Dirt on Dirt - Pierce cruises to fourth straight victory at Vado

January 13

Vado Speedway Park,

Vado, NM

Sanction: Unsanctioned Supers (Wild West Shootout) - $11,000

Information provided by: Kyle McFadden and track reports (last updated January 14, 4:14 pm)

Pierce cruises to fourth straight victory at Vado

Wild West Shootout

Bobby Pierce
Brandon Sheppard
Stormy Scott
Kyle Larson
Cade Dillard
Shannon Babb
Mike Marlar
Ricky Weiss
Dustin Sorensen
Tyler Erb
Collen Winebarger
Rodney Sanders
Jake Timm
Preston Luckman
B.J. Robinson
Mikey Kile
Kyle Beard
Cody Laney
Garrett Alberson
Drake Troutman
Don Shaw
Chase Junghans
Justin Duty
Jon Kirby
Bricen James

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Bobby Pierce fires the guns and celebrates his fourth straight win at Vado.

What won the race: Taking the point with an inside move by early leader Brandon Sheppard on the second lap, pole-starting Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill., paced the remaining distance to win Saturday's 40-lap fifth round of the 18th annual Rio Grande Waste Services Wild West Shootout presented by O'Reilly Auto Parts at Vado Speedway Park. Pierce's fourth straight miniseries victory was the 12th of his career and guarantees him at least a $25,000 bonus courtesy of Penske Racing Shocks.

Quotable: “With the full track prep we didn’t know what it was gonna do there,” Pierce said. “Had a lot of different mixtures of tires, of guys running up front with different (compounds). It feels awesome (to be in the Penske Paydirt bonus money). No one has ever won more than three — I’ve done it before — and we knew this would be the year, with how consistent we were last year and coming into this being fast right out of the gate with this new car. We got a lot of pressure on us for tomorrow.”

Key notes: Pierce will have an opportunity to push his Penske Paydirt Jackpot bonus prize to $100,000 should he win Sunday's $26,000 finale for his fifth victory of the six-race miniseries. ... The second-starting Sheppard faded as low as third after leading the first lap but recovered to take the runner-up spot on a lap-34 restart and finished 1.369 seconds behind Pierce. ... Stormy Scott ran as high as second before settling for a third-place result at his home track. ... Cade Dillard battled Shannon Babb for much of the race and prevailed to finish fifth, with Babb in sixth; Dillard secured his fourth top-five result in five starts. ... Ricky Weiss improved four positions and finished eighth. ... Tyler Erb gained seven spots and completed the top-10 finishers. ... The fifth and final caution was displayed on lap 35 when eighth-running Garrett Alberson slowed with a bent J-bar; his car likely sustained the damage when he made heavy contact with the frontstretch wall while running fourth on lap 33. ... The four previous stoppages all came as a result of single-car incidents, starting with Collen Winebarger on lap four; Bricen James on lap 14; Chase Junghans on lap 32; and a solo-spin by Mikey Kile on the 33rd lap. ... Saturday's feature lasted 21 minutes, with 11 competitors completing 40 laps and 17 running at the finish.

On the move: Kyle Larson of Elk Grove, Calif., started 16th and finished fourth.

Winner's sponsors: Pierce’s Longhorn Chassis is powered by a Vic Hill Racing Engine and carries sponsorship from Low Voltage Solutions, Inc., Rio Grande Waste Services, Inc., Hoker Trucking LLC, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Carnaghi Towing & Repair, Floyd’s Waste Systems, PureMax Racing Oil, A Plus Vacuum, Leka Tree Service, Velocita, Bert Transmissions by Budda, Ted Brown’s Quality Paint & Body Shop, VP Race Fuels, Swift Springs, Bilstein Shocks, Dirt Car Lift and Performance Bodies.

Points chase: After Saturday: 1. Bobby Pierce (429); 2. Cade Dillard (375); 3. Garrett Alberson (339); T4. Tyler Erb (336); T4. Shannon Babb (336); 6. Mike Marlar (312).

Current weather: Clear, 50°F

Car count: 43

Fast qualifier: Mike Marlar

Time: 14.390 seconds

Polesitter: Bobby Pierce

Dash winner: B.J. Robinson

Heat race winners: Mike Marlar, Bobby Pierce, Stormy Scott, Brandon Sheppard

Consolation race winners: Tyler Erb, Rodney Sanders

Next series race: Jan. 14, Vado (N.M.) Speedway Park, sixth round ($26,000)

Editor's note: Results and race details are unofficial.

