NEW RICHMOND, Wis. (Aug. 1) — Cedar Lake Speedway is back on Bobby Pierce’s list of favorite places to race.

A victory in Saturday’s 39th annual USA Nationals — one year after he finished a dismal 11th in the 100-lapper — rekindled his warm feelings for the 3/8-mile oval.

“I like this track again,” Pierce said with a smile. “I kind of didn’t like it last year because I was getting lapped, and now I like it again.”

The 2025 USA Nationals was obviously an aberration for the 29-year-old superstar from Oakwood, Ill., who won the crown jewel race two years in a row before stumbling last year. He was back on point Saturday, marching powerfully forward from the 10th starting spot to take the lead from Nick Hoffman of Mooresville, N.C., on lap 68 and then repelling challenges from Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill., and Hudson O’Neal of Martinsville, Ind., over the remaining distance for a $100,000 triumph in the World of Outlaws Late Model Series event.

Sheppard, coming off a victory in the previous week’s Prairie Dirt Classic at Fairbury (Ill.) Speedway, settled for a runner-up finish, 1.117 seconds behind Pierce after sliding past O’Neal for the spot on lap 96. Ethan Dotson of Bakersfield, Calif., also passed O’Neal on lap 98 to secure a career-best USA Nationals finish of third, while the 20th-starting O’Neal, who ran second for laps 79-95, slipped to fourth in the final rundown and Dustin Sorensen of Rochester, Minn., completed the top five after capping a late charge with a final-circuit pass of Benton, Ky.’s Tanner English for fifth.

Early leaders Dan Ebert of Lake Shore, Minn. (laps 1-14) and Hoffman (laps 15-67) weren’t factors in the outcome. Hoffman faded steadily to an 18th-place finish after ceding the top spot to Pierce while Ebert finished 20th after a fall that saw him nearly spin in turn one on lap 58 after contact with defending USA Nationals champion Ryan Gustin of Marshalltown, Iowa, and pitting for a tire change on lap 70.

Pierce realized several milestones with his victory, including becoming the fourth driver to win the USA Nationals at least three times. He joined five-time winners Billy Moyer and Scott Bloomquist and three-time victor Jonathan Davenport in the elite group.

What’s more, Pierce’s 18th WoO checkered flag of 2026 pulled him into a tie for the national tour’s single-season win record Josh Richards (2016) and Sheppard (2017, ’19). It was his 60th career WoO victory, which ranks him fourth on the circuit’s all-time win list.

Pierce’s run came after he decided to park the stars-and-stripes-themed Longhorn Chassis he drove to a third-place finish in Thursday’s 30-lap WoO feature that kicked off the weekend. He instead piloted a car that he hadn’t entered in a race since winning July 14’s Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series feature at Adams County Speedway in Corning, Iowa.

“Just kind of a different motor in this one,” Pierce said when asked why he made the vehicle change. “I felt like the track was super slick, so I wanted to go to this motor instead of the other one. This car won Adams County, so that was the last time we had it out, and really, before that, we weren’t sure what to think of this car. So now it’s two in a row and we’ll probably be racing this car some more.

“Thanks to my (crew) guys. They got up early today and got these cars switched around, unloaded, and, you know, shocks off and everything. We went through them hard, and just really went through the setup top-to-bottom.”

The work paid with a machine that Pierce called “awesome.” He didn’t need many laps to realize he had a contending car, but he needed more than half the race to reach the front.

“Pretty early on, I was good,” said Pierce, who recorded his 24th overall victory of the season. “When we were all rolling the bottom I was able to dip out a lane, just a lane off the bottom, and I passed, I forget who it was, but I passed them right in the middle, and I was able to get back down. I was like, ‘OK, we got something to work with.’

“I just knew to be patient. When they prep the track like that (before the feature) after it’s been hard all day it can be really hard on the tires, so I think a lot of guys were kind of riding for some of the beginning half of the race, that way we had tires at the end.

