ROSSBURG, Ohio — Despite crossing the finish line second to Ricky Weiss, Bobby Pierce thought he had the car to beat in Friday's first World 100 prelim at Eldora Speedway.
Turns out, Pierce's gut instinct didn’t let him down. Because Weiss failed postrace technical inspection for failing to meet deck height requirements — otherwise known as the Droop Rule among the dirt racing masses — Pierce was handed the $12,000 prelim win.
The scenario completed a perfect night for the Oakwood, Ill., star, who went quick time in Group A with a lap of 15.278 seconds followed by a fourth-to-first charge in his heat race. Pierce couldn’t believe the result bounced his way when the news broke.
“I think a fan came up (to me) and was like, ‘You guys just won!’ At first, I was like, no, we got second, dude,” Pierce said. “I was like, man, that’s awesome. You always hate to see that for other competitors for how hard everyone works. It’s a kick to them. We’ll take it. Anytime we can get on this stage here, no matter what happens, we’ll take it. We’re really proud. We felt like it was almost our race to win there anyways. Just really glad. Normally, this stuff doesn’t happen to me. … We’re really appreciative to get it.”
Pierce finished 2.134 seconds behind Weiss, who initially broke free from the charging Pierce when under duress in the battle for the lead in the closing laps.
Polesitter Kyle Bronson led the first 16 laps, but the win slipped from his grasp when he got into the turn one wall on lap 17. Weiss simultaneously had attempted a slide job for the lead, and it ultimately stuck when Bronson’s momentum slowed.
Bronson then fell into the clutches of Pierce in the following corner, which kindled the intriguing battle for the win the closing laps that pitted Weiss maneuvering the middle-bottom of the half-mile and Pierce selling out around the top.
By the naked eye, Pierce seemed destined to dispatch Weiss. The only issue was that the slower cars of Billy Moyer and Shannon Babb — both adamant on running the top — slowed Pierce’s pace. That allowed Weiss to shake loose in the lower grooves.
“Moyer took the air off me,” Pierce said. "I should have expected it from him. He normally squeezes the wall, but that’s what happens, and you have to be ready for it. With Billy being there kind of stunk up our show. He was kind of right in our line. He was holding his line, and I’m good with that. That let Ricky going on by.”
Overall, the 25-lap prelim lasted a hair under 12 minutes and went without a caution.
The pace of the feature allowed Pierce to get a firmer handle on his machine adorning a livery inspired by fictional character Ricky Bobby from the movie Talladega Nights. In Thursday’s eighth-place prelim finish, Pierce suffered more damage to his race machine than he would have liked, which toyed with his train of thought on Friday.
“All in all, we’re really happy with how it turned out tonight; huge gains from yesterday,” Pierce said. “I was actually timid to run the top. Yesterday I hit the wall so many times. We got the car rolling a lot better tonight."
Pierce implied that he’s only an adjustment or two away from potentially adding a second World 100 title come Saturday night.
“We were a little tight when I got in it yesterday, but the car has good traction,” Pierce said. “If we can figure out our tightness problem in the corner, we’ll be really fast."
Feature lineup
(25 laps)
Row 1: Kyle Bronson, Mason Zeigler
Row 2: Ricky Weiss, Bobby Pierce
Row 3: Jeep Van Wormer, Tim McCreadie
Row 4: Mike Marlar, Jimmy Owens
Row 5: Wil Herrington, Brandon Sheppard
Row 6: Jonathan Davenport, Shannon Babb
Row 7: Kent Robinson, Shane Clanton
Row 8: Zack Mitchell, Chris Ferguson
Row 9: Tyler Bruening, Darrell Lanigan
Row 10: Steven Roberts, Kyle Strickler
Row 11: Brandon Overton, Ricky Thornton Jr.
Row 12: Devin Moran, Billy Moyer
Consolation race results
(12 laps; top two transfer)
First consolation: Brandon Overton, Devin Moran, Mark Whitener, Carson Ferguson, Jason Feger, Johnny Scott, Spencer Hughes, Garrett Alberson, Dustin Nobbe, Robby Hensley, Manny Falcon, Mike Provenzano, Terry Rushlow, Nick Fenner. DNS: Andrew Reaume, Keegan Cox, Parker Martin, Jason Jameson.
