GREENWOOD, Neb. (July 20) — Bobby Pierce wanted to win Saturday night’s ninth annual Imperial Tile Silver Dollar Nationals at I-80 Speedway bad.

“After what happened last year,” Pierce said, “I was on a mission.”

And Pierce, 22, of Oakwood, Ill., drove like it. Determined to erase memories of his heartbreaking two-to-go loss in last year’s event due to terminal engine trouble, he tore around the 4/10-mile oval’s cushion for the vast majority of the 80-lap feature and fought back repeatedly from scrapes with other drivers and hiccups that cost him the lead to score an emotional $53,000 triumph in the wild Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series-sanctioned race.

On three different occasions Pierce grabbed the lead only to quickly relinquish it until, finally, he sailed his XR1 Rocket car around the outside of Gray Court, S.C.’s Chris Madden exiting turn four to gain command for good on lap 66. Pierce fought off Madden’s brief attempt to regain the top spot and then dominated the final circuits, running the cushion to perfection as he pulled away to defeat the 44-year-old Madden’s Scott Bloomquist Racing entry by a commanding margin of 3.382 seconds for his first career Silver Dollar Nationals victory.

Brandon Sheppard, 26, of New Berlin, Ill., finished third in the Rocket Chassis house car after passing Madden’s teammate and car owner, Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn., on lap 77. The 55-year-old Bloomquist settled for a fourth-place finish in his self-designed car — matching his best outing since making his return to action last month from right hip and leg injuries suffered in a March motorcycle accident — after starting ninth and running as high as second and 53-year-old Dale McDowell of Chickamauga, Ga., advanced from the 23rd starting spot to finish fifth driving his brother Shane’s Bloomquist Race Car in his first Silver Dollar Nationals appearance since he placed second in the 2011 inaugural.

The race was pure redemption for Pierce, who never forgot the morale-busting feeling he experienced one year ago at the Kosiski family’s track as the richest win of his career was in sight.

“Just 365 days to think about it … that was my biggest victory that ever got away from me by far,” Pierce said while standing near his car in the post-race technical inspection area. “There was the Dirt Million (last year at Ohio’s Mansfield Motor Speedway), but I didn’t lose that just by something breaking; I got passed by Earl (Pearson Jr.) fair and square. I was possibly gonna win Knoxville (the Iowa track’s Late Model Nationals) but I got passed fair and square because I jumped the cushion.

“But that one (last year at I-80) really hurt, and so a few times (in Saturday’s feature) I was like, ‘Alright, we got this, I got the lead,’ and then those cautions would come out and I’d have to get back up on the wheel because they’d pass me back.”

Indeed, there was nothing easy about Pierce’s run to victory lane. He started sixth, immediately broke into the top five at the initial green flag, reached second place for the first time on a lap-17 restart and led for the first time on lap 31 when he snuck past race-long pacesetter Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., but he went back-and-forth between the top spot and fourth place throughout the race’s middle stages.

Calling the 80-lapper “one of the most mental challenging races I’ve ever had to run,” Pierce found himself continually fighting back from fender-rubbing episodes with other drivers and poor restarts. He got into an especially heated scrape with McCreadie, who took exception to contact from Pierce that he said “lifted” the rearend of his car the circuit before Pierce grabbed the lead; to retaliate, McCreadie cut across Pierce’s rearend off turn four as Pierce bolted ahead on lap 31 but caught Pierce’s car too firmly and bent the left-front of his Longhorn house car’s nosepiece.

McCreadie, 45, surged back ahead to lead lap 32 despite the damage his car sustained and during a lap-32 caution period McCreadie and Pierce drove alongside each other and exchanged shows of displeasure. Then McCreadie and Pierce went at it hard for the lead on the restart, allowing Madden to sneak underneath to lead laps 33-38.

Pierce regained his rhythm to pass both McCreadie and Madden and move into the lead on lap 39, but McCreadie drove into turns one and two hard on a lap-43 restart and Pierce checked up on the outside of turn two, opening the door for Madden to go back in front on the 44th circuit as Pierce staggered back to fourth.

That frenetic segment certainly pushed Pierce, whose run-in with McCreadie was just one of the challenging aspects of the A-main.

