Chicago Whispers
By Stan Kalwasinski
April 5, 2015
LaSalle, Ill.—Bobby Pierce enjoyed a pretty successful weekend at the LaSalle Speedway, taking home $20,000 in prize money, including $15,000 for winning Saturday night’s Thaw Brawl 75-lap dirt track Late Model stock car special. The 18-year old speedster, who calls Oakwood, Ill., home, powered his Impala SS into the lead on 22 and only slower, lapped traffic made the race interesting the rest of the way as Pierce stayed in command until the checkered flag.
“The track was really good tonight,” said Pierce in the pits after Saturday’s victory. “It was very racy. You could run the top and bottom. To get both wins this weekend is unbelievable. I was shaking. Those last few laps were nerve racking. I didn’t want anything wrong to happen.”
Pierce, whose dad Bob enjoyed a hall of fame dirt track career on Midwest ovals, was last year’s DIRTcar UMP National stock car champion, winning 14 feature races. Young Pierce, nicknamed the “Smooth Operator,” won Friday’s 50-lap headliner ahead of Tim McCreadie and Dennis Erb Jr. and captured Saturday’s main event in front of Chris Simpson, Ricky Weiss, Brian Shirley and the day’s fastest qualifier, Jared Landers.
Pierce, who started sixth in Saturday’s 23-car field, made an impressive, race-winning move after a restart with 54 laps remaining. With the field lining up double-file behind then-leader Weiss for the restart, Landers pressured Weiss on the inside groove going into turn one after the green flag waved again. Pierce charged into turn one on the high-side and was the race’s new leader when the field came around to complete lap 22.
I knew the top (groove) was fast,” Pierce said. “You had to hit your marks perfect up there. I decided to go for it and it stuck and I went right around them on the outside. “
Thirty-two late models were on hand for Saturday’s event with promoter Tony Izzo Jr. seeing a good crowd pack the stands at his high-banked, quarter-mile oval. The event was the fourth Thaw Brawl at the LaSalle speed plant. Dennis Erb Jr. won last year’s race, in addition to the inaugural run in 2012. Brian Birkhofer was the winner in 2013.
Frank Marshall of Valparaiso, Ind., was the winner of the 30-lap Modified main event Satuday, defeating Ray Bollinger, Jamie Lomax and fast timer Jeff Curl. Making his first start of the season in a brand new Buzzard Race Cars chassis, Marshall started on the outside of the front row and got out in front of pole sitter Curl to lead laps one through 30.
It wasn’t any easy go for Marshall as Lomax pressed Marshall pretty hard for the top spot as the race wound down.
“You had to stay on the bottom,” said Marshall. “First I had to get around (Jeff) Curl and he’s not an easy guy to get around. Then Lomax got on my back bumper several times. He got my attention. I knew if we stuck her on the bottom, we’d be all right.”
Steven Brooks was the winner of Friday’s Modified feature race, but was never a factor in Saturday’s contest. 31 modifieds raced in four 10-lap heat races Saturday with Curl, Marshall, Bollinger and Mark Anderson scoring wins.
Seven-time track Modified champion at Shadyhill Speedway in Medaryville, Ind., Nick Allen was driving for car owner Keith Myszkiewicz of Bradley, Ill., Saturday. It was the second outing for the new team with Allen posting an eighth place finish at Brownstown, Ind., a few weeks ago.
Allen’s uncle Keith broke up his championship-winning team over the winter selling everything except the dually pickup truck. Things should be pretty wide open in the Modified division at Shadyhill this year as Allen and Myszkiewicz plan a “run here and there” schedule for 2015. Unfortunately, Allen, who won last year’s Thaw Brawl Modified main event, did not make Saturday’s feature field.
Eddie Wolf and Luke Gash were winners of the Street Stock division feature races over the weekend. Jake Momper won Friday’s 4 Cylinder feature.
LaSalle will host a full stock car racing program next Saturday night, April 11. The speedway presents the Lucas Oil Late Model Spring Shootout on May 16. The Lucas Oil Dirt Track Series event will pay $10,000 to the feature winner.
The 38th annual Spring Classic takes to the track at
Rockford Speedway next Sunday afternoon, April 12. For the eighth consecutive
year, the Big 8 Late Model Series presented by Gandrud Chevrolet headline Spring
Classic, with an 88 lap feature the afternoon’s main attraction.
Leading the entries is two time and reigning Big 8 Series champion Casey
Johnson, a former Spring Classic winner. Last year, the Wisconsin driving ace
led the Big 8 Series with four victories, including a thrilling last-lap win at
Rockford during the 49th annual National Short Track Championships.
Joining the Big 8 cars on the season-opening card is the Mid American Stock Car Series, which opens their season for the 23rd consecutive year at Rockford with a 50-lap main event. The American Ethanol Super Trucks also make their first ever trip to Rockford Speedway, contesting Twin 25 lap features. Rockford opens for its regular season of Saturday action on April 18.
The Illinois Stock Car Hall of Fame will induct its fourth class of honorees next Saturday evening at the Hoffman House Restaurant in Rockford. This year’s inductees include drivers Joe Finn, Ken Finley, Bob Pronger, Russ Wallace, track promoter Pete Jenin, track official Stan Burdick and car builder/mechanic Bob Pohlman Sr. The HoF reception will take place earlier in the day at Wayne Lensing’s Historic Auto Attractions museum in Roscoe. Contact Art “Fireball” Fehrman at (708) 254-5196 for last minute information.
More Area Season Openers
Daugherty Speedway, Boswell, Ind. – April 18, Grundy County Speedway, Morris, Ill. – April 24, Plymouth (Ind.) Speedway – April 25, Illiana Motor Speedway, Schererville, Ind. – April 25, Sycamore (Ill.) Speedway – April 25, Shadyhill Speedway, Medaryville, Ind. – May 2 and Kankakee County Speedway – May 8.
The address for news and comments is 9618 Cypress Ave., Munster, Ind. 46321-3418 or e-mail to skalwasinski@yahoo.com.
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