“I knew the racetrack would come around. I didn’t quite know what it would do exactly, but I knew at some point in time we had to get to the top. And I went to the top and passed (Chris) Madden and English (to reach fourth on lap 52), and I got by Ebert at the last second right before that caution came out (on lap 54) so that put us in third.

“And I was like, ‘OK, finally, we got some luck rolling our way,’” he added.

Pierce shot by Sheppard for second on the lap-54 restart. He battled with Sheppard over the ensuing stretch, swapping second a few times before securing the spot for a crucial lap-67 restart that saw him throw a slider on Hoffman for the lead.

“Once I fired off on that (lap-67) restart on the top side, with Nick, I had to time it perfectly, because he was getting off really good on them restarts,” Pierce said. “And he actually still beat me off four, but I had such a run, I was like, ‘Man, I just got to go for it.’ I don’t really know if it was the best slide job. I can’t tell until I watch the replay, but I sent ‘er in there.”

Pierce had to deal with four more restarts over the remaining distance. He also had to brush off pressure from Sheppard, who followed Pierce past Hoffman, and later O’Neal following a lap-93 restart.

“For a hundred-grand on the line, it was just a nerve-racking race to hold onto for the rest of it,” Pierce said. “The top side had really gotten slick, and those last couple of restarts I kind of used up every trick in the book that I knew. I really didn’t know where to restart, so luckily it worked out. Me and Hudson had a heck of a race there for those couple laps on that (lap-93) restart, and from there it was clear sailing and don’t make any mistakes.”

Sheppard, 33, regained second from O’Neal on lap 96 but didn’t have quite enough speed in his Rocket Chassis house car to run down Pierce.

“Congrats to Bobby. We had a good clean race there. It was pretty fun,” said Sheppard, who held second for laps 43-54, 57-64 and 68-78 before finally controlling the spot for the final five circuits. “He could just run the cushion a little bit faster than I could there, especially the mid-to-late stages of the race. I was getting tight getting in, and then I was having to shear across center. And then late at the very end there, when I could kind of run through the middle of one and two, I was really good.

“One spot short,” he continued. “We’re definitely not hanging our heads. We wanted to win it really bad, but that’s part of racing, man. You're not gonna win them all, and we’re sure gonna try, though.”

Sheppard tallied his third runner-up finish in a crown jewel event this season, following up his outings in May 24’s Show-Me 100 (to Pierce) and June 27’s Firecracker 100 (to Devin Moran).

Notes: Pierce earned his 18th career win in a Dirt Late Model crown jewel event. His victories have come in nine of the 11 annual races considered crown jewels. … Seven caution flags slowed the 100-lapper. … The race ran caution-free until lap 54 when Jake Timm slowed with a right-rear flat tire. … Kyle Strickler triggered a lap-56 caution when he spun around in turn three with rear bodywork damage. … Jake O’Neil slowed for back-to-back cautions on laps 67 and 70. … Drawing cautions for flat tires were Trey Mills (lap 74), Clay Harris (lap 78) and Daulton Wilson (lap 93). … Thursday's feature winner Tyler Erb pitted for a tire change during the lap-54 caution period and rallied to finish 10th. ... The race was green-flagged at 12:14 a.m. and concluded at 1:10 a.m. … The late finish wasn’t caused by bad weather on Saturday — skies were clear all day — but rather a split-doubleheader necessitated by the rainout of Friday’s qualifying program. After hot laps that began at 5 p.m. and then time trials, six heats, a pole and FANS Fund Dash and a Cedar Lake Late Model feature to complete Friday’s postponed show, the stands were cleared and the track surface was reworked for the start of Saturday's originally scheduled USA Nationals finale program. … Before Saturday’s USA Nationals driver introductions, Cedar Lake officials announced that 2027’s USA Nationals — scheduled for Aug. 5-7 — will begin with Thursday’s WoO preliminary feature paying $40,000-to-win in recognition of the event’s 40th anniversary. The 100-lap finale will remain at $100,000-to-win for the third consecutive year.

