Round No. 5 Wild West Shootout Wins Scored by Shirley, Estey & Leer

Aaron Clay, SAN TAN VALLEY, Ariz. (January 18, 2020) – For the second time in as many years, a Dirt Track Bank Super Late Model driver has pulled into Hoker Trucking victory lane at least three times during the Wild West Shootout, earning them a piece of the Keyser Manufacturing Quarter-Million Challenge bonus money.  I use the term “at least”, as Brian Shirley of Chatham, Ill., still has one more race to stake claim to even more money being offered by Keyser.

Shirley’s Saturday night picked right up where he left Friday, as he dominated his heat race, winning by over three seconds.  Cade Dillard of Robeline, La., ripped a 15.321 lap around FK Rod Ends Arizona Speedway earlier in the evening, earning him the $100 fast qualifier award, courtesy of SportTruck RV and Screven Motor Speedway.  Dillard also won his heat race, joining Chase Junghans of Manhattan, Kan., Johnny Scott of Las Cruces, N.M. and Shirley as heat race winners.  Junghans would collect $100 after his heat race win, as he drew the pole position and earned the Gorsuch Performance Pole Award.

Unfortunately for Junghans, his time spent up front would not last long in the 40-lap feature, as he overshot the entrance of turn three and hopped the cushion, handing the lead to outside front row starter, Johnny Scott.  Junghans recovered in fifth place, by the completion of the race’s first circuit.  Scott proceeded to lead the next nine laps, with Shirley hot on his tail and showing his nose on the inside of the FK Rod Ends Arizona Speedway track surface.  It was the tenth lap where Shirley was finally able to find the traction he needed to complete the pass on Scott and he immediately began to stretch his lead.

The race remained green until just after the halfway mark, when Justin Duty of Mulino, Ore.,  slowed on lap 25, bringing out the first Midwest Sheet Metal caution flag of the night.  This erased Shirley’s growing advantage and setup a series of restarts and short sprints to the finish.  Third and seventh place drivers, Ricky Weiss of Headingley, Manitoba and Chase Junghans both executed flawless restarts, advancing to second and third position, behind Shirley.  However, Shirley continued to stretch his lead over Weiss and Junghans, until fourth place running Johnny Scott suffered a failed right rear tire on lap 34, ending his night and bringing out the second caution flag.

Weiss attempted to keep pace with Shirley on the next restart, but “Squirrel” continued to flex his muscle and quickly opened his lead.  This happened to be only a four lap stint, as third place running Chase Junghans lost his right rear tire on lap 38, also ending his night and bringing out the final Midwest Sheet Metal caution flag of the race.  Weiss gave it all he could on the final restart, with two laps to go.  He stuck to the bottom and showed Shirley his nose, nearly driving even with him in turns one and two.  However, Shirley was simply too strong, as he cruised to win his second consecutive Wild West Shootout feature victory, which marked his third win of the entire event.

Weiss settled for runner-up on Saturday, his fourth top-five finish in the five events that have been completed.  Brandon Sheppard of New Berlin, Ill., charged from his 12th starting position to claim the third and final finishing position on the podium.  The third place finish gives Sheppard top-five finishes in all five races, thus far in the 2020 Keyser Manufacturing Wild West Shootout presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts.  Dillard remained in the top-five throughout the entire 40-lap feature and earned his best finish of the event, coming home in fourth, while Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill., advanced from his 18th starting position and finished fifth.

Shirley’s third victory of the event has earned him a $10,000 bonus, courtesy of Keyser Manufacturing.  He can make it $25,000 in bonus money, if he happens to win the final event on Sunday.  Brandon Sheppard can also secure a $10,000 Keyser Manufacturing bonus of his own, if he can manage to win his third feature victory of the event, on Sundery.  In addition to being mindful of the potential for bonus money, the consistency of Shirley, Sheppard and Weiss will also undoubtedly setup an epic points battle going into Sunday afternoon’s finale for the Dirt Track Bank Super Late Models presented by Black Diamond Race Cars.

