If you ask one hundred dirt Late Model race fans in the Midwest how they would describe Bobby Pierce in just one word I would wager that none of them would blurt out the word "patient". But on Sunday night with a dry, slick surface that had taken rubber around the top the young phenom was just that at the Quincy Raceways allowing him to win for the third time this weekend with the Lucas Oil MLRA Late Model series.
Following a week of steady and heavy rains the track prep crew at Quincy was faced with the challenge of first getting the place dried out enough to race and then trying to prepare a track that would showcase the Super Late Models in their first appearance of the season, and the first ever visit to the "Bullring on Broadway" by the MLRA. A high sun and an early start time heightened the challenge and the quick quarter became the slick quarter as it dried out after hot laps.
Series point leader Will Vaught broke a motor during his heat race so it would be a seventeen car field that would line up for forty laps come feature time with Pierce sitting to the outside of Kyle Bronson in row one. The high side was the preferred line and that allowed Pierce to get to the lead as Bronson squeezed up into second ahead of Brian Shirley. It did not take long for the leaders to catch the back of the field and after getting around Matt Mickleson with ease, Pierce then found himself behind Rookie-of-the-Year contender Joseph Gorby.
Gorby was riding around the top as well and after taking a look down low a couple of times Pierce decided to play it safe and settled in behind Gorby waiting for him to make a mistake rather than forcing the issue. Around lap seventeen, when Gorby slipped a bit high into turn three, Pierce left the top for a moment to try to put him a lap down only to think better of it and with his momentum slowed just a bit Bronson threw a slider on the leader into turn one.
Coming up the track in two Bronson did not have Pierce cleared and that allowed Shirley to slip under him to take over second. A few laps later Gorby finally slipped up enough that it allowed the leaders to get around him and when Pierce also drove under Justin Reed in turn one he even had an extra buffer between himself and Shirley. This process would continue with each lapped car as Dennis Erb Jr. dropped Bronson to fourth and with just four laps to go Hudson O'Neal would make contact with Gorby turning him around in turn four.
The only caution of the race now gave the leader a clear race track and the field ran in single file formation around the top to the checkers with Pierce taking the win ahead of Shirley, Erb, Bronson and Logan Martin. O'Neal finished sixth followed by Mark Burgtorf, Mitch McGrath, Dewayne Kiefer and Jamie Wilson.
It was a tough weekend for the series as eight drivers had entered all events prior to this swing, but with Payton Looney losing a motor at Stuart and Jesse Stovall leaving West Liberty after his heat race that count is now at six. With Vaught's early exit on Sunday the points should be tight at the top between him, Martin and McGrath with Jake Neal, Jeremy Grady and Gorby being the other drivers with perfect attendance. The MLRA next runs in tandem with the Show Me 100 at the Lucas Oil Speedway before closing out that weekend on Sunday at the Monett Speedway for another four night run.
Two divisions provided support for the evening with their feature races sandwiching the Late Models. The Sport Mods were up first and it would be pole-sitter Adam Birck who would lead all eighteen laps surviving seven cautions and one red flag period to take the win. The red was needed when Daniel Fellows got into the front stretch wall coming out of turn four and was then hit hard by Brandon Niekamp. Both drivers were uninjured, but will have plenty of work to do to repair their damaged race cars. Justin Ebbing chased Birck the entire distance to finish second, Terry Wilson started seventh and finished third, Tanner Klingele was fourth and Nathan Bringer filled out the top five.
Open Stock Cars would complete the evening with some UMP Street Stocks joining the IMCA Stock Cars and the three Girard family Mini Stocks to give us twelve of the thirteen cars signed in to start an eighteen lap feature. The initial start was waved off and pole-sitter Craig Bangert was sent to the rear for firing before the cone in turn four. That moved Beau Taylor to the pole position and he would take advantage by racing to the lead. This race too was caution plagued, but unlike the Sport Mods the words "time limit" were mentioned and after the seventh caution flag waved on lap eleven the race, and the evening was brought to a close by waving the checkers with Taylor taking the win over Scott Jordan, Jesse Wegs, Shane Richardson and Dakota Girard.
That wrapped up a four race swing for me as well and I was thankful to be on the road and headed for home around 8:30. As just a fan who is now in his middle fifties, four nights in a row takes it toll so I can't even imagine how tough it is on these regional race teams and their equipment. After a couple of nights off though I will be ready to hit the road again for the Southern Iowa Speedway on Wednesday if the weather allows. Hopefully it will stay dry enough in Oskaloosa on the Back Stretch.
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