Second consolation: Ricky Thornton Jr., Billy Moyer, Devin Gilpin, Cory Hedgecock, Rick Eckert, Camaron Marlar, Trent Ivey, Freddie Carpenter, Kenny Collins, Jadon Frame, Jon Hodgkiss, Curtis Roberts, Rob Anderzack, Josh Robertson, Steve Casebolt.
Consolation race lineups
(12 laps; top two transfer)
First consolation
Row 1: Mark Whitener, Brandon Overton
Row 2: Devin Moran, Carson Ferguson
Row 3: Manny Falcon, Jason Feger
Row 4: Dustin Nobbe, Johnny Scott
Row 5: Garrett Alberson, Andrew Reaume
Row 6: Robby Hensley, Mike Provenzano
Row 7: Spencer Hughes, Terry Rushlow
Row 8: Keegan Cox, Parker Martin
Row 9: Nick Fenner, Jason Jameson
Second consolation
Row 1: Cory Hedgecock, Ricky Thornton Jr.
Row 2: Trent Ivey, Camaron Marlar
Row 3: Billy Moyer, Devin Gilpin
Row 4: Rick Eckert, Freddie Carpenter
Row 5: Curtis Roberts, Jadon Frame
Row 6: Kenny Collins, Jon Hodgkiss
Row 7: Rob Anderzack, Jeff Robertson
Row 8: Josh Robertson, Steve Casebolt
Heat race notes
Taking advantage of a caution flag that set up a green-white-checkered finish, Bobby Pierce slid around the outside of Tim McCreadie to grab the lead and capture the first heat. Pierce said there was contact between the two for a moment in turn four coming to the restart green because McCreadie “kind of tail-slid” and then he overtook him using the outside of turns one and two; McCreadie was angered by the turn of events when he climbed out of his car in the technical inspection area, saying that Pierce was “leaning on my right-rear” heading to the green flag. … Manny Falcon was fourth for the final restart in Heat 1 but left-front damage to his car’s nose caused him to slip to eighth in the finishing order. … Spencer Hughes started third in Heat 1 after a strong qualifying effort, but he got the worst of a lap-one scramble in turn four and fell back to ninth. He was running eighth when he slapped the turn-two wall on the final restart and limped into the pit area. … Kyle Bronson declared his car the best it’s been all week after scoring a flag-to-flag win in the second heat. … The big Heat 2 battle was for the fifth and final transfer spot between Darrell Lanigan and Dream winner Brandon Overton; they scraped together off turn four heading to the checkered flag with Lanigan taking the position by inches. … Ricky Weiss survived a furious late-race rally by Mike Marlar to win the third heat over the Tennessee driver by a mere 0.105 of a second. … Trent Ivey started from the pole in the third heat but fell to sixth in two laps and ultimately placed seventh, seeing him to a B-main. … Mason Zeigler outgunned polesitter Jeep Van Wormer for the lead at the start of the fourth heat and piloted his Barry Wright Race Cars machine to victory by nearly 2 seconds over the veteran from Michigan. “For the first time in a long time I’m hoping this baby gets slick in the feature,” Zeigler said, professing satisfaction with the performance of his car.
Heat race results
(10 laps; top five transfer)
First heat: Bobby Pierce, Tim McCreadie, Wil Herrington, Kent Robinson, Tyler Bruening, Mark Whitener, Devin Moran, Manny Falcon, Dustin Nobbe, Garrett Alberson, Robby Hensley, Spencer Hughes, Keegan Cox. Scratched: Nick Fenner.
Second heat: Kyle Bronson, Brandon Sheppard, Jimmy Owens, Darrell Lanigan, Shane Clanton, Jason Feger, Brandon Overton, Johnny Scott, Carson Ferguson, Parker Martin Jr., Andrew Reaume, Mike Provenzano, Terry Rushlow, Jason Jameson.
Third heat: Ricky Weiss, Mike Marlar, Joanthan Davenport, Zack Mitchell, Steven Roberts, Cory Hedgecock, Trent Ivey, Billy Moyer, Rick Eckert, Curtis Roberts, Kenny Collins, Rob Anderzack, Josh Robertson.
