September 22
Tri-City Speedway,
Granite City, IL
Sanction: DIRTcar Racing (non-touring) (Late Model Mania) - $2,000
Information provided by: Jimmy Dearing and staff reports (last updated September 23, 7:50 am)
Pierce repels Babb in Tri-City's weekend opener
Late Model Mania
- Bobby Pierce
- Shannon Babb
- Gordy Gundaker
- Tim Manville
- Matt Taylor
- Billy Laycock
- Allen Murray
- Michael Kloos
- Bob Gardner
- Dustin Griffin
- Tanner English
- Caleb Ashby
- Dewayne Kiefer
- Jeff Herzog
- Claude Walker
- Scott Henseler
- Jim Shereck
- Mark Voigt
- Frank Heckenast Jr.
- Rusty Schlenk
- Rickey Frankel
- Kevin Weaver
presented by
Jimmy Dearing/stlracingphotos.com
Bobby Pierce emerges from his car in victory lane at Tri-City.
What won the race: Grabbing his 20th victory of the season, Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill., fought off a last-ditch charge from Shannon Babb amid traffic for a 30-lap victory in the first race of a tripleheader weekend at Tri-City Speedway. Pierce earned $2,000 for the victory.
Quotable: "I knew (Babb) was really close, I wasn't sure how close. In a situation like that, it's hard to be the leader," Pierce said. "But I saw my dad (giving signals), and I knew (Babb) was somewhere, and I was trying every different line ... On the last corner, I saw Babb under me in turns one and two, and I just got enough run off of two that I could sneak back down low. Then out of the corner of my right eye I saw him shoot to the top, and I was like, 'Aw, geez, he's still there.' And I luckily made a good corner the last corner and shot off turn four and went straight to the wall — a little bit of a blocking game, you could say — that was a fun race."
Key notes: Pierce is closing in on his third consecutive DIRTcar weekly points title. ... Shannon Babb also posted a top-five finish in modified action; Pierce will drive a modified the next two nights as well. ... Polesitter Caleb Ashby of Cunningham, Tenn., spun to draw an early caution. ... Thursday's race is the first of three Late Model events on the undercard of the Summit Racing Modified Mania tripleheader. ... Late Model purses are $2,000-to-win (Thursday), $2,500-to-win (Friday) and $3,000-to-win (Saturday).
On the move: Consolation winner Matt Taylor of Springfield, Ill., rallied from 14th to finish fifth.
Winner's sponsors: The winning Bob Pierce Race Car is sponsored by Allgayer Inc., Premier Waste Services, Carnaghi Towing and Repair, Champion Spark Plugs, Keyser Manufacturing, Sweet Mfg., ARBodies and Petersen Aluminum.
Points chase: Entering the weekend, Michael Kloos of Trenton, Ill., leads Tri-City's weekly Late Model standings with 786 points over Billy Laycock (768).
Car count: 43
Polesitter: Caleb Ashby
Dash winner: Caleb Ashby
Heat race winners: Bobby Pierce, Gordy Gundaker, Shannon Babb, Dustin Griffin, Frank Heckenast Jr., Caleb Ashby
Consolation race winners: Michael Kloos, Matt Taylor
Editor's note: Results and race details are unofficial.
