In the 10 races before Thursday night’s USA Nationals prelim, Bobby Pierce never had a finish worse than second.
In the 11th, of the recent stretch, it was again the driver of the No. 32 standing on top of his car in victory lane.
“It’s pretty crazy the roll we’re on,” Pierce said. “We had a little luck tonight drawing the one (pill), and Gordy had some issues in the Heat Race, and I don’t know if I was going to pass him or not. But sometimes, a little luck goes a long way… The car was a little tight in the Feature. I got tight there, and I just changed my line. I think we made the right call on tires. A lot of guys running up front had the opposite of what I had.”
It sets up Pierce well for a well-sought after starting spot for Saturday’s $50,000-to-win USA Nationals A-Main.
“We have a lot of confidence,” Pierce said. “We’ve already got this first night out of the way. We’ve got a lot of really good points, and [Series] points in general.”
Brandon Sheppard and Ricky Thornton Jr. rounded out the podium, but each team was looking to get their respective car set up for what they’re going to see on Saturday, out of the race track.
“I was really good in the middle and the bottom,” Thornton Jr. said. “We’re kind of setting up for the 100 lapper. I told [my crew], really, as long as we get a top five here, it’ll set us up good for tomorrow at least. We had a good car. Bobby was a little better than us, but I feel like clean air had a lot to do with that, too.”
The USA Nationals continue on Friday night with a second evening of full-field, prelim-night points racing to set in place a number of starting spots for Saturday’s A-Main. All of the action can be seen live on DirtVision.
World of Outlaws Late Model Series results
USA Nationals prelim night 1
Cedar Lake Speedway
Thurs. August 3, 2023
1. Bobby Pierce
2. Brandon Sheppard
3. Ricky Thornton Jr.
4. Brian Shirley
5. Hudson O’Neal
6. Jonathan Davenport
7. Tanner English
8. Cade Dillard
9. Shannon Babb
10. Shane Clanton
11. Dennis Erb Jr.
12. Kye Blight
13. Kyle Bronson
14. Chris Madden
15. Johnny Scott
16. Tyler Erb
17. Ryan Gustin
18. Daulton Wilson
19. Ethan Dotson
20. Chad Mahder
21. Nick Hoffman
22. Gordy Gundaker
23. Brent Larson
24. Jake Timm
25. Todd Cooney
26. Dustin Walker
27. Drake Troutman
28. Daniel Hilsabeck
USA Nationals point standings (Top 10)
- Bobby Pierce 742
- Brandon Sheppard -1
- Ricky Thornton Jr. -12
- Hudson O’Neal -19
- Jonathan Davenport -20
- Brian Shirley -21
- Cade Dillard -23
- Tanner English -24
- Shannon Babb -30
- Shane Clanton -50
