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Bobby Pierce Breaks Through for $50,000 Knoxville Nationals Score!

Bobby Pierce Breaks Through for $50,000 Knoxville Nationals Score!
Jeff Aikey Takes Malvern Bank SLMR Bob Maschmann Memorial
by Bill Wright

KNOXVILLE, Iowa (September 21, 2024) – Bobby Pierce was the class of the field in Saturday night’s $50,000 to win finale of the 20th Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals Presented by Your Life Iowa. The Oakwood, Illinois native’s win was his first of the event. Pierce lost the lead only once in the 75-lap feature.

Bobby Pierce led early in the main event ahead of Devon Moran, Jonathan Davenport, Hudson O’Neal and Tim McCreadie. Pierce hit lapped traffic on lap seven, and had a 1.4 second lead on lap ten. Davenport passed Moran for second on lap 18, and the first caution of the event came out for Ryan Gustin 19 laps in.

O’Neal shot into second on the restart, ahead of Moran, Davenport and McCreadie. Brian Shirley entered the top five on lap 26, and then took fourth from Davenport on lap 27. Pierce was lapping cars again on lap 28. McCreadie passed Davenport for fifth on lap 30. Dillon McCowan stopped on lap 34 to bring another yellow.

O’Neal had another great restart, taking the lead from Pierce. Shirley was third, ahead of Sheppard and Moran. McCreadie advanced to fifth on lap 36 and then fourth on lap 38, followed by Wilson. Sheppard continued his climb, taking third on lap 39.

Up front, Pierce reeled O’Neal back in, and performed a slider in turn one to retake the point on lap 43. Pierce was back in lapped traffic on lap 45. Shirley took third from Sheppard in lapped traffic on lap 53 before Mike Marlar slowed to bring a yellow flag on lap 55. Pierce led O’Neal, Shirley, Sheppard and Wilson back to green.

O’Neal got above the cushion and into the wall, losing several spots and Shirley moved into the second spot, ahead of Wilson, McCreadie and Sheppard. McCreadie retook third from Wilson on lap 57. When O’Neal slowed to bring a caution with fifteen to go, light rain began to fall, and a brief delay followed.

A rejuvenated track welcomed the field back to green. McCreadie jumped into second, followed by Moran, Shirley and Garrett Alberson. Shirley had dropped to fourth, but regained third on lap 62 and second from McCreadie on lap 63. Moran moved by McCreadie for third on lap 66, and Alberson was fourth by lap 68.

Pierce was back in lapped traffic on the 71st circuit, but by then, he was gone, taking his first ever Knoxville Late Model Nationals ahead of Shirley, Moran, Alberson and McCreadie. Davenport, Gustin, who recovered from the tail on lap 19, Chase Junghans, Sheppard and Chris Simpson rounded out the top ten. Tyler Bruening won the 15-lap B main.

“The track was going through a transition there,” said Pierce of the restart that O’Neal passed him for the lead. “Your damned if you do and damned if you don’t, going to the top and getting passed on the bottom, or vice versa. It looked like he was struggling. He was kind of laid over and really wasn’t getting over the corners. I could tell I was eating him up through the corner. Anytime you can be right on them on a big track like this, you know you’re better. He got a little tight in four, and I put a slider on him in one. It was nerve wracking hanging onto the lead. Two years ago, we had some mechanical issues while we were leading here. It feels great to win here. It’s an awesome place, such a unique track. Everything about this place is unique. It really doesn’t race like anywhere else. It’s a lot of fun out there.”

“It was a weird deal there,” he said of the rain delay. “I guess they saw it was a little cell. Hat’s off to them for completing the race and giving the fans 75 laps. I was definitely worried about tires. Typically when it rains, even the slick parts of the track get tacky for awhile. The nerve wracking part was we got a quick lap and a half and the top felt slimy. That’s where I was running before the caution, and I knew (Shirley) was running the middle, and I didn’t want to give him the middle. I made the decision to run the bottom the first lap and a half, and it kind of moved to the middle and then the top. It’s nerve wracking to be the leader on a track that’s in transition.”

“I definitely felt my car was good,” said Shirley. “My motor was laying down on the restart. It was just a tough one to be so close racing against the best in the business. Not very often do you get a racecar that can be that phenomenal. It just shows what hard work can do. We’ll keep fighting.”

“That’s the Knoxville we come to race on,” said Moran. “They did a great job on the track with the weather. I’m glad they didn’t cancel it (with 15 to go). They could of and they didn’t. That benefited me, and we’re ready to come back next year.”

