Three New Winners During WWS Round Three

 The Wild West Shootout continued after a two night break with round three of the week long series being held on Wednesday night, January 14th at the Central Arizona Raceway. As the series reaches its halfway point, three new winners emerged with Ethan Dotson, Reece Solander and Jake Smith all finding victory lane for the first time. Two of the three led from start to finish although both were under heavy pressure by the end of their races while the Late Model event won by Dotson saw three different leaders during its thirty lap run. 

Despite the break, the car counts held up well for round three with one hundred and forty six drivers signing in for the three division program with a Baker's Dozen of new entrants on Wednesday night. One heat was trimmed from both the X Mod and Modified program to try and move things along just a bit quicker and the whole program was tightened up a bit which produced an earlier conclusion to the evening. Track officials still insist however in scheduled monster sized Modified B Features which again just produced some expensive multi car crashes and didn't speed the program whatsoever. 

The track was just a bit drier on Wednesday, slowing down the qualifying just a bit as Hudson O'Neal was quickest overall at 15.130 seconds with Jake O'Neil quickest in the second group. Heat race action clicked off quickly and quite frankly, the qualifying events were just a bit on the bland side but were more than made up for by three very entertaining main events. 

The Late Model feature would go off first and with the distance trimmed for the week night shows to thirty laps, the drivers had to make their move quickly. Bobby Pierce redrew the pole and would take the initial lead after he and Tyler Erb raced hard on the opening circuit. Only one lap was made before the first yellow flew for a slowing car. 

Pierce continued to lead as the race went back under green, but O'Neal made his move past Erb for second and seemed to be gaining ground on Pierce as a long period of green flag racing broke out. At the halfway point, Jonathan Davenport was up to fourth with Ethan Dotson running next in line. 

O'Neal was really pressuring Pierce for the lead and slide under him in turn one to take over the top spot. However, they inadvertently made contact as they were battling for the lead and O'Neal no more than passed for the point when he suddenly slowed with a flat tire, apparently from contact between the two. 

This gave Pierce the lead back under yellow with Ryan Gustin now moving into the top five. The green dropped and Dotson, who started on the top side of the track, used a great run down the front chute to blow past Erb and then in turn one, to also get past Pierce and take over the lead. 

With much of the passing these days coming right after yellow flag restarts, the challenge for Dotson was to then hold off Pierce but not only did he do so, he completely pulled away from Pierce, eventually building up nearly a full straightaway lead as the rest of the race ran under the green. 

At the finish, he was the uncontested winner, something that not many in the crowd could have predicted when the green flag first flew. Pierce had his hands full holding on to second but he managed t to stave off a challenge from Gustin, who had found the low groove to work for him as he advanced to the podium finish late in the race, passing both Erb and Davenport. 

Only five cars failed to finish the race with the green waving three times. O'Neal, after replacing his tire under yellow, managed to race up into the top ten before the checkers flew. 

The Modified feature was the first nonstop main event of the WWS in 2026 and while he led from start to finish, things got tight for Reece Solander before the final checkers waved. He beat Gary Christian to take the early lead with Dustin Sorensen moving up from the second row to slip into second quickly. 

In the early going Solander maintained a comfortable lead but as the race wore on, Sorensen gradually closed up the distance on him. By the halfway point of the race, Sorensen had closed to within a few car lengths of the leader with Christian, Joe Duvall and Rodney Sanders following. 

With the race staying under the  green and most of the field still racing, Solander hit some very heavy traffic during the final half of the race with Sorensen poking a nose to his inside several times but just not quite having enough room to make a pass. Lapped traffic was tough with the top two drivers weaving up and down the track as they looked for openings. 

Late in the race, Solander hit a pack of four slower drivers that he had to navigate through and this gave Sorensen one last opening. On the final corner he drove to the inside of Solander but just couldn't fine enough space to drive under him and to his credit, he didn't try a dirty slider that might have wrecked them both. Solander hung on for the win with Sorensen breathing down his tail pipe. Christian hung on for third with Sanders passing Duvall to complete the top five. Only two drivers failed to complete the distance. 

Jake Smith and Blake Adams, who had been dominating the X Mod class over the first weekend, went at it again during round three and this time it was Smith that came out the winner. Jake started on the pole for the twenty lapper with Jacob Hodges and Adams battling for second for the first half of the race. As Smith maintained a comfortable lead, Hodges had Adams all over him as he made repeated attempts to take over second. 

By the halfway point, Lucas Rodin had moved into the fourth spot and was close to those two in front of him with Scott Bintz completing the top five. 

There had not been a roll over so far this week but that quickly changed with a wild tangle in turn one on lap thirteen when a number of drivers got together and both Ken Schrader and James Trantina III ended up on their sides. At least five drivers were eliminated from the race at this point. 

Back under green, Adams, who edged past Hodges before the yellow flew, moved in to challenge Smith for the lead. Then Hodges broke, which triggered the last  yellow of the race and led to a three lap shootout. 

Twice Adams threw sliders at Smith, trying to take over the lead but both times Smith fought him off. One last attempt on the final lap saw Adams take the lead into turn one, only to have Smith cross him over down the back chute, retake the lead and then drive on for the win. Adams made one last attempt off the final  corner but came up short for second, with Rodin finishing a strong third. Rob Mosley advanced from the fourth row to nip Bintz for fourth. 

Despite it being a Wednesday night, a large crowd was on hand for the midweek run. Drivers will get one last short break before the WWS concludes with a back to back to back finish on Friday through Sunday. 

