Bobby picked up his first podium finish of the Summer Nationals on Sunday night with a third place run. Starting third in the 40-lap race, the Smooth Operator moved to second before the field completed the first lap. He then set his sights on the lead, sticking with the leader through the race’s opening laps and occasionally looking low for the position. He mounted a mid-race charge to pull to the outside of the leader multiple times between laps 18 and 25 but couldn’t make the pass.

“I found a line on the outside and I thought I had a shot there and a couple of laps on the top I knew my tires would go away as I was having to sling it in. The car was too tight getting in for the rubbered up track as it got more and more rubbered up so that was hurting me and the lapped car was off the track and on the track and that screwed up my momentum there and that’s when I lost second and that was it for my tires and me.”

During Friday night’s Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series race at the Tazewell Speedway, Bobby experienced a violent crash in which his car rolled over and down the high banks of turn one on the 1/3 mile facility. Fortunately, Bobby was not injured in the incident but the car was badly damaged.

“I am so very proud to announce that I have been selected as the 2013 Grand Prize Winner of the $50,000 “Search For A Champion” contest! I am thrilled to be associated with Federal-Mogul and the Iconic brand name of Champion! For over 100 years, Champion has been the worldwide leader in spark plugs and to be a part of a team with Champion and its reputation for quality, commitment, and performance is a true blessing. With this sponsorship our race team will be following the 2013 Lucas Oil Dirt Late Model Series competing for the “Rookie Of The Year” and the overall Championship! We can’t think of a better series in Dirt Late Model Racing which provides us and Champion with more exposure. Ritchie Lewis, Wayne Castleberry, James Essex, Rick Schwallie and the rest of the Lucas Oil staff are awesome to work with.”

“With our momentum at the beginning of the season and Champion’s sponsorship I am looking forward to a great 2013 season! I know it will be an immense challenge to run week in and week out with the best Dirt Late Model drivers in the country, but I feel like we are up to the task! With that being said, I would like to thank Federal-Mogul, Champion Spark Plugs and all of their employees for this wonderful opportunity! I also want to thank my Mom, Dad, Sister Ciara, my Uncle Will, Website Designer Korey Rich, Bob Dolbee, all my Friends and specifically “YOU” the FANS for voting for me through the entire process! Without a doubt I have the BEST and MOST LOYAL fans in our sport! Thanks again!” – Bobby Pierce #32 “Refuse to Lose!”

Bobby Pierce, a 16-year-old high school student who is also one of the nation’s top professional Dirt Late Model drivers, is the $50,000 grand prize winner in the “Search for a Champion” racing sponsorship contest from Federal-Mogul’s iconic Champion® Spark Plug brand. A sophomore at Oakwood (Ill.) High School, Pierce was one of 15 finalists selected from hundreds of entries in the popular contest, which requires participants to submit two-minute videos describing how a Champion sponsorship will help them dominate the competition.

Finalists and the grand prize winner were selected on the basis of votes received at the www.AlwaysaChampion.com website as well as through input from NASCAR® Sprint Cup driver and Champion spokesperson Kevin Harvick. Pierce, currently ranked fourth in points in the Lucas Oil Dirt Series, garnered more than 13,000 of the total 114,000 votes cast in the contest. Finalists represented virtually every form of engine-driven racing, including circle track, drag, motocross, boat, and snocross competition.

“Bobby looks, acts and drives like a champion, and his video projected the passion that’s required to build and maintain a successful professional racing career,” Harvick said. “Who knows, it might not be long before he and I are battling for position at Daytona (International Speedway).”

Bobby’s passion for racing comes naturally: His father is National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame driver and professional car builder Bob Pierce, who was among the most successful Super Dirt drivers of the 1980s and ’90s. His mother, Angie, and sister, Ciara, are members of his crew.

“When I entered this contest I knew it was going to be tough, but I was amazed at how many people at all of the tracks were following the voting,” Bobby said. “It’s fantastic to be singled out by one of the biggest and most successful brands in racing and to be part of a contest that attracts so much attention across North America.”

In addition to the $50,000 grand prize sponsorship, Bobby also receives $5,000 for being among the 15 finalists in the Champion contest. In total Federal-Mogul awarded $125,000 to grassroots drivers who entered the 2013 “Search.”

“Search for a Champion has become the top sponsorship program of its kind for the grassroots racing community,” said Michael Proud, director of marketing, North America, Federal-Mogul. “Champion Spark Plugs are part of the fabric of amateur and professional racing in North America, from kart racing and local dirt tracks to the leading Sprint Cup programs. This contest is an example of the many ways Federal-Mogul and the Champion brand continue to invest in this important legacy.”

Bobby continued his strong run in the Lucas Oil Series with a fifth place finish Saturday night at Brownstown. Starting out the night as the fastest overall qualifier, Bobby followed that up by taking the heat race win and earned the pole position in the feature event. The fifth place feature finish marked the third top five and fourth top ten in Lucas competition putting him fourth in the championship standings.

Bobby continues to run strong in Florida as he notched his career-best Lucas Oil Series finish with a third place run on Friday. Setting fast time of the 36 cars on hand put the #32 on the pole of his heat race. Bobby took advantage of that by leading every lap for a convincing win, taking the checkers nearly a straightaway ahead of second.

Starting on the pole of the 50-lap feature, Bobby held his own. It was a great four-car battle late as the “Smooth Operator” made his move to the track’s high groove and ran down the two leaders ahead of him, briefly moving to second but couldn’t hold it, falling back to third at the finish.

“The top, it just all of a sudden came in like crazy,” said Pierce, who scored his second top five of the week. “Once I got going up there I really went for it because I knew it was probably my only chance. I definitely wanted to win, but that was some of the best fun you’ll ever have right there.”

Following a sixth place qualifying effort in his group, Bobby won his heat race putting him outside of row two for the start of the Winternationals feature opener Monday at East Bay. The “Smooth Operator” ran as high as third before settling for a career-best East Bay finish of fifth.