Bobby Pierce Wins 3rd Gateway Dirt Nationals, Record $70,000 Prize, Under The Dome in St. Louis
Winning with a packed field of late models on a tiny fifth-mile temporary oval is no easy task. Winning such an event three times is even more amazing. That, however, is precisely what 29-year-old Bobby Pierce did this past weekend at the 9th Annual Kubota Gateway Dirt Nationals presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts.
Pierce, from Oakwood, Illinois, not only won the Gateway Dirt Nationals inside The Dome at America’s Center for a record third time, he also pocketed an event-record $70,000 for his effort. Combined with his preliminary feature win on Thursday, Pierce earned a total of $80,000 for the weekend.
He led all 40 laps of the main event on Saturday, beating Friday night’s main event winner, Ricky Thornton Jr., by 2.15 seconds.
“You just dream of things like this, ever since this event came around,” Bobby Pierce told FloRacing. “It’s been a spectacle from the beginning. I’ve watched it grow into what it is now. They’ve got a packed house. I don’t see it stopping from growing. I think one day this place will probably be full from the tippy top.”
Pierce now owns six wins in The Dome, after also taking the top spot in the 2017 and 2018 events.
“I felt like lapped traffic might’ve helped a little bit, but obviously Bobby had the best car,” said Thornton of Chandler, Ariz. “Really, I felt like he had the best car all weekend, kind of like most of the year. I don’t know, I think I made a couple of mental mistakes.”
So how did Bobby Pierce pull it off, again?
“A track this small, you’re gonna have some cautions, you’re going to have some drama,” he said. “I told everyone back there, it was going to be a long 40 laps. As much as you love to get the lead right away, it makes the race feel like 140 laps.
“You just have to get into that mindset, knowing it’s going to happen, hit your marks on your restarts, change it up a couple times. I think that gave me a little bit of an edge, too. I was coming down the hill, and then toward the end, I was coming down top. Yeah, just, turn one was tricky, bouncing through the hole.
The complete finish: Bobby Pierce, Ricky Thornton Jr., Brandon Sheppard, Jason Feger, Nick Hoffman, Ashton Winger, Brenden Smith, Zack Dohm, Devin Moran, Carson Hocevar, Ethan Dotson, Josh Rice, Dylan Thornton, Tyler Carpenter, Mike Harrison, Dan Ebert, Trevor Gundaker, Jonathan Davenport, Dustin Sorensen, Brian Shirley, Mark Whitener.
Ricky Thornton Jr. wins $20,000 top prize in modified feature
Despite finishing in second place in the late model feature, Ricky Thornton, Jr. didn’t have much to complain about. He also took home the top prize in Friday night’s late model main event, Thursday’s preliminary modified feature, and Saturday’s 30-lap modified feature.
The complete finish: Ricky Thornton Jr., Mike Harrison, Carlos Ahumada Jr., Tyler Peterson, Ryan Ayers, Alex Williamson, Dallon Murty, Jeff Larson, Rick Conoyer, Blake Adams, Adam Stricker, Tyler Nicely, Trevor Neville, Trent Young, Dean Hoffman, Rodney Sanders, Drake Troutman, Joe Chisholm, Jordan Grabouski, Tanner Mullens, Michael Altobelli.
