Pierce Back on Top in Wild West Shootout Round Four!
Story By: LONNIE WHEATLEY /WILD WEST SHOOTOUT MEDIA
Photos By: MIKE RUEFER PHOTO
SAN TAN VALLEY, AZ –January 14, 2017- Friday the Thirteenth did little to scare Bobby Pierce as he made a quick return to victory lane at Arizona Speedway to capture his third Super Late Model triumph through four round of 11th Annual Keyser Manufacturing Wild West Shootout presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts competition.
And Pierce wasn’t the only driver to make it three wins in four tries, as Ricky Thornton, Jr., matched his pace in the USRA Modifieds while Ron Schreiner earned his first X-Modified win of the six race mini-series.
With his third win in four rounds of Black Diamond/Club 29 Super Late Models presented by M&W Transport action, Pierce stays in contention for a potential $100,000 Keyser Manufacturing bonus if he can top the final two events or a $50,000 bonus for winning just one of the two left on the docket.
“It’s really hard. This field is very tough, especially the more nights we run, the more they figure out,” the ‘Smooth Operator’ from Oakwood, IL, explained of capturing the bonus money.
After winning the opening two legs of the Wild West Shootout last weekend, Pierce found himself chasing Round Three winner Billy Moyer in the early going of Friday’s $5,000-to-win, 30-lap feature event.
Pierce dove under Moyer to take command on the fifth round and then led the rest of the way to take the win by 1.822 seconds ahead of Chris Simpson, who settled for runner-up honors for the third race in a row to stay within 13 points of Pierce in the series points chase.
Moyer took third-place honors behind Pierce and Simpson with Garrett Alberson and 18th-starter Terry Phillips rounding out the top five.
Ricky Thornton, Jr., had to work for his third MVT/Border International USRA Modified presented by Arizona Differential win of the series by rallying from the tenth starting position for the triumph.
Thornton, Jr., raced to the stripe ahead of R.C. Whitwell, who charged from 16th, with Shane Sabraski, Brad Dierks and Dustin Strand rounding out the top five.
The RHR Swag X-Mods presented by Barnett Harley-Davidson added a fourth different winner in as many rounds with Ron Schreiner making the most of his pole starting position to take victory honors ahead of Thornton, Jr., Rusty Kollman, Shawn Strong and Preston Carr.
The Wild West Shootout continues at Arizona Speedway with Round Five on Saturday with start times moved up one hour with pit gates opening at noon, driver’s meeting at 1:30, front gate opening at 2:00 p.m., hot laps at 2:30 p.m. and racing at 4:00 p.m.
The finale will follow on Sunday with racing scheduled for 5:00 p.m.
A $5,000 winner’s share is up for grabs for the Super Late Models through the opening five nights of competition with the Bakersfield Karting Experience raising the stakes of the January 15 finale to $12,000-to-win.
Single day tickets are just $20 with the Sunday $12,000 to win Bakersfield Karting Experience finale just $25. Fans that take advantage of the 6-day discounted pass will enjoy the final night of the Wild West Shootout absolutely free.
Advanced tickets may be purchased online at: http://www.wildwestshootout.net/schedule/ and ticket pricing/purchasing information can be found online at: www.wildwestshootout.net or by calling the Wild West Shootout office at 520-664-2074.
Wild West Shootout Hotel Information can be found at: http://www.wildwestshootout.net/fan-info/lodging-2/ or by calling the Courtyard by Marriott at 480-461-3000. The Courtyard by Marriott is conveniently located at 1221 S. Westwood in Mesa, Arizona. Please use event name “Wild West Shootout” when making reservations.
Arizona Speedway is located just minutes from Phoenix. From Phoenix, take US 60 east to Ironwood Dr., turn right (south) and go four miles, Arizona Speedway is on the right hand side. For more information, visitwww.wildwestshootout.net or call 520-664-2074.
The Wild West Shootout team would like to thank our 2017 partners: Keyser Manufacturing, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Black Diamond Chassis, Club 29 Race Cars, M&W Transport, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Border International, FK Rod Ends, Karl Performance, Total Seal Piston Rings, Pro Power Racing, Hoosier Tire, RHR Swag, Barnett Harley-Davidson, VP Fuels, Earnhardt Dodge, AR Bodies, EZGO, SafeCraft, Envision, Bakersfield Karting Experience, Beaver Stripes, Five Star Graphics and The Courtyard by Marriott.
