Bobby Pierce has spent much time in victory lane this season
Of the four currently active national tour series for Dirt Late Models, no driver has ever won two championships in the same season. Bobby Pierce is currently leading the standings on three different tours as the 2023 campaign reaches its stretch run. The 26-year-old star has currently accumulated the most points with the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Late Model Series, the XR Super Series, and the Castrol FloRacing Night in America Series so the potential is there for three championships in one calendar year.
Not only could the Oakwood, Illinois native become the first driver to win win two national touring series titles in the same season, he could potentially win three. Doing so, if he can accomplish the feat, would bring about some very hefty paychecks. The WoO champion will earn $150,000 along with other potential bonuses, XR will dole out $75,000 to its victor at season’s end, and Flo’s winning driver will be awarded a $75,000 prize if he completes the season with perfect attendance.
That’s a possible $300,000 in championship payoffs alone. And according to the schedule posted on his website, the ‘Smooth Operator’ plans on running all remaining races for each of those series in which he sits atop the standings.
Championships aside, it has already been an incredible season for Pierce as he has already amassed no less than 30 feature wins including the $75,000 North-South 100 at Florence Speedway and the $50,000 USA Nationals at Cedar Lake Speedway crown jewel triumphs.
Of course, accomplishing such a thing as winning more than one season title has only been a possibility for two years now since the streaming-based XR Super Series and the FloRacing Night in America Series haven’t been in existence for all that long.
While it may not be a new thing for a driver to succeed on more than one series in the same season on a regional level, this is a task on a far different scale. The travel involved has been extensive for Pierce and the No. 32 crew. Between the three tours, races have been run as far south as Florida, as far north as Pennsylvania and as far west as Nebraska, Kansas and the Dakotas. All this is benefitted, to a certain degree, by the fact that each of the tours have managed to schedule themselves around each other by holding mid-week shows and contesting events near enough to each other to make the travel feasible for the teams.
Still, that doesn’t diminish what Pierce is doing here. It’s still a lot of racing at a high level against the best competition night after night on numerous occasions.
Back when there were only two national series, a handful of drivers could claim that they had earned championships on both the World of Outlaws CASE Construction Late Model Series and the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series but that would have been in entirely different seasons. Scott Bloomquist, Josh Richards and Tim McCreadie have each achieved that remarkable feat.
What Bobby Pierce is in position to do takes winning multiple championships to an entirely different level. It has required a lot of him and his team to do what they are doing. Preparing the car, traveling to the tracks, running hot laps, qualifying, contesting the features, then loading back up to do it all over again could land him a place in Dirt Late Model history as well as add to his bank account. It has been a lot of racing in one season. Only this driver and crew will know in the end if it was worth all the time and effort.
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