THINK LIKE A GOPHER: Bobby Pierce Wins Second Consecutive NAPA Gopher 50 at Deer Creek Speedway 

The 2023 Series champion used a classic slide-job pass to capture his second crown jewel victory at the Spring Valley, MN track 

SPRING VALLEY, MN (July 6, 2024) – Bobby Pierce dug deep like a gopher to win his second consecutive NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50 at Deer Creek Speedway. 

The Oakwood, IL driver had to creatively maneuver his way through the stout field of World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model competitors and pass four-time Series champion Brandon Sheppard for his second Gopher triumph. 

Beginning the Feature from the second row, Pierce squeezed his way to second place after a four-wide chase for the spot on the first lap of the 75-lap race. 

While in second, he had to juggle keeping Sheppard within reach while having to also worry about Friday winner Ryan Gustin behind him. The Marshalltown, IA driver was using every inch of the track to craft strong runs toward the front. 

Pierce needed traffic to hamper Sheppard’s lead, but an excess number of cautions helped keep the No. B5 Sheppard Riggs Racing Longhorn in clean air. 

But with 15 laps to go, Pierce found the opportunity to craft his move for the lead. Sliding low on Sheppard through Turn 3, the two drivers entered a dead heat for the top spot – set to award $50,000. 

On the next lap, Pierce got enough of a run around the high side of the track to clear Sheppard for the lead. 

His time out front nearly slipped away after he jumped the cushion in Turn 4 on Lap 65, but a caution on the same lap for Cody Overton flipping behind him gave Pierce the respite he needed to be ready for the final 10-lap dash. 

From there, the No. 32 Low Voltage Solutions Longhorn Chassis stayed on the rails toward victory as the “Smooth Operator” won his fifth Series Feature of 2024 and third consecutive win at Deer Creek Speedway with a national dirt Late Model tour. 

“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, with Dylan Scott showing up and I’m a fan and we’ve been buddies for a little bit now. This is the third time we’ve shown up to this race, and we’ve always showed up for the big-money race. 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 finished second, disappointed not to win but proud of the effort made in the 75-lap endurance battle. 

“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.” 

Capturing his second podium with the Series in 2024, New Waverly, TX driver Tyler Erb completed the night’s podium by completing a last-lap pass on Gustin. His seven-position climb through the 75 laps earned “Terbo” 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.” 

Gustin finished fourth place, and Mooresville, NC driver Nick Hoffman completed the night’s top five finishers from the Gopher 50.

Sheppard enters the next race as the Series points leader with an 18-point lead over Hoffman. Pierce is third, 154 points behind Sheppard. 

RECAP NOTES: 

Dirt King Simulator Hottest Hot Lap: Tyler Bruening 

Dash Winners: Ryan Gustin, Tyler Stevens 

Last Chance Showdown Winner: Dustin Sorensen 

Fox Factory Hard Charger: Tyler Erb 

Up Next: The World of Outlaws CASE Late Models make their second trip to Pennsylvania and Ohio with Bedford Speedway on Thursday, July 11, and Sharon Speedway on July 12-13. For more information on the events and tickets, CLICK HERE. 

If you can’t make it to the tracks, you can watch every lap live on DIRTVision.  

CASE Late Model Feature (75 Laps): 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[3]; 2. B5-Brandon Sheppard[2]; 3. 1-Tyler Erb[10]; 4. 19R-Ryan Gustin[1]; 5. 9-Nick Hoffman[4]; 6. 25-Chad Simpson[11]; 7. 16-Tyler Bruening[7]; 8. 40B-Kyle Bronson[6]; 9. 3S-Brian Shirley[16]; 10. 97-Cade Dillard[12]; 11. 19-Dustin Sorensen[17]; 12. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[8]; 13. 18-Shannon Babb[5]; 14. 18C-Chase Junghans[15]; 15. 22*-Max McLaughlin[18]; 16. B1-Brent Larson[14]; 17. 76-Blair Nothdurft[20]; 18. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[23]; 19. 97JR-Cody Overton[21]; 20. 43-Derrick Stewart[22]; 21. 14W-Dustin Walker[24]; 22. 49-Jake Timm[13]; 23. 11H-Lance Hofer[19]; 24. 29-Tyler Stevens[9]

