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World of Outlaws Fireball 50
Atomic Speedway | Chillicothe, Ohio
Friday, August 23, 2024
Race Recap  

30 SMOOTH VICTORIES: Bobby Pierce Wins First Night of Fireball 50 at Atomic Speedway

The Oakwood, IL native led flag-to-flag for his 12th World of Outlaws Feature win of 2024

 

All the momentum of a championship chase lies on Bobby Pierce as eight races remain in the 2024 World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models campaign.

Needing the Feature win to keep his bid for a second consecutive Series title alive, the Oakwood, IL driver led all 40 laps for his 12th Series win of the season at Atomic Speedway on Friday night.

Pierce began the night with a win in Heat 4, then drew the Bilstein Pole Award to lead the field to the Gorsuch Performance green flag.

On his outside, Chatham, IL driver Brian Shirley whipped by Pierce for the lead until six cars created a pileup before the field finished the first lap. That gave Pierce one more opportunity to hold off Shirley on the restart. Pierce kept the top spot on the second attempt by sliding up the track and blocking Shirley’s chance to pass by him once more.

Clean air helped Pierce build distance on the field of cars behind him, but could not shake off Shirley as his No.3S Late Model stayed glued to the back of Pierce’s bumper.

Behind the two leaders, a hornet’s nest of racing inside the top five included Mooresville, NC driver Nick Hoffman, Robeline, LA driver Cade Dillard, Marshalltown, IA driver Ryan Gustin, and Decorah, IA driver Tyler Bruening, with each of them trading positions throughout the run of green flag racing by using the range of lanes open around the 3/8-mile racetrack.

Hoffman kept 3rd place throughout most of the Feature while Dillard slipped back to open the door for Gustin and Bruening to get inside the top five.

At the front, Shirley threw everything he had for Pierce to steal the lead from the Megan’s Mission No.32 Late Model, but Pierce only got stronger as the race progressed into the last quarter of the Feature.

Then, Dillard and New Waverly, TX driver Tyler Erb made contact entering Turn 3 which sent Dillard up the wall through Turn 4 and eventually having to retire the car. The exit from the Feature hurt Dillard in the points hunt by dropping him down to sixth in Series points.

That late caution gave Shirley one final opportunity to get by Pierce for his fourth consecutive Series Feature win in August. 

However, Shirley’s hopes of winning did not come to fruition as the “Smooth Operator” scored his 30th career win with the World of Outlaws CASE Late Models. 

Since his first career Series win in the Illini 100 at Farmer City Raceway in 2021, Pierce sits 10th on the all-time wins list with the World of Outlaws as he goes racing for more.

“It’s really nice to have things go our way tonight,” Pierce said. “I felt like when we were leading, it was good enough to keep our distance from (Shirley), but I don’t feel like I was the best car tonight. I was really struggling through Turns 1 and 2. 

Bobby Pierce wins at Atomic Speedway (Emily Schwanke)

“I was struggling even though it didn’t look like it, but it was a really demanding racetrack. It was tough through lap traffic, but it was great to win and get my 30th with the Outlaws. That’s incredible, so hopefully we can get up to 100, or even more than that.”

Shirley wrapped up the night with the second-place result. Adding to his impressive turnaround in the year’s second half, “Squirrel” has finished inside the top-10 in 12 of the last 13 races – a streak that began at the NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50 in July.

“I don’t feel like our car was the greatest,” Shirley said. “We might’ve been a smidge better, but the track position was important. I’d get to (Bobby) and then get aero push, but he had a better car than us late in the race. We’re getting better, but we’re still trying to find that edge. I’m proud that we were able to race with him for a long time. But, our goal is to race at the front and learn and continue to find that extra tenth.”

Gustin made a last-lap pass around Hoffman to place his No.19R Todd Cooney Racing Late Model on the podium to end the first night of the Fireball 50 weekend at Atomic. His result moves “The Reaper” up to fourth in Series points by eight points over Brandon, FL driver Kyle Bronson.

“It was extremely tough to pass,” Gustin said. “The top was really dominant through the first two corners and vice versa (through Turns 3 and 4). It was hard to make anything happen in those first 30 laps. At the end, you could move around a bit. It was a good night for us, we just gotta start winning these things. I don’t think we were good enough to win, but I feel like we could’ve gotten to (Shirley). It is what it is, we’ll go to work and get another shot (on Saturday).”

Hoffman finished fourth to maintain second in the Series points, 60 points back from New Berlin, IL driver Brandon Sheppard and four points over Pierce.

