Dirt on Dirt - Pierce overtakes Tri-City foes, earns $10,000

June 16

Tri-City Speedway,

Granite City, IL

Sanction: DIRTcar Summer Nationals - $10,000

Information provided by: Robert Holman, series and track reports (last updated June 17, 11:22 am)

Pierce overtakes Tri-City foes, earns $10,000

Bobby Pierce
Frank Heckenast Jr.
Brian Shirley
Gordy Gundaker
Jason Feger
Ashton Winger
Tanner English
Mike Harrison
Ryan Unzicker
Billy Moyer
Ethan Dotson
Kye Blight
Kyle Beard
Tommy Sheppard Jr.
Rich Bell
Bob Gardner
Daryn Klein
Dennis Erb Jr.
Trevor Gundaker
Rusty Griffaw
Shannon Babb
Jordan Bauer

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Bobby Pierce (32) flashes under Frank Heckenast Jr. to take the lead at Tri-City.

What won the race: Third-starting Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill., executed a turn-one slide job for the lead on lap 17 and never looked back, pacing the final 24 circuits and winning Friday's $10,000 DIRTcar Summer Nationals stop at Tri-City Speedway. Pierce notched his first Summer Nationals win of the season, in his first start and his fifth tour victory at Tri-City, increasing his race winnings to more than $50,000 there since 2016.

Key notes: Pierce's victory is the 48th of his career with the DIRTcar Summer Nationals. ... Second-starting Frank Heckenast Jr. led the first 16 laps before being overtaken by Pierce and finishing 2.854 seconds back. ... Winner of the first two rounds Brian Shirley advanced four positions and finished third after pressuring Heckenast for second in the closing laps. … Polesitter Gordy Gundaker failed to lead a lap and faded to finish fourth at the track owned and promoted by his parents. ... Tanner English gained three spots and finished seventh. ... Mike Harrison started 18th and finished eighth. ... National Dirt Late Model Hall of Famer Billy Moyer ran as high as second in the early laps before fading to finish 10th. ... Dennis Erb Jr. retired on lap 24 while running 10th. ... Shannon Babb drew the race's only caution on lap 12 when he slowed from ninth. ... Friday's feature was slowed by the one caution for Babb and lasted 15 minutes, with 12 competitors completing all 40 laps. ... The series returns to Tri-City for a $5,000-to-win event on July 4.

On the move: Ashton Winger of Hampton, Ga., started 17th and finished sixth.

Winner's sponsors: Pierce’s Longhorn Chassis is sponsored by Allgayer Inc., Hoker Trucking LLC, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Bloomington Normal Truck Performance, Carnaghi Towing & Repair, Floyd’s Waste Systems, Vic Hill Race Engines, Swift Springs, Bilstein Shocks, Toyota of Danville, Ted Brown’s Quality Paint and Body Shop, Extreme Electric, Inc., Performance Bodies, A Plus Vacuum, Lekg Tree Service, Bert Transmission by Budda, Velocita-USA, Robert and Sons Aluminum, VP Racing Fuels and FK Rod Ends.

Points chase: After Tri-City: 1. Brian Shirley (230); 2. Jason Feger (188); 3. Frank Heckenast Jr. (187); 4. Dennis Erb Jr. (178); 5. Ethan Dotson (159); 6. Bob Gardner (155); 7. Shannon Babb (146); 8. Ashton Winger (138); 9. Kye Blight (136); 10. Tommy Sheppard Jr. (127).

Current weather: Clear, 64°F

Car count: 41

Fast qualifier: Bobby Pierce

Time: 14.635 seconds

Polesitter: Gordy Gundaker

Heat race winners: Bobby Pierce, Billy Moyer, Frank Heckenast Jr., Gordy Gundaker

Consolation race winners: Ashton Winger

Provisional starters: Bob Gardner, Tommy Sheppard Jr., Daryn Klein, Jordan Bauer

Next series race: June 17, Fairbury Speedway (Fairbury, IL) $10,000

Editor's note: Results and race details are unofficial.

From staff reports

GRANITE CITY, Ill. (June 16) — Updates from the third round of the DIRTcar Summer Nationals at Tri-City Speedway, an event highlighted by a $10,000-to-win feature for Super Late Models (results unofficial):

Feature

Third-starting Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill., executed a turn-one slide job for the lead on lap 17 and never looked back, pacing the final 24 circuits and winning Friday's $10,000 DIRTcar Summer Nationals stop at Tri-City Speedway. Pierce notched his first Summer Nationals win of the season, in his first start and his fifth tour victory at Tri-City, increasing his race winnings to more than $50,000 there since 2016. Pierce's victory is the 48th of his career with the DIRTcar Summer Nationals.

Second-starting Frank Heckenast Jr. of Frankfort, Ill., led the first 16 laps before being overtaken by Pierce and finishing 2.854 seconds back, while Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., winner of the first two Summer Nationals races this season, finished third. Polesitter Gordy Gundaker of St. Charles, Mo., and Jason Feger of Bloomington, Ill., completed the top five.