Keyser Manufacturing Wild West Shootout presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts Results
Arizona Speedway – Friday, January 13, 2017
Black Diamond/Club 29 Super Late Models presented by M&W Transport:
Qualifying:
Group 1: 1. 32p-Bobby Pierce 15.003, 2. 98-Jason Rauen 15.037, 3. 58-A.J. Diemel 15.128, 4. 71-Dustin Strand 15.207, 5. 42s-Brandon Overton 15.215, 6. 28m-Jimmy Mars 15.286, 7. 91-Tyler Erb, 15.289, 8. 10b-Rob Sanders 15.501, 9. 7k-Jason Krohn 15.510, 10. 46-Darren Coffell 15.641, 11. 38-Thomas Hunziker 16.235, 12. 0-Jake O’Neil NT.
Group 2: 1. 32-Chris Simpson 15.043, 2. 51-Joey Moriarty 15.165, 3. 91T-Tony Toste 15.332, 4. 75-Terry Phillips 15.343, 5. 1-Earl Pearson, Jr. 15.355, 6. 86-Kyle Beard 15.387, 7. 54x-David Breazeale 15.534, 8. 15k-Justin Kay 15.696, 9. 15d-Justin Duty 15.865, 10. 8-Kye Frick 16.255, 11. 74w-Collen Winebarger 16.287.
Group 3: 1. 21-Billy Moyer 15.193, 2. F5-Garrett Alberson 15.213, 3. 20-Rodney Sanders 15.218, 4. R5-Chandler Petty 15.344, 5. 17-Billy Franklin 15.651, 6. 33c-Chad Mahder 15.655, 7. 74-Dan Diebel 16.190, 8. 78s-Steve Stultz 16.227, 9. 99-Scott Lewis 16.268, 10. 17x-Larry Childress 16.342, 11. 26-Jon Brinkley 17.101.
Group 4: 1. 11x-Steve Drake 15.602, 2. 5x-John Duty 15.651, 3. 32b-Clay Daly 15.802, 4. 12-Nick Bartels 15.861, 5. 37-Scott Ward 15.972, 6. 53-Andrew Kosiski 16.021, 7. 44-Cole Schill 16.315, 8. 54-Carlos Altumada 16.408, 9. 6T-Terry Carter 16.447, 10. 24-Rick Ortega 16.774, 11. 96rc-R.C. Whitwell NT.
Heat Races – Top 5 advance to “A” Main, balance to Two “B” Mains
Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 32p-Bobby Pierce, 2. 98-Jason Rauen, 3. 71-Dustin Strand, 4. 28m-Jimmy Mars, 5. 42s-Brandon Overton, 6. 91-Tyler Erb, 7. 0-Jake O’Neil, 8. 58-A.J. Diemel, 9. 7k-Jason Krohn, 10. 10b-Rob Sanders, 11. 46-Darren Coffell, 12. 38-Thomas Hunziker.
Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 32-Chris Simpson, 2. 51-Joey Moriarty, 3. 91T-Tony Toste 15.332, 4. 1-Earl Pearson, Jr., 5. 75-Terry Phillips, 6. 86-Kyle Beard, 7. 54x-David Breazeale, 8. 15k-Justin Kay, 9. 15d-Justin Duty, 10. 74w-Collen Winebarger, 11. 8-Kye Frick, 12. 22g-Paul Guglielman.
Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 21-Billy Moyer, 2. F5-Garrett Alberson, 3. R5-Chandler Petty, 4. 33c-Chad Mahder, 5. 17-Billy Franklin, 6. 99-Scott Lewis, 7. 17x-Larry Childress, 8. 78s-Steve Stultz, 9. 74-Dan Diebel, 10. 26-Jon Brinkley 11. 20-Rodney Sanders.
Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 37-Scott Ward, 2. 11x-Steve Drake, 3. 96rc-R.C. Whitwell, 4. 44-Cole Schill, 5. 12-Nick Bartels, 6. 53-Andrew Kosiski, 7. 6T-Terry Carter, 8. 24-Rick Ortega, 9. 54-Carlos Altumada, 10. 5x-John Duty.
“B” Mains – Top 2 from each advance to “A” Main
“B” Main One (10 Laps): 1. 91-Tyler Erb, 2. 86-Kyle Beard, 3. 0-Jake O’Neil, 4. 15k-Justin Kay, 5. 58-A.J. Diemel, 6. 15d-Justin Duty, 7. 10n-Rob Sanders, 8. 8-Kye Frick, 9. 38-Thomas Hunziker, 10. 54x-David Breazeale, 11. 74w-Collen Winebarger.
“B” Main Two (10 Laps): 1. 20-Rodney Sanders, 2. 53-Andrew Kosiski, 3. 99-Scott Lewis, 4. 78s-Steve Stultz, 5. 6T-Terry Carter, 6. 5x-John Duty, 7. 54-Carlos Altumada, 8. 74-Dan Diebel, 9. 24-Rick Ortega, 10. 22g-Paul Guglielman, 11. 17x-Larry Childress, 12. 26-Jon Brinkely.