2026 USA Nationals
Pos. Driver (car no.), hometown, chassis, earnings
1. Bobby Pierce (32), Oakwood, Ill., Longhorn, $100,000
2. Brandon Sheppard (1s), New Berlin, Ill., Rocket, $25,000
3. Ethan Dotson (74x), Bakersfield, Calif., Longhorn, $12,000
4. Hudson O’Neal (71), Martinsville, Ind., Longhorn, $9,000
5. Dustin Sorensen (19), Rochester, Minn., Longhorn, $7,500
6. Tanner English (96), Benton, Ky., AK, $6,000
7. Tim McCreadie (9), Watertown, N.Y., Longhorn, $5,000
8. Cody Overton (97), Evans, Ga., Longhorn, $4,500
9. Jason Feger (25), Bloomington, Ill., Longhorn, $4,400
10. Tyler Erb (1), New Waverly, Texas, Rocket, $4,200
11. Ryan Gustin (19R), Marshalltown, Iowa, Infinity, $4,000
12. Zack Mitchell (22*), Enoree, S.C., Longhorn, $3,800
13. Clay Harris (6), Jupiter, Fla., Longhorn, $3,600
14. Trey Mills (14), St. Augustine, Fla., Longhorn, $3,400
15. Jake Timm (49), Winona, Minn., Longhorn, $3,350
16. Chris Madden (44), Gray Court, S.C., Infinity, $3,300
17. Brent Larson (B1), Lake Elmo, Minn., Longhorn, $3,250
18. Nick Hoffman (9), Mooresville, N.C., Longhorn, $3,200
19. Michael Leach (09), Sun River, Mont., Longhorn, $3,100
20. Dan Ebert (60), Lake Shore, Minn., Rocket, $3,000
21. Tristan Chamberlain (20tc), Richmond, Ind., Longhorn, $3,000
22. Dallon Murty (13), Chelsea, Iowa, Longhorn, $3,000
23. Logan Zarin (1z), Moon Township, Pa., Longhorn, $3,000
24. Dennis Erb Jr. (28), Carpentersville, Ill., Rocket, $3,000
25. Daulton Wilson (58v), Fayetteville, N.C., Longhorn, $3,000
26. Kyle Strickler (8s), Mooresville, N.C., AK, $3,000
27. Jake O’Neil (0), Tucson, Ariz., Longhorn, $3,000
28. Shannon Babb (18), Moweaqua, Ill., Longhorn, $3,000
29. Trevor Gundaker (11G), St. Charles, Mo., Longhorn, $3,000
Lap leaders: Ebert 1-14; Hoffman 15-67; Pierce 68-100
Fast qualifier (among 50 cars): Leach, 14.975 seconds
Heat race winners: English, Dotson, Madden, Hoffman, Sheppard, Ebert
Dash winner: Ebert
Consolation winners: Mills, O’Neal
Last-chance winner: Babb
Provisional starters: D. Erb, Chamberlain, Gundaker, Larson, Zarin
Preliminary feature winner: T. Erb

Feature lineup

(100 laps)
Row 1: Dan Ebert, Brandon Sheppard
Row 2: Nick Hoffman, Tanner English
Row 3: Chris Madden, Ethan Dotson
Row 4: Michael Leach, Zack Mitchell
Row 5: Tim McCreadie, Bobby Pierce
Row 6: Cody Overton, Jake O'Neil
Row 7: Clay Harris, Dustin Sorensen
Row 8: Kyle Strickler, Ryan Gustin
Row 9: Tyler Erb, Jason Feger
Row 10: Trey Mills, Hudson O'Neal
Row 11: Daulton Wilson, Dallon Murty
Row 12: Shannon Babb, Jake Timm
Row 13: Dennis Erb Jr., Tristan Chamberlain
Row 14: Trevor Gundaker, Brent Larson
Row 15: Logan Zarin

Last-chance qualifier

(15 laps; top two transfer)

Results: Shannon Babb, Jake Timm, Devin Moran, Brian Shirley, Luke Morey, Sammy Mars, Logan Zarin, Mitch McGrath, Dexton Koch, J.T. Wasmund, Nick Anvelink, Laela Eisenschenk, Brent Larson, Terry Casey.