Saturday night’s Mesilla Valley Transportation/Border Tire and Arizona Differential Modified feature not only featured its fifth different winner in as many races, it will likely go down as one of the best Modified finishes in the history of the Wild West Shootout.  The 25-lap race started rough, as outside pole sitter Trevor Anderson of Watertown, S.D., was spun on the fourth lap and hit driver-side into the turn three wall.  Anderson’s car did a pirouette and landed facing the infield, with his driver’s side towards traffic, but was then struck by Matt Gilbertson of Montevideo, Minn., when he had nowhere to go.  Anderson was reported as being okay, but a little banged up.  Thankfully, this was the last Midwest Sheet Metal caution flag of the night, for the Modifieds.  According to statistics, pole sitter Matt Leer of Bruce, Wis., lead the entire race, but that doesn’t even begin to tell the story.  Tyler Peterson of Hickson, N.D., Lucas Schott of Chatfield, Minn., and Rodney Sanders of Happy, Texas were all quicker than Leer in the closing laps and they were all running nose-to-tail.  However, entering turn one of the final lap, Peterson threw a slider that somehow stuck and he grabbed the lead by the exit of turn two.  Leer saved his run for corner exit and he was able to get underneath Peterson in turns three and four, coming to the checkered flag.  Leer let his car drift wide on corner exit, making contact with Peterson and putting him into the wall, as the two cars drag raced for the finish line.  The contact killed their momentum, allowing Schott and Sanders to draw even closer, on the exit of turn four.  Leer was just able to nip Peterson at the line, winning his first career Keyser Manufacturing Wild West Shootout feature victory by .034 seconds.  Peterson was hit from behind by Schott just after they crossed the finish line and he was spun nearly into the infield at the entrance of turn one, but held on to finish runner-up.  Schott sustained significant front end damage in the collision with Peterson, but he took third position, a scant .240 seconds behind Leer.  Sanders was the only driver of the four not to sustain damage in the last-corner skirmish and he claimed the fourth position, only .326 seconds behind the race winner.  This was, by far, one of the most exciting Mesilla Valley Transportation/Border Tire and Arizona Differential Modified features that I have ever witnessed during the Wild West Shootout.

Saturday night started with a first career winner at the 2020 Keyser Manufacturing Wild West Shootout presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts.  Skeeter Estey of Kelly Lake, Minn., earned his third top-five and fifth top-ten finish of the event, narrowly holding off the 2019 RHRSwag.com Barnett Harley-Davidson X-Mod champion, Cole Searing of Huron, S.D.  Estey accomplished the feat by surviving a couple of Midwest Sheet Metal caution flags early in the 20-lap feature, along with executing perfect restarts.  Lucas Rodin of Marion, N.D., was an early challenger to Estey, but quickly faded into the clutches of two-time feature winner, Josh Cain of Albuquerque, N.M.  This allowed Estey to stretch his lead to over five seconds while Rodin and Cain battled behind him.  Searing began his hunt of the leader just after the halfway mark, passing Cain and then setting his sights on Rodin.  They battled for second place with less than five laps to go and Searing was able to clear Rodin on lap 17, but at that exact same time, Cole Haugland of Brocket, N.D. slowed in turn three, causing the final Midwest Sheet Metal caution flag to be displayed.  This erased Estey’s large lead and would setup a three-lap shootout for the win.  Searing made quick work of Rodin on the ensuing restart and got his nose up alongside Estey, trying to pass him on the outside.  However, Estey was able to keep Searing behind him, winning his first Keyser Manufacturing Wild West Shootout feature victory by less than half of a second.  Searing settled for the runner-up position on Saturday, while Cain finished third.

The 2020 Keyser Manufacturing Wild West Shootout presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts concludes on Sunday, January 19th, with cars scheduled to hit the track for hot laps at 3:00pm local time (5:00pm eastern).
Fans and competitors planning trips to FK Rod Ends Arizona Speedway can also now book rooms at the Wild West Shootout’s official hotel, Hyatt Place Phoenix Gilbert, located approximately 20 minutes from the track in Gilbert, Ariz. Call 1-888-591-1234 or visit www.HyattPlaceGilbert.com to schedule your stay.