Fourth heat: Mason Zeigler, Jeep Van Wormer, Shannon Babb, Chris Ferguson, Kyle Strickler, Ricky Thornton Jr., Camaron Marlar, Devin Gilpin, Freddie Carpenter, Jadon Frame, Jon Hodgkiss, Jeff Robertson, Steve Casebolt.
Heat race lineups
(10 laps; top five transfer)
First heat
Row 1: Wil Herrington, Tim McCreadie
Row 2: Spencer Hughes, Bobby Pierce
Row 3: Manny Falcon, Kent Robinson
Row 4: Devin Moran, Tyler Bruening
Row 5: Mark Whitener, Dustin Nobbe
Row 6: Garrett Alberson, Robby Hensley
Row 7: Keegan Cox, Nick Fenner
Second heat
Row 1: Kyle Bronson, Darrell Lanigan
Row 2: Jimmy Owens, Brandon Sheppard
Row 3: Brandon Overton, Andrew Reaume
Row 4: Jason Feger, Parker Martin
Row 5: Johnny Scott, Shane Clanton
Row 6: Carson Ferguson, Mike Provenzano
Row 7: Terry Rushlow, Jason Jameson
Third heat
Row 1: Trent Ivey, Ricky Weiss
Row 2: Mike Marlar, Zack Mitchell
Row 3: Jonathan Davenport, Steven Roberts
Row 4: Cory Hedgecock, Curtis Roberts
Row 5: Kenny Collins, Billy Moyer
Row 6: Rick Eckert, Ron Anderzack
Row 7: Josh Robertson
Fourth heat
Row 1: Jeep Van Wormer, Mason Zeigler
Row 2: Kyle Strickler, Shannon Babb
Row 3: Chris Ferguson, Camaron Marlar
Row 4: Jon Hodgkiss, Steve Casebolt
Row 5: Jadon Frame, Freddie Carpenter
Row 6: Ricky Thornton Jr., Devin Gilpin
Row 7: Jeff Robertson
Pre-race notes
Eldora’s race week continues Friday with Chamber of Commerce weather (sunny and a high temperature in the lower 80s) for a third straight day. … After Thursday’s first World 100 preliminary program, Chris Ferguson of Mt. Holly, N.C., sits atop the event points standings that will determine the starting lineups for Saturday’s six 15-lap heats. His third-place finish in the second 25-lap feature came driving his backup Team Zero car after his primary machine’s rearend and fuel cell was heavily damaged in a Dream wreck on Wednesday. … Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., who won Thursday’s first 25-lap feature, is second in the World 100 standings, two points behind Ferguson (593-591). Chris Madden of Gray Court, S.C. (590) is third, followed by Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn. (578) and Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill. (573). … Hudson O’Neal of Martinsville, Ind., is sixth in the standings with 570 points following his $12,000 victory in Thursday’s second 25-lapper. It was his third career win at Eldora; he previously captured a World 100 preliminary in 2019 and a Sunoco America Late Model Series event in 2021. … Buoyed by a fifth-place finish in Thursday’s second 25-lapper, teenager Garrett Smith of Eatonton, Ga., is eighth in the points standings, setting him up well to make a run at a career-first start in the World 100 finale. … Dale McDowell of Chickamauga, Ga., has some catching up to do after falling two spots short in a B-main of transferring to a Thursday feature. He dropped out of his heat due to a broken bolt that holds the yoke on the rearend. … After an 11th-place finish in Thursday’s first 25-lapper, Tyler Erb of New Waverly, Texas, lamented about the Eldora oval’s cushion being virtually non-existent. He said he would love to see more moisture in the surface to open up the possibility of outside moves.