From staff reports

VADO, N.M. (Jan. 13) — Updates from Saturday’s fifth round of the 18th annual Wild West Shootout, featuring a 40-lap, $11,000-to-win feature for unsanctioned Super Late Models (results unofficial):

Feature

Taking the point with an inside move by early leader Brandon Sheppard on the second lap, pole-starting Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill., paced the remaining distance to win Saturday's 40-lap fifth round of the 18th annual Rio Grande Waste Services Wild West Shootout presented by O'Reilly Auto Parts at Vado Speedway Park. Pierce's fourth straight miniseries victory was the 11th of his career and guarantees him at least a $25,000 bonus courtesy of Penske Racing Shocks.

Pierce will have an opportunity to push his Penske Paydirt Jackpot bonus prize to $100,000 should he win Sunday's $26,000 finale for his fifth victory of the six-race miniseries.

The second-starting Sheppard faded as low as third after leading the first lap but recovered to take the runner-up spot on a lap-34 restart and finished 1.369 seconds behind Pierce. ...

Feature lineup

(40 laps)
Row 1: Bobby Pierce, Brandon Sheppard
Row 2: Stormy Scott, Mike Marlar
Row 3: Cade Dillard, Shannon Babb
Row 4: Garrett Alberson, Dustin Sorensen
Row 5: Collen Winebarger, Mikey Kile
Row 6: Jon Kirby, Ricky Weiss
Row 7: Drake Troutman, Don Shaw
Row 8: Cody Laney, Kyle Larson
Row 9: Tyler Erb, Rodney Sanders
Row 10: Jake Timm, Bricen James
Row 11: Chase Junghans, Kyle Beard
Row 12: Preston Luckman, Justin Duty
Row 13: B.J. Robinson

Dash results

(Nine laps, winner transfers)

Pro Power Dash: B.J. Robinson, Morgan Bagley, Jason Strand, Clay Stuckey, Kaden Honeycutt, Forrest Trent, Thomas Hunziker, Sam Mars, Brad Couch.

Consolation results

(10 laps; top four transfer)

First consolation: Tyler Erb, Jake Timm, Chase Junghans, Preston Luckman, B.J. Robinson, Forrest Trent, Clay Stuckey, Tyler Stevens, Kaden Honeycutt, Ian Whisler, Steve Stultz, Kent Rosevear, Walton Kyle Jr., Pete Vargas.

Second consolation: Rodney Sanders, Bricen James, Kyle Beard, Justin Duty, Jason Strand, Morgan Bagley, Thomas Hunziker, Sam Mars, Brad Couch, Chance Mann, Terry Carter, Jimmy Whisler, Keko Perez.

Heat race recap

Mike Marlar led all eight laps unchallenged to win the first heat race by 1.470 seconds over Cade Dillard; Dillard battled Collen Winebarger the entire distance, prevailing to finish runner-up, with eighth-starting Drake Troutman grabbing the fourth and final transfer spot. … Bobby Pierce repelled Garrett Alberson for all eight laps of the second heat, winning by 0.337 of a second. Jon Kirby started and finished third, while fifth-starting Cody Laney finished fourth and transferred into Saturday’s feature. … Stormy Scott led green-to-checkered to win heat three by 0.877 of a second over pole-starting Shannon Babb. Fifth-starting Mikey Kile finished third while Don Shaw held on for fourth. … Brandon Sheppard led the entire distance to win the fourth and final heat race by 1.760 seconds over fourth-starting Dustin Sorensen. Ricky Weiss finished third and sixth-starting Kyle Larson took fourth. ... All four heat races were completed without incident and combined to last just 11 minutes.

Heat race results

(Eight laps; top four transfer)

First heat: Mike Marlar, Cade Dillard, Collen Winebarger, Drake Troutman, Tyler Erb, Chase Junghans, Preston Luckman, Clay Stuckey, Kent Rosevear, Steve Stultz, Walton Kyle Jr.

Second heat: Bobby Pierce, Garrett Alberson, Jon Kirby, Cody Laney, Jake Timm, Forrest Trent, B.J. Robinson, Tyler Stevens, Kaden Honeycutt, Ian Whisler, Pete Vargas.

Third heat: Stormy Scott, Shannon Babb, Mikey Kile, Don Shaw, Kyle Beard, Thomas Hunziker, Justin Duty, Brad Couch, Jimmy Whisler, Terry Carter, Keko Perez.

Fourth heat: Brandon Sheppard, Dustin Sorensen, Ricky Weiss, Kyle Larson, Rodney Sanders, Bricen James, Morgan Bagley, Jason Strand, Sam Mars, Chance Mann.

