9/3/2019
PIERCE PREVAILS AT QUINCY--TAKES 1ST ANNUAL "SCOTTIE 45"
Quincy, IL - Bobby Pierce survived late race motor woes and a mid-race exchange of slide jobs for the race lead on Sunday night to capture his fifth Lucas Oil MLRA win of the year, and second at the Quincy Raceways. The victory for Pierce netted him $5,000 in the 1st annual "Scottie 45".
Pierce, in his family owned Pierce Chassis, set quick time with a 13.046 second lap and followed it up with a win in his qualifying heat race. The heat win put the Oakwood, IL driver on the DirtonDirt.com Pole, alongside of MLRA series point leader Will Vaught. At the drop of the green, Pierce picked-up right where he left off back in May, jumping to the race lead and setting a blistering pace.
The races lone caution waved on lap 14 for the stalled car of Reid Millard at the top of turn three. The caution appeared to be a break for Pierce, as it saved him from having to navigate heavy lapped traffic with the 1v of Vaught closing in.
The move of the night came on the ensuing restart when Mitch McGrath darted from his 3rd position to the inside of Pierce at the entrance of turn one, stealing the lead with the first slide job of the night. McGrath escaped the grasp of Pierce and was able to maintain a constant 2-3 car length advantage over the next fourteen laps with Pierce and Vaught in tow.
Mitch McGrath (74) and Bobby Pierce (32) exchange sliders in MLRA Action at Quincy. Piece would prevail while McGrath came home in 3rd. Photo Credit--Lloyd Collins FastTrack Photos
Just past the mid-way point, McGrath began running a lower line, opening up the top side for the "Smooth Operator". On the races 29th lap, Pierce returned the favor with a slide job for the lead in turns one and two, stalling the momentum of McGrath, and allowing Vaught to slip by and into the second spot.
Vaught would pressure Pierce for the next ten laps, pulling along alongside in lapped traffic, but in the end it would be Pierce pulling away for the convincing win at the ¼ mile "Broadway Bullring". Vaught extends his championship lead after coming home in second, while McGrath settled for third at the line. Jason Papich collected his second top five of the weekend, coming home forth, while leading Sunoco Rookie Candidate Logan Martin rounded out the top five.
In Lucas Oil Victory Lane, Pierce commented on the exchange of slide jobs for the lead by saying, "I didn't really appreciate the move, so I wasn't the friendliest giving it back to him. It is what it is, luckily we got the job done. Right when that happened, I went down a cylinder I think, maybe two. Something was really wrong and my oil pressure was pretty low so we will check it out, hopefully it's alright."
"He (McGrath) capitalized on that restart," continued Pierce. "I didn't get a good start and that made me more motivated to get him back, because I really wanted that win."
"I was kind of waiting for lapped traffic. We weren't catching them super-fast so I really had to get up on the wheel. When he started changing his line, going a little bit lower on the top, it let me have the cushion. It's hard when you get in the dirty air, you don't want to push and shove off the track. At least this place doesn't have walls, so you won't hit concrete, you will just go off--that's better I guess," joked a jubilant Pierce.
Only two nights remain on the 2019 Lucas Oil MLRA schedule, both set for the Lucas Oil Speedway. The Annual Fall Nationals will bring a close to the championship hunt on October 11-12, with a practice night planned for Thursday night the 10th. Friday's $3,000 to win main event will lead up to another $5,000 to win showdown at the "Diamond of Dirt Tracks" on Saturday night. Both nights will be co-sanctioned with the Comp Cams Super Dirt Series.
Article Credit: Billy Rock