Time trials
Driver (car no.), hometown
1. Bobby Pierce (32), Oakwood, Ill., 15.278
2. Brandon Sheppard (1), New Berlin, Ill., 15.310
3. Zack Mitchell (57), Enoree, S.C., 15.448
4. Shannon Babb (18), Moweaqua, Ill., 15.475
5. Spencer Hughes (11H), Meridian, Miss., 15.504
6. Jimmy Owens (20), Newport, Tenn., 15.517
7. Mike Marlar (157), Winfield, Tenn., 15.536
8. Kyle Strickler (8), Mooresville, N.C., 15.563
9. Tim McCreadie (39), Watertown, N.Y., 15.571
10. Darrell Lanigan (29), Union, Ky. 15.585
11. Ricky Weiss (7W), Headingley, Manitoba, 15.613
12. Mason Zeigler (9z), Chalk Hill, Pa., 15.621
13. Wil Herrington (19M), Cochran, Ga., 15.629
14. Kyle Bronson (40B), Brandon, Fla., 15.636
15. Trent Ivey (88), Union, S.C., 15.641
16. Jeep Van Wormer (55), Pinconning, Mich., 15.672
17. Manny Falcon (995), Pine Grove, La., 15.674
18. Brandon Overton (76), Evans, Ga., 15.686
19. Jonathan Davenport (49), Blairsville, Ga., 15.690
20. Chris Ferguson (22), Mount Holly, N.C., 15.702
21. Kent Robinson (7R), Bloomington, Ind., 15.711
22. Andrew Reaume (88), Blenheim, Ontario, 15.737
23. Steven Roberts (111), Sylvester, Ga., 15.742
24. Camaron Marlar (99), Winfield, Tenn., 15.746
25. Devin Moran (9), Dresden, Ohio, 15.748
26. Jason Feger (25), Bloomington, Ill., 15.771
27. Cory Hedgecock (23), Loudon, Tenn., 15.830
28. Jon Hodgkiss (69), Kennedy Township, Pa., 15.846
29. Tyler Bruening (16), Decorah, Iowa, 15.851
30. Parker Martin (6jr), Milledgeville, Ga., 15.858
31. Steve Casebolt (C9), Richmond, Ind., 15.862
32. Curtis Roberts (9r), Coleman, Mich., 15.862
33. Mark Whitener (5), Middleburg, Fla., 15.874
34. Johnny Scott (1st), Las Cruces, N.M., 15.881
35. Kenny Collins (1c), Colbert, Ga., 15.891
36. Jadon Frame (J8), Decherd, Tenn., 15.901
37. Dustin Nobbe (5N), Batesville, Ind., 15.961
38. Shane Clanton (25), Zebulon, Ga., 15.963
39. Billy Moyer (21), Batesville, Ark., 15.965
40. Jason Jameson (12), Lawrenceburg, Ind., 16.018
41. Freddie Carpenter (K), Parkersburg, W.Va., 16.048
42. Garrett Alberson (58), Las Cruces, N.M., 16.077
43. Carson Ferguson (93), Lincolnton, N.C., 16.091
44. Rick Eckert (15K), York, Pa., 16.098
45. Ricky Thornton Jr. (20rt), Chandler, Ariz., 16.110
46. Robby Hensley (21H), Walton, Ky., 16.111
47. Mike Provenzano (M27), Marseilles, Ill., 16.196
48. Rob Anderzack (8), Swanton, Ohio, 16.206
49. Devin Gilpin (1G), Columbus, Ind., 16.211
50. Keegan Cox (23C), Franklin, Ind., 16.605
51. Terry Rushlow (63), Holland, Mich., 16.997
52. Josh Robertson (P3), Defiance, Ohio, 17.297
53. Jeff Robertson (P0), Defiance, Ohio, 17.611
54. Nick Fenner (22f), Morenci, Mich., did not time
Friday's schedule
(All times local)
10 a.m.: Turn-three race registration opens (pit passes and media credential sign-in)
10 a.m.: Main gate ticket office opens (tickets, pit passes and will call)
10 a.m.: Turn-four ticket office opens (tickets and pit passes)
11 a.m.: All ADA parking opens (permit required)
11 a.m.: Grandstand cleared and secured for grand opening
11 a.m.-noon: Cornhole tournament registration (Gate 3)
Noon: Cornhole tournament registration (Fan Zone Barn)
Noon: Turn-three pit gate opens
Noon: All admission gates/suites/concessions open
Noon-4:30 p.m.: Technical inspection for Late Models
1 p.m.: Cornhole tournament (Fan Zone Barn)
5 p.m.: Drivers’ meeting
6:30 p.m.: Hot laps
- Time trials
8 p.m.: Opening ceremonies followed by on-track competition
- Eight heat races (10 laps)
- Four consolation races (12 laps)
- Two feature events (25 laps)