For more information on the 14th annual Wild West Shootout, please visit www.WildWestShootout.net

The Wild West Shootout is made possible by Keyser Manufacturing, O’Reilly Auto Parts, FK Rod Ends, Dirt Track Bank, Black Diamond Race Cars, Shaw Trucking, Schaeffer Oil, SportTruck RV, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Border Tire, Arizona Differential, RHRSwag.com, Barnett Harley Davidson, Shocks by Hammer, Hoker Trucking, Premier Waste Services, MidWest Sheet Metal, Rodeo Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, VP Racing Fuel, Hoosier Racing Tires, Pro Power Engines, Penske Racing Shocks, Five Star Graphix, Beaver Stripes, Gorsuch Performance Solutions, Screven Motor Speedway, Total Ag Solutions and DirtonDirt.com

Dirt Track Bank Super Late Models presented by Black Diamond Race Cars

Qualifying

Qualifying 1 (2 Laps): 1. 7-Ricky Weiss, 00:15.440[7]; 2. 2-Garrett Alberson, 00:15.466[2]; 3. 18-Chase Junghans, 00:15.629[6]; 4. 75T-Terry Phillips, 00:15.720[8]; 5. 91T-Tony Toste, 00:15.798[3]; 6. 17-Mclain Beaudoin, 00:16.262[1]; 7. 81X-Matt Sparby, 00:16.557[9]; 8. 28W-Jim Whistler, 00:16.606[4]; 9. 78S-Steve Stultz, 00:16.959[10]; 10. 74-Mitch McGrath, 00:16.959[5]

Qualifying 2 (2 Laps): 1. 97-Cade Dillard, 00:15.321[6]; 2. 15B-Brian Birkhofer, 00:15.642[10]; 3. 86-Kyle Beard, 00:15.739[7]; 4. 42S-Don Shaw, 00:15.750[4]; 5. 2S-Stormy Scott, 00:15.789[1]; 6. 32-Bobby Pierce, 00:15.801[5]; 7. 76-Blair Northdurft, 00:16.069[3]; 8. 19R-Ryan Gustin, 00:16.138[9]; 9. 91P-Jason Papich, 00:16.301[2]; 10. 7W-Richard Wallace, 00:17.201[8]

Qualifying 3 (2 Laps): 1. 3S-Brian Shirley, 00:15.593[5]; 2. 32S-Chris Simpson, 00:15.638[1]; 3. 1-Earl Pearson Jr, 00:15.760[4]; 4. 89-Mike Spatola, 00:15.842[8]; 5. 2M-Allen Murray, 00:15.879[6]; 6. 77M-Jay Morris, 00:15.889[3]; 7. 6-Casey Skyberg, 00:16.009[7]; 8. 15-Justin Duty, 00:16.126[10]; 9. 6T-Terry Carter, 00:16.419[9]; 10. 24-Rick Ortega, 00:17.315[2]

Qualifying 4 (2 Laps): 1. B5-Brandon Sheppard, 00:15.389[3]; 2. 1ST-Johnny Scott, 00:15.448[5]; 3. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr, 00:15.557[6]; 4. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr, 00:15.948[8]; 5. 28M-Jimmy Mars, 00:16.090[4]; 6. 99-Clay Fisher, 00:16.115[1]; 7. 38-Thomas Hunziker, 00:16.329[10]; 8. 28-John Cornell, 00:16.370[7]; 9. 3X-Lyndon Bolt, 00:16.822[2]; 10. 74D-Dan Deibele, 00:17.199[9]

Heat Races – Top four advance to “A” Main with balance going to one of two “B” Mains

