ROSSBURG, Ohio — For Oakwood driver Bobby Pierce, the second time is just as great as the first time.
Pierce won his second World 100 race last weekend at Eldora Speedway. He adds to the first title he won in 2016.
“It is definitely just as sweet as the first time,” Pierce said. “It has been a while since I first won it and a lot of stuff has changed since then. I have won a lot of big races, but I was thinking ‘When was I ever going to win another World?’
“It’s tough. The competition is the best of the best and everyone wants to win that race. It puts a big cap to this year so far with 32-33 wins and this is the 6th race I have won that was $50,000 or over. This is the Granddaddy of them all and I want to win more.”
Pierce is the ninth racer to win the event at least twice in his career. He is tied with Jimmy Owens and Brian Birkhofer at two with Larry Moore and Jeff Purvis at three, Scott Bloomquist and Donnie Moran are at four, Jonathan Davenport is at five and Billy Moyer has the most wins at six.
“My dad (Bob Pierce) always wanted to win the World and he came close several times, so when I won the first time in 2016, he felt like he won the world through me,” Pierce said. “This time, my dad is still my crew chief, we helped get the car together and it was great to win it again for him and my supporters.”
Pierce always has covers for his cars that catch the eye and he came up with one in Eldora that features Rocky Balboa.
“I forgot who had the idea and I thought it was a great idea,” Pierce said. “I love Rocky Balboa. I watched all of the movies and his movies were about heart and perseverance and defying the odds of what you can think you can do and kicking butt. Designing that car was tough and we didn’t know what route to take as far as colors. But it turned out great on the track and it looked like a Rocky car.”
Pierce has not heard from Sylvester Stallone about the car, but Pierce hopes the actor would love the tribute.
“If he did hear about it, I hope it would be a good response and not a bad one,” Pierce said. “I hope when he heard a car with Rocky on it won, he would be cool with it.”
The win at Eldora is just another milestone in another big year for Pierce, who is trying to repeat as World of Outlaws Champion, Flo Racing Champion and XR Champion, has won races like the Illini 100, the Prairie Dirt Classic and his third straight North/South 100 and has reached the 300 feature win mark in his career.
It’s been crazy. I thought last year was a really crazy year that I couldn’t imagine,” Pierce said. “We will see if we can win them again this year, but it will be tough. I am ranked the No. 1 driver but I continue to make improvements and I could not have done with out my father and the crew guys and the sponsors and all of the fans and family for their support.”
With World of Outlaw races rained out this weekend, Pierce is going to Muskingum County Speedway in Dresden, Ohio for the Dunn Memorial — which is an XR Series race.
“With the XR Series, you don’t have to be in every race,” Pierce said. “They have 20 races and they take your best 10 finishes and it is the opposite of World of Outlaws and Flo, where you have to race every time.”
After that, Pierce said there is still major races to be had before the season ends.
“Next weekend, we go to Knoxville, Iowa for the Knoxville Nationals and it is a big crown jewel race,” Pierce said. “I have been close before, but maybe this is the year we can win it. We go to a couple of more Outlaw races and I am racing almost every weekend until November with the season-ending races. “There is the Lucas Oil Series race in Eldora with $100,000 to win and World of Outlaws will have their World finals in Charlotte, North Carolina in November. There is a lot of season left to go and I have about 20 seasons left.”