FAIRBURY, IL (June 17, 2023) – Several trophies earned at Fairbury Speedway sit tall atop the mantle of Bobby Pierce and his young career. But besides the track’s iconic Prairie Dirt Classic event, there was one other field he’d yet to conquer at the famed Illinois bullring – the DIRTcar Summer Nationals.
Saturday night, after fighting to get the lead back in deep lapped traffic, he did it. Pierce had taken the lead, lost it to Shannon Babb in a tread through waves of traffic, and regained it again all within the 50-lap distance to finally score the win in an event that had eluded his grasp several times over.
“It was tough,” Pierce said. “There were cars three-wide. Thinking back on it, it was pretty wild.”
Pierce, the five-time Hell Tour champion from Oakwood, IL, led the field to the green in the Summer Nationals’ 36th main event all-time at the 1/4-mile and took off in the opening laps. His large gap over Babb was quickly shrunk when he hit the tail of the field and began to sort his way through traffic. With Babb right on his tail and slower cars two and three-wide in front of him, Pierce made a few gutsy moves, weaving inside-and-outside of cars to keep out ahead of Babb.
The two leaders soon cleared the large pack, and by the halfway point, Babb had closed the gap completely and was knocking on the door for the lead. With a swift move to Pierce’s outside in Turns 3-4 on Lap 27, Babb had taken the lead, but wasn’t getting too comfortable.
“I knew [Pierce] didn’t give up – he wasn’t going to quit,” Babb said. “I knew there was a lot of top [lane] tonight.”
Hugging the bottom lane, Babb soon closed back in on another large group of slower cars. Pierce, continuously hitting his preferred high side, was able to reel him back in and looked to his outside in an effort to regain the lead as the home stretch neared.
“He was pulling away at that time, and I got up top and was just letting it rip,” Pierce said. “It was kinda like Hail-Mary, last shot for it.”
With Babb held-up by the slower traffic on the bottom, Pierce shot around the outside and took the lead back on Lap 39.
“We caught the other pack of lappers, and I noticed he was having a hard time with them,” Pierce said. “I feel like his tires were starting to fade, and I feel like mine weren’t getting better.”
Now with the lead again, Pierce was forced to tread through even more traffic before shaking Babb in the closing laps. Try as he may, Babb was unable to catch his fellow five-time Summer Nationals champion as Pierce scurried across the finish line to collect the $10,000 grand prize and his second win in-a-row.
“I was thinking I need a caution, honestly,” Babb said. “I moved to the outside and tried it a little bit, but it was just so crumby out there, you really had to rip the lip to do anything.
“I just thought I’ll hang out [on the bottom] and see if one of these guys moves out of the way, or [see if] a caution pops… I just tried to take care of my equipment.”
UP NEXT
The DIRTcar Summer Nationals rolls into Sycamore Speedway in Maple Park, IL, on Sunday, June 18 for the final race of Week 1, where the points champion will be crowned. Tickets will be available at the gate, and streaming service is available with a FAST PASS subscription to DIRTVision.
