1/18/2026
Wild West Shootout
Bobby Pierce captures Wild West Shootout Finale, Takes Home $51,500
Hudson O’Neal, Jake Smith, and Rodney Sanders Claim Wild West Shootout titles
CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (Jan. 18, 2026) — The 2026 Rio Grande Waste Services Wild West Shootout presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts drew to a close Sunday evening with 164 race cars filling the pit area at FK Rod Ends Central Arizona Raceway in Casa Grande, Arizona, presented by Low Voltage Solutions for the sixth and final round of the miniseries.
Bobby Pierce, Jake Smith, and Jeremy Payne each captured victories in the finale.
Leading all but three laps in the 50-lap feature, Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill., claimed his first victory of the 2026 Wild West Shootout in the $25,000-to-win finale. Pierce led handily through the first 20 circuits before Hudson O’Neal closed the gap. The two drivers exchanged sliders, resulting in O’Neal spinning in turn two. Pierce regained full control of the lead on lap 31 and rode to the checkered flag for his 17th-career Wild West Shootout triumph.
“First off, I’ll apologize to him, it might’ve been my mistake there,” said Bobby Pierce, reflecting on his on-track incident with Hudson O’Neal. “He slid me earlier in three, and I figured I was going to give it back to him in two. I’m just glad we were both able to finish the race and he was able to get his spot back. It was just a hard racing deal.”
Pierce led 47 of the 50 laps in the main event, earning an extra $23,500 from the Rio Grande Waste Services Lap Leader Loot. He also collected $3,000 from the Don Frank Floors Fan Challenge, bringing his total payday for the night to $51,500. The win marked the fifth different winner of the 2026 Wild West Shootout and added to Pierce’s career win total with the miniseries, bringing it to 17.
After a run-in with Tyler Erb in his heat race, Jonathan Davenport transferred to the 50-lap feature through the B-Main and charged from the last row to finish second. Hudson O’Neal spun on lap 28 following a spirited exchange with Bobby Pierce but recovered to finish third. The podium result was enough for O’Neal to claim the 2026 Wild West Shootout Super Late Model Championship, earning him $3,000.
Jake Smith of St. Joseph, Minn., capped off a successful Wild West Shootout with a victory in Sunday’s Shocker Hitch X-Modifieds finale presented by Border Tire. Smith took the lead on lap 11 and powered away to the checkered flag ahead of Curtis Stieh and Lucas Rodin. In addition to the $1,000 race win, Smith earned another $1,000 for capturing the X-Mod Championship.
In the $3,000-to-win finale for the Mesilla Valley Transportation Modifieds, Jeremy Payne of Springfield, Mo., captured his second consecutive triumph, finishing ahead of Hunter Sandy and Gabe Hodges. Rodney Sanders secured the Wild West Shootout Modified Championship, earning $1,000 for his efforts.
Curt Lund closed out the final night of action with a win in the IMCA Stock Car division, finishing ahead of Chaz Baca and Bo Partain.
The 2026 Rio Grande Waste Services Wild West Shootout presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts has officially concluded. Dates for next year’s event are scheduled for January 9–17, 2027.
