Pierce Continues Rewriting Record Books with Second World of Outlaws Championship
Photo by Emily Schwanke
CONCORD, N.C.—Less than five years ago, Bobby Pierce was still trying to make his first trip to Victory Lane with the World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision.
He checked that off his to-do list on April 3, 2021, less than an hour from home at Farmer City Raceway. Since then, Pierce has repeated the feat 41 more times on his meteoric rise up the winners list and collected two championships along the way.
Five other drivers – Brandon Sheppard, Josh Richards, Darrell Lanigan, Shane Clanton and Billy Moyer – have eclipsed the 42-win mark on the World of Outlaws trail, taking an average of 10 seasons after their first win to reach that mark. No one had gone at a faster pace than Sheppard, who won his 42nd race in 2019 less than seven years after his first score in 2012. Then came the “Smooth Operator.”
Only four years and four months removed from that maiden victory at Farmer City, Pierce scored win number 42 at Arrowhead Speedway in August to tie himself with Moyer for fifth on the all-time wins list. And he’s nowhere close to being finished.
“I was 13 when I started racing Super Late Models, and that’s not really that long ago, I guess,” the now 29-year-old Pierce said. “From the time I started racing Summer Nationals, I think I was 16 when I ran my first whole year of Summer Nationals. And then I was 19 when I won the World 100, that was less than 10 years ago, and here we are now. I guess I think of all the years I might still be racing, it’s a long time. Lots more opportunity to get a lot more championships if we’re good enough.”
The goal of adding to his win total was secondary to Pierce’s main mission in 2025 – reclaiming the World of Outlaws championship crown after coming up 38 points short to Sheppard in 2024. After an up-and-down start to the year at Volusia Speedway Park, it was off to Smoky Mountain Speedway to begin the spring slate of racing.
The slick red clay at the east Tennessee oval wasn’t thought of as the place where the Oakwood, IL native would kick his season into high gear, especially with a field full of southeastern legends to contend with. But Pierce led every lap and held off Jonathan Davenport at the end to flip the script on that night.
By the end of April, Pierce added two more southern scores at Swainsboro Raceway and Talladega Short Track. The region that was once one of Pierce’s few weaknesses had become quite the opposite, which he attributed to a growing level of comfort both as a driver and with his race car compared to the start of his full-time World of Outlaws career.
“Over the last three years of running Outlaws and venturing out more, I’m definitely more well-rounded,” Pierce said. “This is my third year racing a Longhorn, so every year since I’ve been racing Outlaws full-time, I’ve had a Longhorn. We’ve had to learn that over the last couple years, and I think we’re definitely getting a little bit more of a handle on it. If it’s not what it takes to make it go fast, we definitely know if you mess up, what not to do.”
That success down south was merely the start of one of a championship-caliber stretch of consistency for the No. 32 team. In the 22 races between Smoky Mountain in March and the late-July stop at Wilmot Raceway, Pierce won seven times and finished worse than seventh only once.
Pierce was already the odds-on favorite for the title after a run of that magnitude, but his swing through the heartland in mid-August that included a four-race win streak further cemented that status. It didn’t matter if he was at an Illinois bullring like Spoon River Speedway that he had known since childhood, or somewhere like Arrowhead that he had never seen before, Pierce left with the trophy just the same.
Entering the fall months, anyone else would have needed an other-worldly combination of speed and good fortune to have any hope of keeping Pierce from his second title. And he wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
“Last year happened, we were kind of coming from behind the whole year, almost got it done,” Pierce said. “This year was kind of the vengeance tour. Had our goal set on winning this championship, trying to do the best we could throughout the year so we could come into Charlotte and lock it up again, and that’s kind of what we did. Had it locked up the last two nights, so all the hard work from the season paid off.”
Even a dream season like Pierce had in 2025 didn’t come without its trials and tribulations. His lone DNF over the summer came on NAPA Auto Parts Gopher 50 weekend at Deer Creek Speedway, where he was caught in a pileup and ended up on his roof. That forced the team into scramble mode to get a new chassis ready for the next stop on tour seven days later at Sharon Speedway, where Pierce wheeled the new set of wheels to victory to cap off another hectic week in the life of a touring dirt Late Model team.
“All the crew that I’ve got helping out, I can’t thank enough,” Pierce said. “It definitely takes everybody to make it work. It’s a grind, for sure. Especially like us, we race 90-some races a year. Fifty-whatever with the Outlaws and the other races are something else, so we’re always racing. Sometimes we’ll be at the shop for Monday, and then we’re gone on Tuesday. In the busy times of year, that’s kind of how it is. It’s a lot of sacrifice to do this lifestyle.”
That sacrifice has granted Pierce access to one of the most exclusive clubs in the sport, as he joins Moyer, Lanigan, Richards and Sheppard as the fifth multi-time World of Outlaws champion. Three years removed from his first season on tour, which had him wondering if he was capable of competing at the highest level, week in and week out, Pierce has etched his name in history as one of the best to ever call themselves an Outlaw.
But Pierce remains equally as motivated to learn, grow and improve as he was in year one. That’s a process that won’t be complete until every list in the record book has a 32 at the top.
“This year, I think I learned just as much as I did the first year,” Pierce said. “Constantly learning new things, trying to get the car better. Just feels amazing to come [to Charlotte] and get it done for the second time. Sometimes you win things for the first time and you never know if you’re going to win it again, so to do it twice, it’s like, ‘Alright, we’re definitely meant to be here.’ Now we’re going to try to win it a third time.”
Pierce’s quest for a third World of Outlaws Real American Beer Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision championship will commence at Volusia Speedway Park during DIRTcar Sunshine Nationals (Thursday-Saturday, Jan. 22-24) and Federated Auto Parts DIRTcar Nationals (Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 12-14). Get your tickets in advance by clicking here.
If you can’t make it to the track, stream every lap live on DIRTVision.
Our Partners
.png)