DIRTCAR LATE MODELS
Feature (50 Laps): 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[1]; 2. 18-Shannon Babb[3]; 3. 11-Gordy Gundaker[8]; 4. 96V-Tanner English[2]; 5. B5-Brandon Sheppard[5]; 6. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[6]; 7. 12-Ashton Winger[10]; 8. 1W-Donny Walden[16]; 9. 25-Jason Feger[11]; 10. T6-Tommy Sheppard Jr[19]; 11. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[14]; 12. 42W-Mckay Wenger[4]; 13. 4G-Bob Gardner[18]; 14. 3S-Brian Shirley[22]; 15. J12-Jason Wagner[9]; 16. 174-Ethan Dotson[24]; 17. 86-Kyle Beard[20]; 18. 101-Forrest Trent[15]; 19. 32S-Chris Simpson[7]; 20. 89-Mike Spatola[17]; 21. B12-Kevin Weaver[12]; 22. 7-Drake Troutman[13]; 23. 3-Dale Markham[23]; 24. 24-Ryan Unzicker[21]
Last Chance Showdown (12 Laps): 1. T6-Tommy Sheppard Jr[1]; 2. 86-Kyle Beard[5]; 3. 10T-Taylor Scheffler[14]; 4. 27M-Rodney Melvin[2]; 5. 14G-Trevor Gundaker[4]; 6. 21B-Rich Bell[10]; 7. T2-Todd Bennett[15]; 8. 21-Billy Moyer Sr[13]; 9. 3-Dale Markham[7]; 10. 9-Lyle Zanker[8]; 11. 9R-Curtis Roberts[9]; 12. 10S-Scott Schmitt[3]; 13. 81J-Jack Riggs[12]; 14. 26H-Daryn Klein[11]; 15. 174-Ethan Dotson[6]; 16. (DNS) 24-Ryan Unzicker
Consolation Race 1 (10 Laps): 1. 21-Billy Moyer Sr[1]; 2. T2-Todd Bennett[3]; 3. 19X-Cody Bauer[4]; 4. 38-Thomas Hunziker[7]; 5. 10-Paul Parker[13]; 6. 42H-Johnathan Huston[6]; 7. 10J-Jordan Bauer[2]; 8. 4D-Doug Tye[9]; 9. 3S-Brian Shirley[11]; 10. 42-Chad Finley[5]; 11. USA128-Kylan Garner[10]; 12. (DNS) 17SS-Brenden Smith; 13. (DNS) 11D-Brian Diveley
Consolation Race 2 (10 Laps): 1. 10T-Taylor Scheffler[9]; 2. 24-Ryan Unzicker[3]; 3. 31AUS-Kye Blight[4]; 4. 334-Billy Hough[7]; 5. 130-Chase Osterhoff[2]; 6. 5S-Stevie Sheppard[10]; 7. 30-Mark Voigt[8]; 8. 58-Tyler Clem[6]; 9. USA1-Chris Hawkins[5]; 10. 23NZ-Mick Quin[12]; 11. (DNS) 94-Austin Rettig; 12. (DNS) 99-Hunt Gossum
Heat 1 (10 Laps): 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[1]; 2. 32S-Chris Simpson[2]; 3. 7-Drake Troutman[3]; 4. T6-Tommy Sheppard Jr[5]; 5. 3-Dale Markham[4]; 6. 21-Billy Moyer Sr[6]; 7. 19X-Cody Bauer[10]; 8. 38-Thomas Hunziker[7]; 9. USA128-Kylan Garner[8]; 10. 10-Paul Parker[9]
Heat 2 (10 Laps): 1. 42W-Mckay Wenger[1]; 2. J12-Jason Wagner[3]; 3. 101-Forrest Trent[4]; 4. 10S-Scott Schmitt[5]; 5. 9R-Curtis Roberts[8]; 6. 10J-Jordan Bauer[9]; 7. 42-Chad Finley[6]; 8. 17SS-Brenden Smith[7]; 9. 3S-Brian Shirley[2]