Consolation race results

(12 laps; top two transfer)

First consolation: Trey Mills, Daulton Wilson, Logan Zarin, Dennis Erb Jr., Sammy Mars, Brian Shirley, Luke Morey, Terry Casey, J.T. Wasmund, Nick Anvelink, Tyler Bruening, Eli Johnson, Joel Collins, Trevor Gundaker. Scratched: Daniel Adam, Garrett Smith.

Second consolation: Hudson O'Neal, Dallon Murty, Shannon Babb, Jake Timm, Devin Moran, Dexton Koch, Mitch McGrath, Brent Larson, Laela Eisenschenk, Lance Matthees, Tim Isenberg, Austin Howes, Gordy Gundaker, Amelia Eisenschenk, Matthew Larson, Tristan Chamberlain.

Dash results

(Pole dash sets first three rows of 100-lapper)

Pole dash: Dan Ebert, Brandon Sheppard, Nick Hoffman, Tanner English, Chris Madden, Ethan Dotson.

FANS Fund dash: Trevor Gundaker, Cody Overton, Gordy Gundaker, Laela Eisenschenk, Jason Feger, Tanner English, Dallon Murty, Devin Moran, Brian Shirley, Amelia Eisenschenk, Daniel Adam, Michael Leach.

Heat race recap

Tanner English rallied from seventh to overtake polesitter Michael Leach and win the first heat, which was slowed by a lap-four flat tire for Garrett Smith. ... In the second heat, a high-flying Ethan Dotson led the final lap with an outside pass of race-long leader Kyle Strickler, who settled for third behind Tim McCreadie (the first start was called back to Luke Morey's spin). ... Chris Madden cruised to win the third heat, the first polesitter to do so (Nick Anvelink spun on the first start and Tyler Bruening retired with right-front suspension damage). ... In the fourth heat, Nick Hoffman led comfortably 10 laps while original polesitter Dallon Murty failed to transfer after a penalty for jumping the start. ... Brandon Sheppard won the caution-free fifth heat from the pole. ... Polesitter Dan Ebert won the final heat (the lone slowdown came on the fourth lap when Devin Moran had a left-rear flat after contact with Jason Feger battling for second).

Heat race results

(10 laps; top three transfer)

First heat: Tanner English, Michael Leach, Clay Harris, Daulton Wilson, Trey Mills, Logan Zarin, Trevor Gundaker, Joel Collins, Garrett Smith.

Second heat: Ethan Dotson, Tim McCreadie, Kyle Strickler, Dennis Erb Jr., Luke Morey, Terry Casey, Brian Shirley, Eli Johnson.

Third heat: Chris Madden, Cody Overton, Tyler Erb, Sammy Mars, J.T. Wasmund, Nick Anvelink, Daniel Adam, Tyler Bruening.

Fourth heat: Nick Hoffman, Zack Mitchell, Dustin Sorensen, Dallon Murty, Shannon Babb, Laela Eisenschenk, Tristan Chamberlain, Lance Matthees, Dustin Howes.

Fifth heat: Brandon Sheppard, Bobby Pierce, Ryan Gustin, Hudson O'Neal, Jake Timm, Mitch McGrath, Brent Larson, Gordy Gundaker.

Saturday's time trials

Group A
Driver (car no.), hometown, time (unofficial)

