Bobby Pierce Edges Brandon Sheppard for Tri-State Win
Red hot Pierce continues to roll through Summer Nationals; takes Heartland Tour Week Championship
HAUBSTADT, Ind. – June 26, 2016 – If the weather and Brandon Sheppard had anything to say about it, Bobby Pierce would have been left jilted on Sunday night at Tri-State Speedway but Pierce was able to hold off both as he claimed his fifth Summer Nationals victory of the season and the Heartland Tour Week title.
Ryan Unzicker led through the first 12 laps of the night’s rain-shortened feature, but it was Pierce and Sheppard who stole the show. Pierce took the lead on lap 13 and Sheppard took over second two laps later. What commenced was an intense back-and-forth battle between the two drivers for the lead.
Sheppard took the lead on multiple occasions but Pierce battled back each time – officially Sheppard never led a lap.
As the battle continued, rain began to fall on Tri-State on lap 36 and the caution flag flew two laps later as the rain turned heavy. DIRTcar officials called the race at lap 38, giving Pierce his fifth win of the season and 12th of his career. Pierce also claimed the Heartland Tour week bonus.
“Oh man, that was probably one of the craziest races I’ve been in,” Pierce said. “Me and Sheppy throwing some awesome sliders, and between lapped traffic and everything, it was just crazy.”
The DIRTcar Summer Nationals takes Monday off as the grueling tour grinds on on Tuesday at Clarksville (Tenn.) Speedway.
Follow the Summer Nationals and Summit Modified Nationals on Twitter at Twitter.com/SummerNationals or on Facebook at Facebook.com/SummerNationals. Stay up-to-date with the latest news from the series throughout the lead up and the summer on the series’ websites at TheHellTour.com and ModifiedNationals.com.
DIRTcar Summer Nationals Statistical Report; Tri-State Speedway; Haubstadt, Ind.
A-Main: 1. Bobby Pierce (Oakwood, IL), 2. Brandon Sheppard (New Berlin, IL), 3. Ryan Unzicker (El Paso, IL), 4. Timothy Culp (Sheridan, AR), 5. Michael Kloos (Trenton, IL), 6. Mike Marlar (Winfield, TN), 7. Shannon Babb (Moweaqua, IL), 8. Kent Robinson (Bloomington, IN), 9. Rodney Melvin (Benton, IL), 10. Jason Feger (Bloomington, IL), 11. Chad Zobrist (Highland, IL), 12. Bob Gardner (East Peoria, IL), 13. Brent Larson (Lake Elmo, MN), 14. Gordy Gundaker (St Charles, MO), 15. Jeremy Sneed (Bluford, IL), 16. Chris Cowling (Tauranga, NZ), 17. Tanner English (Benton, KY), 18. Caleb Ashby (Cunningham, TN), 19. Dustin Nobbe (Batesville, IN), 20. Tom Collini (Erlanger, OH), 21. Jarryd Holshouser (Boaz, KY), 22. Richard Frost (Clarksville, TN), 23. Brent McKinnon (Carlyle, IL). Hard Charger: Brent Larson.
2016 DIRTcar Summer Nationals Schedule
| Date | Day | Track | Winners |
| Northern Kickoff | |||
| June 15 | Wednesday | Brownstown Speedway | Rain/Cancelled |
| June 16 | Thursday | Kankakee Co. Speedway | Bobby Pierce |
| June 17 | Friday | Cedar Lake Speedway | Billy Moyer |
| June 18 | Saturday | Cedar Lake Speedway | Billy Moyer (2) |
| June 19 | Sunday | Wilmot Speedway | Bobby Pierce (2) |
| Heartland Tour | |||
| June 20 | Monday | OFF | |
| June 21 | Tuesday | Jacksonville Speedway | Bobby Pierce (3) |
| June 22 | Wednesday | Farley Speedway | Rain/Cancelled |
| June 23 | Thursday | Spoon River Speedway | Dennis Erb Jr. |
| June 24 | Friday | Tri-City Speedway | Bobby Pierce (4) |
| June 25 | Saturday | Fairbury Speedway | Brandon Sheppard |
| June 26 | Sunday | Tri-State Speedway | Bobby Pierce (5) |
| Southern Tour | |||
| June 27 | Monday | OFF | |
| June 28 | Tuesday | Clarksville Speedway | |
| June 29 | Wednesday | Belle Clair Speedway | |
| June 30 | Thursday | Springfield Raceway | |
| July 1 | Friday | Fayette Co. Speedway | |
| July 2 | Saturday | Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 | |
| July 3 | Sunday | Lincoln Speedway | |
| Independence Week | |||
| July 4 | Monday | LaSalle Speedway | |
| July 5 | Tuesday | Daugherty Speedway | |
| July 6 | Wednesday | Peoria Speedway | |
| July 7 | Thursday | Macon Speedway | |
| July 8 | Friday | Farmer City Speedway | |
| July 9 | Saturday | Highland Speedway | |
| July 10 | Sunday | Quincy Raceways | |
| Champions Week | |||
| July 11 | Monday | OFF | |
| July 12 | Tuesday | Plymouth Speedway | |
| July 13 | Wednesday | Shadyhill Speedway | |
| July 14 | Thursday | Merritt Speedway | |
| July 15 | Friday | Oakshade Raceway | |
| July 16 | Saturday | Oakshade Raceway |
