Kevin Kovac's Take Five
Take Five: 'Help Wanted' posted for Pierce's crew
In a new feature appearing regularly on DirtonDirt, senior writer Kevin Kovac offers readers five things worth mentioning from around the Dirt Late Model world (index to previous Take Fives):
No. 1: Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill., announced last Thursday in a Facebook post the departure of crew member Austin Hemmen, who has served as the 29-year-old star’s tire specialist and general mechanic for the last five seasons. Pierce wished Hemmen the best as he “chooses to pursue other life goals and interests outside of the racing world” and asserted that he’ll “always be a member of BPR” following the impressive string of victories and memories they experienced together. Another Pierce social media post appeared soon afterward seeking resumes from prospective candidates for the team’s open full-time crew position.
No. 2: A 29-year-old Iowa native who relocated to Oakwood, Ill., to work for Pierce, Hemmen said he’s planning to be at Volusia Speedway Park in Barberville, Fla., next week to help Pierce begin his next Speedweeks stretch before starting his new job managing a landscaping business in Scottsdale, Ariz., where he is moving with his girlfriend Christine Mahnke. Hemmen noted there are “no hard feelings” between him and Pierce, whom he’s grown close to during his extended stretch as a crew member and has enjoyed plenty of unforgettable moments. “Bobby and I’s friendship will go a long way. He is an awesome guy to work for,” Hemmen wrote on Facebook while also calling his professional change “one of the toughest decisions I’ve made in my life.” Hemmen told me he’s looking to get away from the grind of Dirt Late Model racing. “I’m at an age I think I just need a change of life in order to get married and have kids someday,” Hemmen said. “I’m very passionate about what I do here for Bobby and this team, but this is a lifestyle and it’s not a family-oriented lifestyle, unfortunately, as bad I’d like it to be.”
No. 3: Jason Feger’s first victory of 2026 came Saturday — on the other side of the world. A couple days after flying to New Zealand with his wife, daughter, crew chief Jason Palubicki and others, the 47-year-old from Bloomington, Ill., captured an International Super Saloon Series event at Waikaraka Family Speedway in Auckland driving a Harding Motorsports car carrying Feger’s familiar No. 25 and green and black colors. Feger called it “one of the most exciting races” he’s ever been in; he stumbled early in the track’s ruts and fell back to 12th place — in fact he initially thought his machine’s driveshaft had broke — but rallied to pull off a daring last-lap pass that saw him defeat fellow American K.C. Burdette of Parkersburg, W.Va., by a mere 0.027 of a second. Feger capped his dramatic triumph by stirring up the fans with a Polish victory lap, which apparently isn’t a thing in New Zealand.
No. 4: Feger is one of three American drivers competing in the New Zealand Super Saloon events, joining Saturday runner-up Burdette (driving for the Cowling Speed Shop team) and World of Outlaws Late Model Series regular Ethan Dotson of Bakersfield, Calif., who wasn’t a factor in Saturday’s feature because of mechanical trouble in his Harding Motorsports entry. Australian Kye Blight, a familiar face to Midwest Dirt Late Model fans from his action in the region in recent years, finished third in Waikaraka’s headliner for the Super Saloon Series, which will continue this Friday and Saturday with all four international drivers racing at Prestige International Speedway in Palmerston North.
No. 5: A message to readers: we’re changing things up a bit with this Take Five feature, which shifts the 10 Things Worth Mentioning section that I’ve long included at the end of my weekly Inside Dirt Late Model Racing column into a separate entity that will appear in batches of five things much more frequently. It’ll be the same types of notes I’ve always included in 10 Things — interesting or funny anecdotes, newsy items, column leftovers and just stuff that strikes me to comment on. I’ll just be offering up more “things” now, so keep an eye out for each new Take Five.