Bruening finished fifth to add to a four-race streak of placing inside the top-10. Three of those Features were top five finishes.

RECAP NOTES:

Dirt King Simulator Hottest Hot Lap: Adam Stricker

Simpson Quick Time Award: Ryan Gustin

Heat Race Winners: Brian Shirley, Nick Hoffman, Cade Dillard, Bobby Pierce

Last Chance Showdown Winner: Rod Conley

Bilstein Pole Award: Bobby Pierce

Fox Factory Hard Charger: Dustin Sorensen (+14)

Up Next: The World of Outlaws CASE Late Models race for the last time in 2024 at the Buckeye State for the Fireball 50 finale at Atomic Speedway on Saturday, Aug. 24. There will be an autograph session for fans to attend at 4:45 p.m. EST before the racing commences at the Chillicothe, OH facility.

For more information about the upcoming events in the 2024 World of Outlaws CASE Late Models season, CLICK HERE.      

If you can’t make it to the track, watch every lap of the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models season on DIRTVision – through your computer or mobile device.

CASE Late Model Feature (40 Laps): 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[1]; 2. 3S-Brian Shirley[2]; 3. 19R-Ryan Gustin[6]; 4. 9-Nick Hoffman[4]; 5. 16-Tyler Bruening[14]; 6. B5-Brandon Sheppard[16]; 7. 19-Dustin Sorensen[21]; 8. 40B-Kyle Bronson[18]; 9. 68-Adam Stricker[5]; 10. 71C-RJ Conley[9]; 11. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[13]; 12. B1-Brent Larson[19]; 13. S21-Seth Daniels[22]; 14. 97JR-Cody Overton[7]; 15. 90-Michael LeFevers[25]; 16. 1-Tyler Erb[8]; 17. 97-Cade Dillard[3]; 18. 19M-Spencer Hughes[10]; 19. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[23]; 20. 22*-Max McLaughlin[15]; 21. 14W-Dustin Walker[24]; 22. 71R-Rod Conley[17]; 23. C4-Freddie Carpenter[20]; 24. 11-Jared Hawkins[12]; 25. 28C-Tyler Carpenter[11]