“That cushion was so treacherous,” Pierce related. “You had to be straight around there because if you were sideways you just weren’t going that fast … but when you’re that straight, that much closer your right-front is to jumping the cushion.

“Between that … and I was really fired up (about the action with McCreadie). I don’t really want to talk about that. I just had a guy kind of … I gave him room and he hit me, and then I thought he was gonna give me room and he hit me, almost put me in the wall.

“But that’s over, it’s in the past, because we got the job done,” he added. “That’s all that matters.”

Pierce didn’t have to deal with McCreadie again after passing the Lucas Oil Series regular for third on lap 49; McCreadie couldn’t keep up over the remaining circuits and faded to a seventh-place finish. But there were still more stressful moments for Pierce, who came together with Bloomquist on the homestretch on lap 51 while contesting second place and shortly thereafter, on lap 60, grabbed the lead from Madden for a single, short-lived circuit.

The race’s 10th and final caution flag flew on lap 60, moments after Pierce passed Madden, when Billy Moyer Jr. of Batesville, Ark., puffed smoke between turns three and four and slowed. That was bad news for Pierce, who restarted slowly and watched Madden regain the lead on lap 61.

“Those restarts weren’t good,” Pierce said, “but when we got rolling it was good.”

With his car perched back atop the cushion, Pierce ran down Madden by lap 65. He proceeded to squeeze between Madden and the outside wall off turn four to vault into the lead for the final time on lap 66.

With the race running caution-free to the finish, Pierce glided away to a convincing margin of victory.

“It’s a miracle,” Pierce said after letting loose during the post-race ceremonies. “I thought I was gonna lose it when those cautions came out. I think if the caution came out those last few laps … I just didn’t have the car some of those guys had right when we got back going so I knew I’d be in trouble if a late caution happened.”

Pierce stayed hard on the gas even as he knew his edge over Madden had expanded significantly. It was the style that got him to the front of the pack and he wasn’t about to change it.

“I lost a $50,000-to-win race (in the past) because I wasn’t aggressive at all,” Pierce said. “I was a tick aggressive (Saturday) … I could’ve been a lot more aggressive, and that’s why it’s over. It’s done.”

Pierce proudly added another crown jewel triumph to his ever-expanding resume. He conceded that his 2016 World 100 win at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, still sits atop his list, but the Silver Dollar Nationals now holds a special place on it as well.

“The World 100 is the World 100, but this is the biggest paying race I’ve ever won,” Pierce said. “After what happened last year with breaking after we knew we were probably gonna get the job done, this is right up there. It’s just sweet. And I really needed it because this is the first year I’m really on my own. My parents obviously help me, but winning this money tonight definitely helps.”

Madden, meanwhile, could only tip his cap to Pierce after falling short of winning from the 14th starting spot at the end of his first weekend driving as a teammate to Bloomquist. He felt his machine was a winning piece.

“I think if we would’ve had a caution with 10 to go we could’ve won the race,” said Madden, who made his first-ever appearance at I-80. “We was extremely good for 10 to 12 laps through the middle and to the bottom, and then we’d get a little bit too snug entering and I would have to either get a little free entering to make sure I could get turned across the middle or either back my corner up too far.

“But hey, when there’s a curb laying up there like that, that guy’s hard to beat. Hat’s off to him. He done a great job.

"I knew he had closed up on me (before the deciding pass on lap 66) and I was just gonna try to defend him just a little bit, and we went into three and four down there one time and I thought I was in the top … and man, I wasn’t in the top. He was on top of the berm when he come by me. He earned it.”

Just over a month after leaving his 2019 ride with Iowa’s Greg Bruening, Madden wore a smile in the I-80 pit area.

“I can’t be happier to come out to this huge race and run second with this new team we just put together here a few weeks ago,” Madden said. “I’d like to thank Cody (Sommer, Blomquist’s partner) and Scott for having enough faith in me to give me the opportunity to drive this race car for them guys.”

Sheppard, who started eighth but fell out of the top 10 at points in the race, came on late in the distance to claim the final podium position. He mused that he waited too long to run the top lane that worked so well for Pierce.

