GEORGETOWN, Del. — One of the most exclusive clubs in dirt late model racing has a new member.
Brandon Sheppard, Josh Richards and Darrell Lanigan are more than some of the best drivers in the history of the sport – they’re also the only ones to eclipse the 50-win mark with the World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision. Until Wednesday night.
In his first trip to Georgetown Speedway, Bobby Pierce won the Visit Delaware 51 to make his 50th visit to victory lane. With his first series win coming a little over five years ago in 2021 at Farmer City Raceway, the milestone is the continuation of Pierce’s meteoric ascent through the record books.
The No. 32 team’s night at Georgetown became one to remember long before the checkered flag flew. They experienced engine trouble in hot laps, forcing them to pull out the backup car with minutes to spare before qualifying. Unfazed by the chaos, Pierce went straight to the top of the chart to claim quick time.
A heat race win put Pierce in the fourth starting spot come feature time, which started with regional favorite Mason Zeigler leading the way early. Upon getting to second, Pierce couldn’t find a way around Zeigler for the lead, but Drake Troutman could.
Once Troutman cleared the top two, Pierce followed him through around Zeigler and began putting the pressure on the World of Outlaws sophomore. Troutman held his own until Lap 22, when he found himself in a sandwich between Pierce and the slower car of Jamie Lathroum. Desperate to put a car between himself and Pierce, Troutman made a last-ditch move to the inside entering Turn 3 and made contact, sending Lathroum spinning and cutting the right-rear tire on Troutman’s car.
Troutman’s misfortune handed the lead to Pierce, and he remained in control the rest of the way. His closest rival in the championship fight, Nick Hoffman, remained on his tail to the end, and a few late cautions brought Ryan Gustin into the mix as well. But neither of them could keep Pierce away from his historic triumph.
“It was a lot of fun, Nick and Ryan, they were driving a heck of a race,” Pierce said. “Thanks for racing me really clean. I thought Gustin had me there for a second. I knew that top side of Turn 3 was there if I had to use it. I just had to cowboy up and kind of get a good corner. When Gustin was ahead of me, I got around there pretty good and was able to slide him back in Turn 1. Fun race, fun race track, really nice facility too.”
Gustin backed up his Dairyland Showdown victory with a runner-up at Georgetown, while Hoffman finished third to extend his World of Outlaws top-five streak to 12.
Tyler Erb was fourth ahead of Troutman, who drove from the back after the tire change to complete the top five.
The finish:
Feature (51 Laps): 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[4]; 2. 19R-Ryan Gustin[10]; 3. 9-Nick Hoffman[5]; 4. 1-Tyler Erb[3]; 5. 22*-Drake Troutman[6]; 6. 14-Trey Mills[7]; 7. 9M-Tim McCreadie[12]; 8. 74X-Ethan Dotson[15]; 9. 1M-Willie Milliken[8]; 10. 24-Rick Eckert[20]; 11. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[16]; 12. 7-Ross Robinson[14]; 13. B1-Brent Larson[23]; 14. 1Z-Logan Zarin[11]; 15. 19-Dustin Sorensen[13]; 16. 11-Trevor Collins[21]; 17. 92-Nick Davis[17]; 18. 58V-Daulton Wilson[9]; 19. 25Z-Mason Zeigler[2]; 20. 55E-Eli Johnson[24]; 21. 55L-Donald Lingo Jr[19]; 22. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[1]; 23. 55-Jamie Lathroum[18]; 24. 4S-Danny Snyder[22]