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Results  
Feature Results
POSStart+/-#DriverLapsBehindLedStatusPointsMoney
11032Bobby Pierce 400.00040Running150$10,000
2203SBrian Shirley 40-1.559Running146$6,000
36+319RRyan Gustin 40-2.409Running144$3,500
4409Nick Hoffman 40-3.081Running142$2,800
514+916Tyler Bruening 40-3.321Running140$2,500
616+10B5Brandon Sheppard 40-3.562Running138$2,300
721+1419Dustin Sorensen 40-4.313Running136$2,200
818+1040BKyle Bronson 40-5.121Running134$2,100
95-468Adam Stricker 40-5.266Running132$2,050
109-171CRJ Conley 40-5.935Running130$2,000
1113+228Dennis Erb Jr40-6.124Running128$1,600
1219+7B1Brent Larson 40-6.908Running126$1,400
1322+9S21Seth Daniels 40-7.346Running124$1,200
147-797JRCody Overton 40-7.810Running122$1,100
1525+1090Michael LeFevers 39-1 LapsRunning120$1,050
168-81Tyler Erb 37-3 LapsRunning118$1,000
173-1497Cade Dillard 31-9 LapsRunning116$1,000
1810-819MSpencer Hughes 28-12 LapsRunning114$1,000
1923+420TCTristan Chamberlain 28-12 LapsRunning112$1,000
2015-522*Max McLaughlin 28-12 LapsRunning110$1,000
2124+314WDustin Walker 27-13 LapsRunning108$1,000
2217-571RRod Conley 14-26 LapsRunning106$1,000
2320-3C4Freddie Carpenter 8-32 LapsRunning104$1,000
2412-1211Jared Hawkins 7-33 LapsRunning104$1,000
2511-1428CTyler Carpenter 0-40 LapsRunning104$1,000
FOX Factory Hard Charger: Dustin Sorensen
Last Chance Showdown 1 Results
POSStart+/-#DriverLapsBehindLedStatusPointsMoney
11071RRod Conley 00.000Running0$0
22040BKyle Bronson 0-0.525Running0$0
35+2B1Brent Larson 0-1.335Running0$0
47+3C4Freddie Carpenter 0-1.630Running0$0
56+119Dustin Sorensen 0-2.157Running0$110
63-3S21Seth Daniels 0-2.649Running0$110
713+657Matt Tifft 0-2.926Running0$110
811+37Audie Swartz 0-3.907Running0$110
98-1B1BJosh Bocook 0-4.546Running0$110
1014+405Jeff Davis 0-5.389Running0$110
1112+190Michael LeFevers 0-6.319Running0$110
1215+357BCaiden Black 0407.752Running0$110
134-920TCTristan Chamberlain 0407.752Running0$110
149-521Kirk Phillips 0407.752Running0$110
1510-514WDustin Walker 0407.752Running0$110
Heat 1 Results
Pos.Start+/-#DriverLaps CompletedBehindLaps LedStatus
12+13SBrian Shirley 00.000Running
21-119RRyan Gustin 0-1.268Running
33071CRJ Conley 0-3.458Running
46+228Dennis Erb Jr0-4.388Running
54-171RRod Conley 0-6.410Running
65-1B1Brent Larson 0-8.987Running
77021Kirk Phillips 0-9.441Running
88057Matt Tifft 0-11.589Running
Heat 2 Results
Pos.Start+/-#DriverLaps CompletedBehindLaps LedStatus
1109Nick Hoffman 00.000Running
22097JRCody Overton 0-3.012Running
35+228CTyler Carpenter 0-3.531Running
44022*Max McLaughlin 0-3.569Running
58+3S21Seth Daniels 0-4.996Running
67+1C4Freddie Carpenter 0-7.980Running
73-47Audie Swartz 0-9.889Running
86-257BCaiden Black 0-9.889Running
Heat 3 Results
Pos.Start+/-#DriverLaps CompletedBehindLaps LedStatus
11097Cade Dillard 00.000Running
22068Adam Stricker 0-2.177Running
33019MSpencer Hughes 0-4.769Running
44016Tyler Bruening 0-5.627Running
55040BKyle Bronson 0-5.831Running
66019Dustin Sorensen 0-7.150Running
77014WDustin Walker 0-12.825Running
88005Jeff Davis 0-1.208Running
Heat 4 Results
Pos.Start+/-#DriverLaps CompletedBehindLaps LedStatus
12+132Bobby Pierce 00.000Running
23+11Tyler Erb 0-0.906Running
35+211Jared Hawkins 0-1.462Running
41-3B5Brandon Sheppard 0-2.359Running
54-120TCTristan Chamberlain 0-3.272Running
660B1BJosh Bocook 0-4.027Running
77090Michael LeFevers 0-6.323Running
Qualifying Flight 1 Results
POSStartCarDriverHometownTimeDifference
11219RRyan Gustin Marshalltown, IA13.1100.000
249Nick Hoffman Mooresville, NC13.256-0.146
3163SBrian Shirley Chatham, IL13.283-0.173
4597JRCody Overton Evans, GA13.302-0.192
5871CRJ Conley Wheelersburg, OH13.491-0.381
627Audie Swartz Minford, OH13.543-0.433
71171RRod Conley Wheelersburg, OH13.631-0.521
8922*Max McLaughlin , 13.683-0.573
91B1Brent Larson Lake Elmo, MN13.708-0.598
101028CTyler Carpenter Parkersburg, WV13.709-0.599
11728Dennis Erb JrCarpentersville, IL13.789-0.679
121357BCaiden Black New Concord, OH13.822-0.712
13321Kirk Phillips Ashland, KY13.854-0.744
1414C4Freddie Carpenter Parkersburg, WV13.946-0.836
151557Matt Tifft Hinkley, OH14.010-0.900
166S21Seth Daniels Jackson, OH14.010-0.900
Qualifying Flight 2 Results
POSStartCarDriverHometownTimeDifference
1497Cade Dillard Robeline, LA13.5270.000
210B5Brandon Sheppard New Berlin, IL13.545-0.018
31468Adam Stricker Batavia, OH13.619-0.092
4732Bobby Pierce Oakwood, IL13.627-0.100
5319MSpencer Hughes Meridian, MS13.665-0.138
611Tyler Erb New Waverly, TX13.671-0.144
7816Tyler Bruening Decorah, IA13.702-0.175
8520TCTristan Chamberlain Richmond, IN13.730-0.203
91540BKyle Bronson Brandon, FL13.749-0.222
10611Jared Hawkins Fairmont, WV13.778-0.251
11919Dustin Sorensen Rochester, MN14.004-0.477
1212B1BJosh Bocook Wheelersburg, OH14.105-0.578
131114WDustin Walker Polk, MO14.882-1.355
14290Michael LeFevers Cincinnati, OH14.981-1.454
151305Jeff Davis Waverly, OH15.303-1.776
Hot Laps Results
POSStartCarDriverHometownTimeDifference
13068Adam Stricker Batavia, OH13.1570.000
21219RRyan Gustin Marshalltown, IA13.287-0.130
32519Dustin Sorensen Rochester, MN13.399-0.242
426B5Brandon Sheppard New Berlin, IL13.413-0.256
51919MSpencer Hughes Meridian, MS13.417-0.260
649Nick Hoffman Mooresville, NC13.440-0.283
72332Bobby Pierce Oakwood, IL13.476-0.319
82120TCTristan Chamberlain Richmond, IN13.500-0.343
92416Tyler Bruening Decorah, IA13.556-0.399
10597JRCody Overton Evans, GA13.566-0.409
1114C4Freddie Carpenter Parkersburg, WV13.589-0.432
12163SBrian Shirley Chatham, IL13.684-0.527
132097Cade Dillard Robeline, LA13.697-0.540
142211Jared Hawkins Fairmont, WV13.724-0.567
153140BKyle Bronson Brandon, FL13.851-0.694
16171Tyler Erb New Waverly, TX13.853-0.696
17728Dennis Erb JrCarpentersville, IL13.870-0.713
18321Kirk Phillips Ashland, KY13.886-0.729
19871CRJ Conley Wheelersburg, OH13.911-0.754
201028CTyler Carpenter Parkersburg, WV14.407-1.250
211557Matt Tifft Hinkley, OH14.447-1.290
221B1Brent Larson Lake Elmo, MN14.519-1.362
231171RRod Conley Wheelersburg, OH14.651-1.494
2428B1BJosh Bocook Wheelersburg, OH14.877-1.720
252905Jeff Davis Waverly, OH15.303-2.146
262714WDustin Walker Polk, MO15.564-2.407
271357BCaiden Black New Concord, OH16.149-2.992
286S21Seth Daniels Jackson, OH16.149-2.992
291890Michael LeFevers Cincinnati, OH16.149-2.992
30922*Max McLaughlin , 16.149-2.992
3127Audie Swartz Minford, OH16.149-2.992
DIRTVision Highlights  
Event Info  

