ST. LOUIS — Bobby Pierce turned in a dominant performance on the opening night of the Castrol Gateway Dirt Nationals inside The Dome at America’s Center.
Pierce, who won the event in 2017 and ’18, led all 25 laps and put himself in position to win Saturday night’s $30,000 top prize.
Rya Unzicker shared the front row with Pierce and finished second.
Tanner English, Ricky Thornton Jr. and Shannon Babb rounded out the top five.
Drake Troutman won the companion modified main event.
Pierce was the fast qualifier for the 65-car field with a lap of 12.333 seconds.
The finish:
Bobby Pierce, Ryan Unzicker, Tanner English, Ricky Thornton Jr., Shannon Babb, Chris Simpson, Brandon Sheppard, Jason Feger, Kylan Garner, Kyle Hammer, Rusty Schlenk, Ryan Montgomery, Ryan Wilson, Tanner Collins, Chris Carpenter, Jayme Zidar, Freddie Carpenter, Gordy Gundaker.