Fast Talk presented by MD3 and Five Star Bodies
Fast Talk: Dream XXXII analysis and more
Focusing on Bobby Pierce’s first $100,000 Dream victory, our roundtable checks in as summer ramps up in the weekly feature presented by MD3 and Five Star Race Cars Bodies (edited for clarity and length):
Evaluate Bobby Pierce’s Dream victory.
Kevin Kovac, DirtonDirt senior writer: As I was walking across the track Saturday night to interview Bobby and Bob Pierce in the upper pit area en route to my car, I was alongside a veteran Dirt Late Model crew guy-technical advisor who offered a perfect summation of Pierce and his latest Eldora performance: “Man, that Bobby … he’s an animal.” Indeed, Pierce put on a clinic, marching forward from the 13th starting spot to win his first Dream without the lap-after-lap wall-scraping that’s expected from him. More so than in any of his four previous Eldora crown jewel victories, he largely stuck to the middle of the track, which made him look more like Bloomquist and Davenport. If, at 29, Pierce is now evolving with his driving and racecraft to resemble Eldora’s most prolific winners, then … my gosh, his competition is in trouble.
Todd Turner, DirtonDirt managing editor: I think when Pierce wins on the ragged edge with a high-flying, concrete-defying run, his competitors can chalk that up to Pierce temping fate and surviving. In this 100-lapper, Pierce ran about as “normal” as everyone else without the theatrics, for the most part, of bold slide jobs or spark-flying scrapes of the wall. I think that makes a more impressive statement. When we see Eldora streaks (Overton and Davenport, most recently), you start wondering how many times a driver will win at the Big E. Considering Pierce’s age, the possibility is a big number.
Kyle McFadden, DirtonDirt staff reporter: Whether onlookers embrace Bobby Pierce or root against him, there's no denying what makes him special: nobody in Dirt Late Model racing attacks a race quite like he does. Pierce’s racecraft continually operates on another level, combining patience, versatility to use the entire racetrack and uncanny ability to know precisely when to pounce. As I wrote in my postgrad analysis, I was extremely impressed how Pierce coursed his race from 13th on Saturday: not entering the top-10 until shortly before lap 25, turning up the wick in the second quarter of that feature to take the lead on lap 59, being wise enough to have plenty left in the tank the last quarter of the race to preserve the lead, even running his fastest lap of the feature on lap 80. Jonathan Davenport, Nick Hoffman and Dale McDowell in Pierce’s proximity in the 100-lapper, but couldn’t move through the field like he did. What also struck me is that Pierce became just the fourth driver to win the Dream in their 20s. He’s been coming to Eldora for a decade, but still is younger than most in his career. More crown jewels await.
Bryan Ault, DirtonDirt contributor: I would have loved to have seen Brandon Sheppard give Bobby Pierce all he could handle at the end. I think Sheppy would’ve put up a formidable challenge in the final laps and set us up for an amazing finish, but with his blowout, it wasn’t meant to be. That said, Pierce is clearly on a heater at Eldora, with back-to-back DTWC victories, a World 100 in 2024 and now a Dream victory. Pierce’s ability to surge through the field was extraordinary, driving from his 13th starting position on a juiced-up surface. Pierce was crafty as well in winning a $30,000 prelim, pouncing on Devin Moran amid traffic. He’s clearly on a different level than the rest of his challengers, and at 29 years old, his potential to reach Jonathan Davenport levels of dominance at The Big E is through the roof.
What’s your most memorable moment of Dream Week?
Turner: Definitely Mason Zeigler’s twisting, gyrating, violent frontstretch flip in Friday’s prelim. In part, because it’s relatively rare to have such a dramatic crash directly in front of Eldora's biggest pack of spectators, and in part because of Zeigler’s immediately climbing from the car and giving D.J. a cool-as-a-cucumber interview where he proclaims it would take a lot more than that to hurt him, and that all is forgiven with Nick Hoffman’s contact. This all happened in about 55 seconds. That’s some entertainment.
Ault: My wife and I got to the track shortly before Saturday's huge storm hit, and when I saw it raining so hard that we couldn’t even see the infield media center from the frontstretch grandstands, I thought the show would be postponed and we would be walking back to our cars as soon as the rain stopped. You really have to give Tony Stewart, Levi Jones and the entire track prep crew at Eldora immense credit. We had no intentions of staying if hot laps started after 8 p.m., but Jones and Co. really buckled down, waited it out, took a great approach with letting Mother Nature do her thing, and got right to work. I’m not sure another track could’ve pulled off a start time just 30 minutes after its originally-scheduled start time for hot laps after getting 0.7 inches of rain. Well done to the entire Eldora staff for getting this show in.