World of Outlaws Fireball 50
Friday, August 23rd to Saturday, August 24th
Atomic Speedway
2535 Blain Hwy
Chillicothe, Ohio 45601 

Event Description

The World of Outlaws CASE Late Models travel to Ohio for two nights of Atomic Speedway action, Aug. 23-24, with Saturday's finale being the Fireball 50.



Series Racing
World of Outlaws Late Model Series

To Win Amount
$10,000.00

Event Schedule

Friday, August 23
2PM Pit Gates open
4PM Grandstand Gates open
6PM Hot Laps/Qualifying
7:30PM Racing Begins

Saturday, August 24
12PM Pit Gates open
2PM Grandstand Gates open
6PM Hot Laps/Qualifying with Racing to follow


*All times Eastern

Ticket Options  
Ticket Phone
(740) 703-9749

Options And Prices

Adult General Admission: $30
Kids General Admission: $15
Senior/Military General Admission: $20
Adult VIP: $200
Adult Reserved: $35
2-Day Adult General Admission: $50
2-Day Kids General Admission: $20
2-Day Senior/Military General Admission: $20
2-Day Reserved: $60



Grandstand Type

Bleachers



Family Section Location
Turn 4

Handicapped Seating Location
Front row

Pit Pass Price

2-Day Adult Pit Pass: $70
Adult Pit Pass: $40
Kids Pit Pass: $20



Pit Age Requirement
None

Handicapped Parking Location
At front gate

Camping Availability
Onsite

Camping Cost
Rates vary per event

Frequently Asked Questions  
To Win Amount
$10,000.00

Type of Grandstand

Bleachers



Stadium Seating

No stadium seating 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.

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

Smoking Policy



Family Section
Turn 4

Camping Availability
Onsite

Camping Cost
Rates vary per event

Track Info  

Atomic Speedway
2535 Blain Hwy
Chillicothe, Ohio 45601 

Track Phone
(740) 703-9749

Ticket Phone
(740) 703-9749

Track Size
0.375

Closest Airport
Chillicothe

Other Airport
Columbus

Track Map
Competitor Info  
Competitor Downloads
 https://www.dirtcarmembers.com/downloads.php

Tire Rules

Left Front Tire: Open (Hoosier Only)

Left Rear & Right Front Tire: Hoosier (90) NLMT2, (90) NLMT3 

Right Rear Tire: Hoosier (92) NLMT2, (92) NLMT3, (92) NLMT4

** Grooving and siping will be allowed. **

 



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