BOBBY’S TWELVE: Bobby Pierce Outduels Chris Madden At Atomic For 12th Series Win of 2023

Wasting time wasn’t an option for Bobby Pierce at Atomic Speedway Saturday night.

With his experience at the track, he knew how quickly its surface could change and how quickly he needed to pass Chris Madden if he wanted to win. The Oakwood, IL driver seized his opportunity, sliding by Madden on Lap 32 to earn his 12th World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series win of 2023.

Madden, the pole sitter, stormed to the lead on Lap 1 while Pierce and Brian Shirley battled for second. Shirley snuck under Pierce to take the position and became Madden’s first challenger for the lead as the two approached traffic.

After chasing Madden for a few laps, the Chatham, IL driver dove underneath him in Turn 4, nosing his #3S ahead of Madden to lead Lap 13. That was the only lap Shirley would lead, though, as Madden’s momentum allowed him to reclaim the position the next time around.

While the top two battled in traffic, Pierce lurked behind them on the outside lane.

It wasn’t long before Pierce found an opportunity to get by Shirley. The “Smooth Operator” found a burst of speed down the backstretch and slid his Longhorn chassis ahead of Shirley in Turn 3 to grab second on Lap 23.

As Madden dealt with traffic, Pierce closed in on the #44, hoping to find an opportunity. His first chance came on Lap 30. With a lap car on the top of the racetrack, Pierce moved under Madden, pulling even in Turns 1 and 2. But at that point, Madden was better, keeping his momentum in the middle. However, it wouldn’t be long until Pierce got another chance—one he wouldn’t waste.

On Lap 32, Pierce thundered down the backstretch, again pulling even with Madden’s Longhorn. And with the same move he used to pass Shirley, Pierce slid in front of Madden to take the lead in Turn 3.

From there, Pierce outdueled Madden through traffic to earn the $15,000 win—his 32nd overall triumph of the 2023 season.

Pierce said he thought the track might take rubber late in the race and knew he had to pass Madden before that happened.

“It was getting really clean in Turn 3,” Pierce said. “I wanted to be patient because I knew we were pretty good, and staying green was really helping my situation. I knew how clean it was getting, and this track can rubber up. It never really did. It almost did there at the very end, but you never know. I wanted to get by [Madden], and traffic was really hairy. It was a lot of fun, though, slicing and dicing around.”

Another critical factor in Pierce’s win was his ability to maneuver through traffic. In the last 10 laps, Kyle Bronson and Dustin Walker were side-by-side, with Pierce behind them, trying to find a way by. Like his pass on Madden, Pierce took advantage when he saw a chance, splitting the two drivers in Turn 3 en route to the win.

“Sometimes you have to pull a move like that because you get stuck behind somebody, and you don’t realize how much your lap times dropped off,” Pierce said. “That guy in second place is right there on you again. So, I kind of had to pull it, and I’m glad I did because it worked out.”

Pierce also extended his points lead for the second straight night over Madden. He leads by 146 points entering next weekend’s Hoosier Dirt Classic at Brownstown Speedway.

Madden crossed the line second after leading 30 laps of the Feature that went green-to-checkered. The absence of a yellow flag wasn’t something he expected, and he said he felt things may have played out differently.

“I went with a different tire combination than he did,” Madden said. “He’s got a little but more experience here than I have. I didn’t see us running 50 green flag laps, either. Maybe a couple of cautions might’ve saved me right there, but we got free toward the end.

“We were still really good. We just put the wrong tire on.”

Shirley finished third, bouncing back from a 15th-place finish on Friday. He said he was happy with his finish but wasn’t satisfied.

“We leave here tonight with a third, and that’s definitely respectable and lets us walk out of here with our heads held high,” Shirley said. “I felt like our car, it wasn’t really a bad car, but it needs to be better. And we should’ve done a couple of little things better. That’s why you go race. To build a notebook and try and get better the next time.”

Defending Series champion Dennis Erb Jr. finished fourth, and four-time Series champion Brandon Sheppard rounded out the top five.

