Fast Talk presented by MD3 and Five Star Bodies
Fast Talk: Pierce's otherwordly performances
Our roundtable lowers their umbrellas to discuss what little dry Memorial Day weekend action was completed, primarily Bobby Pierce’s 20th-to-first Show-Me 100 repeat in our weekly feature presented by MD3 and Five Star Race Cars Bodies (edited for clarity and length):
How does Show-Me 100 winner Bobby Pierce make his race car do things others can’t?
Kevin Kovac, DirtonDirt senior writer: It’s the same principle with a superstar in any sport: there are just otherworldly talents that operate on a higher level. Pierce is one of those people. You can’t explain why the best basketball players can always create their own shots, or a quarterback can put a pass in the perfect place, or some baseball players are able to decipher the pitchers coming at them better than others. It’s just an innate ability that separates the legends from the merely good or great. Pierce has that in him — a natural feel, a confidence, that separates him from the pack.
Todd Turner, DirtonDirt managing editor: As Kevin says, it’s difficult to put into words, but Pierce has a preternatural feel for his race car that sometimes puts him on a path to unfathomable success — such as rallying from the 10th row in such a competitive field. I’m often struck by the seemingly helpless reaction of near-equal superstars of explaining to themselves why they couldn’t outrun him. We all have our skills, but when you watch someone at the top of any craft achieve heights mere mortals can’t, it’s humbling.
Aaron Clay, DirtonDirt weekend editor: It’s no secret that Bobby Pierce is one of the best Late Model drivers to race on the topside of a dirt track and consistently find that line without stepping over it. Heck, Pierce even stepped over that line a few times in Sunday’s Show-Me finale, ultimately ripping the right-rear corner of his spoiler off, but that didn’t stop him from going right back to Lucas Oil Speedway’s treacherous cushion. Simply put, Pierce is one of the best Dirt Late Model drivers to consistently find speed and gain that edge over his competitors, especially on a heavy, technical cushion.
Bryan Ault, DirtonDirt contributor: The combination of Bobby’s experience, racing at such an early age, and his dad’s expertise with tinkering on the modern machines are the factors behind his success. In my first year of coverage for DirtonDirt, I was watching Pierce light up the DIRTCar Summer Nationals, often winning by huge margins. It’s hard to believe that was four years ago. Even at the time, I couldn’t have predicted he would become the superstar he is today, having multiple seasons of collecting more than a million dollars in earnings. As a veteran driver and chassis builder, Bob brings decades of racing knowledge and technical expertise that few others have, giving Bobby a remarkable setup package that allows his son to make moves behind the wheel. Nowhere was this more evident than at Wheatland, where Pierce went from being a non-factor on both preliminary nights to taking home the checkered flag in the Show-Me 100 from 20th. It’s still relatively early in his career, but it’s not inconceivable to think we’re watching Bobby Pierce become the best wheelman to ever do it.
What else struck you about the Show-Me weekend?
Turner: The perseverance, determination and patience to complete the event during such a soggy weekend (as Kevin details below). I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a busy Memorial Day weekend schedule wiped out by so much rain, and losing the Show-Me would’ve made it all the worse. The Lucas Oil Series needed to dodge rain, shuffle schedules and add an extra day, but it was all worth it in the end.
Ault: Josh Rice picking up his first Lucas Oil Series win away from his home track of Florence Speedway in Union, Ky., stands out. What struck me was Rice’s ability to take his JRR Motorsports-owned machine to victory lane by running on the bottom rather than his high-flying, cushion-pounding lane that he’s traditionally known for. Rice struggled in the Show-Me 100 event on Sunday night, but he’s clearly making positive strides after a rough-and-tumble Speedweeks.
Kovac: When the starting field for Sunday’s Show-Me 100 was introduced, one of the loudest cheers from the crowd was directed toward Garrett Alberson. I’d say it almost rivaled the noise generated for Bobby Pierce, Jonathan Davenport and Ricky Thornton Jr., which was pretty notable considering Alberson has never won a crown jewel event nor a race of any kind at Wheatland. But it showed how much the fans appreciated the grit he demonstrated during the weekend. Everyone witnessed his bicycling, flipping heat-race accident on Friday, and then how he rebounded with his backup car to nearly win the postponed Cowboy Classic later in the night before settling for second. Alberson, who went on finish fourth in the 100-lapper, became a darling of the Wheatland spectators. I can’t wait to see the reaction he gets when he finally wins a feature at the track.
Clay: This year’s Show-Me 100 weekend was hampered by less than ideal weather conditions, sans Sunday’s finale where the sun finally broke through the clouds. I was impressed by the track’s officiating team as they made the best of a challenging situation in preparing the surface for each night’s racing action. There were times where the surface was choppy and rough, which will happen after extended periods of rainfall, but the track was perfect for Sunday’s finale, giving drivers options and a technical cushion to lean on. Hats off to the Lucas Oil Speedway track crew for their hard work.
Reset the Lucas Oil points chase.
Clay: Brandon Sheppard continues to chip away at Hudson O’Neal’s healthy points advantage, but it feels like Huddy and his SSI Motorsports team will need to falter, to really open the door for their competitors to have a chance at this year’s title — and they have not faltered much this year. Heck, Huddy only has three finishes outside the top 10 all season, two of which came in DIRTcar Nationals competition during Speedweeks. The only Lucas Oil Series result outside the top 10 came May 9 at Fairbury after O’Neal was swept up in a Tyler Erb and Ricky Thornton Jr. tangle in the late going.
Ault: It appeared reigning champ Devin Moran would be the primary challenger to Hudson O’Neal just because of his consistency. But things have changed since Moran's 20th-place run at Fairbury (Ill.) Speedway and his dreadful 12th-, 20th-, and 15th-place finishes in Wheatland, slumping to third in the points. There’s still plenty of time for Moran to right the ship and for Sheppard to surge, but it’s increasingly looking like the series title is O’Neal’s to lose.