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 18-Chase Junghans[3]; 2. 7-Ricky Weiss[1]; 3. 2-Garrett Alberson[2]; 4. 75T-Terry Phillips[4]; 5. 91T-Tony Toste[5]; 6. 78S-Steve Stultz[9]; 7. 17-Mclain Beaudoin[6]; 8. 74-Mitch McGrath[10]; 9. 28W-Jim Whistler[8]; 10. 81X-Matt Sparby[7]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 97-Cade Dillard[1]; 2. 15B-Brian Birkhofer[2]; 3. 86-Kyle Beard[3]; 4. 2S-Stormy Scott[5]; 5. 32-Bobby Pierce[6]; 6. 91P-Jason Papich[9]; 7. 76-Blair Northdurft[7]; 8. 7W-Richard Wallace[10]; 9. 42S-Don Shaw[4]; 10. 19R-Ryan Gustin[8]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 3S-Brian Shirley[1]; 2. 32S-Chris Simpson[2]; 3. 1-Earl Pearson Jr[3]; 4. 89-Mike Spatola[4]; 5. 77M-Jay Morris[6]; 6. 2M-Allen Murray[5]; 7. 15-Justin Duty[8]; 8. 6-Casey Skyberg[7]; 9. 24-Rick Ortega[10]; 10. 6T-Terry Carter[9]

Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 1ST-Johnny Scott[2]; 2. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[4]; 3. B5-Brandon Sheppard[1]; 4. 28M-Jimmy Mars[5]; 5. 99-Clay Fisher[6]; 6. 28-John Cornell[8]; 7. 38-Thomas Hunziker[7]; 8. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[3]; 9. 74D-Dan Deibele[10]; 10. 3X-Lyndon Bolt[9]

“B” Mains – Top four in each advance to “A” Main

B Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 91T-Tony Toste[1]; 2. 17-Mclain Beaudoin[5]; 3. 77M-Jay Morris[2]; 4. 15-Justin Duty[6]; 5. 74-Mitch McGrath[7]; 6. 81X-Matt Sparby[11]; 7. 6-Casey Skyberg[8]; 8. 28W-Jim Whistler[9]; 9. 78S-Steve Stultz[3]; 10. 24-Rick Ortega[10]; 11. 2M-Allen Murray[4]; 12. 6T-Terry Carter[12]

B Feature 2 (12 Laps): 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[1]; 2. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[8]; 3. 99-Clay Fisher[2]; 4. 91P-Jason Papich[3]; 5. 28-John Cornell[4]; 6. 76-Blair Northdurft[5]; 7. 42S-Don Shaw[9]; 8. 38-Thomas Hunziker[6]; 9. 3X-Lyndon Bolt[12]; 10. 7W-Richard Wallace[7]; 11. 74D-Dan Deibele[10]; 12. 19R-Ryan Gustin[11]

Pro Power Dash

Pro Power Dash (6 Laps): 1. 42S-Don Shaw[6]; 2. 74-Mitch McGrath[1]; 3. 28-John Cornell[2]; 4. 6-Casey Skyberg[5]; 5. 76-Blair Northdurft[4]; 6. 81X-Matt Sparby[3]

“A” Main

A Feature 1 (40 Laps): 1. 3S-Brian Shirley[4]; 2. 7-Ricky Weiss[5]; 3. B5-Brandon Sheppard[12]; 4. 97-Cade Dillard[3]; 5. 32-Bobby Pierce[18]; 6. 15B-Brian Birkhofer[6]; 7. 2S-Stormy Scott[14]; 8. 32S-Chris Simpson[7]; 9. 99JR-Frank Heckenast Jr[20]; 10. 1-Earl Pearson Jr[11]; 11. 86-Kyle Beard[10]; 12. 91T-Tony Toste[17]; 13. 17-Mclain Beaudoin[19]; 14. 99-Clay Fisher[22]; 15. 77M-Jay Morris[21]; 16. 89-Mike Spatola[15]; 17. 18-Chase Junghans[1]; 18. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[8]; 19. 1ST-Johnny Scott[2]; 20. 2-Garrett Alberson[9]; 21. 28M-Jimmy Mars[16]; 22. 15-Justin Duty[23]; 23. 75T-Terry Phillips[13]; 24. 91P-Jason Papich[24]

Mesilla Valley Transportation/Border Tire and Arizona Differential Modifieds

Heat Races – Top sixteen in passing points advance to “A” Main with balance to one of two “B” Mains