Not to rub it in, but Phoenix set a record high temperature of eighty degrees on Wednesday and the rest of the week promises more of the same!

O'Neal Dominates, Adams Repeats and Dillard Gets DQ as WWS Continues

 The second round of the Wild West Shootout at the Central Arizona Raceway was held on Sunday, January 11th on a sunny but extremely windy day. Second day winners including Hudson O'Neal in the Late Models, Blake Adams in the X Mods and after a disqualification in the Modified class, Tyler Wolff was declared the race winner.

The car count was very similar to the Saturday grid with one hundred and sixty one drivers signing in to race in the three divisions that are a part of the WWS. Five drivers participated in the Sunday event for the first time with a couple drivers dropping out due to mechanical issues and other commitments. Probably the biggest "no show" was Saturday night Late Model winner Ricky Thornton Jr who had moved on to Tulsa for practice for the Chili Bowl which starts on Monday night. In his absence, the Adam Racing Team loaded up his car but it would have been interesting to see if they would have put another driver behind the wheel, just to see how the car would have performed. 

With the relatively late finish to Saturday night's show, Race Director Kelly Carlton laid out a few new rules at the driver's meeting. They do have a curfew at CAR and they pushed the envelope on Saturday night so to try and move things along on Sunday, all races would be under a time limit. However, the only race they did shorten to my knowledge was an X Mod B Feature that crashed its way down to just four cars and therefore they only needed to run two laps to rule it complete. 

Carlton implored the drivers to try and get off the track if they had troubles and cause a yellow flag and for the most part, the drivers did cooperate. For the second straight night, however, there were some issues with starts with lots of drivers jumping and races being called back. I think a chalk line would help greatly with this issues instead of a "firing zone" that they are using. 

It proved to be an expensive opening night on Saturday as among those already going to second cars were Bobby Pierce, Jake Timm, Tim Isenberg and Justin Duty, either due to mechanical issues or performance issues. Upper Midwest fans were disappointed to learn that Tyler Peterson, the exciting driver from North Dakota who ran for the first time with an open motor on Saturday, would be done for the rest of the WWS when iron filings were found in his oil and they decided to park the car. If someone was looking for a driver, he certainly would be the first one to look up for the rest of this series. 

With a strong wind blowing directly into the grandstands for the second straight night, the track prep crew really put down the water on Sunday. Unfortunately though, because of that they weren't able to have the track in race shape when cars were scheduled to hit the track and they actually got started later than they did on Saturday, with the long shows being the only part of the move from Vado that has been a problem so far. 

The format was the same as that used on Saturday with an extra B Feature for the Modifieds to bring those races down to a more manageable size. The track was fast for qualifying and Mike Marlar was the quickest so far this week at 14.845 seconds with Ryan Gustin, tonight with no deck issues, quickest in the second group. This track has proven to be very fast and somewhat misleading to look at. 

The most impressive moves in qualifying were a tenth to first run in and X Mod heat by Jacob Hodges and Jake Smith's tenth to first run in an X Mod B Feature. For the second straight night, Late Model dash winner, in this case Sam Mars, opted to race the feature rather than take the grand for the win and call it a night. Bill Schlieper is making out well so far on his sponsorship of this event as it has cost him nothing so far!

After some more "farming" of the track, it was the Late Models who were up first again for their feature race with twenty five drivers going forty laps on Sunday. With his chief competition in Oklahoma on Sunday, Hudson O'Neal dominated the Late Model event. Bobby Pierce did take the early lead and was up front for the first ten laps but following a debris induced yellow, O'Neal blew past Pierce to take the lead and would then hold the top spot the rest of the way. 

There was some good fighting for position behind him with Jonathan Davenport moving into second by the halfway point of the race as he passed Pierce with Mike Marlar and Drake Troutman next in line. Marlar started to pick up the pace, moving up to second and becoming the chief challenger to O'Neal. 

Twice following yellow flags, Marlar got close and did put pressure on the leader but each time he just couldn't quite make the pass and once a few laps were completed, O'Neal pulled away and Marlar's  opportunity was ended. 

One late yellow with six laps to go bunched the field, but O'Neal stepped away again from the pack and drove on for the win over Marlar. Pierce had slipped back but with a last lap drive, edged out Garrett Alberson for third with Davenport completing the top five. 

Blake Adams became the first repeat winner during WWS 2026 but he had to earn the win after he came from the third row and tracked down legendary Ken Schrader for the win. After his impressive heat race run, Jacob Hodges started on the pole but in the first corner of the feature his car shot straight up the track in front of the entire field with Hodges hammering the wall and nearly turning over. Somehow though, he kept the car going and was able to limp to the infield as the race remained under the green. 

With the scramble behind him, this was great news for Schrader who immediately built up a considerable lead. Scott Bintz moved into second with Adams challenging him for the spot. Several times Adams got to the inside of Bintz, finally moving into second by the halfway point of the race with Scott Tofte and Tyler Johnson next in line. 

While Schrader had nearly a half straightaway lead over Adams, Blake put the hammer down and began to reel in the NASCAR star. He attempted a couple of inside moves before going to the top side of the track and was nearly by Schrader when the lone yellow of the race saved him. 

However, the pressure was still on and with the drop of the green, Adams again went to the top side of the track and blew past Schrader to take over the lead, after which the sixteen year old then began to pull away. Adams received no challenges after that as he drove to an impressive win. Schrader was also alone in the second spot. 

For the second straight night, Jake Smith made a huge charge in the feature race. After starting nineteenth on the grid and with just a single yellow to help him, he drove up through the field, nipping Josh Cain on the last corner of the race for third with Johnson completing the top five. 

