CASA GRANDE, Ariz. — As the weather warmed up for the midweek special, round three of the 2026 Rio Grande Waste Services Wild West Shootout, presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts got underway on Wednesday at FK Rod Ends Central Arizona Raceway.
Ethan Dotson and Jake Smith notched their first Wild West Shootout victories, while Reece Solander captured his first A-Mod Wild West Shootout win.
California’s Dotson stunned the front-runners late in Wednesday’s 30-lap main event, using the final restart to claim the $10,000 victory.
Starting seventh, Dotson waited patiently for the right moment before making his move. He ripped past Bobby Pierce on the high side during the late restart and then powered away in the closing laps to capture the checkered flag.
Ethan Dotson described his winning move, saying, “Whenever Bobby (Pierce) drove in there and Terbo (Tyler Erb) picked the bottom, I was like ‘oh sh*t’ I got a chance here.” He added, “We’ve been working our asses off these last couple months … I told John (Henderson) just don’t give up on me … this is super awesome.”
Pierce, who settled for runner-up, dominated the first half of the main event before Hudson O’Neal started pressuring him on the bottom.
O’Neal then suffered a flat left-rear tire, clearing the way for Ethan Dotson to make his move. Dotson drove the ASD Motorsports machine into Hoker Trucking Victory Lane.
Ryan Gustin completed the podium in third and also claimed the Rio Grande Waste Services Hard Charger Award, his second of the miniseries. He takes home an extra $500, while his crew pockets $1,000 courtesy of the Low Voltage Solutions Hard Chargin’ Crew Award.
The Shocker Hitch X-Modifieds presented by Border Tire saw a different winner this evening, following Blake Adams’ feature victories on opening weekend. Jacob Smith of St. Joseph, Minnesota, held off Adams on the final restart to claim his first Wild West Shootout victory.
Reece Solander led every lap of the night’s 25-lap Mesilla Valley Transportation Modified main event.
The finish:
Feature (30 Laps): 1. 74X-Ethan Dotson[7]; 2. 32-Bobby Pierce[1]; 3. 19R-Ryan Gustin[14]; 4. 1-Tyler Erb[2]; 5. 49-Jonathan Davenport[4]; 6. B5-Brandon Sheppard[10]; 7. 58-Garrett Alberson[6]; 8. 19-Dustin Sorensen[9]; 9. 75-Terry Phillips[18]; 10. 6-Hudson O’Neal[5]; 11. 86-Kyle Beard[8]; 12. 15D-Justin Duty[12]; 13. 18-Chase Junghans[21]; 14. 75A-Daniel Adam[13]; 15. 15S-Clay Stuckey[16]; 16. 49T-Jake Timm[19]; 17. 15-Laela Eisenschenk[24]; 18. 8-Dillon McCowan[22]; 19. 9T-Tim Isenberg[20]; 20. 97-Cade Dillard[15]; 21. 157-Mike Marlar[11]; 22. 0-Jake O’Neil[3]; 23. 96-RC Whitwell[23]; 24. 22*-Drake Troutman[17]