Feature lineup

(40 laps)
Row 1: Gordy Gundaker, Frank Heckenast Jr.
Row 2: Bobby Pierce, Billy Moyer
Row 3: Shannon Babb, Jason Feger
Row 4: Brian Shirley, Ethan Dotson
Row 5: Ryan Unzicker, Tanner English
Row 6: Dennis Erb Jr., Kye Blight
Row 7: Kyle Beard, Rusty Griffaw
Row 8: Trevor Gundaker, Rich Bell
Row 9: Ashton Winger, Mike Harrison
Row 10: Bob Gardner, Tommy Sheppard Jr.
Row 11: Daryn Klein, Jordan Bauer

Consolation race results

B-main (top two transfer): Ashton Winger, Mike Harrison, Tyler Clem, Brandon Eskew, Billy Laycock, Cody Bauer, Kylan Garner, Brenden Smith, Tucker Finch, Claude Walker, Forrest Trent, Bob Gardner, Jordan Bauer, Tommy Sheppard Jr., Austin Rettig.

C-main (top three transfer): Tucker Finch, Kylan Garner, Claude Walker, Paul Kuper, Thomas Hunziker, Daryn Klein, Mark Voigt, Mick Quin, Chris Hawkins, Doug Yye. Scratched: Tim Gauntt, Charlie Cole, Drake Troutman.

Heat race results

(Top four transfer)
First heat: Bobby Pierce, Shannon Babb, Ryan Unzicker, Kyle Beard, Ashton Winger, Austin Rettig, Tommy Sheppard Jr., Tucker Finch, Doug Tye, Mick Quin, Mark Voigt.

Second heat: Billy Moyer, Brian Shirley, Dennis Erb Jr., Trevor Gundaker, Tyler Clem, Mike Harrison, Brenden Smith, Claude Walker, Tim Gauntt, Drake Troutman.

Third heat: Frank Heckenast Jr., Jason Feger, Tannert English, Rusty Griffaw, Billy Laycock, Jordan Bauer, Forrest Trent, Chris Hawkins, Charlie Cole, Daryn Klein, Tim Gauntt.

Fourth heat: Gordy Gundaker, Ethan Dotson, Kye Blight, Rich Bell, Brandon Eskew, Bob Gardner, Cody Bauer, Kylan Garner, Thomas Hunziker, Paul Kuper.

Time trials

Driver (car no.), hometown, results (unofficial)
Group A
Bobby Pierce (32), Oakwood, Ill., 14.635
Billy Moyer (21), Batesville, Ark., 14.722
Shannon Babb (18), Moweaqua, Ill., 14.766
Brian Shirley (3s), Chatham, Ill., 14.775
Kyle Beard (86), Trumann, Ark., 14.796
Dennis Erb Jr. (28), Carpentersville, Ill., 14.822
Ryan Unzicker (24), El Paso, Ill., 14.896
Drake Troutman (7T), Hyndman, Pa., 14.900
Ashton Winger (12), Hampton, Ga., 14.933
Mike Harrison (33), Highland, Ill., 14.950
Austin Rettig (94), Sikeston, Mo., 15.007
Brenden Smith (17ss), Dage City, Fla., 15.215
Tucker Finch (25T), Jacksonville, Fla., 15.302
Trevor Gundaker (14G), St. Charles, Mo., 15.424
Tommy Sheppard Jr. (T6), New Berlin, Ill., 15.549
Claude Walker (35), Moro, Ill., 15.685
Mark Voigt (30), Marine, Ill., 15.756
Tyler Clem (58), St. Petersburg, Fla., 15.843
Mick Quin (23), Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, 15.939
Tim Gauntt (T8), Brighton, Ill. 16.522
Doug Tye (4D), Collinsville, Ill., 16.549
Group B
Forrest Trent (101), Morristown, Tenn., 15.137
Gordy Gundaker (11), St. Charles, Mo., 15.142
Frank Heckenast Jr. (99jr), Frankfort, Ill., 15.213
Brandon Eskew (11E), Ashland, Ill., 15.312
Jason Feger (25), Bloomington, Ill., 15.318
Ethan Dotson (174), Bakersfield, Calif., 15.422
Daryn Klein (26H), Fairview Heights, Ill., 15.423
Rich Bell (21B), Sheffield, Ill., 15.436
Jordan Bauer (10J), St. Jacob, Ill., 15.440
Kye Blight (31AUS), Bunbury, W. Australia, 15.506
Tanner English (96v), Benton, Ky., 15.581
Bob Gardner (4G), East Peoria, Ill., 15.595
Rusty Griffaw (16), Festus, Mo., 15.795
Thomas Hunziker (38), Bend, Ore., 15.815
Charlie Cole (2), Wynne, Ark., 15.878
Paul Kuper (14), Aviston, Ill., 15.883
Chris Hawkins (USA1), Neosho, Mo., 16.405
Cody Bauer (19x), Farwell, Mich., 17.199
Billy Laycock (82), Marine, Ill., 17.397
Kylan Garner (USA128), Diamond, Mo., no time

Friday’s schedule

(All times local)
12 p.m.: Pits open
5:30 p.m.: Grandstands open and drivers’ meeting
6:30 p.m.: On-track activity
- Super Late Model hot laps
- Modified hot lap/qualifying (3 laps)
- Super Late Model qualifying (2 laps)
- B-Mod hot laps
Opening ceremonies
Heat races
- Super Late Models (10 laps)
- Modifieds (8 laps)
- B-Mods (8 laps)
- Super Late Model consolation (10 laps)
Last chance showdowns
- Modifieds (10 laps)
- Super Late Models (12 laps)
- B-Mods (10 laps)
Intermission/driver autograph session
Features
- Super Late Models (40 laps)
- Modifieds (25 laps)
- B-Mods (20 laps)