ROSSBURG, Ohio — For the second time in his decorated career, Bobby Pierce has won the biggest jewel in dirt late model racing — the World 100.
Eight years ago, a then-19-year-old Pierce came to historic Eldora Speedway and drove from 22nd on the starting grid to win his first globe trophy, becoming the youngest driver in history to win the prestigious event.
While leading in the closing laps of Saturday’s main event, the now-27-year-old World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Model Series champion was beginning to wonder if he really did have it in him to hold on and win the race a second time.
“I was starting to think you know, maybe when [Davenport] retires, maybe I’ll win again,” Pierce said.
But his Low Voltage Solutions, Vic Hill/Longhorn Chassis No. 32, adorned with the spirit and determination of the Rocky films across the body, did have enough.
Though Jonathan Davenport — Eldora’s winningest late model driver of the past decade — and 2005 World 100 winner Dale McDowell gave him a great fight, Pierce drove by them both in the end to hoist the iconic globe once again and pocket the $57,000 grand prize.
“I saw red there when I got passed,” he said. “No matter what it took, I was getting it done up there.”
After coming up one spot short of victory in his Thursday preliminary Feature and two spots short on Friday, Pierce knew he would have a great chance at getting a good spot on the starting grid for Saturday’s 100-lap main event — a crucial point in his drive for victory.
“We started third tonight — it’s what I was saying I wanted all week long was track position,” Pierce said. “I wanted that first couple rows starting spot. I think I’ve been mid-pack for the last several years now. It’s not bad to get there, you just burn your stuff up to get there. It’s just easier starting up front; you have way more control.”
From third on the grid, Pierce got his first taste of the lead on lap 23 when outside polesitter Garrett Alberson stumbled in lapped traffic.
Pierce had top-side momentum after a sharp run off turn two and moved past Alberson to take the top spot down the backstretch.
Though Pierce began to open up a gap on the field, he was quickly shut down when Davenport — the five-time World 100 winner — reeled in Pierce’s No. 32 from over a second behind in traffic.
When Pierce shifted to the bottom lane in turns one and two on lap 35, Davenport unleashed his high-side momentum and dove underneath Pierce in turn three, then slid up in front of him in turn four to seal the pass.
Over the next 25 laps, Davenport opened and maintained a gap in traffic of over three seconds as the race crossed into the second half.
In Pierce’s mind, it looked like the race was over, and Davenport would go on for a sixth win in the event. And that’s when the momentum began to swing the other way.
“When [Davenport] took off, that was it — that’s about all she wrote most of the time,” Pierce said. “I started not catching him, but I saw he was in my view again. There was only about one lapper in between us at the time; this was about a little after halfway. I was like, ‘It’s early to start beating the wall down, but I’m gonna start doing it.’”
Pierce charged his momentum on the high line around the half-mile oval, and by lap 60, he had dwindled Davenport’s lead down to under a second.
Three laps later, Pierce zoomed past Davenport out of turn four on the top side to retake the lead — car still on the ragged edge.
“You’re gonna set your car up for the middle or you’re gonna set it up for the top,” Pierce said. “We were kinda trying to set it up for both, but I said, ‘Y’know, there’s a decent amount of cushion off of turn four.’ That was about the only spot where there was a little curb.
“There was some in (turns) one and two and I was like, ‘If I’m gonna win the race, I’m probably gonna do it on the top.’ We got the car balanced for the top.”
When the caution flag flew with 68 laps complete to break the action, Pierce was able to win the race into turns one and two on the restart, barely as he threw a slide-job on Davenport to keep him at bay.
“That was the one thing I was probably worried about the most was that restart,” Pierce said. “I think I kinda snookered him; I fired more in turn three than turn four. Had a pretty good restart, was able to slide him and then when we drove off from him there on that restart, I was like, ‘OK, we can win this thing.’”
As the race dipped under 20 laps to go, McDowell was beginning to mount his charge, using his preferred bottom lane. He moved past Davenport for the runner-up spot on lap 81 but remained a full second behind Pierce.
But in only nine laps, McDowell had erased that gap and sat one pass away from the lead and his first globe trophy in 19 years. On lap 91, he made his move for the lead out of turn two.
“I looked at the board, but I thought it was Josh Rice behind me because I had just lapped him,” Pierce said. “I saw a black car, he passes me, and I saw the 17 on the car and I’m like, ‘Oh, he’s in the lead now.’
“I thought I was screwed because Dale passes you on the bottom like that, you’re normally done. When he caught the back end of that lapped traffic there, he slowed up just a little bit and I was like, ‘This is my shot to do it.’ And I luckily nailed my corners.”
But Pierce wasn’t done. Though it appeared as if McDowell’s Team Zero Race Car was going to run away with a storybook victory, Pierce found more speed one last time right against Eldora’s outside wall and drove back by McDowell as he stumbled in lapped traffic to retake the lead on lap 96.
“I just sent it off in there,” Pierce said. “It was kinda more of a wreckers-or-checkers type thing. If I hit the wall, knock the front-end out, so be it. I’m here to win the race, not finish second.”
McDowell tried to rally once more in the final laps but came up short. Pierce crossed under the checkered flag to take the win, becoming the ninth driver in history to win the World 100 more than once.
The finish:
Feature (100 Laps): 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[3]; 2. 17M-Dale McDowell[1]; 3. 49-Jonathan Davenport[4]; 4. 1-Tim McCreadie[7]; 5. 99-Devin Moran[5]; 6. 23V-Cory Hedgecock[10]; 7. 58-Garrett Alberson[2]; 8. 10S-Garrett Smith[20]; 9. 30-Ryan Gustin[14]; 10. 25-Shane Clanton[8]; 11. 71-Hudson O’Neal[11]; 12. B5-Brandon Sheppard[24]; 13. 96-Tanner English[22]; 14. 11R-Josh Rice[13]; 15. 79-Donald McIntosh[23]; 16. 87-Ross Bailes[26]; 17. 18D-Daulton Wilson[15]; 18. 11-Brandon Overton[12]; 19. 44-Chris Madden[16]; 20. 20RT-Ricky Thornton Jr[6]; 21. 8S-Brian Shirley[18]; 22. 8-Kyle Strickler[19]; 23. 20-Jimmy Owens[21]; 24. 74X-Ethan Dotson[9]; 25. 93-Carson Ferguson[25]; 26. 40B-Kyle Bronson[27]; 27. 7-Ricky Weiss[28]; 28. 9-Nick Hoffman[17]