(July 6, 2024) Spring Valley, MN – Bobby Pierce displayed his expertise by winning his second consecutive NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50 at Deer Creek Speedway. The Oakwood, IL driver navigated through the field, ultimately passing four-time Series champion Brandon Sheppard to claim his second Gopher 50 victory.
Early Race Dynamics
Starting from the second row, Pierce quickly moved into second place after a four-wide battle on the first lap of the 75-lap race. While keeping Sheppard within reach, Pierce also had to fend off Ryan Gustin, who was pressing hard from behind.
Strategic Overtake
Pierce needed traffic to slow Sheppard down, but multiple cautions kept the leader in clean air. With 15 laps to go, Pierce seized his opportunity, sliding low on Sheppard through Turn 3 and taking the lead on the next lap by charging around the high side of the track.
Pierce’s lead was almost jeopardized when he jumped the cushion in Turn 4 on Lap 65. However, a caution for Cody Overton’s flip gave Pierce the chance to regroup for the final 10-lap dash. He maintained his lead to win his fifth Series Feature of 2024 and his third consecutive win at Deer Creek Speedway.
Comments from the Winner
“First off, the track was great,” Pierce said. “It moved up towards the top, but that’s where you had to be. It was so technical out there, but it was an awesome race with me and Brandon. He was driving the wheels off that thing, and I had to do my best to keep up with him. The cautions kept coming out and I was getting irritated because I knew it had to take some lapped traffic to get the job done, eventually pulled the slider and got the job done.
“This race is awesome, and the fans showed up. I wanted to win this race again badly, and this helps turn our year around. With the bad luck we’ve had, this helps get some momentum back. The nerves were pretty high, it was a hassle, but I was glad to see the checkered flag.”
Sheppard’s Perspective
Sheppard finished second, expressing disappointment for not securing the win but commending the effort.
“I’m a little bit disappointed in myself there,” Sheppard said. “I wasn’t aggressive enough in lap traffic and pretty much gave that one away there. Just put that in the memory bank to get up on the wheel a little bit more. To beat Bobby, he’s been good all year and will be tough the rest of the year, so we gotta do all we can to be more aggressive in lap traffic. It’s on me, my team has done a really good job, the car’s been great, it was just one of them days.”
Erb’s Late Surge
Tyler Erb captured his second World of Outlaws podium of the 2024 season with a last-lap pass on Gustin to finish third. His seven-position climb earned him the Fox Factory Hard Charger Award.
“The first 40 laps were pretty wide open,” Erb said. “Everyone was going about the same speed, and we haven’t been good in that condition the whole time we’ve been here. The track started to slow down and widen out and got to the fence. I could maneuver really good. I wasn’t making much hay on the restarts. It would take about five laps to get moving and make something happen. It was our best showing of the three races and progressively got better over the last 24 hours here. It feels good, our guys are working really hard, and keep trying to win some races.”
Upcoming Events
The World of Outlaws CASE Late Models will head to Pennsylvania and Ohio, with races at Bedford Speedway on Thursday, July 11, and Sharon Speedway on July 12-13. For more information and tickets, visit the World of Outlaws website. If you can’t attend, watch every lap live on DIRTVision.
Feature Results (75 Laps)
- Bobby Pierce [3]
- Brandon Sheppard [2]
- Tyler Erb [10]
- Ryan Gustin [1]
- Nick Hoffman [4]
- Chad Simpson [11]
- Tyler Bruening [7]
- Kyle Bronson [6]
- Brian Shirley [16]
- Cade Dillard [12]
- Dustin Sorensen [17]
- Dennis Erb Jr. [8]
- Shannon Babb [5]
- Chase Junghans [15]
- Max McLaughlin [18]
- Brent Larson [14]
- Blair Nothdurft [20]
- Tristan Chamberlain [23]
- Cody Overton [21]
- Derrick Stewart [22]
- Dustin Walker [24]
- Jake Timm [13]
- Lance Hofer [19]
- Tyler Stevens [9]
