ST. LOUIS (Dec. 6) — They say the fifth-mile temporary oval inside The Dome at America’s Center is Dirt Late Model racing’s great equalizer. That only goes so far when Bobby Pierce shows up on his A-game.

Running a virtually flawless race from the pole, the 29-year-old Oakwood, Ill., superstar reminded everyone why he’s the DirtonDirt Driver of the Year in dominating the ninth annual Kubota Gateway Dirt Nationals presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts for an event-record $70,000 payday and $80,000 weekend.

Pierce, who led all 40 laps and topped Ricky Thornton Jr. to by 2.15 seconds at the checkers, became the first driver to win three Gateway Dirt Nationals finales, adding to his 2017 and ’18 triumphs.

“You just dream of things like this, ever since this event came around,” said Pierce, who owns six career Dome victories, including Thursday’s $10,000 prelim. “It’s been a spectacle from the beginning. I’ve watched it grow into what it is now. They’ve got a packed house. I don’t see it stopping from growing. I think one day this place will probably be full from the tippy top.”

Although the always-treacherous Dome wreaked havoc on the 21-car main event — only 10 drivers finished a race fragmented by six cautions — Pierce’s victory from the pole never appeared in doubt. Thornton and Jason Feger, who ran second from laps 5-20 and 29-35, put on perhaps the best battle of the night, but neither could close enough to challenge Pierce.

Pierce’s precision on restarts and swift, smooth management of lapped traffic only widened his advantage.

“I felt like lapped traffic might’ve helped a little bit, but obviously Bobby had the best car,” said Thornton of Chandler, Ariz. “Really, I felt like he had the best car all weekend, kind of like most of the year. I don’t know, I think I made a couple mental mistakes. Just tried to ride a little bit too long and then not, and then I screwed up on the (lap-27) restart. That let Feger back by.

“I felt like if I could’ve got by him, I maybe could’ve got close to Bobby. But Bobby wasn’t even running around the top at that point. (His father and signal-man) Bob (Pierce) would’ve told him to move back up. He would’ve went up there and probably picked the pace back up.”

Thornton also mentioned how difficult it was to pace himself without being able to see a lap counter.

“I was trying to pay attention here down the front straightaway to see how many laps we had left. Then they take it off the screen. I’m like, ‘Man, I don’t really know how many laps are left.’ You can save a little bit, but at the same time, you really got to go. Hopefully next year we can be a just be that little bit better.”

Pierce encountered his longest stretch of lapped traffic from laps 13-24, but even then, Thornton could make up little ground, still trailing by a full second. Mike Harrison’s spin from fourth on lap 24 triggered the first of five cautions over the final 17 laps, straightening Pierce’s path to the finish.

“Some of the cautions fell when I kind of needed them to,” Pierce said. “I was stuck behind a couple of them. They were racing hard back there. I mean, really, they were like 15th, so it’s not like they were racing for 28th. They were racing hard for 15th. I have to keep that in mind while I race them all while track’s go through transition. You just have to stay mentally sharp. The physical aspect of it, you’re bouncing around.”

If anything, Pierce’s toughest opponent was the racetrack itself. The ruts, bumps and choppy complexion of the temporary oval, plus the handful of cautions, demanded him to race attentively.

“You had to get into the mentality, the mindset heading into it knowing that was going to happen,” Pierce said.

“A track this small, you’re gonna have some cautions, you’re going to have some drama. I told everyone back there, it was going to be a long 40 laps. As much as you love to get the lead right away, it makes the race feel like 140 laps.

“You just have to get into that mindset knowing it’s going to happen, hit your marks on your restarts, change it up a couple times. I think that gave me a little bit of an edge, too. I was coming down the hill, and then toward the end, I was coming down too. Yeah, just, turn one was tricky bouncing through the hole.

“Couple times I felt like I was hitting it perfect and I’d come off the ground. Couple times I’d go in there and thought I messed it up and car rolled around perfectly.”

