If you watched Wednesday's 1-800-Car-Cash Mud Summer Classic, then you may have seen Christopher Bell win. But did you see a young 18-year-old race with some of the best Truck drivers in the world?
If no, then I'll tell you this: his name was Bobby Pierce, and he sure is one heck of a wheel man.
Eldora Success Sure To Impress
Pierce qualified on the pole for Wednesday's race, then won the first heat race. He then goes on to dominate most of the race, but ends up with a runner-up finishing position.
Before Eldora, we interviewed Mike Kamp, CEO of Pierce's team, and James Bushey, Kamp's Director of Motorsports.
They sounded confident going in to Eldora, and yes, they did expect him to do well.
"I could see him winning a heat race, maybe a Top-10," Bushey told us. "I'm shooting for a win, but it's his first truck race. Anything can happen."
"His car handling is unreal," Kamp told us. "He's called the smooth operator for a reason."
Bushey sure was right. Pierce may not have gotten the win, but he finished in the Top-10 (2nd), and he did win a heat.
The Road To NASCAR
Pierce had plenty of dirt racing experience before Eldora.
The 18-year-old was a DIRTCar National Late Model champion in 2014, plus, he had wins at Eldora in other racing leagues before the Mud Summer Classic.
"With dirt being under the tires, I feel like he has a comfortable feeling going into something he knows," Kamp said when we asked him before the race if Bobbby's first start being on dirt made it easier for him. "He has wins at Eldora already, so he definately has a comfort on that."
The Feature (Race)
Pierce may have started on the pole, but he didn't the first lap after the green flag dropped, John Hunter Nemecheck, who started 2nd, led that lap. However, soon after that lap, Pierce took the lead back and led some more and impressed us tremendously. We had never seen someone do so well in their NASCAR debut, especially at such a young age.
"The man acts like he's born for it," Kamp also said in his interview with us. "Every time you take a picture of him, you get a perfect smile."
In The Long Run?
We here at "The Ultimate NASCAR Blog" see Bobby Pierce going on to do great things.
"I can compare him to being a Kyle Busch on the sport." Kamp said.
Kamp also had these wonderful comments about the great young wheel man: "Bobby as an individual is perfect for NASCAR (as a business) and (the) NASCAR fan's wants and needs."
Congratulations to Bobby Pierce on such a strong and successful NASCAR debut, and we wish him and his entire team luck in the future.
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