The box score says Bobby Pierce started first and finished first, but that doesn’t even begin to tell the full story.
It had been seven years since the World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision last visited Ogilvie Raceway, and expectations were high at the track that’s known to give drivers plenty of room to race. When the lineup was published that had Pierce and Jonathan Davenport beside each other on the front row, the fans knew they were in for a treat.
What followed was some of the best racing the Series has seen in years. Davenport got the advantage on the start, but the slider fest commenced behind him between Pierce and Tyler Erb as they went back and forth for second. Pierce eventually prevailed in that battle and began reeling in Davenport, and he threw his first bomb on Davenport going into Turn 3 on Lap 6. Davenport returned the favor the next time around, and the lead swapping continued almost every corner for the next few circuits.
A bad run off of Turn 4 cost Davenport the lead for a few laps, but he regrouped and pounded the cushion around Turns 3 and 4 to roar past Pierce on Lap 13. The leaders finally got a chance to catch their breath when the caution flew for a slowing Drake Troutman 18 laps in while Davenport was barely ahead.
Davenport’s chances of victory came to an abrupt end on the ensuing restart, as he overdrove the first corner, pounded the wall and ripped the quarter panel off of his No. 49 car, causing enough damage to put him out of the race. That moved his good friend Nick Hoffman into contention for the win, and Hoffman took full advantage by pulling away on the restart. His time out front didn’t last long with both Pierce and Ryan Gustin on his tail, and Pierce made the race-winning pass with 10 to go and held on for win number 12 of the 2026 World of Outlaws season.
“JD, we had a heck of a race,” Pierce said. “That was so much fun. Hoffman, Gustin, that was probably race of the year for those first 30 laps. Thanks to those guys for racing me very clean, just going at it. ‘Terbo,’ we were throwing some sliders. It’s great to have a racetrack to do that on. Ogilvie tonight was so wide, bottom, top, middle, just everything allowed us all to race around, multiple lanes.”
Hoffman came home right behind his championship rival in second ahead of Gustin in third, who appeared on the podium for the first time in over a month. Erb trailed in fourth, while Trey Mills tied his World of Outlaws career best in fifth.
UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision remains in Minnesota for a night at I-94 emr Speedway on Wednesday, June 24. Get your tickets in advance by clicking here.
Want to watch the World of Outlaws? Stream every race live on DIRTVision.
RACE NOTES:
Dennis Erb Jr. set the Dirt King Simulators Fastest Hot Lap.
Ross Robinson won the Simpson Quick Time Award.
Tyler Erb won Heat 1.
Nick Hoffman won STAKT Products Heat 2.
Jonathan Davenport won Keyser Manufacturing Heat 3.
Bobby Pierce won Jarrett Rifles Heat 4.
Dallon Murty won the Last Chance Showdown.
Bobby Pierce won the Bilstein Pole Award.
Dustin Sorensen won the FOX Factory Hard Charger Award.
Trey Mills won the MD3 Rookie of the Race Award.
Nick Hoffman was the WELD Racing Second-Place Finisher.
Ryan Gustin was the WIX Filters Third-Place Finisher.
Tyler Erb was the ARP Fourth-Place Finisher.
Trey Mills was the MSD Fifth-Place Finisher.
Dennis Erb Jr. was the Swift Springs Sixth-Place Finisher.
Dustin Sorensen was the Penske Racing Shocks Seventh-Place Finisher.
Dallon Murty was VP Racing Fuels Eighth-Place Finisher.
Tim McCreadie was the Lifeline Ninth-Place Finisher.
Tristan Chamberlain was the COMP Cams 10th-Place Finisher.
Tyler Bruening was the Quarter Master 11th-Place Finisher.
Gordy Gundaker was the Cometic Gaskets 12th-Place Finisher.
Sam Mars was the Quarter Master 13th-Place Finisher.
Daulton Wilson was the ARP 14th-Place Finisher.
Ethan Dotson was the Arizona Sport Shirts 18th-Place Finisher.
Feature (40 Laps): 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[1]; 2. 9-Nick Hoffman[3]; 3. 19R-Ryan Gustin[8]; 4. 1-Tyler Erb[4]; 5. 14-Trey Mills[11]; 6. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[7]; 7. 19-Dustin Sorensen[21]; 8. 13-Dallon Murty[17]; 9. 9M-Tim McCreadie[9]; 10. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[23]; 11. 16-Tyler Bruening[20]; 12. 11-Gordy Gundaker[14]; 13. 28M-Sam Mars[22]; 14. 58V-Daulton Wilson[15]; 15. 1Z-Logan Zarin[16]; 16. 49T-Jake Timm[5]; 17. 7-Ross Robinson[13]; 18. 74X-Ethan Dotson[6]; 19. B1-Brent Larson[18]; 20. 55E-Eli Johnson[24]; 21. 97-Cody Overton[10]; 22. 49-Jonathan Davenport[2]; 23. 22*-Drake Troutman[12]; 24. 37X-Skeeter Estey[19]