Heat 3 (10 Laps): 1. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[1]; 2. 25-Jason Feger[2]; 3. 89-Mike Spatola[5]; 4. 86-Kyle Beard[6]; 5. 26H-Daryn Klein[4]; 6. T2-Todd Bennett[8]; 7. 42H-Johnathan Huston[3]; 8. 4D-Doug Tye[9]; 9. (DNS) 11D-Brian Diveley
Heat 4 (10 Laps): 1. 96V-Tanner English[1]; 2. 11-Gordy Gundaker[3]; 3. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[2]; 4. 27M-Rodney Melvin[4]; 5. 9-Lyle Zanker[5]; 6. 94-Austin Rettig[6]; 7. 31AUS-Kye Blight[7]; 8. 334-Billy Hough[8]; 9. 5S-Stevie Sheppard[9]
Heat 5 (10 Laps): 1. B5-Brandon Sheppard[3]; 2. 12-Ashton Winger[1]; 3. 1W-Donny Walden[2]; 4. 14G-Trevor Gundaker[4]; 5. 21B-Rich Bell[7]; 6. 130-Chase Osterhoff[5]; 7. USA1-Chris Hawkins[9]; 8. 30-Mark Voigt[8]; 9. (DNS) 99-Hunt Gossum
Heat 6 (10 Laps): 1. 18-Shannon Babb[4]; 2. B12-Kevin Weaver[3]; 3. 4G-Bob Gardner[1]; 4. 174-Ethan Dotson[7]; 5. 81J-Jack Riggs[8]; 6. 24-Ryan Unzicker[5]; 7. 58-Tyler Clem[2]; 8. 10T-Taylor Scheffler[6]; 9. 23NZ-Mick Quin[9]
Qualifying A (2 Laps): 1. 32-Bobby Pierce, 00:12.893[13]; 2. 42W-Mckay Wenger, 00:13.007[17]; 3. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr, 00:13.182[20]; 4. 32S-Chris Simpson, 00:13.208[8]; 5. 3S-Brian Shirley, 00:13.276[9]; 6. 25-Jason Feger, 00:13.311[14]; 7. 7-Drake Troutman, 00:13.341[24]; 8. J12-Jason Wagner, 00:13.349[3]; 9. 42H-Johnathan Huston, 00:13.405[11]; 10. 3-Dale Markham, 00:13.450[21]; 11. 101-Forrest Trent, 00:13.467[22]; 12. 26H-Daryn Klein, 00:13.483[26]; 13. T6-Tommy Sheppard Jr, 00:13.488[5]; 14. 10S-Scott Schmitt, 00:13.497[2]; 15. 89-Mike Spatola, 00:13.508[25]; 16. 21-Billy Moyer Sr, 00:13.513[12]; 17. 42-Chad Finley, 00:13.567[4]; 18. 86-Kyle Beard, 00:13.567[15]; 19. 38-Thomas Hunziker, 00:13.618[23]; 20. 17SS-Brenden Smith, 00:13.701[27]; 21. 11D-Brian Diveley, 00:13.745[18]; 22. USA128-Kylan Garner, 00:13.769[10]; 23. 9R-Curtis Roberts, 00:13.792[7]; 24. T2-Todd Bennett, 00:13.881[19]; 25. 10-Paul Parker, 00:13.921[16]; 26. 10J-Jordan Bauer, 00:13.953[28]; 27. 4D-Doug Tye, 00:14.134[1]; 28. 19X-Cody Bauer, 00:14.595[6]
Qualifying B (2 Laps): 1. 96V-Tanner English, 00:12.719[17]; 2. 12-Ashton Winger, 00:12.931[1]; 3. 4G-Bob Gardner, 00:12.963[11]; 4. 28-Dennis Erb Jr, 00:12.998[10]; 5. 1W-Donny Walden, 00:13.042[25]; 6. 58-Tyler Clem, 00:13.074[19]; 7. 11-Gordy Gundaker, 00:13.153[8]; 8. B5-Brandon Sheppard, 00:13.257[22]; 9. B12-Kevin Weaver, 00:13.289[3]; 10. 27M-Rodney Melvin, 00:13.333[21]; 11. 14G-Trevor Gundaker, 00:13.384[24]; 12. 18-Shannon Babb, 00:13.468[13]; 13. 9-Lyle Zanker, 00:13.471[27]; 14. 130-Chase Osterhoff, 00:13.477[23]; 15. 