Tad Pospisil led the Malvern Bank SLMR non-stop 22-lap Bob Maschmann early over Kyle Berck, Jake Neal, Jeff Aikey and Andrew Kosiski. Berck closed on the leader, until getting by on lap six and pulling away. Neal and Aikey found their way to second and third on the following lap.

Berck was lapping cars on the thirteenth circuit, while Aikey shot by Neal for second. Bill Leighton Jr., who started thirteenth, entered the top five on lap 14. Slowly, Aikey was gaining on the leader in traffic, and he passed Berck low in turn four with six laps to go.

At the time, you could throw a blanket over the top five in close action. Aikey continued to build his lead and won for the third career time here, while Leighton was the fastest late in the race, grabbing third with three to go and taking second with two to go. Neal finished third, ahead of Berck and Pospisil. Tom Berry Jr., Chad Holladay, Andrew Kosiski, Dylan Sillman and JC Wyman rounded out the top ten. Pospisil set quick time over the field, while Aikey, Dylan Thornton and Berck won heats.

Aikey’s win was worth $4,000, and a $2,500 bonus made his winning total $6,500.

“I’ve never sat in this seat,” said Aikey in Victory Lane. “This is a dream come true to sit in this #16 car for Greg Bruening and this crew. I’m telling you what, what a badass hot rod! I’m 62 years old…I still got her daddy!”

The 21st Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals are scheduled for September 18-20, 2025! For more information on the Knoxville Raceway, visit us online at www.KnoxvilleRaceway.com or on Facebook.

20th Lucas Oil Late Model Knoxville Nationals Presented by Your Life Iowa Results

B main (started), 15 Laps, NT: 1. 16, Tyler Bruening, Decorah, IA (1); 2. 62, Justin Zeitner, Malvern, IA (4); 3. 20, Jimmy Owens, Newport, TN (3); 4. 6, Clay Harris, Jupiter, FL (7); 5. 76, Blair Nothdurft, Renner, SD (5); 6. 51, Matt Furman, Iowa City, IA (6) / 7. 35D, Dylan Sillman, Alvo, NE (9); 8. 48, Tim Lance, Brimfield, IL (10); 9. 93, Cory Lawler, Hanover, PA (11); 10. 10, Junior Coover, Norfolk, NE (12); 11. 17ss, Brenden Smith, Dade City, FL (2); 12. 1x, Aaron Marrant, Richmond, MO (8); 13. 42, Johnathan Huston, Columbus Junction, IA (13); 14. 6H, Al Humphrey, Giltner, NE (14) DNS – 45D, Dan Battaglia, Gretna, NE; 42, Jeremy Petty Smolan, KS

A main (started), 75 Laps, NT: 1. 32P, Bobby Pierce, Oakwood, IL (1); 2. 3s, Brian Shirley, Chatham, IL (15); 3. 99, Devin Moran, Dresden, OH (3); 4. 58, Garrett Alberson, Las Cruces, NM (12); 5. 1, Tim McCreadie, Watertown, NY (4); 6. 49, Jonathan Davenport, Blairsville, GA (2); 7. 30, Ryan Gustin, Marshalltown, IA (8); 8. 18, Chase Junghans, Manhattan, KS (19); 9. B5, Brandon Sheppard, New Berlin, IL (7); 10. 32, Chris Simpson, Oxford, IA (21); 11. Jimmy Owens (27); 12. 157, Mike Marlar, Winfield, TN (18); 13. 7T, Drake Troutman, Hyndman, PA (22); 14. 93F, Carson Ferguson, Lincolnton, NC (17); 15. 71, Hudson O'Neal, Martinsville, IN (5); 16. 111, Max Blair, Centerville, PA (6); 17. Tyler Bruening (25); 18. 8m, Dillon McGowan, Urbana, MO (10); 19. 20RT, Ricky Thornton Jr., Martinsville, IN (23); 20. Cory Lawler (31, prov.); 21. 18D, Daulton Wilson, Fayetteville, NC (9); 22. 10s, Garrett Smith, Madison, GA (11); 23. 1T, Tyler Erb, New Waverly, TX (14); 24. Blair Nothdurft (29); 25. Clay Harris (28); 26. 22, Daniel Hilsabeck, Earlham, IA (13); 27. 25, Chad Simpson, Mt. Vernon, IA (20); 28. 99B, Boom Briggs, Bear Lake, PA (24); 29. 7, Ross Robinson, Georgetown, DE (16); 30. Matt Furman (30); 31. Justin Zeitner (26); 32. 93x, Brenden Smith (31, prov.). Lap Leaders: Pierce 1-34, O’Neal 35-42, Pierce 43-75. Hard-charger: Owens.