The Modified feature winner was not determined until a post race inspection. For all appearances, it was Cade Dillard that won the race. For the second straight night, he dominated the event, leading from start to finish. Despite an exceptionally strong field of open wheel cars, Dillard was dominant as he started on the pole after garnering heat race passing points and then pulled away from the field. 

Dustin Strand had a good run early, holding the second spot but he would eventually break down, with Tyler Wolff moving into the runner up slot. Four yellows in the first five laps slowed the action but then the last twenty went green to checkers. While Dillard was by himself, Wolff and Dustin Sorensen had a great side by side race for second, trading the spot back and forth. Blake Adams, who started twelfth, was also working his way to the front and was up to fourth by the halfway point with Jason Noll just behind him. 

The final half of the race saw Dillard pull away while the battle for second raged on. At the line, Wolff edged out Sorensen for second, or so it seemed. 

However, in post race technical inspection, both winner Dillard and third place finisher Sorensen had muffler issues and both were disqualified. The official finish then found Wolff the winner with Adams having quite the night as he was then ruled second. Following him were Noll, Rodney Sanders and Gabe Hodges. 

Post race inspections that result in disqualifications are always difficult, particularly when they are for non performance issues. However, I know that track promoter Brad Whitfield has had his share of issues with some of the neighbors since he took over the track and noise issues were among the biggest concerns. To allow him to continue operating what is now the most successful dirt track in Arizona, some concessions had to be made and mufflers were prominent in that resolution. And the rules regarding mufflers had long been posted before this event in the rules, so it should not have been a last minute surprise to the race teams. 

Perhaps a first for myself and probably the entire crowd, during the "farming" break before the main events, a barrel racing event was held in the infield of the track. Ten female competitors went at it to see who was quickest around the three barrels and then back to the finish line and the crowd seemed to find the unique activity interesting and entertaining. 

Racing was completed just about 10 pm and now the teams will take off a couple days to relax and enjoy some sun before a practice session on Tuesday night with round three of the WWS resuming on Wednesday. 

Thornton Jr Tops Wild West Shootout Opener at CAR

 Ricky Thornton Jr pleased the local crowd no end as he outdueled Hudson O'Neal in a back and forth battle to win the opening night of the Wild West Shootout held for the first time at the Central Arizona Raceway located near Casa Grande. 

Thornton Jr, originally from just up the road in Chandler, did much of his early racing at this same track and while it looks considerably different from when he raced here when he was starting his career, the folks on hand remembered him as he was a large crowd favorite here in the desert. 

Other winners included Cade Dillard in the Modifieds and Blake Adams in the X Mods. Drivers were on hand from a wide region for this Winter event with Dillard from Louisiana and Adams from Wisconsin. 

Most know of the significance of this year's race as the WWS moved back in 2026 to Arizona where it all started many years ago after having been held the last few years at the Vado Speedway Park in New Mexico. When Arizona again produced a first class racing facility for this show to be held, promoter Chris Kearns was more than happy to move the event to the region where it started over twenty years ago and had since moved around to several tracks in Arizona, with everyone of them now closed. 

Brad Whitfield's emergence as the promoter for what had been a closed Pima County Fairgrounds track and the significant improvements made by him and the Fair Board made it a no brainer to return this race to CAR, particularly after the weather was so dreadful last year at Vado that support for the event would likely have been very tepid if they were still there trying to fight off the snow. 

Even in the few years that I have been attending races at CAR the amount of improvements to both the track itself and the infrastructure have been eye opening. The latest round of improvements most eye opening were the new flag stand and its placement and the new gate in the middle of the back straightaway to the pits, thus eliminating the crossover back right under the pit stand that slowed things down as well as provided quite a safety hazard with so many people crossing right there along with all the cars. What is especially nice about the gate is that it is opened and closed when needed, thus not providing the hazard of an blunt opening that somehow, some racer always finds. 

One hundred and sixty four drivers signed in for the three class program on opening night of the WWS. As usual, there were a wide range of states represented for this event with many drivers from the Midwest joining the drivers from the Southwest region, primarily Arizona and New Mexico with a few California drivers sprinkled in also. 

Forty six Late Model drivers signed in for opening night, not at all different from the numbers we saw at Vado. The difference being that this year there were probably more nationally known traveling stars on hand with perhaps not so many regional drivers in the mix. 

The Modified field made a big jump with sixty eight drivers signing in. Both the number, which was one of the largest in recent years, and the quality was impressive. As in all the classes, just making the main event would be considered a success. 

The X Mod field would end up being just about the same, number wise, as last year. However, the make up was changed some this year. A rule change to try and even up the competition saw the Vado X Mods having to add one hundred pounds and remove their big spoilers changed things up a bit. Those changes perhaps, along with the distance from New Mexico saw the drivers from there down somewhat but this was balanced by an increase of WISSOTA drivers along with more local IMCA Sport Mod drivers in the field. Likely some of them will stay for racing the next two weeks for the IMCA Winter Nationals also. 

The pit area was busy, perhaps more than would be expected for opening night as both Reece Solander and Matt Micheli were changing motors in their Modifieds after problems on practice night on Friday. 

The format for the WWS would be the familiar one that they have used for years. The Late Models would qualify and then start their heats straight up with the top finishers moving on and the rest of the field added through a pair of B Features. Saturday would also be one of the days with the Pro Power dash and winner Kylan Garner would eschew the grand as the winner for the chance to race the feature. As he said, " I didn't come all the way from Missouri to watch the feature from the pits", or words to that effect. 