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 1TPO-Tyler Peterson[2]; 2. 10C-Chad Olsen[3]; 3. 8N-Nick Rivera[1]; 4. 5G-Scott Greer[7]; 5. 27X-Calvin Iverson[5]; 6. 02-Tanner Mullens[8]; 7. 2J-Blake Jegtvig[6]; 8. 65X-Carlos Ahumada Jr[4]; 9. 111X-Bumper Jones[10]; 10. 18K-Jacob Pace[9]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 30-Matt Leer[6]; 2. 20T-Trevor Anderson[8]; 3. 111-Logan Drake[5]; 4. 75-Alan Sharpensteen[1]; 5. 51T-Tim Thomas[2]; 6. 57-Duke Erickson[10]; 7. 22-Jonathon Ortega[4]; 8. 3-Tim Tharp[9]; 9. 54-Carlos Ahumada Sr[3]; 10. 85D-Mark Dotson[7]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 69-Lucas Schott[2]; 2. 20-Rodney Sanders[3]; 3. 21X-Travis Saurer[4]; 4. 37-Kelly Estey[6]; 5. 11X-Matt Gilbertson[7]; 6. 4W-Tyler Wolff[1]; 7. 52-Mitch Keeter[8]; 8. 00AZ-TJ Wyman[5]; 9. 72-Dustin Grabowski[10]; 10. 90-Trevor Steed[9]

Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 71-Dustin Strand[4]; 2. 91-Joe Duvall[1]; 3. 2C-Dave Cain[5]; 4. J17-Jake Gallardo[10]; 5. 9-Jimmy Ray[2]; 6. 5M-Zachary Madrid[7]; 7. 23-Justin Rexwinkle[6]; 8. 30T-Travis Tipton[8]; 9. 55-Chris Kratzer[3]; 10. 8C-Chris Clark[9]

“B” Mains – Top four in each advance to “A” Main

B Feature 1 (12 Laps): 1. 02-Tanner Mullens[1]; 2. J17-Jake Gallardo[2]; 3. 111X-Bumper Jones[8]; 4. 4W-Tyler Wolff[5]; 5. 5M-Zachary Madrid[3]; 6. 65X-Carlos Ahumada Jr[9]; 7. 9-Jimmy Ray[4]; 8. 23-Justin Rexwinkle[6]; 9. 55-Chris Kratzer[11]; 10. 72-Dustin Grabowski[12]; 11. 8C-Chris Clark[10]; 12. 22-Jonathon Ortega[7]

B Feature 2 (12 Laps): 1. 52-Mitch Keeter[4]; 2. 27X-Calvin Iverson[2]; 3. 2J-Blake Jegtvig[5]; 4. 85D-Mark Dotson[11]; 5. 51T-Tim Thomas[3]; 6. 30T-Travis Tipton[7]; 7. 75-Alan Sharpensteen[1]; 8. 00AZ-TJ Wyman[8]; 9. 54-Carlos Ahumada Sr[10]; 10. 3-Tim Tharp[6]; 11. 18K-Jacob Pace[9]; 12. 90-Trevor Steed[12]

“A” Main

A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 30-Matt Leer[1]; 2. 1TPO-Tyler Peterson[4]; 3. 69-Lucas Schott[5]; 4. 20-Rodney Sanders[7]; 5. 71-Dustin Strand[3]; 6. 52-Mitch Keeter[18]; 7. 4W-Tyler Wolff[23]; 8. 5G-Scott Greer[10]; 9. 02-Tanner Mullens[17]; 10. 111-Logan Drake[8]; 11. 27X-Calvin Iverson[20]; 12. 10C-Chad Olsen[6]; 13. 91-Joe Duvall[11]; 14. 2C-Dave Cain[9]; 15. 8N-Nick Rivera[15]; 16. 111X-Bumper Jones[21]; 17. 85D-Mark Dotson[24]; 18. 57-Duke Erickson[14]; 19. 37-Kelly Estey[13]; 20. 11X-Matt Gilbertson[16]; 21. 21X-Travis Saurer[12]; 22. 20T-Trevor Anderson[2]; 23. 2J-Blake Jegtvig[22]; 24. J17-Jake Gallardo[19]

RHRSwag.com Barnett Harley-Davidson X-Mods

Heat Races – Top sixteen in passing points to “A” Main with balance going to one of two “B” Mains