McFadden: My most memorable moment of Dream Week had nothing to do with anything on-track. I brought my friend Jake to his first Dirt Late Model race Wednesday, which he was completely hooked. Sure, it helped that he got the VIP treatment and is already a lifelong car enthusiast who grew up on NASCAR in the 1990s and early 2000s. But what struck me was how quickly he connected with the sport itself. As a social media coordinator, he was fascinated by the content-creation side of our jobs — even helping me film a walk-and-talk interview with Lane Snook for our DirtonDirt Facebook page. More than anything, though, he couldn't get over how accessible everyone is. One of the first people I introduced him to Wednesday was Bobby Pierce, who just happened to walk by us as we entered the track. Think about that: the No. 1-ranked driver in the country and eventual Dream winner casually interacting with fans before the biggest race of the week. How many forms of motorsports still offer that? Watching him experience that firsthand reminded me that Dirt Late Model racing remains a hidden gem of motorsports.
Kovac: Had to be that 80th lap of the Dream when, from my vantage point standing inside turn two, I watched Brandon Sheppard close in on Bobby Pierce as the pair passed me and then looked up at the video board to see Sheppard push into the outside wall in turn three and collect third-place Hudson O’Neal. I could hear the crowd reaction above the engines even though I was wearing earplugs. What a shocker — and utter heartbreak for B-Shepp (as well as O’Neal) — that turn of events provided. Sheppard blowing that right-front tire brings up an all-time Eldora “what if” because those last 21 laps were shaping up to be one epic showdown between two Illinois hard-chargers. I can picture the bombs those two would have been throwing at each other down the stretch for $100,000. That darn tire on Sheppard’s Rocket1 robbed us of a potential classic.
Detail another driver’s Eldora visit.
McFadden: Trey Mills finished 17th, but that result wasn’t indicative of his week. The 18-year-old started from the pole and led the opening 24 laps of the Dream before Brandon Sheppard turned up the heat. Mills eventually parked it early on lap 88 after packing his right-rear full of mid. Dream Week reinforced why so many people are high on his future. Mills arrived at Eldora with limited experience against the sport's elite and never looked intimidated. He finished sixth in Wednesday's FloRacing Night in America feature, seventh on his prelim, captured the Dream’s pole, led the biggest race of his life and carried himself with a calm confidence to the finish. Years from now, when Mills is perhaps an Eldora winner, this week may look like one of the foundation blocks in his rise to stardom.
Ault: I’ll also discuss Trey Mills. Our sport needs a lot of young stars and Trey Mills is arriving into that next group of young drivers who are coming along. He’s going to be very good. We saw him perform admirably in Lucas Oil action at Golden Isles Speedway, which ended in a crash but flashed his ability to run with the big dogs. I caught up with Trey on Thursday after his sixth-place run in FloRacing Night in America action and I can tell he’s a humble young man who is soaking up Dirt Late Model knowledge like a sponge. He started on the pole of the Dream as a teenager, and while he faded, his performance at Tony Stewart’s hallowed half-mile track has to give him a huge boost of confidence heading into the summer.
Kovac: Can’t put the Dream in the rear-view mirror without mentioning Jonathan Davenport, whose bid for an unprecedented fourth straight Dream triumph fizzled out in surprisingly quiet fashion Saturday with his sixth-place finish. J.D. started 14th and pretty much wallowed outside the top-10 for most of the distance until a late tire change and some attrition helped him salvage a respectable result. But he didn’t crack the top-five for even one lap, which is extremely rare for Davenport in an Eldora crown jewel. Really, it wasn’t a typical week at the Big E for him. His setup was off for Wednesday’s FloRacing feature (he finished 10th), and while he won Friday’s 50-lap prelim feature, it was by no means his usual smooth drive to the checkered flag as he had to battle hard throughout and ultimately pull an aggressive slider on a restart to overtake Brandon Overton for the lead.
Turner: As a member of the 60-year-old club along with Dale McDowell, I’m happy to point out his impressive finishes of fourth, third and third during three Dream Week starts, including his patented 16th-to-fourth run in the 100-lap finale. Several competitors were in elementary school the last time McDowell wasn’t in the Dream (2007), so his remarkable streak continues not only as a starter, but a true contender at one of the sport’s toughest tracks. Remarkable.