Both the Mods and X Mods would pull a pill for their heats and then passing points would be used for both classes. With the large fields, this produced for each class a pair of gigantic, Jeff Broeg approved B Features. 

Quick qualifier was a bit of a surprise as Eston Whisler turned a lap at 15.327 seconds as the third car out for qualifying with the track quickly slowing down after that. Thornton Jr was quickest in the second group but only after Ryan Gustin got penalized for a deck height violation that set him back a row for this heat race. 

Twenty one qualifying events would set the grids for the three main events with there being a major track prep session after all qualifying was over. The top two finishers in the Late Model heats redrew for their starting positions and then twenty five drivers rolled off the line for the fifty lap main event. 

Thornton Jr started on the pole and took the early lead with O'Neal moving into second and those two would pull away from the pack. The first fifteen laps went green until Ethan Dotson slowed with a flat tire, drawing the first slow down of the race. 

This would be an indicator that there would be tire issues for a number of drivers with Jake O'Neil, Tyler Erb and Garrett Alberson, all running in strong positions, also tripped up by flat tires. 

Following the first yellow, O'Neal made  a strong run up against the wall and blew past Thornton Jr to take over the lead. For over the next twenty laps, O'Neal would remain as the leader with Thornton Jr following, sometimes close and sometimes fading back a bit. It was tough to tell if he was just biding his time or was struggling to keep up. 

At the halfway point of the race, Erb was up to third ahead of Alberson and Drake Troutman but all three would later be out of the top five. 

The fourth yellow flew for Alberson on lap forty and following that, Thornton Jr turned up the wick, passing O'Neal and then pulling away from him as he continued to show the way through two more minor yellows, a pair of six in total, that slowed the race. 

At the finish, Thornton Jr was comfortably in front with O'Neal finishing second. The yellows, combined with bad luck from some of the front runners plus just good charges on their part saw Cade Dillard come from sixteenth to third, Gustin from eighteenth to fourth with Mike Marlar completing the top five. 

Only twelve drivers completed the fifty laps with many pulling off to save their equipment for the week ahead and now uselessly burn up tires. There was much bonus money on the line for lap leaders thus allowing Thornton Jr to go home with thirty eight thousand dollars for the win and O'Neal cashing twenty two grand for second. 

Rob Mosley, who dominated last year's WWS in the X Mod class, took the early lead in the twenty five lapper from the pole with Blake Adams quickly moving into second. Three quick yellows in the first four laps kept the field bunched but Adams, when racing resumed, began to pressure Mosley for the lead. 

On lap eight he would power past Mosley and then lead the rest of the way for a dominant win. Nearly twenty green flag laps of racing would follow Adams' pass and he gradually pulled away from the field. Canadian driver Curtis Stieh showed big speed early, coming from the sixth row to move into third by the halfway point ahead of another charger in Jake Smith followed by Josh Cain. 

As Adams sailed along, the long green flag stretch allowed Smith to continue to charge and he began to challenge the front runners, clicking off one after another. A late yellow bunched the field for a two lap sprint to the end, and while Adams remained in control, Smith continued his rush that saw him pass Mosley for second at the end. Cain worked his way up to fourth with Stieh completing the top five. 

For Adams, the sixteen year old that won over forty feature races last year plus a WISSOTA national title, it was a strong start to the season that would also see him finish strong in the Modified feature, teasing for a top five finish. Smith came all the way from eighteenth to second and with three of the top five finishers being WISSOTA cars, the Vado boys are probably already lobbying for a rules adjustment. 

Cade Dillard has been dominant at many Modified races in the past year or so and such was again the case here as night one wrapped up. He started on the pole after coming from the back to win his heat race and he led all twenty five laps to top the Modified feature. In this race, only two yellow flags slowed the progress and only three drivers failed to finish but Dillard was dominant. 

He led all laps with Solander starting and finishing second. Reece was strong enough to hold off all challengers for that spot but had nothing for Dillard, who ended up having a pretty successful opening night between his two feature races. 

On the change in this race was Tanner Mullens who was driving a car provided by Mark Dotson for this night's show. He started sixteenth in the feature race and gradually worked his way to the front. A late yellow with just five laps to go saw quite a scramble as both Gabe Hodges and Adams lost top five finishes to Dustin Sorensen and Gary Christian. 

Expectations of a large boost in fan attendance with the move to CAR this year were justified and a large crowd was on hand for the WWS opener with long lines of ticket purchasers surging the gates at 3 pm. However, out of towners were disappointed in the weather conditions as while the sun was shining, the temperatures were not that spectacular and with a wind warning for the areas and the unfortunate direction that it was blowing, it was as cold as an race I have been to in Arizona with all the Midwestern warm wear used and my feet still got cold! I did not check the weather at Vado but I don't think it could have been much different that what we endured on Saturday. 

Opening night stumbles led to a much longer race program than the usually tidy one provided by the WWS staff. The track was not ready at the advertised time and the track prep, probably needed due to the high winds, did take some time. The first race didn't hit the track until nearly 5 pm and it was almost 11 pm before the final checkers flew with much of the crowd having left the scene for the warmth of their vehicles by then. I am sure that quick measures will be taken by Chris Kearns to get things moving much better as the week progresses. 

Overall, the opening night was a big hit and did not disappoint. 

Wrapping Up The 2025 Racing Season

 The 2025 racing season is now complete for me so it is time to do a quick wrap on the season as we now get ready to turn the calendar to 2026 and see what new fun, disappointment, joy and sadness await us in the new year. 