WIPED CLEAN: Brandon Sheppard Leads All 30 Laps to Capture Friday Night Gopher 50 Feature 

B-Shepp recovered from a flat tire from the Feature race earlier in the afternoon to win $7,000 at Deer Creek Speedway 

SPRING VALLEY, MN (July 5, 2024) – Brandon Sheppard didn’t miss a beat in the second NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50 Feature on Friday at Deer Creek Speedway. 

Bouncing back from the Feature race earlier in the day that saw the New Berlin, IL driver finish 17th after suffering a flat right-rear tire, Sheppard led flag-to-flag to win his third World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models Feature race of the season at Deer Creek Speedway. 

Beginning the Feature from the front of the field after drawing the Bilstein Pole Award, Sheppard took command of the race from the drop of the Gorsuch Performance green flag. However, he couldn’t run away from the competition. 

Ryan Gustin, who won the first Feature of the night, hounded the No. B5 Dude Wipes Longhorn Factory Team Late Model throughout the duration of the 30-lap race. 

Once Sheppard caught the back of the field, the slower cars created a new obstacle for the leader every lap and opened the door for Gustin, and third-place Bobby Pierce, to pounce. 

Pierce ripped the high line with a clear lane in front of him while Sheppard and Gustin had to find creative ways to slide by the slower cars using both the high and low lanes. 

But once Sheppard cleared the minefield of traffic, he was able to run away and score the win while Gustin and Pierce were trapped in the pack. 

“It was definitely tricky,” Sheppard said. “We had to figure out how to maneuver through (the traffic). Sometimes, when you’re leading and you’re in a bad spot, you don’t know which line to take or what will be faster for you, what’s slower and where you can pass them at. I had to make my best guesses and keep the speed up. 

“I knew if I broke momentum, it was going to kill me, so I needed to keep momentum and keep rolling so they didn’t get a big run on me… This team has never given up on me and I’ve never given up on them, they never quit trying to be better, so we’ll keep plugging away and see what we can do.” 

Pierce finished his charge by throwing a haymaker at Gustin on the final lap and claiming second by the checkered flag. 

“We were terrible at the beginning and came up there at the end,” Pierce said. “Definitely wish we could have had more laps, but I’m pretty happy to come home with second. It gives us a good spot for tomorrow, we’ll have to see what they do to the track. The longer the race is, the better I’m getting to be.” 

Gustin took the final step on the podium after a day that saw him edge out Nick Hoffman by 0.009 seconds to win Thursday’s makeup Feature race. 

“This was a great day for us,” Gustin said. “I felt like we were in contention in that last (Feature), we weren’t as good as (Sheppard) was, he zigged and I zagged through the lapped traffic, and it all worked out for him. Then Bobby got us there at the end when we got held up behind a lapped car. That’s how it goes, though. Hopefully, we can take home $50,000 tomorrow night.” 

Finishing fourth was New Waverly, TX driver Tyler Erb, and Brandon, FL driver Kyle Bronson completed the top five finishers of the night. 

Here are the top-16 drivers locked into Saturday's $50,000-to-win finale Feature: Ryan Gustin, Brandon Sheppard, Bobby Pierce, Nick Hoffman, Shannon Babb, Tyler Bruening, Dennis Erb Jr, Kyle Bronson, Tyler Erb, Tyler Stevens, Cade Dillard, Chad Simpson, Chase Junghans, Brian Shirley, Brent Larson and Jake Timm

RECAP NOTES: 

Dirt King Simulator Hottest Hot Lap: Kyle Bronson 

Simpson Quick Time Award: Ryan Gustin 

Heat Race Winners: Ryan Gustin, Brandon Sheppard, Tyler Bruening, Kyle Bronson 

Last Chance Showdown Winner: Blair Nothdurft 

Bilstein Pole Award: Brandon Sheppard 

Fox Factory Hard Charger Award: Nick Hoffman 

Up Next: The World of Outlaws CASE Late Models finish the NAPA Gopher 50 weekend at Deer Creek Speedway with Saturday’s $50,000 finale Feature on the line. The top-16 locked in through points will compete in two Dash races to set the starting lineup, while the rest of the field will battle in the Last Chance Showdown. Those that do not transfer will compete in a $3,000-to-win non-qualifiers Feature. 