Despite his reign ending as the two-time defending event champion, third-finishing Brandon Sheppard approved of The Dome’s rugged character on Saturday. Even the configuration itself raced differently than previous years.

“They did a phenomenal job with the racetrack all weekend. The banking was a lot different this year than it has been in the past,” said Sheppard of Berlin, Ill. “So that threw us all for a little bit of a different curveball. It just raced a little bit different than what we raced on before. Just kind of the lines, especially in three and four. One and two was kind of the same, but as far as the holes, I love when this place has some character.

“The rougher the better. There’s no possible way you’re going to come out here and race on a perfectly smooth racetrack and say that it’s a better race. We always love having a little bit of character here.”

Things could’ve easily gone far worse for Sheppard, who was caught up in a multi-car pileup on the opening lap triggered by second-starting Brenden Smith. Because a complete restart followed, the sixth-starting Sheppard kept his position, though a lap-four restart shuffled him back to eighth before he steadily worked forward.

“It was tricky to pass there. We got to third at one point and then the caution came out,” Sheppard said, referencing his lap-32 pass of Feger right before a debris caution. “I felt like that was my only shot if I was going to see if I can run with Bobby or not. … Overall, heck of a weekend for this B5 team. I have to thank all my friends and family for coming out and supporting us this weekend.

“We really enjoy coming into this Dome and getting our little fifth-mile smile on, you could say. Had a lot of fun. I felt like we had a car capable of running with Bobby if we could’ve gotten up there. Like I said, we did all we could do. We’re definitely not disappointed with the weekend. We had a lot of fun.”

Notes: Second-starting Brenden Smith triggered an opening corner stack-up when he over-rotated entering the first turn and nearly spun, which collected fourth-starting Mark Whitener, sixth-starting Brandon Sheppard, Brian Shirley, Ethan Dotson, Mike Harrison also clipped Smith when he turned sideways, but was able to continue. Whitener broke a power steering pump in the wreck and couldn’t resume. … Shirley brought out the second caution on lap five when contact from closed-quarters racing with Jonathan Davenport sent him spinning toward the infield off turn two. Davenport suffered a flat left-rear from the incident, which ended his night. Dustin Sorensen also retired on lap five because of a flat right-front tire. … Fourth-running Mike Harrison spun on lap 24 to avoid making potential contact with third-running Jason Feger entering turn one. … Dan Ebert and Trevor Gundaker retired on lap 24 with flat tires. … Debris drew cautions on the 27th and 32nd laps. … Eighth-running Tyler Carpenter drew the fifth caution when he broke a J-bar, ending his rise through the field from the 18th-starting spot. … A three-car pileup involving Carson Hocevar, Devin Moran and Dylan Thornton brought out the sixth caution on the 30th lap. ... Ten of 21 starters were running at the finish.

Feature finish

Pos. Driver (car no.), hometown, chassis, earnings
1. Bobby Pierce (32), Oakwood, Ill., Longhorn, $70,000
2. Ricky Thornton Jr. (20rt), Chandler, Ariz., Longhorn, $20,000
3. Brandon Sheppard (B5), New Berlin, Ill., Rocket., $10,000
4. Jason Feger (25), Bloomington, Ill., Longhorn, $6,000
5. Nick Hoffman (9), Mooresville, N.C., Longhorn, $4,000
6. Ashton Winger (12), Hampton, Ga., Rocket, $3,900
7. Brenden Smith (19m), Dade City, Fla., Rocket, $3,800
8. Zack Dohm (17), Cross Lanes, W.Va., Longhorn, $3,700
9. Devin Moran (99), Dresden, Ohio, Longhorn, $3,600
10. Carson Hocevar (77), Portage, Minn., Longhorn, $3,500
11. Ethan Dotson (74x), Bakersfield, Calif., Longhorn, $3,400
12. Josh Rice (11), Crittenden, Ky., Rocket, $3,300
13. Dylan Thornton (13), Orcutt, Calif., DRT, $3,200
14. Tyler Carpenter (28), Parkersburg, W.Va., Kryptonite, $3,100
15. Mike Harrison (33), Highland, Ill., Rocket, $3,000
16. Dan Ebert (99), Lake Shore, Minn., Rocket, $3,000
17. Trevor Gundaker (11), St. Charles, Mo., Longhorn, $3,000
18. Jonathan Davenport, Blairsville, Ga., Longhorn, $3,000
19. Dustin Sorensen (19), Rochester, Minn., Longhorn, $3,000
20. Brian Shirley (3s), Chatham, Ill., Rocket, $3,000
21. Mark Whitener (5), Middleburg, Fla., Longhorn, $3,000
Lap leader: Pierce 1-40
Fast qualifier (among 123 cars): Josh Rice, 11.523 seconds
Qualifier winners: Feger, Rice, Hoffman, Ebert, Winger, Davenport
Last-chance winner: Gundaker
Provisional starters: Moran, D. Thornton
Preliminary feature winners: Pierce, R. Thornton