In 2025 I attended one hundred and ninety one race events. That marked the third highest number of yearly races that I have attended but continued the slow but steady drop from 2023 when I reached my highest number of two hundred and nine. 

In 2025 my total was affected considerably by rainouts, a few poor decisions and by a slightly less amount of enthusiasm to drive many hours to a race that just might not be worth the effort. 

With all the rain of April, May and June, I was actually surprised to see that my total was as close to 2024 was it was, only dipping by a pair of shows. The early part of this year was very difficult  with all the rainouts, both for weekly shows and special events. It didn't help matters that about a half dozen times I opted to go in one direction, thinking that I had out foxed the weather, only to have that decision bite me later in the back side when I got rained out and the other planned event raced on. 

There were also about a  half dozen shows when I just frankly decided not to attend, using the "cost-benefit" analysis to determine that what I was going to see just couldn't be justified by the time and expense it was going to cost me. 

July and August were much better months with very few weather issues as I saw twenty eight and twenty seven races respectively during those two months. I did see racing in all twelve months, starting in New Mexico in in January and wrapping up the season indoors in Missouri in December. 

Of the one hundred and ninety one races, ninety one were under the WISSOTA sanction as that is the predominant body in my area and the group that just about all the tracks belong to. The other one hundred plus shows were under a variety of different sanctioning bodies. 

2025 marked the forty fifth year in a row that I have attended at least one hundred nights of racing and forty eight out of the last fifty years that I have been doing this insanity. 

I attended races at sixty two tracks in twelve different states and one Canadian Province and for the first time in a couple years, actually got to a track for the first time ever, with three new ones recorded this year. One was in Wisconsin, one in Arizona and one in Texas. 

Interestingly, I actually attended races at more tracks in Minnesota than I did in my home state and also nearly as many so as in Iowa. Marshalltown and Spencer were the run away leaders in the Hawkeye State but I also got to nine other tracks in that state. 

I am now at three hundred and thirty seven attended in twenty nine states and three Canadian Provinces. 

Unfortunately, for the first time in a long time, I was witness to a fatality at a track when a track official got hit by a speeding car on the track. I also saw two photographers get hit in the infield by out of control race cars and both are lucky to still be with us. It had been many years since I had last seen this in person and it still leaves a sickening feeling in my gut when I think about those three instances. We all know there is a degree of danger involved in this sport but when something bad happens, it provides a real slap across the face of reality striking, especially when you know all three individuals involved. 

I also made the initial entry in a new category for me. I have been rained out, sleeted out, hailed out, stormed out, froze out, winded out, tornadoed out, fogged out, overheated out, no powered out, waterlines broke out and just about every other kind of "out" that you can imagine, but for the first time in 2025 I was "fired" out!

I was in Thunder Bay Ontario and Thunder City Speedway when it happened. Some wild fires were triggered by a passing train and with the tinder dry conditions the fires  built, threatened houses, businesses and unfortunately, the Thunder City Speedway which was in their path. 

When the decision was made by Provincial officials that they would fight the fire using large planes dropping water on the flames, we had to evacuate the area and the races were cancelled, despite it being a beautiful June night. They came back the next night to race on their "rain date" but I didn't stick around. 

The 2026 racing season is scheduled to begin for me in just a few short weeks in Arizona with a hoped for trip following that to Florida for some Speed Week action. While my enthusiasm for the start of a new season is not what it might have been in the past, I will still be excited to see the cars hit the track for the first time and see what is new for 2026. I will take you along as best I can to see as much of that journey as I can. 

Pierce and Thornton Jr Dominate In Dome Finale

 There was no doubt in either class that competed in the Gateway Dirt Nationals finale on Saturday night, December 6th as to who had the best car. Both Bobby Pierce in the Late Models and Ricky Thornton Jr in the Modified left absolutely no doubt that they were the best team in each division and the results showed just that. 

Both Pierce and Thornton Jr led from start to finish in their respective feature races, eliminating any drama while also showing that they were the best by far, no matter how strong and talented the competition. 

The three night extravaganza was capped off on Saturday night with Last Chance racing that filled the feature fields with many of the sports best runners left sitting on the sidelines come feature time. Probably some of the best racing of the weekend saw the majority of the field fight it out to become one of the few drivers still standing when feature race time came. 

A huge crowd, announced as the largest ever to attend a night of this ninth annual event, packed the arena and hallways and produced a fantastically profitable weekend for the race promoters and all those vendors selling everything from shirts and hoodies to headache curing potions. 

Right at 3 pm the first of a series of Last Chance races  rolled off with both the Late Models and Modified working to cut their entry lists down to about twenty cars per class that would race the feature race event. The track had the most moisture in it of any of the three nights which made for some very fast racing. Just showing how finicky this track is though was the fact that as soon as more moisture was worked into the track, it started to get bouncy and we also saw more bouncing around by the cars on Saturday than for any of the preceding nights. 

When the fifteen qualifying events were completed about four hours later, twenty drivers had made their way into the main events. There was one provisional entry in both classes with the top drivers drawing for their starting positions in the main event and no tire changing competition. 

When all was set, the only drivers that qualified for both feature races were Thornton Jr and Mike Harrison and both would earn first and second row starting spots in the two features, thus showing that not only were they good enough to get in both features, they were especially good to start right up front. 

Opening ceremonies are always special and spectacular for this race and the indoor fireworks are always stunning. Driver introductions were above average this year with several especially clever ones including Kyle Bronson's body slam on a table of Ashton Winger and Brian Shirley's Evel Knievel motor cycle antics after which "Superman" Davenport retook his cape. Still, my highlight of the weekend was Tanner English's fast laps with a Christmas tree strapped on the roof. 