For more information about Saturday night’s program and the full 2024 Series schedule, CLICK HERE. 

If you can’t make it to Deer Creek Speedway, you can watch every lap live on DIRTVision. 

CASE Late Model Feature (30 Laps): 1. B5-Brandon Sheppard[1]; 2. 32-Bobby Pierce[5]; 3. 19R-Ryan Gustin[3]; 4. 1-Tyler Erb[10]; 5. 40B-Kyle Bronson[4]; 6. 9-Nick Hoffman[13]; 7. 16-Tyler Bruening[2]; 8. 97-Cade Dillard[7]; 9. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[6]; 10. 18C-Chase Junghans[16]; 11. 3S-Brian Shirley[8]; 12. 19-Dustin Sorensen[19]; 13. 22*-Max McLaughlin[9]; 14. 76-Blair Nothdurft[17]; 15. 11H-Lance Hofer[12]; 16. 49-Jake Timm[14]; 17. 97JR-Cody Overton[11]; 18. B1-Brent Larson[18]; 19. 55C-Chad Mahder[22]; 20. 21-Billy Moyer Sr[15]; 21. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[23]; 22. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[21]; 23. 43-Derrick Stewart[20]; 24. 14W-Dustin Walker[24

BY A GOPHER HAIR: Ryan Gustin Edges Nick Hoffman to Win First Act of NAPA Gopher 50

SPRING VALLEY, MN (July 5, 2024) – Nick Hoffman has made a habit of thrilling fans with last lap passes this season and on Friday evening at Deer Creek Speedway Ryan Gustin took a page from his playbook.

During the first race of the NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50 with the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models – ran Friday evening after being postponed on Thursday – Gustin threw a “Hail Mary” slide job at Hoffman in the final corner and held a 0.009 second lead at the finish line to score his second win of the season.

The victory – the seventh of Gustin’s World of Outlaws career – came after a mixed bag of results since his first victory of the season in May.

“Anytime you’re standing up here in Victory Lane it makes you feel good,” Gustin said. “I love this place. It’s probably one of the places I have more laps than anyone. It feels good.”

Gustin started the 30-lap Feature fourth, with Shannon Babb next to him, 2022 Series champion Dennis Erb Jr. directly in front of him and Tyler Stevens, making his Series debut, on the pole.

When the race commenced, Stevens pulled away from the field while Babb moved up to second and Gustin fell to fifth. The field didn’t get much time to stretch their legs as a caution brought them back together on Lap 3.

All eyes turned to Nick Hoffman when the race restarted as the NOS Energy Drink No. 9 ripped around the top of Deer Creek Speedway, stealing third on Lap 5 and then second a lap later. Stevens’ healthy lead was spoiled in three laps with Hoffman on hyperdrive in the middle lane.

Knowing Hoffman had arrived, Stevens tried to make his car wide, switching lanes each corner. But when they got to Turn 3 on Lap 10, Hoffman dove under Stevens, propelling his car a few yards ahead of Stevens before sliding in front of him by the exit of the turn – a foreshadowing moment for the end of the race.

Once Hoffman finally found clean air, he gapped the field by over a second in less than two laps.

Behind him, a war was being waged for second through fifth. Gustin, Bobby Pierce and Shannon Babb looked like synchronized dancers running three-wide down the straights and sliding each other in the corners with precise rotations. 

Gustin emerged the victor, pulling ahead of the two and passing Stevens for second on Lap 25. Pierce followed him through, getting by Stevens for third on the same lap.