Feature lineup

(40 laps)

Row 1: Bobby Pierce, Brenden Smith
Row 2: Ricky Thornton Jr., Mike Harrison
Row 3: Mark Whitener, Brandon Sheppard
Row 4: Jason Feger, Josh Rice
Row 5: Nick Hoffman, Dan Ebert
Row 6: Ashton Winger, Jonathan Davenport
Row 7: Brian Shirley, Zack Dohm
Row 8: Ethan Dotson, Carson Hocevar
Row 9: Dustin Sorensen, Tyler Carpenter
Row 10: Trevor Gundaker, Devin Moran
Row 11: Dylan Thornton

Last chance qualifier results

(10 laps; winner transfers)

Last chance qualifier: Trevor Gundaker, Chris Simpson, Donald McIntosh, Kyle Hammer, Dylan Thornton, Tyler Peterson, Jake Timm, Wil Herrington, Gordy Gundaker, Devin Moran, Devin Gilpin, DNS: Drake Troutman.

Last chance qualifier lineup

(10 laps; winner transfers)

Row 1: Trevor Gundaker, Devin Gilpin
Row 2: Devin Moran, Gordy Gundaker
Row 3: Chris Simpson, Donald McIntosh
Row 4: Dylan Thornton, Drake Troutman
Row 5: Kyle Hammer, Wil Herrington
Row 6: Tyler Peterson, Jake Timm

Qualifier recap

Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill., cruised to victory in the opening qualifier by 1.401 seconds over Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill. … Chris Carpenter of Parkersburg, W.Va.,, snapped a driveshaft on lap five battling in the midpack of the opening qualifier. … Ninth-running Scott Bell spun on the lap-five restart in the opening qualifier. … Josh Rice of Verona, Ky., went untouched to win the second qualifier by a second over Zack Dohm of Cross Lanes, W.Va. … Drake Troutman held the second spot in the second qualifier until Dohm hip-checked the Hyndman, Pa., driver up the banking on the fifth lap. … Jody Knowles of Tyrone, Ga., spun out of the 10th spot on lap five. … Bob Gardner of East Peoria, Ill., spun out of the seventh spot on the lap-five restart. … Fourth-running Tanner English of Benton, Ky., looped around on the sixth circuit after clipping the inside wall, thus collecting Chase Osterhoff of Kankakee, Ill., and Kylan Garner of Neosho, Mo. … Nick Hoffman of Mooresville, N.C., took care of business to win the third qualifier by 1.229 seconds over Ethan Dotson of Bakersfield, Calif. … Ryan Gustin of Marshalltown, Iowa, was in a transfer spot in the third qualifier until contact with Jason Jameson of Lawrenceburg, Ind., on lap eight. ... Dan Ebert of Lake Shore, Minn., dominated the fourth qualifier, topping NASCAR Cup driver Carson Hocevar of Portage, Mich., by 2.766 seconds. … Clay Harris of Jupiter, Fla., was in a transfer position until the lap-five restart where he slipped from second to fifth. … Rusty Schlenk of McClure, Ohio, brought out the lone caution in the fourth qualifier. ... Ashton Winger of Hampton, Ga., topped Dustin Sorensen by 0.488 seconds for the victory in the fifth qualifier. … A 10-minute red flag slowed the fifth qualifier for fence repairs. ... Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., and Tyler Carpenter of Parkersburg, W.Va., advanced to the main event from the sixth qualifier.