I was thinking that we might get through the weekend without a single flip but that thought was dashed in the second Modified qualifier when Dave Hess took a wild ride down the back chute. Fortunately he was OK.

The 50/50 drawing, benefitting the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame, was record breaking also. The split was $135,000 and change and the lucky winner was from Iowa. 

Twenty one drivers would start the Late Model forty lap feature race with the provisional being Dylan Thornton as promoter Cody Sommer put his own car in as is his prerogative.

The race got off to a shaky start when outside pole starter Brenden Smith got sideways on the first lap and stacked up a bunch of drivers. Mark Whitener got eliminated in that one. Then Davenport got a piece of Shirley, sending him spinning into the infield where he saw for a couple laps before he was finally spotted and the yellow came out. Davenport, with a flat, and Shirley were both done. 

Meanwhile, Bobby Pierce had gotten the jump on the field and immediately put distance on the pack with no one seemingly able to stay with him. The battle for second was good as Thornton Jr and Jason Feger battled hard for that spot. Feger would get past and would hold that spot for the first half of the race. 

However, shortly after that, Thornton Jr made a move and took over second but they still remained far behind Pierce and no matter that the yellow flew several times, each time the green again waved, Pierce would pull away. 

The last yellow, with thirty two laps complete, packed up the field once again but Pierce again pulled away and Thornton Jr never could get close enough to attend some kind of move. Late in the contest, Feger nosed into the wall enough that Brandon Sheppard was able to get past and claim the third spot with Feger and Nick Hoffman rounding out the top five. Only ten drivers were still on the track at the finish as attrition was high. 

The win was Pierce's thirty second of 2025 and he became the first three time winner of this race. On a fun, no pressure weekend he still managed to drive home with a cool $80,000 in winnings and probably twice that in t-shirt sales.

Thornton Jr managed to shake off the disappointment of the Late Model race nicely by leading from start to finish to win the Modified feature and the twenty grand that went to that winner. Just like Pierce, despite a few yellows that packed the field, every time the green flew Ricky just drove away from the field. 

Harrison tried his hardest but just like Ricky in the previous race, he was no match for the winner. Carlos Ahumada Jr had a nice run to take third and the driver on the move at the end was Tyler Peterson as the former winner of this event passed Ryan Ayers on the last lap to grab fourth after starting tenth. 

It was quite the event and the enormity of this entire weekend is quite astounding. I won't ever say that the Dome is my favorite event of the year and some of the goings on are not what I think our sport should be all about but there can be no doubt that it is a race that can not be duplicated anywhere for its unique aspects. For many folks it is their most memorable race of the year and as long as they keep coming back each year, I see no reason why this race doesn't just get bigger and bigger for the foreseeable future. How all the moving parts of this event come together in such a smooth manner is a tribute to Sommer and both his crew and the folks that work at the Dome.  

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The Circus Arrives at the Dome, Thornton Jr. and Harrison Ride the Biggest Elephants

 While some will try to tell you that the Gateway Dirt Nationals is just a race, albeit inside in a dome, the truth is that this event is more spectacle than anything and the racing itself is more of a sideshow attraction than the main focus. 

This race is much more entertainment and illusion than it is real racing and that was highlighted once again on Friday night, December 5th when round two of the ninth annual event here at the Dome at America's Center was held. 

The second group of both Late Models and Modifieds were racing for position in Saturday night's main event that pays seventy grand to the winner but the events of the evening, primarily in the Late Model class, would have one checking to see if by accident they  purchased a ticket for the WWE Smackdown rather than the dirt track races. 

Of course, even though they won't say so, this is exactly the atmosphere that Cody Sommer and the rest of the promotional group for this event want to happen and indeed they pray for it. The end result is just what they want, spectators foaming at the mouth in their indignation, more alcohol purchased while they "discuss" the situation with other fans in the stands and the drivers swearing revenge on each other while the announcing team prods on the participants with a mic jammed into their faces almost before they can get unbuckled from their race cars. It is much more farce than reality and those few drivers on hand just to race learn to understand that this is just part of the show and if they want to be remembered they should consider driving over a few other drivers or at least doing something spectacular to sell an extra shirt or two. 

Getting back to reality for a moment, some things were much better on Friday than they had been on Thursday. The track had some moisture in it, raced much better and didn't produce near as much dust as had been the case on Thursday night.  The air quality was much better too as the whole team putting on the show seemed to have rediscovered their focus from last year with the delays being shorter and less frequent. 

Sixty one Late Models and thirty two Modifieds comprised the second half of the entries and they would be performing exactly the same show as was presented on Thursday night with the top three in each class at the end of the night locking themselves into Saturday night's main event. 

Tanner English was the highlight of the early evening's entertainment. We've seen just about everything in the form of race car graphics design, colors etc. but when English pulled on to the track with his Late Model and had a Christmas tree strapped to the roof of the car in his tribute to Clark Griswald, it about brought down the house. It was so darn clever even I had to laugh. I guess in the name of safety he was not allowed to run in competition with the tree still on board, but he still recorded quick time in his group  minus the evergreen.  Josh Rice also dazzled as he recorded the quickest time overall even though he was one of the last out in his group at 11.523 seconds, showing that a little more moisture in the track would be a good thing. Ryan Ayers was quickest of the Modifieds at 12.631 seconds. 

The time trial sessions were quite damaging for a number of teams as drivers, recognizing just how important qualifying was, were pushing very hard. Both Garrett Alberson and Mike Marlar badly damaged their cars in time trials with two of the most unique cars being wrecked early. Alberson's team managed to put their car back together, only to see it torn apart once again later. 