Malvern Bank Super Late Model Racing Results

Time Trials (Group Qualifying): 1. 04, Tad Pospisil, Papillion, NE (8), 18.772; 2. 35D, Dylan Sillman, Alvo, NE (13), 18.830; 3. 53, Andrew Kosiski, La Vista, NE (14), 18.837; 4. 16A, Jeff Aikey, Waterloo, IA (1), 18.941; 5. 1, Jake Bridge, Waverly, NE (15), 19.027; 6. 14, Kyle Berck, Marquette, NE (24), 19.069; 7. 01, CJ Horn, Cedar Rapids, IA (10), 19.069; 8. 6, Jake Neal, Omaha, NE (12), 19.127; 9. 24, Bill Leighton Jr., La Vista, NE (21), 19.178; 10. 4, JC Wyman, Griswold, IA (11), 19.200; 11. 11C, Tom Berry Jr, Boone, IA (18), 19.219; 12. 32C, Chad Holladay, Muscatine, IA (2), 19.229; 13. 99D, Darrel DeFrance, Marshalltown, IA (4), 19.240; 14. 15C, Curt Schroeder, Ames, IA (5), 19.267; 15. 22, Charlie McKenna, Clear Lake, IA (7), 19.325; 16. 76H, Jason Hahne, Webster City, IA (19), 19.352; 17. 38T, Dylan Thornton, Orcutt, CA (22), 19.374; 18. 58, Dave Eckrich, Oxford, IA (23), 19.400; 19. 52, Brian Kosiski, Papillion, NE (16), 19.477; 20. 32, Curtis Glover, Knoxville, IA (9), 19.550; 21. 56S, Chris Spieker, Massena, IA (17), 19.555; 22. 56, Andy Eckrich, Iowa City, IA (20), 19.625; 23. 26JR, Corey Zeitner, Omaha, NE (25), 19.864; 24. 10T, Jeff Tharp, Sherrill, IA (6), 19.927; 25. 5, Jeff Segebart, Westside, IA (3), 20.853

Heat one (started), 8 Laps, 2:54.0: 1. Jeff Aikey (5); 2. Jason Hahne (1); 3. JC Wyman (3); 4. Tad Pospisil (6); 5. Brian Kosiski (7); 6. Andy Eckrich (8); 7. Darrel DeFrance (2); 8. CJ Horn (4); 9. Jeff Segebart (9)

Heat two (started), 8 Laps, 2:52.0: 1. Dylan Thornton (1); 2. Jake Neal (4); 3. Tom Berry Jr (3); 4. Jake Bridge (5); 5. Corey Zeitner (8); 6. Dylan Sillman (6); 7. Curtis Glover (7); 8. Curt Schroeder (2)

Heat three (started), 8 Laps, 2:54.0: 1. Kyle Berck (5); 2. Chad Holladay (3); 3. Dave Eckrich (1); 4. Jeff Tharp (8); 5. Andrew Kosiski (6); 6. Bill Leighton Jr. (4); 7. Chris Spieker (7); 8. Charlie McKenna (2)

A main (started), 20 Laps, 8:04.0: 1. Jeff Aikey (6); 2. Bill Leighton Jr. (13); 3. Jake Neal (4); 4. Kyle Berck (1); 5. Tad Pospisil (2); 6. Tom Berry Jr (10); 7. Chad Holladay (7); 8. Andrew Kosiski (3); 9. Dylan Sillman (8); 10. JC Wyman (9); 11. Jason Hahne (12); 12. Jake Bridge (5); 13. Jeff Tharp (15); 14. CJ Horn (16); 15. Corey Zeitner (18); 16. Andy Eckrich (22); 17. Brian Kosiski (17); 18. Dave Eckrich (14); 19. Dylan Thornton (11); 20. Charlie McKenna (21); 21. Darrel DeFrance (19); 22. Curt Schroeder (20); 23. Curtis Glover (23); 24. Jeff Segebart (25); 25. Chris Spieker (24). Lap Leaders: Pospisil 1-5, Berck 6-15, Aikey 16-22. Hard-charger: Leighton Jr.

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