Pierce Ties Clanton With 48th World of Outlaws Win at Independence

COLUMN BY: Spence Smithback / WORLD OF OUTLAWS LATE MODEL SERIES – INDEPENDENCE, IA – Bobby Pierce’s meteoric rise through the record books reached another major milestone on Tuesday night.

The two-time champion of the World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision won for the sixth time in 2026 and the second time at Independence Motor Speedway. The win was also the 48th of his career with the Series, tying him with 2015 champion Shane Clanton for fourth on the all-time wins list.

The midweek clash was the Nick Hoffman show for most of the night, as “The Thrill From Mooresville” topped Hot Laps, Qualifying and his Heat Race before drawing the Bilstein Pole Award and leading the opening circuits. But a caution for a slowing Tyler Bruening gave Pierce the chance to pounce, and he took full advantage by diving to the bottom of Turn 1 on the restart and sliding up in front of Hoffman.

Once he was able to control the pace, Pierce remained strong around the cushion as the race wore on. Lap traffic looked to be Hoffman’s best chance of taking the lead back, but each time Pierce got close to the tail of the field, a caution put him back in clean air. At the end of 40 laps, Pierce was out front by a half-straightaway to score the victory and retake the points lead by four markers over Hoffman.

“I noticed [Hoffman] slipped just a little bit in Turn 1 on top,” Pierce recalled from his race-winning restart. “I had a good run coming off of [Turn] 4 on the restart. There was a lot of moisture down on the bottom of [Turn] 1 still, was able to get some grip down there and slingshot ahead of him. I was expecting to see him on my inside going into Turn 3, but luckily I pulled away down the backstretch. From then on, it was just hit my marks laps after lap on those restarts. Tried to get through lap traffic as best I could, but luckily I didn’t have to mess with that too much because the cautions kept coming out.”

Behind Pierce, the race was on for second when Tyler Erb ran down Hoffman. The duo was side-by-side at the white flag with Erb on the bottom and Hoffman up top, and Erb found enough grip down low to clear Hoffman exiting Turn 2 and hold him off for the final set of corners. His runner-up result was his best finish since finishing second in January at Volusia Speedway Park and his first podium since that night.

Fourth went to Drake Troutman, while Trey Mills finished in a career-best fifth for the MD3 Rookie of the Race Award.

UP NEXT: The World of Outlaws Late Model Series presented by DIRTVision will travel north for three nights at Mississippi Thunder Speedway in the Dairyland Showdown, Thursday-Saturday, April 30-May 2.