Marlar hit the fence so hard that he knocked the fuel cell right out of the car but they also managed to get that car going again, even as Mike had to borrow his brother's car to run a heat race before switching back over to his car to run a B Feature as there are no rules about such things at this event. 

The weekend was done in qualifying for both Hunt the Front's Joseph Joiner and Myles Moos with a motor blowing for Joiner and a driveshaft spitting out for Moos. 

A few drivers managed to put themselves on the "watch list" after their slam bam antics in the heat races but it was the main events, particularly the Late Models, that had the drivers, crews and fans frothing from the mouth. But just before that, we saw what the priorities were when the Modified B Feature was cut to three laps so more time could be used for something much more important, the tire changing contest to determine the front row starting positions for the Late Model feature!

There was much action and drama in the Late Model feature when the slide jobs broke out in full force and some of them proved to be ruthless, setting off the other drivers and the crowd like dropping a match in a can of gasoline. 

Mark Whitener got the jump on Hudson O'Neal to take the early lead but O'Neal was soon throwing nasty sliders at the Florida driver as he tried to take the lead. After one particularly aggressive exchange. O'Neal slowed on the back chute with a flat tire triggering a yellow flag. 

O'Neal was upset but in my view he dished out as much at he took but again, everyone's perception is different. Later during a break he took to the mic to express his displeasure but it appeared to be more theatrics than anything. 

However, I'm not so sure about Kyle Bronson. He and Brenden Smith were really working each other over for second and after Bronson moved over Smith, Brenden responded by "parking" Bronson on a fence post in turn one where Bronson came to an abrupt halt and was then clipped by another driver. Bronson stomped the whole length of the straightaway while under red to fix the fence to poke his head in Smith's car and exchange holiday greetings. Meanwhile, track officials walked with him but made no attempt to stop him as this was all part of the "script." As Sommer would want, if you're going to fight, do it on the front chute where the crowd can see it, not in the pits. 

Meanwhile, a couple fights broke out in the stands near us, but no punches were thrown because most importantly, the combatants didn't want to set down their beer cans, which was their top priority. Let's be honest here, this is no event to bring your kid to. 

Drake Troutman, also in the top five, dropped out at this point too as he had a flat tire as he may have been the one that clipped Bronson. 

While all this activity was going on, Ricky Thornton Jr, who had started in the fifth row, was ready to spring. He had been sitting back watching all the wild goings on in front of him but like a cobra, when he saw his opening, he sprung into action. Making a couple passes, he was up to second by lap sixteen and then following another slowdown, he slid past Whitener on the restart to grab the lead and then he was gone. 

He led the rest of the way while Whitener held on for second and Smith brought a third place finish home in his first ride with his new team for 2026. A dozen drivers finished the race but nearly all looked like they had been in a war, even though they still were running. 

Compared to the Late Models, the Modified feature was like a gathering of the Tuesday afternoon Canasta club. There was only one yellow flag in the race, only two drivers failed to finish and there were zero fights, either on the track or in the stands!

Tim Ward, driving the Eckrich ride as he has been for the later part of the outdoor season, led the first ten laps of the feature and was comfortably out front. Local favorite Mike Harrison moved into second and tried to track down the leader but Ward appeared to be unstoppable. 

That is, until his car started to smoke which got heavier and heavier until suddenly, on lap eleven, he dived into the infield. Afterward, it was said that the car got hot but to me it looked much worse like the motor blew but I guess we will have to see on that Saturday. 

Harrison was the beneficiary, taking over the lead and without a single yellow to bunch the field, driving away for the win. An excellent and clean battle for second saw Ayers hold off Carlos Ahmuda Jr and Alex Williamson, the driver who gets more of out what he has than any driver I know off. 

Racing wrapped up around 10 pm after which literally thousands of folks headed for the pits to rubber neck and buy stuff. The crowd was again gigantic and most everyone expects a record crowd to be on hand for Saturday's finale. God only knows what will happen to highlight that show.  

Pierce and Thorton Jr. top Thursday night opener at Gateway

 The ninth annual Kubota Gateway Dirt Nationals rolled off on Thursday night, December 4th at the Dome at America's Center in downtown St. Louis Missouri. For the first time ever I believe, there was snow on the ground all the way from northern Wisconsin right up and into St. Louis, an indicator of the early Winter that we have had so far. And not only was there snow, but the temperatures were bitterly cold, even for those of us that have to endure that kind of weather for months. You can imagine how the folks from the southern regions were taking things. Much whining took place about this. 

The years have flown by and this event(I can't really call it a race anymore because much of what goes on doesn't qualify as a race), continues to grow by leaps and bounds. It seemed that there was much hype before this years event, much of that created by the teams that would be racing in the Dome. You see, many have now figured out that their main source of income from this race, and what allows them to continue to attend on what is a very expensive week for them, depends on how many t-shirts and hoodies they sell while there are down here. 

So many of the teams, both Mods and Late Models, put different wraps on their cars to make them distinctive and eye catching, with the hopes that will help them sell more shirts. Tribute cars to events and drivers of the past, holiday festive wraps and unfortunately, there are even a few political type wraps as some dolts just can't keep their political views to themselves and allow us to have a quiet and peaceful weekend of racing, minus the political crap that is swallowing us all up these days. 