With your crystal ball, pick the next driver who will have two crown jewel victories at Eldora who has none now.
Ault: The easy answer here is Nick Hoffman, who took home the checkered flag in Thursday’s preliminary race and finished third for the second year in a row at the Dream. I was a little more skeptical than many of our panelists who picked Hoffman to win on Saturday, but he flashed plenty of speed in his FloRacing Night in America triumph. His charge from the middle of the field to land on the podium for Saturday's 100-lapper proved he has the goods to win at Eldora sooner than later.
Kovac: It’s hard not to pick Nick Hoffman. He didn’t get his first on Saturday like many people were expecting after he looked so strong winning Wednesday’s FloRacing feature and contended again in Friday’s prelim feature before his tangle with Mason Zeigler, but he still finished third — his fourth straight crown jewel top-five at Eldora — despite looking for much of the distance like he’d be lucky to run top-10. Coming on late like that is a great sign of his growing Eldora acumen. At 34 and just coming into his own as a Dirt Late Model driver, Hoffman figures to have plenty of opportunities ahead for crown jewel glory. September’s World 100 could very well end up being his first.
McFadden: Devin Moran and Nick Hoffman have to be next in line, right? Both drivers progress every year. Both are in the title hunt on the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series and World of Outlaws Late Model Series. Both have the backing, talent, racecraft and smarts to pull through in a 100-lapper. Both finished inside the top-five on Saturday. Moran and Hoffman are absolutely next in line here before anyone else.
Turner: If I’m a betting man I pick Hoffman, but with Max Blair fresh off a runner-up finish, I like his chances to become a consistent Eldora contender and, perhaps, a two-time major race winner. Blair has a penchant for long-distance success and keeping his nose clean. We might look back at this runner-up Dream finish as his coming out party to further Eldora success.
Discuss Selinsgrove Ford Appalachian Mountain Speedweek, the upcoming DIRTcar Summer Nationals or another series.
McFadden: I’m a little bummed I can’t make it out for Appalachian Mountain Speedweek this year as I’ve covered all of Jim Bernheisel’s miniseries events since its revival in 2023. The schedule this year is quite different. Potomac Speedway, micro sprint track Action Track USA and Marion Center Raceway appear on the schedule for the first time, while Hagerstown, Selinsgrove and Bridgeport don’t return. I’m curious as to how these next races Wednesday at Action Track USA and Marion Center Thursday affects the car count being midweek races and usually outside of Bernheisel’s Central Pennsylvania territory. Either way, both tracks are hidden gems.
Ault: I’m anxious to see who the young drivers on the Summer Nationals are going to be this year and how they mix it up with the tour’s veterans. When I first started covering tour events in 2023, Pierce and Devin Moran were battling up front. Last season was my first look at Mills, who took home the trophy at Macon's Herald & Review 100. With racing nearly every night for a month, I expect plenty of short tempers and bent fenders.
Kovac: Appalachian Mountain Speedweek had an interesting start, beginning with both winners — Trever Feathers at Clinton County and Justin Weaver at Potomac — earning first-ever triumphs on the miniseries that’s run annually since 2009 aside from its 2018-22 dormant years. Always nice to see some fresh faces gain some higher-level attention. What’s also notable to me is that the Jim Bernheisel-promoted tour has a decidedly different look this year, especially with Saturday’s event at Port Royal, a longtime anchor of the series, being rained out. Potomac had its first AMS show since 2013 (and, well, with its location in southern Maryland, went away from the “Appalachian Mountain” location of the miniseries). The fifth-mile Kutztown oval makes its first appearance on the slate on Wednesday; same with Marion Center on Thursday. There’s still staples like Bedford, and, to a lesser extent, Lincoln, but it’s an updated AMS with no typical venues like Hagerstown, Path Valley, BAPS and even Selinsgrove (the home of the tour’s sponsor) included.
Turner: With a wet forecast scuttling my Kentucky Speedweek plans, I’m heading out for the start of the DIRTcar Summer Nationals, which this year has a true day-after-day schedule that made Bob Memmer’s brainchild what it was at the beginning. I’m also intrigued about the World of Outlaws visit to West Virginia Motor Speedway, where there was much hand-wringing over the track’s ability to host major events (including the late-season Dirt Track World Championship) after a rough-and-tumble April event at the shortened oval. To me a shortened WVMS is a major improvement over the 5/8-mile layout, so let’s hope they iron it out.
