Bobby Pierce holds off Brandon Sheppard for win at Tri-State Speedway – Jim Denhamer photo
Red hot Pierce continues to roll through Summer Nationals; takes Heartland Tour Week Championship
HAUBSTADT, Ind. – June 26, 2016 – If the weather and Brandon Sheppard had anything to say about it, Bobby Pierce would have been left jilted on Sunday night at Tri-State Speedway but Pierce was able to hold off both as he claimed his fifth Summer Nationals victory of the season and the Heartland Tour Week title.
Ryan Unzicker led through the first 12 laps of the night’s rain-shortened feature, but it was Pierce and Sheppard who stole the show. Pierce took the lead on lap 13 and Sheppard took over second two laps later. What commenced was an intense back-and-forth battle between the two drivers for the lead.
Sheppard took the lead on multiple occasions but Pierce battled back each time – officially Sheppard never led a lap.
As the battle continued, rain began to fall on Tri-State on lap 36 and the caution flag flew two laps later as the rain turned heavy. DIRTcar officials called the race at lap 38, giving Pierce his fifth win of the season and 12th of his career. Pierce also claimed the Heartland Tour week bonus.
“Oh man, that was probably one of the craziest races I’ve been in,” Pierce said. “Me and Sheppy throwing some awesome sliders, and between lapped traffic and everything, it was just crazy.”
The DIRTcar Summer Nationals takes Monday off as the grueling tour grinds on on Tuesday at Clarksville (Tenn.) Speedway.
Follow the Summer Nationals and Summit Modified Nationals on Twitter at Twitter.com/SummerNationals or on Facebook at Facebook.com/SummerNationals. Stay up-to-date with the latest news from the series throughout the lead up and the summer on the series’ websites at TheHellTour.com and ModifiedNationals.com.
Super Late Models – A-Main
Finish Start Car Driver Hometown
1 1 32 Bobby Pierce Oakwood , Il
2 3 B5 Brandon Sheppard New Berlin, Il
3 2 24 Ryan Unzicker El Paso, Il
4 4 C8 Timothy Culp Sheridan , Ar
5 6 6K Michael Kloos Trenton , Il
6 5 157 Mike Marlar Winfield , Tn
7 8 18 Shannon Babb Moweaqua , Il
8 10 7R Kent Robinson Bloomington , In
9 7 27M Rodney Melvin Benton , Il
10 11 25 Jason Feger Bloomington , Il
11 17 78 Chad Zobrist Highland , Il
12 9 4G Bob Gardner East Peoria, Il
13 20 B1 Brent Larson Lake Elmo, Mn
14 15 11 Gordy Gundaker St Charles, Mo
15 12 24S Jeremy Sneed Bluford , Il
16 18 27C Chris Cowling Tauranga , Nz
17 14 96 Tanner English Benton , Ky
18 16 61 Caleb Ashby Cunningham , Tn
19 13 5N Dustin Nobbe Batesville , In
20 21 99C Tom Collini Erlanger , Oh
21 23 41J Jarryd Holshouser Boaz , Ky
22 19 15R Richard Frost Clarksville , Tn
23 22 26M Brent Mckinnon Carlyle , Il
Super Late Models – Heat Race 3
Finish Start Car Driver Hometown
1 1 24 Ryan Unzicker El Paso, Il
2 2 6K Michael Kloos Trenton , Il
3 4 4G Bob Gardner East Peoria, Il
4 3 24S Jeremy Sneed Bluford , Il
5 6 11 Gordy Gundaker St Charles, Mo
6 5 27C Chris Cowling Tauranga , Nz
7 7 99C Tom Collini Erlanger , Oh
Super Late Models – Heat Race 2
Finish Start Car Driver Hometown
1 1 32 Bobby Pierce Oakwood , Il
2 2 157 Mike Marlar Winfield , Tn
3 4 18 Shannon Babb Moweaqua , Il
4 3 25 Jason Feger Bloomington , Il
5 6 96 Tanner English Benton , Ky
6 5 78 Chad Zobrist Highland , Il
7 7 B1 Brent Larson Lake Elmo, Mn
8 8 41J Jarryd Holshouser Boaz , Ky
Super Late Models – Heat Race 1
Finish Start Car Driver Hometown
1 1 B5 Brandon Sheppard New Berlin, Il
2 3 C8 Timothy Culp Sheridan , Ar
3 4 27M Rodney Melvin Benton , Il
4 5 7R Kent Robinson Bloomington , In
5 2 5N Dustin Nobbe Batesville , In
6 7 61 Caleb Ashby Cunningham , Tn
7 8 15R Richard Frost Clarksville , Tn
8 6 26M Brent Mckinnon Carlyle , Il
2016 DIRTcar Summer Nationals Schedule
| Date | Day | Track | Winners |
| Northern Kickoff | |||
| June 15 | Wednesday | Brownstown Speedway | Rain/Cancelled |
| June 16 | Thursday | Kankakee Co. Speedway | Bobby Pierce |
| June 17 | Friday | Cedar Lake Speedway | Billy Moyer |
| June 18 | Saturday | Cedar Lake Speedway | Billy Moyer (2) |
| June 19 | Sunday | Wilmot Speedway | Bobby Pierce (2) |
| Heartland Tour | |||
| June 20 | Monday | OFF | |
| June 21 | Tuesday | Jacksonville Speedway | Bobby Pierce (3) |
| June 22 | Wednesday | Farley Speedway | Rain/Cancelled |
| June 23 | Thursday | Spoon River Speedway | Dennis Erb Jr. |
| June 24 | Friday | Tri-City Speedway | Bobby Pierce (4) |
| June 25 | Saturday | Fairbury Speedway | Brandon Sheppard |
| June 26 | Sunday | Tri-State Speedway | Bobby Pierce (5) |
| Southern Tour | |||
| June 27 | Monday | OFF | |
| June 28 | Tuesday | Clarksville Speedway | |
| June 29 | Wednesday | Belle Clair Speedway | |
| June 30 | Thursday | Springfield Raceway | |
| July 1 | Friday | Fayette Co. Speedway | |
| July 2 | Saturday | Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 | |
| July 3 | Sunday | Lincoln Speedway | |
| Independence Week | |||
| July 4 | Monday | LaSalle Speedway | |
| July 5 | Tuesday | Daugherty Speedway | |
| July 6 | Wednesday | Peoria Speedway | |
| July 7 | Thursday | Macon Speedway | |
| July 8 | Friday | Farmer City Speedway | |
| July 9 | Saturday | Highland Speedway | |
| July 10 | Sunday | Quincy Raceways | |
| Champions Week | |||
| July 11 | Monday | OFF | |
| July 12 | Tuesday | Plymouth Speedway | |
| July 13 | Wednesday | Shadyhill Speedway | |
| July 14 | Thursday | Merritt Speedway | |
| July 15 | Friday | Oakshade Raceway | |
| July 16 | Saturday | Oakshade Raceway |
The DIRTcar Summer Nationals “Hell Tour” is brought to fans across the country by many important partners including: Arizona Sport Shirts (Official Apparel Company), Hoosier Racing Tires (Official Racing Tires), Racing Electronics (Official Communication), VP Racing Fuel (Official Racing Fuel); in addition to these fine Contingency Partners: Beyea Headers, Comp Cams, Edelbrock, Fox Shocks, JE Pistons, MSD, Impact Race Products, Quartermaster, Superflow Dynos, Summit Racing Equipment and Wrisco Aluminum; Promotional Partners include: Chevy Performance Parts, Indiana Decal, Intercomp and Petroff Towing.