“I really wasn’t aggressive enough at the very beginning of the race,” said Sheppard, who fell one spot short of his career-best Silver Dollar Nationals finish of second in 2017. “I should’ve got up on top sooner and tired to get a few spots ahead of where I was at.”

Joining McCreadie in the group of contenders who had their hopes of a $53,000 triumph dive-bombed was Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga., who climbed from the 12th starting spot to second by lap 21. He was charging after McCreadie when he clipped a thick clod of mud running the cushion in turn four on lap 25 and ripped the right-front fender off his Lance Landers-owned car.

A caution flag was thrown on lap 25 for the bodywork debris from Davenport’s car, but he restarted in third behind McCreadie and Pierce. He hung tough for the remainder of the distance but was hampered by the aerodynamic trouble caused by his missing fender and settled for a sixth-place finish.

Other notables who retired early were polesitter Mason Zeigler of Chalk Hill, Pa., who punctured a right-rear tire while running seventh on lap 43 after a slap of the cushion shifted his car’s j-bar, and Tyler Erb of New Waverly, Texas, who contacted the wall and broke a j-bar and driveshaft on lap 43 after running as high as fourth.

Among others who brought out caution flags were Cory Zeitner of Omaha, Neb. (spun in turn four on the original start); Nick Deal of Walnut, Iowa (stopped on the backstretch on lap three); Stormy Scott of Las Cruces, N.M. (spun in turn four on lap 12); Bill Leighton Jr. of La Vista, Neb. (spun in turn four on lap 17); Ricky Weiss of Headingley, Manitoba (slowed on backstretch on lap 32); and Hudson O’Neal of Martinsville, Ind. (flat left-rear tire on lap 42).

Imperial Tile Silver Dollar Nationals
Pos. Driver (car no.), hometown, chassis, earnings
1. Bobby Pierce (32), Oakwood, Ill., Rocket, $53,000
2. Chris Madden (0M), Gray Court, S.C., Bloomquist, $20,000
3. Brandon Sheppard (1), Shinnston, W.Va., Rocket, $10,000
4. Scott Bloomquist (0), Mooresburg, Tenn., Bloomquist, $7,000
5. Dale McDowell (17m), Chickamauga, Ga., Bloomquist, $6,000
6. Jonathan Davenport (49), Blairsville, Ga., Longhorn, $5,500
7. Tim McCreadie (39), Watertown, N.Y., Longhorn, $5,000
8. Mike Marlar (157), Winfield, Tenn., Rocket, $4,700
9. Devin Moran (1), Dresden, Ohio, Rocket, $4,400
10. Dennis Erb Jr. (28), Carpentersville, Ill., Rocket, $4,000
11. Jimmy Owens (20), Newport, Tenn., Rocket, $3,800
12. Shanon Buckingham (50B), Morristown, Tenn., Longhorn, $3,600
13. Stormy Scott (2s), Las Cruces, N.M., Bloomquist, $3,400
14. Ricky Weiss (7), Headingley, Manitoba, Bloomquist, $3,200
15. Hudson O’Neal (71), Martinsville, Ind., Longhorn, $3,000
16. Josh Richards (14), Shinnston, W.Va., Rocket, $2,900
17. Earl Pearson Jr. (1), Jacksonville, Fla., Black Diamond, $2,800
18. Kyle Bronson (40B), Brandon, Fla., Rocket, $2,700
19. Ben Schaller (98), Norfolk, Neb., MB Customs, $2,600
20. Chad Simpson (1c), Mount Vernon, Iowa, Black Diamond, $2,500
21. Corey Zeitner (19), Bellevue, Neb., Longhorn, $2,400
22. Cody Laney (32B), Torrance, Calif., Longhorn, $2,300
23. Tyler Bruening (16), Decorah, Iowa, Capital, $2,250
24. Billy Moyer Jr. (21jr), Batesville, Ark., Longhorn, $2,200
25. Tyler Erb (1), New Waverly, Texas, Rocket, $2,150
26. Mason Zeigler (25z), Chalk Hill, Pa., Rocket, $2,100
27. Michael Norris (5), Sarver, Pa., Rocket, $2,075
28. Terry Phillips (75), Springfield, Mo., Black Diamond, $2,050
29. Bill Leighton Jr. (24), La Vista, Neb., Black Diamond, $2,025
30. Josh Leonard (1), Gibbon, Neb., Swartz, $2,000
31. Nick Deal (55), Harlan, Iowa, Black Diamond, $2,000
32. Jake Timm (49), Winona, Minn., MB Customs, $2,000
Non-qualifiers’ race winner: Phillips
Heat race winners (among 49 cars): Pearson, McCreadie, Madden, Davenport, Leighton, Owens, Billy Moyer, Moran, Zeigler, Weiss
Consolation race winners: Richards, Weiss
Provisional starters: Stormy Scott, Nick Deal, Ben Schaller, Josh Leonard