24-Ryan Unzicker, 00:13.482[20]; 16. 94-Austin Rettig, 00:13.497[15]; 17. 99-Hunt Gossum, 00:13.543[4]; 18. 10T-Taylor Scheffler, 00:13.555[2]; 19. 31AUS-Kye Blight, 00:13.575[6]; 20. 21B-Rich Bell, 00:13.579[9]; 21. 174-Ethan Dotson, 00:13.583[5]; 22. 334-Billy Hough, 00:13.605[18]; 23. 30-Mark Voigt, 00:13.625[26]; 24. 81J-Jack Riggs, 00:13.858[12]; 25. 5S-Stevie Sheppard, 00:13.893[7]; 26. USA1-Chris Hawkins, 00:13.987[16]; 27. 23NZ-Mick Quin, 00:14.018[14]
Hot Laps A: 1. 42W-Mckay Wenger, 00:13.440[17]; 2. 3-Dale Markham, 00:13.512[21]; 3. 7-Drake Troutman, 00:13.631[24]; 4. 10J-Jordan Bauer, 00:13.640[28]; 5. 26H-Daryn Klein, 00:13.659[26]; 6. 89-Mike Spatola, 00:13.756[25]; 7. 25-Jason Feger, 00:13.808[14]; 8. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr, 00:13.825[20]; 9. 10S-Scott Schmitt, 00:13.893[2]; 10. 32S-Chris Simpson, 00:13.899[8]; 11. T6-Tommy Sheppard Jr, 00:13.940[5]; 12. 32-Bobby Pierce, 00:14.038[13]; 13. J12-Jason Wagner, 00:14.156[3]; 14. 38-Thomas Hunziker, 00:14.165[23]; 15. 86-Kyle Beard, 00:14.270[15]; 16. 3S-Brian Shirley, 00:14.349[9]; 17. 17SS-Brenden Smith, 00:14.390[27]; 18. T2-Todd Bennett, 00:14.421[19]; 19. 42H-Johnathan Huston, 00:14.483[11]; 20. USA128-Kylan Garner, 00:14.515[10]; 21. 21-Billy Moyer Sr, 00:14.571[12]; 22. 19X-Cody Bauer, 00:14.576[6]; 23. 10-Paul Parker, 00:14.726[16]; 24. 11D-Brian Diveley, 00:14.759[18]; 25. 9R-Curtis Roberts, 00:14.860[7]; 26. 101-Forrest Trent, 00:14.913[22]; 27. 42-Chad Finley, 00:15.306[4]; 28. 4D-Doug Tye, 00:16.233[1]
Hot Laps B: 1. B12-Kevin Weaver, 00:13.076[3]; 2. 96V-Tanner English, 00:13.081[17]; 3. B5-Brandon Sheppard, 00:13.253[22]; 4. 94-Austin Rettig, 00:13.287[15]; 5. 27M-Rodney Melvin, 00:13.294[21]; 6. 12-Ashton Winger, 00:13.314[1]; 7. 28-Dennis Erb Jr, 00:13.353[10]; 8. 130-Chase Osterhoff, 00:13.358[23]; 9. 18-Shannon Babb, 00:13.387[13]; 10. 31AUS-Kye Blight, 00:13.482[6]; 11. 21B-Rich Bell, 00:13.487[9]; 12. 5S-Stevie Sheppard, 00:13.526[7]; 13. 4G-Bob Gardner, 00:13.540[11]; 14. 11-Gordy Gundaker, 00:13.562[8]; 15. 9-Lyle Zanker, 00:13.602[27]; 16. 58-Tyler Clem, 00:13.635[19]; 17. 14G-Trevor Gundaker, 00:13.651[24]; 18. 24-Ryan Unzicker, 00:13.657[20]; 19. 99-Hunt Gossum, 00:13.752[4]; 20. 81J-Jack Riggs, 00:13.894[12]; 21. 30-Mark Voigt, 00:13.897[26]; 22. 10T-Taylor Scheffler, 00:13.906[2]; 23. USA1-Chris Hawkins, 00:14.069[16]; 24. 334-Billy Hough, 00:14.508[18]; 25. 23NZ-Mick Quin, 00:14.909[14]; 26. 1W-Donny Walden, 00:14.966[25]; 27. 174-Ethan Dotson, 00:14.966[5]