Bobby Pierce dominated the MARS Late Model feature at LaSalle Speedway on Saturday night after winning the first of two twin races on Friday night.
Shirley led through the beginning portion of the 75-lap race, but jumped the cushion with 64 laps to go and allowed Pierce, Ryan Unzicker, Dennis Erb Jr., Tyler Erb, and Justin Duty to get past him. The race stayed green, and Shirley attacked the track and the field with a fury.
About 10 laps after jumping the cushion, Shirley got hooked up on the outside and was able to storm past Duty and Unzicker and began working on Tyler Erb, but a caution due to Jake Little jumping the cushion and then hitting the outside wall put a pause on that.
In the ensuing restart, Shirley dug in at the bottom for the first lap and then quickly transitioned back to the top where he was riding his car like a bucking bronco rather than a dirt late model as it was jumping all over the cushion. Despite the treacherous cushion, Shirley remained committed to it and for good reason because when he hit it right he could gap Duty by about 3 car lengths and close in on Tyler Erb. However, he would pay the price as Erb expertly threw a defensive slider that forced Shirley up and over the cushion in turn 4. Like earlier in the race, it stayed green and he would lose multiple spots to Duty and Unzicker and fell into the clutches of Brandon Sheppard.
Shirley would then begin to rally again on the outside and worked his way back around Duty just four laps after jumping the cushion. Just over 10 laps after jumping the cushion, Shirley had made his way back around Unzicker and to the bumper of Erb. However, Erb once again performed a defensive slider in turn 4 and Shirley jumped the cushion albeit not to the extent of the previous time. Nevertheless, it allowed Unzicker to slip underneath him.
Shirley would work his way back around Unzicker and eventually overtake Erb just 3 laps later with 36 laps to go. He then began challenging Dennis Erb Jr. for second and eventually sent him spinning around in Turn 1 with 33 laps to go.
With Erb Jr. spinning off his nose, Shirley inherited the second position and mounted a charge against Bobby Pierce after they went back to green. However, his charge would again be derailed as he jumped the cushion in the treacherous turn 4 and began bouncing like a cowboy on an angry bull. He would fall to sixth, but still stayed committed to the top.
The multiple cushion jumps would eventually take its toll and Shirley exited the race with 13 laps to go.
Pierce would go on to claim the victory and bad the $25,050 winner’s prize. Ryan Unzicker finished second while Brandon Sheppard rounded out the podium. Tyler Erb finished fourth. Chris Simpson finished 5th. Dennis Erb Jr. rallied for a 6th place finish. Justin Duty, Jason Feger, Shannon Babb, and Tony Jackson Jr. rounded out the top 10. Shirley finished in 17th.
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