Feature updates

Lap 80: After pulling away, Pierce wins by 3.382 seconds over Madden ... Sheppard, Bloomquist and McDowell follow.

Lap 66: Pierce back in lead with outside charge past Madden off turn four.

Lap 61: Madden regains lead after overtaking Pierce on restart.

Lap 60: Caution flies for Moyer Jr. slowing in turn four just ahead of Pierce, who sailed around outside of Madden off turn four to regain lead as lap 60 was scored ... Pierce leads Madden, Bloomquist, Davenport, McCreadie, Sheppard, Moran, McDowell, Marlar and Dennis Erb.

Lap 44: Madden takes lead after McCreadie pulled restart slider on Pierce, squeezing Pierce high in turn two; Madden shot underneath to grab lead, Pierce fell to fourth.

Lap 43: Ninth caution as seventh-place Zeigler slows in turn two ... Pierce leads Madden, McCreadie, Bloomquist, Davenport, McDowell, Moran, Sheppard, Dennis Erb and Owens.

Lap 42: Caution for Hudson O'Neal slowing with flat left-rear tire; Pierce held off restart challenge from McCreadie and leads Madden, McCreadie, Davenport, Bloomquist, Zeigler, McDowell, Sheppard, Moran and Dennis Erb.

Lap 39: Caution for Tyler Erb slowing in turn four while in top 10; Pierce sailed around outside of Madden to take lead on lap 39 before caution was thrown ... Pierce leads Madden, McCreadie, Zeigler, Davenport, Bloomquist, Sheppard, McDowell, Erb, Owens.

Lap 33: Madden goes underneath McCreadie to take lead.

Lap 32: Caution for Ricky Weiss slow on backstretch; Pierce took lead on lap 31 going underneath McCreadie off turn four, but McCreadie clipped rear of Pierce's car on homestretch and bent his left-front fender significantly before pulling slider on Pierce in turn two to regain command as lap 32 was scored; McCreadie and Pierce exchanged pleasantries under caution; McCreadie leads Pierce, Madden, Tyler Erb and Zeigler.

Lap 25: Caution flies after second-place Davenport gets into turn-four cushion and rips right-front fender completely off; bodywork flew into catch fence; Davenport remains third (but without right-front fender) behind McCreadie and Pierce, followed by Tyler Erb, Madden, Bloomquist, Zeigler, Owens, McDowell, Moran and Sheppard.

Lap 17: Caution for Bill Leighton Jr.'s turn-four spin; he pulls to pits afterward. McCreadie leads Zeigler, Pierce, Tyler Erb, Davenport, Madden, Owens, Sheppard, Marlar and Bloomquist.

Lap 12: Caution for Stormy Scott's turn-four spin just in front of leaders: McCreadie leads Zeigler, Pierce, Davenport, Tyler Erb, Owens, Sheppard, Madden, Moran and Leighton.

Lap 10: McCreadie short lead over Zeigler, followed by Davenport, Pierce and Owens.

Lap 3: Caution waves for Nick Deal slowing on backstretch; McCreadie leads Zeigler, Owens, Pierce, Sheppard, Moran, Davenport, Tyler Erb, Pearson and Leighton.

Lap 1: After the original start was aborted for a jam-up that left Corey Zeitner spun on the inside of turn four, a complete restart is initiated and McCreadie leads the first circuit.

10:02 p.m.: Green flag flies ...

9:59 p.m.: The field is circling the track in a four-wide pace lap.

9:55 p.m.: The 32-car field for the 80-lap Silver Dollar Nationals is stopped on the frontstretch for driver introductions.