They appeared to be out of time to catch Hoffman until two late-race cautions. One on Lap 26 brought the field back together and the last on Lap 28 set the stage for a photo finish.

With two laps to settle the fight, Pierce tried to end it in the first corner on the restart, diving under the front two, pulling even with Hoffman. But Hoffman and Gustin had the better momentum up top and drove back by him.

“It was a good racetrack for being a day race,” Pierce said. “They gave us something to race on and move around on. It was a fun race. I got to third there, got us in good position. I couldn’t go any further than that. I kind of stalled out at the end of the race.”

Once Pierce was no longer a threat, Gustin was able to put all his focus on Hoffman. With two laps to go, he was 0.7 seconds back. With one to go, 0.3 seconds back. He closed to Hoffman’s bumper down the backstretch and plotted the same move Hoffman used to take the lead earlier in the race.

Gustin stayed in the throttle upon entry, steering to the bottom of the track, launching his car ahead of Hoffman’s and giving himself enough room to slid up the track in front of him. Predicting the move, Hoffman cut underneath the No. 19R in the middle of the corner, leading to their drag race to the line.

“He got that top line rolling pretty well there,” Hoffman said. “Woulda, coulda, shoulda, if there was no caution, we’d probably win the race. But he was just better than I was at the end. He was able to slide me in (Turns) three and four. I was actually surprised I got back to him at the line. I had a run and dipped back down the hill. I heard him coming. I expected a slider coming, so I kind of crossed up and made sure I had a run. But it wasn’t quite big enough.”

It wasn’t big enough by 0.09 seconds as that’s all Gustin needed to edge him for the win.

“It was a heck of a race,” Gustin said. “Anytime you get to race with them guys is really fun… All in all, it was really fun. Obviously, a good race with Nick. He’s a clean racer. When you’re out there throwing sliders and bouncing off the fence, it’s always entertaining. I’m sure the fans loved it.”

The victory also places Gustin as one of the top points earners for the event, which will lock the top-16 points earners between Friday’s two Features into Saturday’s $50,000-to-win finale.

And while Hoffman didn’t get the win, his second-place finish has him currently tied with Brandon Sheppard, who finished 17th, for the Series championship points lead.

RECAP NOTES:
Dirt King Simulator Hottest Hot Lap: Tyler Bruening
Simpson Quick Time Award: Ryan Gustin
Heat Race Winners: Ryan Gustin, Dennis Erb Jr., Shannon Babb, Tyler Stevens
Last Chance Showdown Winner: Billy Moyer Sr.
Bilstein Pole Award: Tyler Stevens
Fox Factory Hard Charger: Tyler Erb

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models return to action on Friday, July 5, at Deer Creek Speedway for Friday’s originally scheduled portion of the NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50. Tickets are available at the track.

If you can’t make it to Deer Creek Speedway, you can watch every lap live on DIRTVision.

RESULTS
CASE Late Mode Feature (30 Laps): 1. 19R-Ryan Gustin[4]; 2. 9-Nick Hoffman[6]; 3. 32-Bobby Pierce[5]; 4. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[2]; 5. 25-Chad Simpson[12]; 6. 18-Shannon Babb[3]; 7. 16-Tyler Bruening[8]; 8. 1-Tyler Erb[20]; 9. 2-Tyler Stevens[1]; 10. B1-Brent Larson[16]; 11. 49-Jake Timm[9]; 12. 97-Cade Dillard[11]; 13. 3S-Brian Shirley[18]; 14. 55C-Chad Mahder[13]; 15. 18C-Chase Junghans[10]; 16. 40B-Kyle Bronson[14]; 17. B5-Brandon Sheppard[7]; 18. 21-Billy Moyer Sr[17]; 19. 22*-Max McLaughlin[23]; 20. 76-Blair Nothdurft[19]; 21. 97JR-Cody Overton[21]; 22. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[24]; 23. 19-Dustin Sorensen[15]; 24. 29-Keith Hammett[22]