Kevin Kovac's Take Five
Take Five: Slide jobs spice Dotson-Pierce battle
In a new feature appearing regularly on DirtonDirt, senior writer Kevin Kovac will offer readers five things worth mentioning from around the Dirt Late Model landscape (index to previous Take Fives):
No. 1: The third heat race of Friday’s World of Outlaws Late Model Series preliminary program at Mississippi Thunder Speedway in Fountain City, Wis., produced one heck of a battle between tour regulars Ethan Dotson of Bakersfield, Calif., and Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill. Dotson surged ahead to grab the lead at the start, but Pierce mounted a late bid beginning with a slider through turns one and two on the sixth lap. Then Dotson crossed underneath Pierce in turns three and four, Pierce did the same off the fourth corner to lead lap seven, and Dotson threw another bomb rounding turns one and two that resulted in contact which sent Pierce completely sideways off the corner, though he held on to finish third while Dotson took the victory. It was a rousing back-and-forth for a prelim and it had Dotson sounding quite intense afterward. “He just parked it on my nose, so I parked it on his,” Dotson told DIRTVision pit reporter Ashton Smyth. “Just took one out of his page. He’s run over us all week, so ….”
No. 2: Smyth also asked Pierce about the heat altercation. He spoke calmly and without tossing out any significant verbal daggers. He sounds like a driver who understands that if he’s going to throw sliders, he has to expect them in return. “We were both going hard there,” Pierce said. “I gave him a slider, cleared him, and then we went sliding back-and-forth a couple times. The last lap he sent ‘er in there pretty good and we were already kind of coming off the corner so it was a bit late, but I feel like I should’ve been better prepared for that. Probably should’ve turned down the hill a little earlier. Not saying it was clean, but we’ve all been there. I think I probably could’ve turned down the hill … or at least, I really wish I would’ve just blocked the slider. On top of that, I wish I would’ve just got a better (initial) start (off the pole) and not had to race him.”
No. 3: Undoubtedly one of the happiest drivers in Mississippi Thunder’s pit area Friday had to be Brent Larson of Lake Elmo, Minn., whose fifth-place finish in the 30-lap feature was his first top-five run in WoO action since a third on June 20, 2024, at Thunderhill Raceway in Summertown, Tenn. The 49-year-old went 88 WoO starts between top-fives — and Friday’s performance marked just his eighth top-five in 348 career WoO starts.
No. 4: Nick Hoffman’s $10,000 triumph in Friday’s WoO feature at Mississippi Thunder — the third straight year that he’s won a WoO A-main at the track – came with his team owner Tye Twarog not on hand but watching from afar and also thinking about another form of horsepower. On Friday he posted a picture on Facebook of himself and his fiancee Dusty Rayburn standing at the famed Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., the site of this weekend's Kentucky Derby. The photo, taken a month ago when they visited the track while in town for a Riley Green concert, led to someone suggesting in a Facebook comment accompanying Twarog’s picture that he should put his money on “number 9” for today's race since that’s on his race car, and he readily agreed in his response … which means he’ll be pulling for The Puma, the horse going off from the No. 9 position (and at 8-1 odds before Saturday’s wagering). Twarog and Rayburn aren't attending the Kentucky Derby, but he said Rayburn is a big Derby fan and plan to go someday but this year they'll just be making personal bets and watching the the broadcast of the race.
No. 5: What a cool moment Friday at Bedford (Pa.) Speedway where Kyle Lear of Severna Park, Md., pulled off a memorable victory in the Limited Late Model feature. Lear entered the evening’s action with his familiar No. 151 machine carrying the No. 1MD as a tribute to the late Moe Defino, the West Virginia car owner, crew chief and speed shop owner who died April 23 at the age of 64. Putting a car with Defino’s number in victory lane was a wonderful way to honor the well-known veteran mechanic, who spent time working with Lear among his long list of drivers. Learn even had a message on his car’s spoiler: “Way Moe Better Rocket.”
Editor's note: Fixes that Twarog isn't attending Kentucky Derby this weekend
