Saturday night at Marion Center Raceway was proof why Bobby Pierce is the top dirt Late Model driver in the country in 2025.
The 2023 champion of the World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision started the night by setting the Dirt King Simulators Fastest Hot Lap. He followed that up by winning the Simpson Quick Time Award by more than three tenths of a second. Pierce then led green to checkered in his Heat Race before capping the night off by spending all 60 circuits out front for his first Connor Bobik Memorial victory.
“To already have 13 wins this year, that’s incredible,” Pierce said following his fourth World of Outlaws score of the season. “Really, wanted to win tonight. We’ve struggled here, and knowing it was $30,000-to-win this year, it was more prize money, so everyone wanted it pretty badly.”
Starting alongside Bilstein Pole Award winner Ryan Gustin on the front row, Pierce barreled into Turn 1 on the opening lap and went straight to the cushion. Gustin got tight on the bottom in the first set of corners, giving Pierce the opening he needed to rocket away down the backstretch.
Once he took over the top spot, the “Smooth Operator” went to work on building an insurmountable gap over the competition. Pierce’s margin was up to 1.5 seconds after five laps and grew to as large as five seconds in the second half of the 60-lap Feature. A handful of yellows gave the field their chances at Pierce, but the No. 32 was able to power out of range time and time again on his way to the checkered flag.
Mother Nature threw teams a curveball in the form of a passing shower hours before Hot Laps, creating a much wetter racing surface than teams are used to at Marion Center. While that may have thrown off some teams, Pierce said it played right into his wheelhouse.
“It made the racetrack definitely more wet and tacky, helped me out in Qualifying,” Pierce said. “That’s kind of the stuff that I like, I hit my marks right there. It started rutting up in Turn 1 and I got that really good and the top was there in three and four. Typically in the past, this place was always really slick, really smooth, no traction really anywhere. It gave the track some character.”
The next stop on tour brings the Oakwood, IL driver to Bedford Speedway, where he won in his debut at the track one year ago. Even though the track is nearly double the size of Marion Center at 5/8 of a mile, Pierce is confident in his chances to be just as fast.
“I think we’re pretty good on big tracks like that,” Pierce said. “Kind of reminds me a little bit of Volusia, but it’s definitely a little more narrow, and then last year it slicked off a lot for the Feature. In Qualifying, you’ve got to be on the gas. It’s a really, really big track, but I think we’ve got a really good package for that, I think we were Quick Time there last year and won the Feature. If we can repeat that, that would be awesome.”