Feature lineup

Row 1: Mason Zeigler, Tim McCreadie
Row 2: Devin Moran, Jimmy Owens
Row 3: Tyler Erb, Bobby Pierce
Row 4: Tyler Bruening, Brandon Sheppard
Row 5: Scott Bloomquist, Bill Leighton Jr.
Row 6: Earl Pearson Jr., Jonathan Davenport
Row 7: Corey Zeitner, Chris Madden
Row 8: Michael Norris, Chad Simpson
Row 9: Mike Marlar, Hudson O’Neal
Row 10: Josh Richards, Ricky Weiss
Row 11: Kyle Bronson, Billy Moyer Jr.
Row 12: Dale McDowell, Dennis Erb Jr.
Row 13: Cody Laney, Shanon Buckingham
Row 14: Stormy Scott, Nick Deal
Row 15: Ben Schaller, Josh Leonard
Row 16: Terry Phillips, Jake Timm

S&S Showdown

Terry Phillips assumed command on lap eight when race-long pacesetter Shannon Babb slid high in turns one and two and slowed to bring out a caution flag and went on to capture the 17-lap S&S Showdown.

Billy Moyer finished 2.641 seconds behind in second and Jake Timm placed third.

With event rules permitting the top three finishers to option to take their non-qualifiers’ race payoff — $3,000 for first, $2,500 for second and $2,200 for third, respectively — or start at the rear of the Silver Dollar Nationals feature, Phillips and Timm decided to forego the money and move on to the A-main while Moyer kept his runner-up cash and called it a weekend.

When asked by pit reporter Ben Shelton if he had ever given back $3,000, Phillips said, “Yeah, that was tough.”

Timm opted to run the feature because he’s a first-time Silver Dollar Nationals Late Model entrant and he  “needs the laps” at I-80. Moyer declined the feature berth because he felt he couldn’t get his car “good enough to win” in the time left before the starting field is called to the track.

Chris Simpson was in contention for a potential transfer spot when he ran into the rearend of Babb’s slowing car between turns three and four, forcing him to pull off the track.

Caution flags also flew on lap three (Jeremy Grady contacted the turn-two wall) and lap four (Jesse Sobbing hit the wall between turns three and four).

Finish (17 laps): Terry Phillips, Billy Moyer, Jake Timm, J.C. Wyman, Chase Junghans, Andrew Kosiski, Tad Pospisil, Allan Hopp, Chris Simpson, Dave Eckrich, Shannon Babb, Jesse Sobbing, Jeremy Grady, Junior Coover, Scott Ward.

S&S Showdown non-qualifiers’ race lineup

Row 1: Shannon Babb, Terry Phillips
Row 2: Dave Eckrich, Chris Simpson
Row 3: Allan Hopp, J.C. Wyman
Row 4: Tad Pospisil, Jake Timm
Row 5: Andrew Kosiski, Billy Moyer
Row 6: Blair Nothdurft, Jeremy Grady
Row 7: Jesse Sobbing, Al Humphrey
Row 8: Scott Ward, Chase Junghans
Row 9: Junior Coover, Rece Vaught

Second B-main

Ricky Weiss, who finished second in last year’s Silver Dollar Nationals, controlled the 17-lap race from start-to-finish to win by 2.316 seconds over Billy Moyer Jr. Dennis Erb Jr placed third while Shanon Buckingham overtook Shannon Babb on lap 15 to grab the fourth and final transfer spot.

Finish (17 laps; top 4 transfer): Ricky Weiss, Billy Moyer Jr., Dennis Erb Jr., Shanon Buckingham, Shannon Babb, Terry Phillips, Chris Simpson, J.C. Wyman, Josh Leonard, Andrew Kosiski, Blair Nothdurft, Jesse Sobbing, Scott Ward, Junior Coover, Stormy Scott.

