Photo Credit - Jacy Norgaard
OFF ROAD OPERATOR: BOBBY PIERCE NETS THIRD WORLD OF OUTLAWS WIN OF 2023 AT OFF ROAD SPEEDWAY
By Mike Warren
Published: June 26, 2023
THE OAKWOOD, IL DRIVER IS NOW SECOND IN POINTS, FOUR POINTS BEHIND CHRIS MADDEN
In front of a record crowd at Off Road Speedway, Bobby Pierce saved his best weekend performance for last.
The Oakwood, IL driver powered past Brandon Sheppard in Turn 4 on Lap 26 to score his third World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series victory of the season Sunday night.
Kyle Bronson led the first two laps of the 40-lap battle before Sheppard jumped ahead of him in Turn 4 on Lap 3.
The four-time Series champion tried to get away from his competitors. But as Sheppard caught the back of the field, Pierce started to lurk behind him.
Pierce tried to go around him on both the inside and outside, but Sheppard held his ground until a caution for Brian Shirley, who broke a driveshaft on Lap 16.
Bobby Pierce tries to go around Brandon Sheppard on the outside/Jacy Norgaard photo
On the next restart, Pierce got a great run and almost took the lead from Sheppard on the top, but the caution came out again for Ethan Dotson, who spun in Turn 4 before the lap was complete.
When the green flag came back out, Sheppard pulled away from Pierce, who lost second to Clanton, and third to Cade Dillard.
But as Pierce fell back, it allowed him to find the line he needed to rise from his fall.
Pierce only needed a few laps to get by Dillard and Clanton, allowing him another chance to try and get by Sheppard.
It was a chance he wouldn’t waste.
On Lap 26, Pierce’s momentum gave him the breakthrough he needed, storming past Sheppard in Turn 4 to take the lead—one he wouldn’t relinquish.
From there, Pierce led the final 15 laps to score his third World of Outlaws win of 2023 and the seventh of his career.
The “Smooth Operator” thought his chances to win were gone after he fell to fourth.
“Clanton had a good restart, and I didn’t,” Pierce said. “That bottom really came back to life, and I figured we were toast. We were fourth, and I figured I might not be able to do something with these guys. I started making that bottom work, and every time Sheppard went high, I just happened to get lucky and timed it perfectly.
“We just kept switching lanes, and it worked out. It was a lot of fun out there. I’m looking forward to the next time I come back here.”
With his win, Pierce has more World of Outlaws wins than any other driver in 2023.
He also moved to second in points—four points behind Chris Madden, who finished ninth.
Despite closing the gap for the second consecutive night, Pierce’s focus is on staying consistent.
“We try to be as consistent as we can be,” Pierce said. “You never know what’s going to happen. You just have to Qualify good and go into the redraw. And tonight, we finally put a whole night together. We just have to try and be as consistent as we can, and the points will come as they come.”
Sheppard crossed the line second, narrowly missing out on his first World of Outlaws win of the year.
The New Berlin, IL driver said his Longhorn Chassis was good, but his tires were too hot in the race’s second half.
“On one of those restarts, [Pierce] passed me on the top,” Sheppard said. “So, I was like, I better go to the top. Then I get up there on top, and you get your tires hot, and you start slowing down. And then I saw him down on the bottom, and at that point, you’re a sitting duck. You move down there, then your tires are hot, and you start sliding around.
“All in all, it was a good run after last night. We had some unfortunate stuff happen on [Saturday], and that sucked. We bounced back tonight, and the car was really good. We’ve been right there, and I think we were a lot better tonight than we’ve been in a while.”
Shane Clanton, the 2015 Series champion, finished third—his third top five of the season.
The Zebulon, GA driver tried to make his move on that second Lap 16 restart, but eventually lost the runner-up spot to Pierce.
“I think I was trying to take Bobby’s line because I knew he was running the top,” Clanton said. “He just about got the lead in one lap, so I thought if I got a good restart, I could get by him and maybe take his line.
“We were a little bit off, but compared to what it has been the past month and a half, it feels good. We worked on some stuff this week, and I think we’re getting closer.”
Germfree Labs Rookie of the Year contender Nick Hoffman finished fourth, earning his 11th straight top 10 finish.
Like Pierce, the Mooresville, NC driver also gained points on Madden. Hoffman is now third in points, six points behind the Gray Court, SC driver.
Cade Dillard earned his first top-five of the season, finishing fifth.
UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws CASE Late Models continue World of Outlaws Heartland Speedweek with a trip to Mason City Motor Speedway in Mason City, IA, on Tuesday, June 27.
Then, the Series finishes the inaugural Speedweek with stops at Red River Valley Speedway (June 28), River Cities Speedway (June 30), and I-94 EMR Speedway (July 1).
If you can’t make it to the track, watch all the action live on DIRTVision – either online on with the DIRTVision App.
CASE Construction Equipment Late Mode Feature (40 Laps): 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[4]; 2. B5-Brandon Sheppard[3]; 3. 25-Shane Clanton[6]; 4. 9-Nick Hoffman[8]; 5. 97-Cade Dillard[5]; 6. 19R-Ryan Gustin[7]; 7. 96V-Tanner English[9]; 8. 1ST-Johnny Scott[10]; 9. 44-Chris Madden[17]; 10. 11-Gordy Gundaker[14]; 11. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[12]; 12. 40B-Kyle Bronson[1]; 13. 18-Chase Junghans[18]; 14. 22-Daniel Hilsabeck[2]; 15. 04-Tad Pospisil[19]; 16. B1-Brent Larson[13]; 17. 30-Todd Cooney[16]; 18. 6-Cade Richards[21]; 19. 14W-Dustin Walker[23]; 20. 196-Jaxon Saathoff[20]; 21. 36-Chris Johnson[24]; 22. 07-Ben Sukup[22]; 23. 174-Ethan Dotson[15]; 24. 3S-Brian Shirley[11] Fox Factory Hard Charger: Chris Madden [+8]
Comments