Bobby Pierce had high praise for his crew after he captured Thursday’s 25-lap preliminary feature to open the Kubota Gateway Dirt Nationals at The Dome at America’s Center.

“This win definitely goes out to them,” Pierce said, a smile creasing his lips.

The 29-year-old superstar from Oakwood, Ill., specifically meant his team members Austin Hemmen and Justin Steuhl, who combined to win a pre-race tire-changing competition sponsored by Hellraizer Jacks that put Pierce on the pole position for the 25-lap prelim. Their quick time in changing the right-rear tire on Pierce’s was fastest among the crews of the program’s six heat winners.

Pierce knew the unique manner of determining feature starting spots put crews in the spotlight. His boys were ready for the big moment.

“Austin and Justin, they practiced for like an hour in the shop,” Pierce said. “We were just finding some various ways to make some (tire-changing) speed. I think they could’ve done it even a little faster, but they kind of took their time and it was enough to get the pole.”

Pierce was adamant about the importance of leading the field to the green flag on the temporary fifth-mile dirt oval constructed on the Dome’s concrete floor. As he noted, starting from the “third row would’ve been a big challenge to win the race.”

In fact, Pierce was outgunned for the top spot at the initial green flag by outside front-row starter Mike Harrison of Highland, Ill., a veteran UMP modified standout seeking to add Dirt Late Model glory at the Dome to his triumph in the weekend’s modified finale in 2018. Pierce had to pull off an aggressive move to seize command from Harrison on lap five, making it clear that track position was critical in the short sprint.

“This place is tight and I had to go in, send that slider for the lead (through turns one and two) before (Harrison) moved all the way up (the track) and found that extra bit of line there,” Pierce said. 

Pierce did his job to position him well for heat action by registering the fastest lap in Thursday’s second qualifying group. It gave him the pole for the fourth heat, which he won to claim a berth in the tire-changing contest that earned his crew members a $500 bonus from Hellraizer.

“The car was good all night,” Pierce said of his Longhorn Chassis. “We qualified great — that’s kind of been a challenge here the last couple years, just qualifying good, I mean really good, so you can win your heat race. It’s so crucial … it’s a lot like the Chili Bowl (Midget Nationals in Tulsa, Okla.) in the fact that you can’t really get second or third. You need to win when you’re out there to give yourself the best odds.”

The $10,000 victory locked Pierce into Saturday’s 40-lap finale that pays a record $70,000-to-win. It marks the eighth time in nine tries that he will start the event’s headliner, which he’s assured of starting among the top six after a redraw of the top-three finishers in each preliminary feature.

A two-time Gateway Dirt Nationals champion (2017 and ’18) and three-time preliminary feature winner (he also was victorious in 2018 and ’22), Pierce has a good idea what Saturday’s big race will offer.

“It’s definitely not rough compared to what this place will get on Saturday,” said Pierce, who recorded the 31st overall win of a 2025 season that has him over $1.3 million in earnings. “It’ll get there, but this Thursday, we kind of expect the night usually goes pretty smooth. It got a little character in it towards the end, just a little hops down the straightaways, but the corners were still pretty smooth.

“For Saturday, I’m sure it’ll be a lot different. I almost got it done last year from (starting) 12th (he finished second), but you wanna start in the first three rows.”