“A” Main
“A” Main (30 Laps): 1. 32p-Bobby Pierce, 2. 32-Chris Simpson, 3. 21-Billy Moyer, 4. F5-Garrett Alberson, 5. 75-Terry Phillips, 6. 1-Earl Pearson, Jr., 7. 28m-Jimmy Mars, 8. 42s-Brandon Overton, 9. 91-Tyler Erb, 10. 37-Scott Ward, 11. 20-Rodney Sanders, 12. 98-Jason Rauen, 13. 11x-Steve Drake, 14. 71-Dustin Strand, 15. 86-Kyle Beard, 16. 51-Joey Moriarty, 17. 91T-Tony Toste, 18. R5-Chandler Petty, 19. 17-Billy Franklin, 20. 12-Nick Bartels, 21. 53-Andrew Kosiski, 22. 44-Cole Schill, 23. 33c-Chad Mahder, 24. 96rc-R.C. Whitwell.
MVT/Border International USRA Modifieds presented by Arizona Differential
Heat Races – Top 20 in passing points advance to “A” Main, balance to Two “B” Mains
Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 7a-Shane Sabraski, 2. A1-Phil Dixon, 3. 23-Matt Gilbertson, 4. 1s-Tim Ward, 5. 111x-Logan Drake, 6. 51-Alex Guthmiller, 7. 60-William Gould, 8. 7rr-Ryan Restad, 9. 65x-Carlos Ahumada, Jr., 10. 8a-Al Giesbrecht, 11. 11x-Rich Loftus.
Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 25-Rodney Sanders, 2. 23h-Kent Arment, 3. 5L-Cody Laney, 4. 78-Cory Wier, 5. L8-Brian Schultz, 6. 15k-Justin Kay, 7. 10s-Robert King, 8. 37T-David Craft, 9. D25-David Tanner, 10. 32-D.J. Shannon, 11. X57-Richie Davis.
Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 5m-Tyler McDonald, 2. 5g-Scott Greer, 3. 29d-Brad Dierks, 4. 30J-Justin Rexwinkle, 5. R1-Jay Richardson, 6. 111-Bumper Jones, 7. 78x-Trevor Egbert, 8. 34-Mickey Lassiter, 9. 223-Cole Peterson, 10. 50F-Brandon Farrington, 11. 6-Casey Skyberg.
Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 52x-David McDonald, 2. J17-Jake Gallardo, 3. 20rt-Ricky Thornton, Jr., 4. G17-Fito Gallardo, 5. 96rc-R.C. Whitwell, 6. 171-Philip Houston, 7. 2j-Blake Jegtvig, 8. 26-Shawn Fletcher, 9. 44-Christy Barnett, 10. 27-Chris Unrau.
Heat Five (8 Laps): 1. 10c-Chad Olsen, 2. 71-Dustin Strand, 3. 98-Alex Stanford, 4. 131-Royal Jones, 5. 8-Wesley Summers, 6. 21x-Dustin Bluhm, 7. 7-Ken McCleskey, 8. 5-Jake Hartung, 9. 71x-Jesse Hoskins, 10. 30-Matt Leer.
“B” Mains – Top 2 from each advance to “A” Main
“B” Main One (10 Laps): 1. 30J-Justin Rexwinkle, 2. 15k-Justin Kay, 3. 2J-Blake Jegtvig, 4. R1-Jay Richardson, 5. 50F-Brandon Farrington, 6. L8-Brian Schultz, 7. 65x-Carlos Ahumada, Jr., 8. 7rr-Ryan Restad, 9. D25-David Tanner, 10. 32-D.J. Shannon, 11. X57-Richie Davis, 12. 7-Ken McCleskey, 13. 8a-Al Giesbrecht, 14. 21x-Dustin Bluhm, 15. 60-William Gould, 16. 78x-Trevor Egbert.
“B” Main Two (10 Laps): 1. 171-Philip Houston, 2. 111-Bumper Jones, 3. 5-Jake Hartung, 4. 26-Shawn Fletcher, 5. 30-Matt Leer, 6. 51-Alex Guthmiller, 7. 111x-Logan Drake, 8. 71x-Jesse Hoskins, 9. 11x-Rich Loftus, 10. 8-Wesley Summers, 11. 37T-David Craft, 12. 10s-Robert King, 13. 34-Mickey Lassiter, 14. 6-Casey Skyberg.