Qualifier results

(10 laps; top two transfer)

First qualifier: Jason Feger, Brian Shirley, Trevoer Gundaker, Dylan Thornton, Joey Tanner, Dylan Thompson, Freddie Carpenter, Brody Smith, Patrik Daniel, Daniel Adam, Scott Bell, Chris Carpenter.

Second qualifier: Josh Rice, Zack Dohm, Devin Gilpin, Drake Troutman, Steve Sheppard Jr., Jody Knowles, Manny Falcon, Chase Osterhoff, Tanner English, Kylan Garner, Bob Garner.

Third qualifier: Nick Hoffman, Ethan Dotson, Devin Moran, Kyle Hammer, Jason Jameson, Ryan Gustin, Jon Mitchell, Laela Eisenschenk, Colten Burdette, Jason Welshan, Tanner Collins.

Fourth qualifier: Dan Ebert, Carson Hocevar, Gordy Gundaker, Wil Herrington, Clay Harris, Dylan Knowles, Rusty Schlenk, Jimmy Owens, Dave Hess Jr., Hudson O'Neal.

Fifth qualifier: Ashton Winger, Dustin Sorensen, Chris Simpson, Tyler Peterson, Kyle Hardy, Kyle Moore, Benji Hicks, Michael Leach, Mike Spatola, Austin Howes, Dustin Linville.

Sixth heat: Jonathan Davenport, Tyler Carpenter, Donald McIntosh, Jake Timm, Cody Bauer, Mike Marlar, Greg Kimmons, Devon Morgan, James Giossi, Brandon Overton. DNS: Kyle Bronson.

Non-qualifier results

(12 laps; top two transfer)

First non-qualifier: Daniel Adam, Manny Falcon, Derek Fetter, Garrett Alberson, Justin Shaw, Beckham Malone, Jason Riggs, Seth Daniels, Kip Hughes, Lance Brasington, Blaze Burwell, Bree Whittmore, Amelia Eisenschenk, Michael King Jr., Chad Wallace. Scratched: Carson Ferguson, Myles Moos, Tyler Erb.

Second non-qualifier: Devin Moran, Dave Hess Jr., Ryan Unzicker, Hayden Cardwell, Corey DeLancey, Jack Riggs, Skylar Marlar, Blair Nothdurft, Ryan Montgomery, Darin Weisinger Jr., Mike Provenzano, Brock Pinkerous, Jayme Zidar, Brent Robinson, Dakota Smith, Jordan Barbee. Scratched: Brennon Willard, Lucas Lowery, Kyle Steffens, Joseph Joiner.

Third non-qualifier: Austin Howes, James Giossi, Evan Koehler, Kaede Loudy, Eli Johnson, Michael Page, Carter Schlenk, Parker Gilbertson, Rusty Griffaw, Derek Fisher, Chad Zobrist, Jeff Provinzino, Chris Fetter, James Trantina III, Jacob Magee, Jadon Frame. Scratched: Jon Woods, Shannon Babb.