First B-main

After a final-lap caution flag for Jake Timm’s slowing car was dulled Dale McDowell’s strong bid for the lead, Josh Richards turned back the Georgian on the ensuing green-white-checkered restart to complete a flag-to-flag victory. Richards crossed the finish line 1.135 seconds in front of Kyle Bronson, who slipped past McDowell off the inside of turn four coming to the finish line. McDowell settled for third while Californian Cody Laney overtook Nick Deal following the final restart to finish fourth with his car’s left-side door flapping in the breeze throughout the race’s second half.  A caution flag flew twice on lap eight — first when Rece Vaught contacted the turn-four wall and on the restart when fifth-place Chase Junghans slowed on the backstretch with mechanical trouble and limped into the pit area.

Finish (17 laps; top 4 transfer): Josh Richards, Kyle Bronson, Dale McDowell, Cody Laney, Nick Deal, Ben Schaller, Dave Eckrich, Allan Hopp, Tad Pospisil, Jake Timm, Billy Moyer, Jeremy Grady, Al Humphrey, Chase Junghans, Rece Vaught.

Pre-race notes

Temperatures once again reached well into the 90s on Saturday afternoon, but cloudier skies did provide a modicum of relief from the searing sun. The clouds signal, however, a risk of rain for the first time during the weekend; forecasts show the chances of rain increasing as midnight approaches, so officials said they will keep an eye on radar to determine if they need to adjust the evening’s schedule of events. … I-80 promoter Joe Kosiski spoke during the drivers’ meeting, thanking competitors for attending and letting them know that he plans to make an announcement in front of the grandstands later in the program to detail his plans for next year’s 10th annual Silver Dollar Nationals. … The four former Silver Dollar Nationals winners in this weekend’s field — Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y. (2017), Jonathan Davenport of Blairsville, Ga. (2016, ’18), Jimmy Owens of Newport, Tenn. (’13) and Scott Bloomquist of Mooresburg, Tenn. (’14, ’15) all qualified for the 80-lap feature through Friday night’s heat action. … First-time Silver Dollar Nationals A-main starters already locked in are Devin Moran of Dresden, Ohio, Tyler Bruening of Decorah, Iowa, Chris Madden of Gray Court, S.C., and Michael Norris of Sarver, Pa. … Jesse Sobbing of Glenwood, Iowa, is tagging the rear of the second B-main driving Robbie Anderson’s car.

Pre-race setup

I-80 Speedway’s ninth annual Imperial Tile Silver Dollar Nationals weekend concludes Saturday with consolation races, the Belt Bash Non-Qualifiers’ Race and the 80-lap, $53,000-to-win main event for the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series. United States Modified Touring Series competitors are also in action completing a two-day, $8,000-to-win program.

Friday night’s racing program included 10 total races for the 49 Late Model competitors. No time trials were contested for Late Models; lineups for the two rounds of heats were set by draws, and combined passing points from the prelims determined the 18 transfers to Saturday night’s 80-lap finale.

Mason Zeigler of Chalk Hill, Pa., is scheduled to start on the pole of Saturday’s main event with Tim McCreadie of Watertown, N.Y., alongside. The two drivers earned the most passing points in Friday’s heats.

Nick Deal of Walnut, Iowa, and Shanon Buckingham of Morristown, Tenn., start on the pole of Saturday night’s pair of B-Mains, which will transfer four additional drivers from each to the A-Main.

Saturday’s card, which also includes the $3,000-to-win S&S Showdown for Late Model non-qualifiers, is scheduled to get underway with hot laps at 7 p.m. CDT followed by racing at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday B-main lineups

(Distance determined by number of starters plus two; top 4 transfer)
First B-main
Row 1: Nick Deal, Josh Richards
Row 2: Kyle Bronson, Billy Moyer
Row 3: Cody Laney, Dale McDowell
Row 4: Allan Happ, Tad Pospisil
Row 5: Dave Eckrich, Chase Junghans
Row 6: Jeremy Grady, Ben Schaller
Row 7: Ben Sunup, Rece Vaught
Row 8: Al Humphrey, Jake Timm
Second B-main
Row 1: Shanon Buckingham, Ricky Weiss
Row 2: Billy Moyer Jr., Josh Leonard
Row 3: Dennis Erb Jr., Chris Simpson
Row 4: Shannon Babb, Terry Phillips
Row 5: Andrew Kosiski, J.C. Wyman
Row 6: Scott Ward, Stormy Scott
Row 7: Junior Coover, Blair Nothdurft
Row 8: Jesse Sobbing