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 37X-Skeeter Estey[9]; 2. 10-Cole Searing[2]; 3. 8-Dillon McCowan[4]; 4. 112X-Brennan Gave[1]; 5. 2G-Brock Gronwold[5]; 6. 37XXX-Kelly Estey[6]; 7. 7B-Bailey Cousins[7]; 8. 2SS-Mark Smith[3]; 9. 25-Kenneth McDonald[8]; 10. 08-Glen Maga[10]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 39-Stephen Muilenburg[2]; 2. 37-Clint Johnson[1]; 3. 71AZ-Tyler Mecl[3]; 4. 476X-Troy Hovey[4]; 5. 4H-Grant Hall[8]; 6. 16-Brock Hess[6]; 7. 65-Kris Jackson[7]; 8. 13B-Jess Brekke[10]; 9. 14M-Blake Meyer[5]; 10. 12S-Chad Switzenberg[9]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 20-Al Ferguson[1]; 2. 10C-Cole Haugland[4]; 3. 3J-Josh Cain[7]; 4. 17X-Mike Striegel[8]; 5. 15X-Blake Davis[3]; 6. 27X-Andy Miskowic[5]; 7. 79-Allen Owen Jr[9]; 8. 44JT-Jaime Torres[10]; 9. 56-Terry Bahr[2]; 10. 33S-Ben Stockton[6]

Heat 4 (8 Laps): 1. 19-Lucas Rodin[3]; 2. 777-Justin Allen[2]; 3. X44-Mark Maga[7]; 4. 22-Matt Heinzerling[8]; 5. 17B-Zach Benson[4]; 6. 53-Scott Walker[10]; 7. 11-Bryan Kakela[5]; 8. 32H-Eric Haugland[6]; 9. 96F-Eric Folstad[1]; 10. 17-Lance Schill[9]

“B” Mains – Top four in each advance to “A” Main

B Feature 1 (10 Laps): 1. 476X-Troy Hovey[1]; 2. 2G-Brock Gronwold[2]; 3. 65-Kris Jackson[7]; 4. 17-Lance Schill[11]; 5. 37XXX-Kelly Estey[4]; 6. 27X-Andy Miskowic[5]; 7. 44JT-Jaime Torres[6]; 8. 15X-Blake Davis[3]; 9. 08-Glen Maga[10]; 10. 25-Kenneth McDonald[9]; 11. 96F-Eric Folstad[12]; 12. 32H-Eric Haugland[8]

B Feature 2 (10 Laps): 1. 112X-Brennan Gave[1]; 2. 17B-Zach Benson[2]; 3. 2SS-Mark Smith[8]; 4. 7B-Bailey Cousins[6]; 5. 13B-Jess Brekke[5]; 6. 12S-Chad Switzenberg[10]; 7. 79-Allen Owen Jr[3]; 8. 16-Brock Hess[4]; 9. 14M-Blake Meyer[9]; 10. 33S-Ben Stockton[12]; 11. 56-Terry Bahr[11]; 12. 11-Bryan Kakela[7]

“A” Main

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 37X-Skeeter Estey[1]; 2. 10-Cole Searing[10]; 3. 19-Lucas Rodin[2]; 4. 37-Clint Johnson[12]; 5. 3J-Josh Cain[3]; 6. 39-Stephen Muilenburg[5]; 7. 65-Kris Jackson[21]; 8. 17X-Mike Striegel[8]; 9. 4H-Grant Hall[14]; 10. 2G-Brock Gronwold[19]; 11. 476X-Troy Hovey[17]; 12. 8-Dillon McCowan[13]; 13. 71AZ-Tyler Mecl[15]; 14. 777-Justin Allen[11]; 15. 7B-Bailey Cousins[24]; 16. X44-Mark Maga[4]; 17. 2SS-Mark Smith[22]; 18. 112X-Brennan Gave[18]; 19. 10C-Cole Haugland[6]; 20. 17B-Zach Benson[20]; 21. 22-Matt Heinzerling[9]; 22. 20-Al Ferguson[7]; 23. 17-Lance Schill[23]; 24. 53-Scott Walker[16]