Wild West Shootout | Night #6 | Feature Results:
Black Diamond Racecars Late Model division presented by Malvern Bank:
A Feature 1 (50 Laps): 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[1]; 2. 49-Jonathan Davenport[23]; 3. 6-Hudson O'Neal[4]; 4. 1-Tyler Erb[2]; 5. 19-Dustin Sorensen[11]; 6. 18-Chase Junghans[21]; 7. 74X-Ethan Dotson[6]; 8. 97-Cade Dillard[3]; 9. 22*-Drake Troutman[9]; 10. B5-Brandon Sheppard[19]; 11. 15S-Clay Stuckey[10]; 12. 0-Jake O'Neil[15]; 13. 49T-Jake Timm[16]; 14. 15D-Justin Duty[5]; 15. 157-Mike Marlar[7]; 16. 1X-Amelia Eisenschenk[18]; 17. 8-Dillon McCowan[14]; 18. 128-Kylan Garner[17]; 19. 58-Garrett Alberson[8]; 20. 19R-Ryan Gustin[13]; 21. 9T-Tim Isenberg[20]; 22. 82-Eston Whisler[24]; 23. 15-Laela Eisenschenk[22]; 24. 13-Bricen James[12]
Mesilla Valley Transportation Modified division:
A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 186-Jeremy Payne[2]; 2. 12S-Hunter Sandy[15]; 3. 7G-Gabe Hodges[7]; 4. J17-Jake Gallardo[4]; 5. 71-Dustin Strand[10]; 6. 20S-Rodney Sanders[16]; 7. 5-Reece Solander[18]; 8. 19SB-Lance Mari[5]; 9. 2SS-Mark Smith[3]; 10. 65X-Carlos Ahumada Jr[6]; 11. 38T-Dylan Thornton[19]; 12. 4W-Tyler Wolff[9]; 13. 07X-Troy Morris III[11]; 14. 24-Rick Ortega[13]; 15. 58X-Gary Christian[14]; 16. 10M-Talan Willis[1]; 17. 2J-Blake Jegtvig[21]; 18. 91-Joe Duvall[20]; 19. 65-Tyler Davis[22]; 20. 721-Troy Gemmill[24]; 21. 85D-Mark Dotson[8]; 22. 25-Kale Murphrey[12]; 23. G17-Fito Gallardo[23]; 24. 24C-Joe Chisholm[17]
Shocker Hitch X-Modified division presented by Border Tire:
A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 21-Jake Smith[9]; 2. 32C-Curtis Stieh[3]; 3. 19-Lucas Rodin[14]; 4. M17-Rob Moseley[6]; 5. 99-Jeremy Haddox[13]; 6. 27P-Parker Anderson[12]; 7. 75T-Tyler Johnson[17]; 8. 711-Payce Herrera[23]; 9. 13-Josh Beyer[5]; 10. 1S-Scott Bintz[11]; 11. 57-Duke Erickson[24]; 12. 0-Dakota Girard[16]; 13. 28T-Scott Tofte[18]; 14. 9-Ken Schrader[7]; 15. 3R-Mel Romero[25]; 16. 28BY-Bryson Yeager[1]; 17. 02-Deuce Teague[20]; 18. 22K-Keenan Glasser[4]; 19. 75-Cole Suckow[8]; 20. 50X-Justen Yeager[21]; 21. 30-Blake Davis[10]; 22. 7X-Bubba Stafford Jr[15]; 23. 34-Brandon Rehill[22]; 24. 44-Christy Barnett[2]; 25. 22-Jonathon Ortega[19]
The Rio Grande Waste Services Wild West Shootout presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts is made possible by Rio Grande Waste Services, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Pit Boss, FK Rod Ends, Low Voltage Solutions, Malvern Bank, Black Diamond Race Cars, Hoker Trucking, ShockerHitch.com, Penske Racing Shocks, Merry’s Home Furnishings, Shaw Trucking, Schaeffer Oil, AM-1 Roofing, Mesilla Valley Transportation, Border Tire, Wehrs Machine & Racing Products, Swift Springs, Dirt Pro Grading & Padwork, Contractors & Developers (C&D) Bonding, Whisler Construction, Shocks by Hammer, Midwest Sheet Metal, Speedway Motors, Day Motor Sports, Hoosier Racing Tires, Sunoco Race Fuels, Pro Power Engines, Beaver Stripes, Arizona Differential, Gorsuch Performance Solutions, Don Frank Floors, Toste Construction, Winning Edge Carburetion, The Joie of Seating, Needmore Speedway, DirtDraft.com, AC Designs, Hochatown Saloon, and FloRacing.
Article Credit: Jack Cofer | Tyler Rinken Photography
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