOOD, La. — Boothill Speedway’s Bayou Classic lived up to its name with an instant classic.

With an impressive World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series field competing in front of a grandstand overflowing with fans, Ryan Gustin of Marshalltown, Iowa, fought off multiple challenges for a $50,000 victory at the 3/8-mile oval, his fifth series triumph of the season.

Between his $50,000 at Boothill, his $100,000 payday for winning August's USA Nationals at Cedar Lake Speedway in New Richmond, Wis., and three prior WoO wins, Gustin’s Todd Cooney Racing team has nettered more than $180,000. But Gustin’s had his struggles otherwise, including Gustin failing to finish better than sixth in 10 starts since Cedar Lake before his Boothill triumph.

“I’ve had my head hung pretty low for the past couple months, really,” Gustin said. “We ain’t been running good, and just when you’re struggling, it takes a mental toll on you. When you get down, it’s hard to get back up. When you win 50 grand in that fashion, it makes you feel pretty good.”

The results sheet show a win from the pole, but the 70 laps between the green and checkered flags were anything but an easy cruise. Third-starting Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., gave Gustin everything he could handle in the first half of the race, while Dennis Erb Jr. loomed close behind, ready to pounce if either of them slipped up.

With 25 laps remaining, a new contender entered the picture in the form of Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill. After disposing of Erb around the outside, Pierce rode the rim up to Shirley’s back bumper and caught the No. 3s with 11 to go. A huge head of steam off turn four allowed Pierce to go to Shirley’s inside entering turn one, but Shirley was headed for the same piece of real estate, resulting in contact that sent Shirley spinning off Pierce’s nose.

From that point forward, both Gustin and Pierce left it all on the track over the final 10 laps in a battle royale. The two traded sliders and crossovers multiple times and it was still anyone’s race at the white flag. Pierce ripped the cushion for all it was worth trying to get to Gustin’s outside, but tagged the wall in turn two instead, giving Gustin enough room to survive one more set of corners and take the checkered flag.

“Honestly, it kind of reminded me of the last King of America USMTS race we won,” said Gustin, the former modified standout said of a previous Boothill event. “Just go up there, come back down, try to momentum. Try to hit the brown spots where you can and then propel yourself so you don’t land in the slick.”

Pierce’s quest for his first tour victory since August will have to wait until World of Outlaws World Finals after coming home second on the third-straight occasion in World of Outlaws competition at Boothill.

“Gustin hit his marks perfectly on that last lap,” Pierce said. “We were side-by-side at the white flag, we were rubbing down the frontstretch. Went into turn one, and I thought I had him when he slid in there. I didn’t really get a great entrance into turn one and there wasn’t really much cushion until you got to turn two and that’s the spot he was in. I got right there, and then he was kind of right where I needed to be.”

Carpentersville, Ill.’s Erb crossed the line third for his eighth Series podium of the year, enough to put himself in a tie with Shirley for fifth in the standings going into The Dirt Track at Charlotte.

“It was just off a little bit,” Erb said. “Had a pretty good car, but we needed to work on getting up off the corner a little bit better. I know we went a little softer on tires than everybody else did, but to come home with third, we’re happy with that.”

Cody Overton of Thomson, Ga., who started 14th, backed up his Friday podium with a fourth-place showing Saturday, while Shirley recovered from his spin to finish fifth.

Notes: Gustin won last year's inaugural Bayou Classic when the race paid $15,000. … Six cautions slowed the action, the first when Eli Ross went around inside turn four on the 17th lap and the second one lap later when Friday's feature winner Tim McCreadie spun out of seventh and into the infield after finding himself in a tight spot; front suspension damage forced him to retire. ... Clay Stuckey slowed on the 21st lap (Mike Marlar had a flat tire during the caution period). ... On the 42nd lap, Mike Palasini Jr. went around in turn two. ... The fifth yellow appeared on the 60th lap for Shirley's spin. ... Brandon Sheppard's flat tire drew the final yellow on lap 63. ... The series announced an Oct. 2-3, 2026, return for next season's $50,000-to-win Bayou Classic. ... Robbie Stuart, apparent 11th-place qualifier in the night's first time trial group, was disqualified and his lap time was disallowed.