“A” Main
“A” Main (25 Laps): 1. 20rt-Ricky Thornton, Jr., 2. 96rc-R.C. Whitwell, 3. 7a-Shane Sabraski, 4. 25d-Brad Dierks, 5. 71-Dustin Strand, 6. 52x-David McDonald, 7. 5L-Cody Laney, 8. G17-Fito Gallardo, 9. 5m-Tyler McDonald, 10. 15k-Justin Kay, 11. 10c-Chad Olsen, 12. 23-Matt Gilbertson, 13. 23h-Kent Arment, 14. A1-Phil Dixon, 15. 171-Philip Houston, 16. 98-Alex Stanford, 17. J17-Jake Gallardo, 18. 111-Bumper Jones, 19. 30J-Justin Rexwinkle, 20. 78-Cory Wier, 21. 5g-Scott Greer, 22. 1s-Tim Ward, 23. 25-Rodney Sanders, 24. 131-Royal Jones.
RHR Swag X-Mods presented by Barnett Harley-Davidson
Heat Races – Top 20 in passing points advance to “A” Main, balance to “B” Main
Heat One (8 Laps): 1. 11-Brian Kakela, 2. 1s-Scott Bintz, 3. 35-Grant Southworth, 4. 19-Lucas Rodin, 5. 67-Rex Conrad, 6. 99x-Brady Bjella, 7. 10c-Cole Haugland, 8. 71-Jesse Hoskins, 9. 9-Ron Poe, 10. 17s-Lance Schill, 11. 71az-Tyler Mecl.
Heat Two (8 Laps): 1. 1st-Rusy Kollman, 2. 5-Ron Schreiner, 3. 14-Shawn Strong, 4. 3T-Travis Schulte, 5. 8272-Sherman Barnett, 6. 45-Dustin Bluhm, 7. 11g-Josh Griggs, 8. 96f-Eric Folsted, 9. 17e-Neil Eckhart, 10. 22k-Mark Kohaykewch, 11. 25-Andy Clower.
Heat Three (8 Laps): 1. 34-Jamie Thorstad, 2. 34-Eric Hauglane, 3. 17k-Stoney Kruk, 4. 4h-Grant Hall, 5. 5c-Preston Carr, 6. 20T-Mike Tanner, 7. 17m-Ashley Mehrwerth, 8. 13b-Jess Brekke, 9. 06az-Tommy Wyman, 10. 0-Brandon George.
Heat Four (8 Laps): 1. 5k-Tyler Kaeter, 2. 20rt-Ricky Thornton, Jr., 3. 18s-Clark Swartz, 4. 10c-Chad Olsen, 5. 99f-Shawn Fendes, 6. 23-Mark Simon, 7. 56-Terry Bahr, 8. 36-Jeff Gray, 9. 7m-Brandon Mehrwerth, 10. 10m-Trevor Miller.
“B” Main – Top 4 advance to “A” Main
“B” Main (12 Laps): 1. 17s-Lance Schill, 2. 17m-Ashley Mehrwerth, 3. 11g-Josh Griggs, 4. 23-Mark Simon, 5. 13b-Jess Brekke, 6. 96f-Eric Folsted, 7. 10c-Cole Haugland, 8. 9-Ron Poe, 9. 56-Terry Bahr, 10. 36-Jeff Gray, 11. 06az-Tommy Wyman, 12. 0-Brandon George, 13. 99f-Shawn Fernkes, 14. 17e-Neil Eckhart, 15. 71az-Tyler Mecl, 16. 71-Jesse Hoskins, 17. 7m-Brandon Mehrwerth, 18. 20T-Mike Tanner, 19. 22k-Mark Kohaykewch, 20. 67-Rex Conrad.
“A” Main
“A” Main (20 Laps): 1. 5-Ron Schreiner, 2. 20rt-Ricky Thornton, Jr., 3. 1sx-Rusty Kollman, 4. 14-Shawn Strong, 5. 5c-Preston Carr, 6. 19-Lucas Rodin, 7. 3T-Travis Schulte, 8. 11-Brian Kakela, 9. 10o-Chad Olsen, 10. 18s-Clark Swartz, 11. 17s-Lance Schill, 12. 1s-Scott Bintz, 13. 8272-Sherman Barnett, 14. 4h-Grant Hall, 15. 45-Dustin Bluhm, 16. 5k-Tyler Kaeter, 17. 32-Eric Hauglane, 18. 99x-Brady Bjella, 19. 17k-Stoney Kruk, 20. 23-Mark Simon, 21. 17m-Ashley Mehrwerth, 22. 11g-Josh Griggs, 23. 34-Jamie Thorstad, 24. 35-Grant Southworth.
