NORTHEASTERN HAT TRICK: Bobby Pierce Sweeps PA-OH Races With Sharon Speedway Win - World of Outlaws

Pierce becomes the first driver since 2020 to win four World of Outlaws Features consecutively

 

Bobby Pierce continued to prove why he is one of the top dirt Late Model drivers in the country through the weekend in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

The Oakwood, IL native picked up his eighth World of Outlaws CASE Construction Equipment Late Models victory after a duel between fellow Illinois drivers Brandon Sheppard, of New Berlin, Dennis Erb Jr, of Carpentersville, and Brian Shirley, of Chatham.

Beginning the night from the second row, Pierce got by Shirley on the high side of the track while he rode behind Erb and Sheppard in his No.32 Low Voltage Solutions machine.

Sheppard prevailed against Erb on the high side with Pierce following the tire tracks of the No.B5 Longhorn Chassis to get by Erb.

Pierce began to pick up forward movement on Sheppard as the race progressed. His first attempt to pass Sheppard was blocked by a lapped car in Pierce’s line and forced him to gather the car back up for a second chance.

His second chance to take the Feature lead proved to be a success when Sheppard jumped the cushion in Turns 1 and 2, allowing Pierce to get a run on him on the bottom of Turn 3 and completing the pass for the lead.

Pierce expanded the distance to Sheppard to over three seconds while searching for ways to manuever around the packs of lapped cars competing around him.

Conquering the northeastern swing with ease, the “Smooth Operator” got his 26th Series triumph and became the first driver since Sheppard in 2020 to win four consecutive races.

“That track was tough tonight,” Pierce said. “I kept thinking if we made the right tire choice again because Brandon was on a completely different tire. But, I could tell he was driving hard and I wasn’t pushing as much as he was. So, it had me a little worried but he was getting tight and I was cutting through the corner pretty good. That’s when my chance came and got around him through the slide. 

“It was a fun race to have the bottom and top so when you got into a battle, it was hard for me to pass a guy like Chub Frank around the bottom. The track really transitioned there and it was nice to have a track that moves around like that.”

Emily Schwanke Photo

Sheppard picked up the second-place result, his third in four races. With the performance displayed, “B-Shepp” grew his lead in the Series standings to 52 points over Mooresville, NC driver Nick Hoffman.

“It was tough out there,” Sheppard said. “We were rolling good in the first half, but once the fresh dirt went away I was super free. The changes we made to the car just did not activate when it got slick so it hurt me there. Overall, it was a pretty good night. I’m getting tired of finishing second, but you can’t complain about finishing second. Bobby’s the best in the country so we gotta step up our game.”

Marshalltown, IA driver Ryan Gustin finished the night with his fourth third-place finish in the last five races. Rolling off the Feature from a sixth-place starting spot, “The Reaper” made steady gains through the 50 laps to end the weekend a podium finish in every PA-OH event.

“We faded pretty bad late in the run,” Gustin said. “Those guys could take off and we couldn’t, it just wasn’t our night. It’s nice to be on the podium for sure, but we’re here to win. We didn’t come to run second or third, we just gotta get our car better, that’s really all there is to it.”

Shirley finished fourth, and Brandon, FL driver Kyle Bronson solidified the night’s top-five results from the Hartford, OH track.

RECAP NOTES:

Dirt King Simulator Hottest Hot Lap: Ryan Gustin

Simpson Quick Time Award: Bobby Pierce

Heat Race Winners: Bobby Pierce, Brian Shirley, Ryan Gustin

Last Chance Showdown Winner: Chub Frank

Bilstein Pole Award: Dennis Erb Jr

Fox Factory Hard Charger: Nick Hoffman

Up Next: The World of Outlaws CASE Late Models return to Illinois for the second time in 2024 for the 34th Annual Prairie Dirt Classic from Fairbury Speedway on Friday and Saturday, July 26-27. The top dirt Late Model drivers in the country will compete for a $50,000 payday and add their name to the historic list of winners in the event.

For more information on the event and the remaining 2024 World of Outlaws CASE Late Models schedule, CLICK HERE.

If you can’t make it to the track, you can watch all the action live on DIRTVision.

CASE Late Model Feature (50 Laps): 1. 32-Bobby Pierce[3]; 2. B5-Brandon Sheppard[2]; 3. 19R-Ryan Gustin[6]; 4. 3S-Brian Shirley[4]; 5. 40B-Kyle Bronson[10]; 6. 28-Dennis Erb Jr[1]; 7. 97-Cade Dillard[8]; 8. 19-Dustin Sorensen[13]; 9. 16-Tyler Bruening[5]; 10. 1*-Chub Frank[19]; 11. 44-Dave Hess Jr[11]; 12. 9-Nick Hoffman[23]; 13. 02-Michael Norris[9]; 14. B1-Brent Larson[16]; 15. 22*-Max McLaughlin[21]; 16. 97JR-Cody Overton[12]; 17. 14W-Dustin Walker[17]; 18. 1Z-Logan Zarin[18]; 19. J4-John Garvin Jr[7]; 20. 12B-Andy Boozel[15]; 21. 217-Eric Wilson[24]; 22. 1C-Alex Ferree[20]; 23. 0-Ryan Scott[22]; 24. 20TC-Tristan Chamberlain[14]

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