Heat race lineups

(Eight laps; top four advance)
First heat
Row 1: Mike Marlar, Cade Dillard
Row 2: Preston Luckman, Collen Winebarger
Row 3: Tyler Erb, Steve Stultz
Row 4: Chase Junghans, Drake Troutman
Row 5: Clay Stuckey, Kent Rosevear
Row 6: Walton Kyle Jr.
Second heat
Row 1: Bobby Pierce, Garrett Alberson
Row 2: Jon Kirby, Jake Timm
Row 3: Cody Laney, Forrest Trent
Row 4: Ian Whisler, B.J. Robinson
Row 5: Kaden Honeycutt, Pete Vargas
Row 6: Tyler Stevens
Third heat
Row 1: Shannon Babb, Stormy Scott
Row 2: Don Shaw, Kyle Beard
Row 3: Mikey Kile, Thomas Hunziker
Row 4: Jimmy Whisler, Terry Carter
Row 5: Justin Duty, Brad Couch
Row 6: Keko Perez
Fourth heat
Row 1: Brandon Sheppard, Ricky Weiss
Row 2: Bricen James, Dustin Sorensen
Row 3: Rodney Sanders, Kyle Larson
Row 4: Sam Mars, Morgan Bagley
Row 5: Chance Mann, Jason Strand

Time trials

Group A
Driver (car no.), hometown, time (unofficial)
1. Mike Marlar (157), Winfield, Tenn., 14.390
2. Bobby Pierce (32), Oakwood, Ill., 14.416
3. Cade Dillard (97), Robeline, La., 14.506
4. Garrett Alberson (58), Las Cruces, N.M., 14.531
5. Preston Luckman (77), Coos Bay, Ore., 14.538
6. Jon Kirby (11), Russellville, Ark., 14.641
7. Collen Winebarger (14s), Corbett, Ore., 14.697
8. Jake Timm (49), Winona, Minn., 14.715
9. Tyler Erb (1), New Waverly, Texas, 14.733
10. Cody Laney (32B), Torrance, Calif., 14.798
11. Steve Stultz (78s), Peoria, Ariz., 14.801
12. Forrest Trent (101), Morristown, Tenn., 14.846
13. Chase Junghans (18), Manhattan, Kan., 14.868
14. Ian Whisler (82), Otis, Ore., 14.868
15. Drake Troutman (7T), Hyndman, Pa., 14.870
16. B.J. Robinson (1r), Bossier City, La., 14.942
17. Kaden Honeycutt (10), Bridge City, Texas, 15.071
18. Clay Stuckey (15s), Shreveport, La., 15.071
19. Kent Rosevear (02), Yuma, Ariz., 15.255
20. Pete Vargas (777), Las Cruces, N.M., 15.651
21. Walton Kyle Jr. (250), Las Cruces, N.M., 16.400
22. Tyler Stevens (2), Searcy, Ark., no time
Group B
1. Shannon Babb (18B), Moweaqua, Ill., 14.579
2. Brandon Sheppard (B5), New Berlin, Ill., 14.615
3. Stormy Scott (2s), Las Cruces, N.M., 14.616
4. Ricky Weiss (7), Headingley, Manitoba, 14.700
5. Don Shaw (42s), Ham Lake, Minn., 14.776
6. Bricen James (13), Albany, Ore., 14.856
7. Kyle Beard (86), Trumann, Ark., 14.860
8. Dustin Sorensen (19), Rochester, Minn., 14.872
9. Mikey Kile (25), West Lake, La., 14.946
10. Rodney Sanders (73), Happy, Texas, 14.976
11. Thomas Hunziker (38), Bend, Ore., 15.004
12. Kyle Larson (6), Elk Grove, Calif., 15.015
13. Jimmy Whisler (28w), Otis, Ore., 15.091
14. Sam Mars (28m), Menomonie, Wis., 15.175
15. Terry Carter (6T), Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, 15.257
16. Morgan Bagley (14m), Longview, Texas, 15.274
17. Justin Duty (15), Molalla, Ore., 15.299
18. Chance Mann (88), Newport, Ark., 15.305
19. Brad Couch (5c), Bossier City, La., 15.472
20. Jason Strand (E85), Portland, N.D., 15.523
21. Keko Perez (3), Chihuahua, Mexico, 15.709

Saturday's schedule

All times local
1 p.m.: Pits open
2:30 p.m.: Drivers’ meeting
3 p.m.: Grandstands open
3:30 p.m.: On-track activity
- X-Mod hot laps
- Modified hot laps
- Late Model group qualifying
4:55 p.m.: Opening ceremonies
- X-Mod heats (8 laps)
- Modified heats (8 laps)
- Late Model heats (8 laps)
Consolations
- X-Mods (10 laps)
- Modifieds (12 laps)
- Late Models (12 laps)
Feature events
- Late Models (40 laps)
- X-Mods (25 laps)
- Modifieds (25 laps)