Mike Marlar, Saturday’s Fox Factory Hard Charger, finished sixth after starting 19th.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws CASE Late Models make their final trip to the Midwest with a trip to Brownstown Speedway for the Hoosier Dirt Classic on Friday, Oct. 6. Then, the Series returns to Fairbury Speedway for the FALS Frenzy on Saturday, Oct. 7.

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 Model Feature (50 Laps): 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[2]; 2. 44-Chris Madden[1]; 3. 3S-Brian Shirley[3]; 4. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[7]; 5. B5-Brandon Sheppard[4]; 6. 157-Mike Marlar[19]; 7. 97-Cade Dillard[9]; 8. B1-Brent Larson[15]; 9. 9-Nick Hoffman[6]; 10. 68-Adam Stricker[18]; 11. 96V-Tanner English[12]; 12. 19R-Ryan Gustin[10]; 13. 71C-RJ Conley[5]; 14. 55-Jesse Wisecarver[17]; 15. 40B-Kyle Bronson[13]; 16. 25-Shane Clanton[23]; 17. 14W-Dustin Walker[11]; 18. 11-Gordy Gundaker[14]; 19. 71R-Rod Conley[20]; 20. 30-Todd Cooney[21]; 21. 20-Jimmy Owens[8]; 22. 1-Shane Bailey[24]; 23. 29C-Clint Keenan[22]; 24. 17-Zack Dohm[16] FOX FACTORY HARD CHARGER: Mike Marlar [+13].

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Outlaw Invasion
Saturday, September 30, 2023
Atomic Speedway
2535 Blain Hwy
Chillicothe, Ohio 45601 

Event Description
The Outlaws invade OHIO at Atomic Speedway for two nights of racing culminating in a $15,000-to-win event! Watch the World of Outlaws CASE Late Models race around the 3/8-mile circuit in a battle for the ages.

Series Racing
World of Outlaws Late Model Series, DIRTcar Late Models

To Win Amount
$15,000.00

Event Schedule
Pits Open 2:00 PM
Gates Open 4:00 PM
Hot Laps 6:00 PM
Racing Starts 7:00 PM
*All times Eastern

Options And Prices
Adult General Admission $22.00
Kids General Admission $12.00
Senior General Admission $17.00

Grandstand Type
Bleachers

Reserved Seating
seasonal

Family Section Location
turn 4

Handicapped Seating Location
Front Row

Pit Age Requirement
none

Parking Cost
$0.00

Handicapped Parking Location
At Front Gate

Camping Availability
onsite

Camping Cost
$40 for 2 Days or $25 per night

To Win Amount
$15,000.00

Reserved Seating
seasonal

Type of Grandstand
Bleachers

Stadium Seating
Stadium seating is allowed

Handicapped Seating
Front Row

Handicapped Parking
At Front Gate

Pit Age Limit
none

Personal Coolers
14 inch coolers or smaller are permitted. No Alcohol or glass bottles

Credit Card Use
Concessions, Pit Gate, Ticket Window

Alcohol Sales
Alcohol is available at track (Not Allowed in)

Family Section
turn 4

Parking Cost
$0.00

Camping Availability
onsite

Camping Cost
$40 for 2 Days or $25 per night

Atomic Speedway
2535 Blain Hwy
Chillicothe, Ohio 45601 

Track Phone
(740) 703-9749

Track Size
0.375

Sprint Car Track Record
10.915 by Brock Mayes in 2005

Late Model Track Record
12.748 by Jimmy Owens in 2015

Closest Airport
Chillicothe

Other Airport
Columbus

Track Map

Competitor Downloads
 https://www.dirtcarmembers.com/downloads.php

Tire Rules
Left Front Tire: Hoosier (Open)
Left Rear & Right Front Tire: Hoosier (90) NLMT2, (90) NLMT3 Right Rear Tire: Hoosier (92) NLMT2, (92) NLMT3, (92) NLMT4 **Grooving & Siping will be allowed**