1. Michael Leach (09), Sun River, Mont., 14.975
2. Dennis Erb Jr. (28), Carpentersville, Ill., 15.000
3. Chris Madden (44), Gray Court, S.C., 15.141
4. Garrett Smith (10), Madison, Ga., 15.144
5. Kyle Strickler (8), Mooresville, N.C., 15.174
6. Tyler Bruening (16), Decorah, Iowa, 15.191
7. Trey Mills (14jr), St. Augustine, Fla., 15.243
8. Brian Shirley (3s), Chatham, Ill., 15.290
9. Cody Overton (97), Thomson, Ga., 15.343
10. Logan Zarin (1z), Moon Township, Pa., 15.349
11. Luke Morey (49), Denver, N.C., 15.355
12. Nick Anvelink (15), Bonduel, Wis., 15.364
13. Daulton Wilson (58v), Fayetteville, N.C., 15.372
14. Ethan Dotson (74x), Bakersfield, Calif., 15.414
15. Tyler Erb (1), New Waverly, Texas, 15.431
16. Clay Harris (6), Jupiter, Fla., 15.452
17. Terry Casey (42), New London, Wis., 15.482
18. Sammy Mars (28), Menomonie, Wis., 15.547
19. Tanner English (96), Benton, Ky., 15.597
20. Tim McCreadie (9), Watertown, N.Y., 15.617
21. J.T. Wasmund (51w), Pine Island, Minn., 15.682
22. Trevor Gundaker (11G), St. Charles, Mo., 15.717
23. Eli Johnson (55E), Clewiston, Fla., 15.723
24. Daniel Adam (75), Peru, Ill., 15.793
25. Joel Collins (21x), Princeton, Minn., 16.558

Group B

1. Dallon Murty (13), Chelsea, Iowa, 15.523
2. Brandon Sheppard (1), New Berlin, Ill., 15.550
3. Dan Ebert (60), Lake Shore, Minn., 15.624
4. Zack Mitchell (22*), Enoree, S.C., 15.638
5. Ryan Gustin (19r), Marshalltown, Iowa, 15.639
6. Tim Isenberg (9T), Marshfield, Wis., 15.658
7. Nick Hoffman (9), Mooresville, N.C., 15.668
8. Bobby Pierce (32), Oakwood, Ill., 15.674
9. Dexton Koch (78k), Becker, Minn., 15.754
10. Dustin Sorensen (19), Rochester, Minn., 15.759
11. Mitch McGrath (74), Waukesha, Wis., 15.777
12. Devin Moran (99), Dresden, Ohio, 15.785
13. Shannon Babb (18), Moweaqua, Ill., 15.877
14. Jake Timm (49), Winona, Minn., 15.896
15. Jason Feger (25), Bloomington, Ill., 15.900
16. Laela Eisenschenk (15), Fargo, N.D., 15.901
17. Hudson O’Neal (71), Martinsville, Ind., 15.960
18. Jake O’Neil (0), Tucson, Ariz., 16.003
19. Tristan Chamberlain (20tc), Richmond, Ind., 16.005
20. Brent Larson (B1), Lake Elmo, Minn., 16.045
21. Amelia Eisenschenk (1E), Fargo, N.D., 16.110
22. Austin Howes (17A), Lewistown, Mo., 16.144
23. Matthew Larson (8), Lake Elmo, Minn., 16.280
24. Lance Matthees (90), Winona, Minn., 16.376
25. Gordy Gundaker (11), St. Charles, Mo., 16.623

Saturday's schedule

(All times local; updated with split doubleheader program)

8:30-11 a.m. - Breakfast buffet (east and west restaurants)
Noon - Pits open
12:30 p.m. - Fans Fund luncheon (Cedar Lake Arena)
3 p.m. - Grandstands open
3 p.m. - Church outreach service
3:30 p.m. - Driver autograph session (vendor area)
Afternoon program
5 p.m. - On-track activity
- Limited Late Model group qualifying
- Super Late Model hot laps
- Super Late Model time trials (2 laps)
Opening ceremonies
- Super Late Model heats (8 laps)
- Limited Late Model consolations (12 laps)
- Super Late Model dash (6 laps)
- Limited Late Model feature (25 laps)
- Super Late Model Fans Fund dash (12 laps)
Track Prep/Grandstands cleared
Evening program
(Approximately 45 minutes after first program)
- Limited Late Model group qualifying
- Super Late Model consolations (10 laps)
- Limited Late Model consolations (12 laps)
- Super Late Model last-chance race (15 laps)
Intermission/track prep
- Limited Late Model feature (25 laps)
Driver introductions
- 39th annual USA Nationals (100 laps)