ALMA, Ohio — Bobby Pierce hoped he’d have a car good enough to complete for a win in Wednesday’s Castrol FloRacing Night in America event at Atomic Speedway.
He said he even told his crew that “we’re not really good here” before the night’s action at the Alma, Ohio, oval got underway. After a convincing victory in the mid-week affair, however, Pierce likely has a much fresher outlook on Atomic.
Pierce of Oakwood, Ill., grabbed the lead from polesitter Brandon Sheppard on lap 18 and turned back a late challenge from Devin Moran to capture the 50-lap main event.
The 25-year-old beat 13th-starting Moran to the finish line by .800 seconds for a $22,022 winner’s check and his second straight triumph on the series.
“I think I’ve only been here five or six times, so I don’t have a good handle on the track,” said Pierce. “We’ll take it. This car has been great. Really good to finish a race you know it just has some issues. It’s just an awesome night all around. I’m ecstatic. It’s a big race.”
Brent Larson rallied from 15th to finish third, while Doug Drown finished fourth after starting 18th. Tenth-starting Tyler Erb completed the top five.
The finish:
Feature (50 Laps): 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[3]; 2. 9-Devin Moran[13]; 3. B1-Brent Larson[15]; 4. 12-Doug Drown[18]; 5. 1T-Tyler Erb[10]; 6. 8-Kyle Strickler[12]; 7. 71R-Rod Conley[17]; 8. 58-Garrett Alberson[8]; 9. 10-Garrett Smith[9]; 10. 1-Brandon Sheppard[1]; 11. 71C-RJ Conley[6]; 12. 99B-Boom Briggs[4]; 13. 24-Michael Brown[22]; 14. (DNF) 6-Kyle Larson[5]; 15. (DNF) 29-Clint Keenan[21]; 16. (DNF) C9-Steve Casebolt[16]; 17. (DNF) 0K-Freddie Carpenter[20]; 18. (DNF) 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[2]; 19. (DNF) 99-Camaron Marlar[7]; 20. (DNF) 1R-Josh Richards[11]; 21. (DNF) 44-Colten Burdette[14]; 22. (DNF) 44C-Tyler Carpenter[19]