In any event, so far it seems to be working as when the concourse was opened up to the fans, they charged in mass toward the many vendors selling items with fire in their eyes and cash and plastic in their hands. It is really quite amazing the number of folks that have to buy, buy, buy at this race, perhaps for themselves or maybe Christmas presents for others. Either way, the goose that laid the golden egg is alive and well. One does wonder, however, that when the reality sets in at some point that it really isn't necessary to spend down the national debt at the t-shirt stand and sales start to dwindle, how many of these race teams will decide that their time is better spent at home rather than in St. Louis right before Christmas. 

Two classes were again in action on Thursday as the format that sees both Late Models and Modifieds teams split in half with two qualifying sessions the first two nights and then everyone racing on Saturday. The Modifieds continue to be an invitation only affair with must over thirty racing each night. This was mostly done because there simply wasn't the room and time to run everyone that would like to attend this event and this format provides a qualify field of drivers with numbers easier to work with. 

The Late Models saw a change in their entry procedure this year. Previously, it was "first come, first served" with the Late Models and when they reached their limit in terms of cars that could race, it was cut off. However, that left a number of good teams off the entry list and also saw a considerable number of teams that quite frankly, weren't of the level that should have been racing at this event for either experience or talent reasons. 

This year, everyone that wanted to race submitted their name of the cut off point, and then event officials did a "draft", selecting those teams they felt worthy of racing in the Dome. There are always going to be a few that race that you wonder how in the world they talked or paid their way into the race, but for the most part, those that raced were of top caliber, thus offering 2025 as perhaps the strongest top to bottom field of Late Model teams. 

Each year the track ends up being just a bit different than previous years, just by the engineering done to get the dirt into the dome and the track built. This year an aerial view reveled that the track is more like a "D", than an oval with the area off turn two the tight spot on the track. It was claimed that the track had more banking this year but that was hard to see from the  stands. It was also claimed that the fence was put in at a different angle to try and keep cars from getting up into the fence. 

What we did learn early was that the wall wasn't high enough and with most of the drivers clipping the outside wall as they negotiated the track, they kept getting their right side spoilers into the fence, tearing the spoilers either loose or off entirely and during the early going, yellows were very frequent to pick up spoiler pieces or signs foolishly attached to the walls. More cars than not tore spoilers off during qualifying. 

As for the track itself, it was smooth but it was also perhaps the driest that I have ever seen it with it getting black and super slippery very early into the proceedings. The air quality was very bad with numerous breaks needed to clear the air and I think the dust was also the worst ever with at several points being so heavy that it was hard to see the back chute from the front stretch grandstands. The announcers were lauding the track for being so racy, which frankly I didn't see but not much mention of the other issues and folks walked out of the races looking much the worst for wear. It would be nice to be able to watch the show but not have to wear the whole track home at the end of the night. 

The track gave out quickly when time trials started and with qualifying positions being so important, the draw for time trial order was probably the most important element of the entire night. The Late Model field was divided into two groups with Michael Leach, the fifth driver out, topping the first group and turning the fastest lap of the night at 11.794 seconds. Bobby Pierce, sixth out in the second group, topped that group with a 12.010 seconds as the track slowed down even more. 

Tyler Erb, always one that can be counted on for entertainment value at this race, disappointed his fans when after turning a quick lap, he blew the motor in his car on the second trip around the fifth mile oval and was done for the weekend. 

Six Late Model heat races and three B Features were held to set the, as it turned out, nineteen car field for the main event. Due to some kind of clerical error, Scott Bell wasn't in the lineup for a B Feature when he should have been to so appease him, he was allowed to start the feature as a provisional starter. Not all drivers were guaranteed two races so if you didn't finish near the front of a heat race, you were done for the night. Imagine towing all the way across the country only to get to run eight laps!

In another wrinkle, the six heat winners, instead of redrawing for their starting positions, participated in a tire changing contest to determine who would start where in the first three rows of the feature. With starting position being so important, it seemed like an odd way to to set the field but one must remember that this event is short on actual race and long on spectacle and race organizers apparently felt that this would provide even more entertainment value. The announcers were all over this and seemed to be having a jolly old time with it, but many in the crowd where just anxious to get the race going. Pierce's team, by the way, won the contest which gave him the pole. 

The only surprise in the feature was that Pierce didn't lead from start to finish. Mike Harrison actually got the jump on him and led the opening four laps until Bobby built up some speed and then slid Harrison in turn one for the lead. 

The race was then over, with Pierce leading the rest of the way and never being challenged. Only two yellows slowed the event, both for debris(spoiler parts) on the track with Harrison doing a good job and holding on to second. The best race was watching Brandon Sheppard move forward and late in the race he passed Brian Shirley for third, that being important as only the top three are guaranteed starting spots on Saturday. Only two drivers failed to finish and Pierce was just catching the tail of the field when the checkers waved. 

The Modifieds were much the same. Four heats and a B Feature set their order for their twenty lap main event. The difference was that the Modified winners redrew for their starting positions instead of a tire changing, or motor changing or some other form of contest. 

Thornton Jr. led from start to finish in the Modified main with Dallon Murty slipping into second by the halfway point and staying fairly close to the leader. Tanner Mullens ran second early but slipped back a bit as Trent Young came from the sixth row to move into the third spot. 

The only yellow occurred with just a lap completed but it was a big one right on the front stretch that eliminated several cars and put others to the back. Tyler Nicely, outside pole starter was the big loser while Young saw the ocean open in front of him as he gained a number of spots. 

The crowd was believed to be the biggest Thursday night crowd yet and I'm sure the tv crowd was humongous also. Plan for a whole day in the dome if you're going to this race as the first green flag for competition flew sometime after 5 pm and it was about 5 hours later when the last checkers flew.