EXPERIENCE MATTERS: Pierce Uses Prior Visits to Win Hell Tour’s Return to Paducah
Father-son duo Terry, Tanner English bag top-fives in home state
PADUCAH, KY – July 1, 2022 – While the top side of the banking held him up through much of the race, Bobby Pierce may have leaned most on his past experiences at Paducah International Raceway to score his fourth DIRTcar Summer Nationals victory of the season Friday night.
Until Friday, the Hell Tour hadn’t graced the high banks of the big 3/8-mile oval since June 28, 2013. That race was won by the one and only six-time champion and Dirt Late Model Hall-of-Famer Billy Moyer. Also in the field that night – a 16-year-old Bobby Pierce.
Though he finished fifth, the teenage racing sensation showed he was right on the cusp of breaking through to victory. Two nights later, he finally did break through, winning his first career Summer Nationals Feature in front of a home state Illinois crowd.
Nine years and forty-four tour victories later, Pierce still recalls the laps he made around the ultra-fast Paducah, and they might have just played a role in his journey to a dominant victory for $10,000 Friday night.
“I’ve always really liked this racetrack when I was younger; I just haven’t been able to come here in years,” Pierce said. “This was one I wanted to win pretty badly, probably more than any other on the tour, just because this place is so unique. Really, there’s nowhere like it.”
Pierce, the four-time Summer Nationals champion from Oakwood, IL, also has memories of racing at Paducah even before his Super Late Model career started.
“It definitely helped out that I was here in the past,” he said. “The first time I came here was in my Crate Late Model, and I was 12 or 13, I think. That’s pretty young for how big this place is.
“I remember going down the straightaways and having all day to think about my corner entrance because it felt like it took five days to get there with how long the straightaways are.”
He used those long straightaways to the fullest Friday night, stretching out his lead with ease once the race got going after a few early caution periods. Former tour regular Tanner English chased him throughout the 30-lap event, but never could keep pace with Pierce, ultimately settling for second.
After the first two yellows in the opening laps, only one final caution appeared just past the halfway mark. This erased Pierce’s three-plus-second lead and put English right on his bumper for the restart, which Pierce handled with ease, though there’s always the chance he doesn’t launch well.
“You always worry about that, especially going into Turn 1 here,” Pierce said. “With the line I was running, it’s a little bit strange. You go in there and it feels like you’re going 100 miles an hour and that wall is like a quick 90, and it was kinda slick up to it.”
UP NEXT
The DIRTcar Summer Nationals returns to action on July 2 for a $10,000-to-win Saturday night special at Clarksville Speedway. If you can’t be at the track, watch every lap live on DIRTVision.
ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results)
Feature 30 Laps | 00:25:37.649
1. 32-Bobby Pierce[2]; 2. 81E-Tanner English[1]; 3. 21-Billy Moyer Jr[4]; 4. 15-Christian Hanger[7]; 5. 96T-Terry English[8]; 6. 3S-Brian Shirley[11]; 7. 25-Jason Feger[5]; 8. 212-Josh Putnam[14]; 9. 81JR-Jason Riggs[6]; 10. 18-Matt Cooper[12]; 11. 14G-Joe Godsey[17]; 12. 4D-Doug Tye[13]; 13. 30-Mark Voigt[9]; 14. 10-Ronnie Cooper[24]; 15. 31AUS-Paul Stubber[20]; 16. 38-Thomas Hunziker[18]; 17. 26M-Brent McKinnon[21]; 18. 81J-Jack Riggs[16]; 19. 23NZ-Mick Quin[10]; 20. 14R-Jeff Roth[15]; 21. F1-Payton Freeman[22]; 22. 99-Dylan Thompson[3]; 23. 22-Aaron Edwards[23]; 24. 15F-Richard Frost[19]
FIRST TIMER: Young Wins at Paducah for First Career Summit Modified Victory
As one of the top DIRTcar UMP Modified drivers in his region, Trent Young had never been to DIRTcar Summit Racing Equipment Modified Nationals Victory Lane. Until now.
In his first time out with the tour this season, Young dominated the tour’s return to Paducah International Raceway Friday night for his first career Summit Modified trophy.
“For me, it is a pretty big win,” Young said. “We don’t run a lot of big shows anymore, just local stuff, mostly. I don’t get to race against a lot of the touring guys.
“I think we still can run with them. We’ve got a pretty good car.”
The Hopkinsville, KY, racer ran away from UMP Modified veterans Lucas Lee and Brian Shaw en route to victory in the 20-lap affair, leading every lap, even battling internal issues of his own throughout the program.
“We fought engine overheating issues most of the night,” Young said. “We were pretty hot in the Heat Race, so I figured it was gonna be the same for the Feature, and it was.”
UP NEXT
The DIRTcar Summit Modifieds return to action on July 2 for a Saturday night special at Clarksville Speedway. If you can’t be at the track, watch every lap live on DIRTVision.
ABBREVIATED RESULTS (view full results)
Feature 20 Laps | 00:15:22.024
1. 10Y-Trent Young[2]; 2. 12L-Lucas Lee[3]; 3. 1S-Brian Shaw[4]; 4. 176-Scotty Owens[7]; 5. 2- Peyton Walker[5]; 6. 99-Teegan Embrey[8]; 7. 7D-Pete Sabatino[10]; 8. 00-troy gay[11]; 9. 7-Willie Gammill[9]; 10. 16-Todd Riley[6]; 11. (DNS) 8-Kyle Steffens
DIRTcar Summer Nationals is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including: Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, Chevy Performance, DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), FireAde, Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), Indiana Decal Company, Intercomp, iRacing, Racing Electronics, SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), Summit Racing Equipment, and VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel). Contingency sponsors include: ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Beyea Custom Headers, COMP Cams, Drydene, Fox Factory, Hoosier Racing Tire, MSD, Quarter Master, Summit Racing Equipment, VP Racing Fuels, and Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum).
Summit Modified Nationals is brought to fans by many important sponsors and partners, including : Summit Racing Equipment, Arizona Sport Shirts/Gotta Race, Chevy Performance, DIRTVision (Official Live Broadcast Partner), FireAde, Hoosier Racing Tire (Official Tire), Indiana Decal Company, Intercomp, iRacing, Racing Electronics, SIS Insurance (Official Insurance Provider), and VP Racing Fuels (Official Racing Fuel). Contingency sponsors include: ARP (Automotive Racing Products), Bassett Racing Wheel, Bell Helmets, Beyea Custom Headers, COMP Cams, Drydene, Fast Shafts, Fox Factory, Hoosier Racing Tire, Jerovetz Motorsports Shock Service, K1 Race Gear, KSE Racing Products, MSD, Mulit FireX, Schoenfeld Headers, Summit Racing Equipment, Velocita USA, VP Racing Fuels, Wrisco (Exclusive Racing Aluminum), and Xceldyne.
Sources: Jordan DeLucia, DIRTcar Racing PR
Photo credit – Josh James Artwork