What won the race: Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill., continued his September surge on the UMP DIRTcar circuit, rolling to his fourth victory of the month and second in as many days in the 50-lap St. Louis Showdown at Tri-City Speedway. The 18-year-old star overtook Ashley Newman of Ripley, Tenn., for the lead midway through the feature en route to a $5,000 score that helped him gain more ground in his bid for a second consecutive UMP DIRTcar national championship.

Quotable: "You know how tough racing is," Pierce said. "It's just feels really good to get some wins and to run as good as we are. It just gives us a lot of confidence going into the next couple of races, and it's good for UMP points too."

Key notes: Pierce's September hot streak also includes Labor Day weekend victories at Federated Auto Parts Raceway at I-55 in Pevely, Mo., and Spoon River Speedway in Canton, Ill., and a $5,000 score Thursday night at Farmer City (Ill.) Raceway. In addition, he finished second in the Sept. 12 World 100 at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio. ... Joining overall fast-qualifier Pierce as group quick-timers were Jeff Herzog, Billy Laycock and Billy Moyer. ... Gordy Gundaker, the son of track owners Kevin and Tammy Gundaker, pushed in turn three during qualifying and hit the outside wall hard with his car's right side. He scratched from the remainder of the night's action. ... The events is the first race of a two-leg, St. Louis-area doubleheader for UMP competitors. I-55 hosts a sister event on Saturday. ... Tri-City hosts the three-race Summit Racing UMP Modified Mania Dirt Nationals on Sept. 24-26, which also features a trio of $2,000-to-win UMP Late Model events on the undercard.

On the move: Tim Manville of St. Jacob, Ill., advanced from the 17th starting spot to finish eighth.

Winner's sponsors: The winning Bob Pierce Race Car has a Pro Power Racing Engine and is sponsored by Allgayer Inc., American Metal Supply Company, Champion Spark Plugs, DMG Mori Ellison, Keyser Mfg., M&M Painting and Construction, Murphy Trucking and Petersen Aluminum.

Points chase: Rusty Schlenk of McClure, Ohio, led the UMP DIRTcar national points chase through Sept. 13. Michael Kloos and Pierce entered the weekend second and third, respectively, in the standings.

Car count: 32

Fast qualifier: Bobby Pierce

Time: 14.38 seconds

Polesitter: Mark Burgtorf

Heat race winners: Mark Burgtorf, Ashley Newman, Michael Kloos, Jason Feger,  ,  ,  ,  

Consolation race winners: Tim Manville,  ,  ,  

Provisional starters: Scott Henseler, Jeff Herzog, Caleb Ashby,  ,  

Next series race: September 19, Federated Raceway at I-55 (Pevely, MO) $5,000