Qualifier lineups

(10 laps; top two transfer)

First qualifier
Row 1: Brian Shirley, Jason Feger
Row 2: Joey Tanner, Dylan Thornton
Row 3: Scott Bell, Trevor Gundaker
Row 4: Chris Carpenter, Freddie Carpenter
Row 5: Dylan Thompson, Brody Smith
Row 6: Daniel Adam, Patrik Daniel
Second qualifier
Row 1: Zack Dohm, Josh Rice
Row 2: Devin Gilpin, Drake Troutman
Row 3: Tanner English, Steve Sheppard Jr.
Row 4: Chase Osterhoff, Kylan Garner
Row 5: Jody Knowles, Manny Falcon
Row 6: Bob Gardner
Third qualifier
Row 1: Nick Hoffman, Ryan Gustin
Row 2: Jason Jameson, Ethan Dotson
Row 3: Tanner Collins, Kyle Hammer
Row 4: Jon Mitchell, Laela Eisenschenk
Row 5: Colten Burdette, Devin Moran
Row 6: Jason Welshan
Fourth qualifier
Row 1: Dan Ebert, Clay Harris
Row 2: Carson Hocevar, Wil Herrington
Row 3: Hudson O’Neal, Jeffrey Ledford
Row 4: Gordy Gundaker, Dylan Knowles
Row 5: Jimmy Owens, Dave Hess Jr.
Row 6: Rusty Schlenk
Fifth qualifier
Row 1: Ashton Winger, Dustin Linville
Row 2: Chris Simpson, Dustin Sorensen
Row 3: Tyler Peterson, Kyle Hardy
Row 4: Mike Spatola, Kyle Moore
Row 5: Benji Hicks, Austin Howes
Row 6: Michael Leach
Sixth qualifier
Row 1: Jonathan Davenport, Jake Timm
Row 2: Donald McIntosh, Kyle Bronson
Row 3: Tyler Carpenter, Devon Morgan
Row 4: Cody Bauer, Greg Kimmons
Row 5: Mike Marlar, James Giossi
Row 6: Brandon Overton

Non-qualifier lineups

First non-qualifier
Row 1: Daniel Adam, Chad Wallace
Row 2: Bree Whittmore, Michael King Jr.
Row 3: Carson Ferguson, Garrett Alberson
Row 4: Manny Falcon, Justin Shaw
Row 5: Jason Riggs, Beckham Malone
Row 6: Derek Fetter, Kip Hughes
Row 7: Amelia Eisenschenk, Seth Daniels
Row 8: Lance Brasington, Blaze Burwell
Row 9: Myles Moos, Tyler Erb
Second non-qualifier
Row 1: Brock Pinkerous, Devin Moran
Row 2: Jayme Zidar, Hayden Cardwell
Row 3: Ryan Unzicker, Ryan Montgomery
Row 4: Dakota Smith, Blair Nothdurft
Row 5: Brennon Willard, Jack Riggs
Row 6: Lucas Lowery, Dave Hess Jr.
Row 7: Jordan Barbee, Darin Weisinger Jr.
Row 8: Kyle Steffens, Skylar Marlar
Row 9: Brent Robinson, Corey DeLancey
Row 10: Mike Provenzano, Joseph Joiner
Third non-qualifier
Row 1: Jacob Magee, Austin Howes
Row 2: James Giossi, Evan Koehler
Row 3: Eli Johnson, Kaede Loudy
Row 4: Rusty Griffaw, Carter Schlenk
Row 5: Chad Zobrist, Jeff Provinzino
Row 6: Jon Woods, Michael Page
Row 7: Parker Gilbertson, Chris Fetter
Row 8: James Trantina III, Derek Fisher
Row 9: Jadon Frame, Shannon Babb

Saturday’s schedule

(All times local)
10 a.m. - Registration and credentials open
11 a.m. - Pits open, technical inspection begins
11 a.m. - Fuel storage and fueling lane opens (Cole Street docks)
1 p.m. - Drivers’ meeting
2 p.m. - Grandstands open
3 p.m. - On-track activity
- Late Model non-qualifiers (12 laps)
- Late Model qualifiers (10 laps)
- Late Model hot laps (locked-in entrants)
- Modified qualifiers (10 laps)
- Modified hot laps (locked-in entrants)
Late Model consolation (10 laps)
- Modified consolation (10 laps)
7 p.m. - Opening ceremonies, driver introductions
Feature events
- Late Models (40 laps)
- Modifieds (30 laps)