Turner: I’m now a true believer in the Rocket1 ascension. My conversion is based on Brandon Sheppard’s March 28 positioning of 230 points out of the lead and seventh place in the standings. Today he’s 150 points behind in second. There’s still work to do in overtaking Hudson O’Neal, but Sheppard has matched or exceeded O’Neal’s sterling consistency heading toward summer. O’Neal is in the driver’s seat and we’ll have to see whether Sheppard, or other pursuers, can give us a title chase.
Kovac: Hudson O’Neal is certainly rolling along; he hasn’t dominated victory lane (his five wins are tied with Devin Moran for the most) but he’s been the steadiest driver, largely avoiding downright poor outings. It’s why he leads the standings by 175 points over Brandon Sheppard, who is in the midst of an especially strong stretch but is playing catchup because he had some ill-timed bad finishes during Speedweeks. Defending champ Devin Moran lost quite a bit of ground — falling to third — thanks to his forgettable weekend at Wheatland, but it’s Ricky Thornton Jr. whose positioning is most surprising. Fifth in points and trailing O’Neal by 390 markers? I would have never predicted that come the end of May. After Thornton’s dominance over the past three years was rewarded with only one title because of the relative randomness of the four-driver Chase format, it would be head-shaking if this year’s return to a traditional season-long points system ends up hurting him.
Pick out another subject from a soaking wet Memorial Day weekend.
Ault: It’s difficult to ignore the aftermath of the sudden and shocking passing of two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch and his impact on racing as a whole. I thought Kevin wrote a great piece last Friday on Busch’s ties to our world, including being the last winner of the Prelude to the Dream at Tony Stewart’s Eldora Speedway, friendship with Jonathan Davenport, and his desire to see Brexton race in the full-fendered division. Before the Show-Me 100 action was starting on Sunday evening, my wife and I had lumps in our throats as we watched NASCAR honor the Busch family ahead of the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte. The strength of Samantha, Brexton and Lennix to be at the track less than two full days after Kyle’s passing was incredible. My thoughts and condolences are with the Busch family during this difficult time.
Clay: I was impressed with the respect given during this weekend's fierce battles involving Ryan Unzicker and Jason Feger. The two experienced regional racers have squared off against one another countless times — a number likely in the several hundreds — yet they continue to give the other plenty of racing room. Feger finally got off the schneid in capturing his first MARS victory of the season after fighting off Unzicker Friday at Davenport. In a reversal of roles, Unzicker repelled Feger’s relentless challenges to then win Saturday at Fairbury. To top it off, both drivers acknowledge and appear to have nothing but respect for the other.
Kovac: I just can’t believe how widespread the wet weather was for this year’s Memorial Day weekend. As a holiday weekend, this is always one of the busiest stretches of the season for DirtonDirt with so many races scheduled all over the country. But this year it seemed like a weekend in early March with only a handful of RaceWire results showing up on the website. The entire Show-Me 100 was completed, but rain still scrambled the weekend with Thursday’s feature pushed to Friday and Sunday being needed as a rain date for the finale. I can’t recall a holiday weekend being more ravaged by rain than this one.
Turner: I’ll toss out a few tidbits from scattered weekly racing results. … Michigan’s Rylee Knoll scored his second straight victory from seventh at Merritt Speedway. … Travis Dennis is a perfect 3-for-3 this season in IMCA Late Model action at East Moline (Ill.) Speedway. … And former WISSOTA champ Chad Becker ripped off back-to-back wins in South Dakota at Dakota State Fair Speedway and Casino Speedway, his first Huron-Watertown weekend sweep since July 2017.
If you were standout driver, would you prefer winning regularly on a regional tour or being an also-ran on a national circuit?
Kovac: Nothing is more fun than winning races, so I’d want to compete where I can enjoy myself by visiting victory lane. I could accept running mid-pack on a national level for a couple years if I could see myself making true progress toward becoming a contender, but if I’m not seeing that light at the end of the tunnel, why keep rolling down the highways and spending a huge amount of money with no success? I understand that there are only so many checkered flags to go around on a national series, but, considering the expense of racing, I’d much rather run up front and be a big fish in a small pond than pound my head against the wall while traveling far and wide.
Clay: Let me preface my answer by saying that I’ve never raced before. I’ve never devoted countless hours or thousands of my own dollars to go race each weekend. With that, I’ve always said that I’d rather be competing for wins, no matter what level I'm racing. I think it’s important for drivers to start at their local track’s lower divisions, only graduating to the next level once they’ve mastered their craft. This would fuel a driver’s development while also increasing the likeliness that they remain competitive, regardless of how high they ultimately ascend.
Ault: I’d rather be chasing checkered flags than running in the back. A national tour is a huge grind and a great financial undertaking, with so many drivers criss-crossing the country week after week. My one caveat is that if I’m winning regularly, I would want to develop a racing program and my skills as a driver to eventually give the national circuit a try. A key test would be when a national tour stops in my region: if I’m running up-front against the big dogs, I’d feel confident enough in my car to test my mettle against the sport’s best.
Turner: This question reminds me of a “Ted Lasso” quote from soccer veteran Roy Kent, who dreads having to play in the United States rather than Europe, but adds that it’s a league “where I’d dominate, by the way.” It’s easy to say from the cheap seats, I guess, but I think I’d rather be competitive for regular victories at whatever level of racing I landed. In our sport, racers (and team owners) are free to take the path they choose, so I don’t begrudge anyone racing at whatever level. But I’ve seen plenty of cases where also-rans on national tours can’t mimic Roy Kent and not only don’t dominate but don’t win another rung or two down.
