Bobby put a wrap on a breakout season with a 17th to third charge through one of the strongest fields of drivers he faced all year at the WoO World Finals at Charlotte on Saturday.

The weekend didn't start out as well as it finished as Bobby and his team struggled to get a hold of the track. Mid-pack qualifying efforts on Thursday put him starting deep in his heat races on both Friday and Saturday, and the disappointment of failing to make Friday's main event gave the team extra motivation to improve. He and his crew quickly adapted and were much improved on Saturday night. He advanced from fifth to third in his heat race before making his impressive charge to the front in the main event.

"It always takes just a couple laps to learn a new track," Pierce said. "There's a couple things out there that I still need to figure out, but I think after making laps yesterday and the day before, I just finally got a hold of it. Just like Eldora, after a couple nights there, I finally got it figured out.

"We all had to figure the track out and finally got a good setup for it. I was just glad to turn around a 17th-place starting spot and make a third-place finish out of it."

Bobby made his payment debut driving a crate engine car with the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour on Saturday at Memphis International Raceway. While running in sixth at the halfway break, he suffered mechanical problems that forced the team to go pitside for repairs and as a result go laps down to the leader. At the finish Bobby was 12th, seven laps down. A tough end to an otherwise impressive debut weekend on the asphalt. Prior to the race, Bobby commented "I have always wanted to race in some sort of asphalt, no matter what it is or where I was going to race, just to get good experience. I think racing a crate is different than a super. As far as driving style, everything is the exact same but you have to keep your momentum in the crate. I think it's going to be the same for pavement. We are excited for this experience."

While running sixth on the fifth lap of the heat race on Friday at Portsmouth, the third and fourth place cars got together and spun. Bobby tried to thread the needle in between the two spinning cars but ran out of room and was collected. As a result, Bobby and his team will have to head for home as the car was too heavily damaged to continue.

The team made the over nine hour drive south to Mississippi to race in the $20,000 to win Cotton Pickin' 100 at Magnolia Speedway over the weekend. 52 cars were on hand as Bobby qualified sixth in his group. He was second in his heat race on Friday. Starting 11th in the main event on Saturday, Bobby advanced forward throughout the 100-lap race, climbing to a solid third at the finish. A great result at a track Bobby raced at for the very first time against a strong field of cars!

Bobby made a strong late season push to try to catch the leader and win the UMP DIRTcar national championship but fell just short at the end. He had a great 20-race stretch since August 10th that saw him post six wins and seven runner-up finishes among 17 top-five's. With a second place performance in the UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals as well, Bobby has enjoyed a career season in 2013.

Bobby completed the sweep of Tri-City on Friday night with his third consecutive $2,000 victory in the make-up of last week's tripleheader. This was his fourth American Late Model Series win of the season.

Bobby won his heat race and followed that up by picking up his third ALMS win on Saturday night, taking both $2,000 shows this weekend at Tri-City!

Starting second in the 30-lap feature, Bobby jumped to the lead at the start and ran away from the field by over 3.5 seconds as he picked up win number nine on Thursday night at Tri-City.

What looked to be a bad night early at Belle Clair's World of Outlaws Series event Friday turned into a really good one late. While running fifth in his heat race, the J bar and drive shaft broke. Luckily Bobby was able to get a provisional spot so the #32 rolled off in the 24th position in the $10,000 feature. From there he started picking off cars until he made it all the way up to the sixth position at the finish.

Bobby made an impressive World 100 debut Saturday night at Eldora as he finished fourth in the biggest Dirt Late Model event of the season. Starting second, he led six laps early and was one of the fastest cars on the track late. A great night for the 16-year-old on a grand stage.

Bobby has put together an impressive stretch of races as he has not finished lower then third since August 9th. With three wins, six second places, and two thirds, he hopes to keep it going this weekend as he makes his much anticipated debut in the most prestigious Late Model event of them all, the World 100.

Running in third late in the feature on Sunday at Quincy, Bobby jumped to the top side of the track and drove by the top two drivers in a photo finish at the line, earning his eighth win of the season and second of the weekend.

Bobby scored his seventh win Friday at Tri-City. He also won his heat race.

Bobby started on the pole and led every lap en route to his sixth win of the season on Sunday night at Quincy's $2,000 ALMS Series race.

Bobby picked up a top ten finish at one of the sport's crown jewel events on Saturday night, the $50,000 USA Nationals at Cedar Lake. He started fifth after winning his heat race but the car was a little too tight to make a run at the win but the team is very pleased with the weekend overall.

At a race that his father has won five times, Bobby looked to add his name to the Prairie Dirt Classic win list on Saturday night at Fairbury. He rallied from the 17th starting position to lead 61 of the 100 laps but fell just short at the finish after an exciting three car battle for the $20,000 payday.

Bobby wrapped up his first "Hell Tour" with a solid second place points run. He earned four wins (three of them worth $10,000), 21 top 5's, 25 top 10's out of 26 total races with an average finish of 4.65 and no provisional starts. "We came into this deal just looking for a couple wins maybe, not really worrying about the points too much until we figured out we had a shot at it. There was a point I was behind Brandon over 100 points. Just to reel him in like that it lets us know we were doing a really good job."

Bobby joins just a handful of drivers who have won three $10,000 Summer National races as he once again rode the low groove to another dominant victory Saturday night, leading the final 15 laps of 34 Raceway's UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals feature for his fourth victory on the month-long series and second in as many nights. Much like he did Friday at Kankakee County Speedway and earlier on the tour at Lincoln Speedway and LaSalle Speedway, the fourth-starting Pierce kept his No. 32 machine glued to the bottom of the racetrack throughout Saturday's 40-lap race. He moved by race-long leader Brian Birkhofer on lap 26 and never looked back, winning by a straightaway in a race slowed by just one caution.

"I think once you get rolling along, you get hard to beat," said Pierce, who earned his third $10,000 payday in the past two weeks. "My dad chose the right tires. We were kinda debating on that the whole night, but we picked the right ones."

Starting 11th in the 50-lap UMP Summer Nationals feature Friday night at Kankakee, Bobby used the very bottom of the track to work his way to the lead on lap 24. From there he went unchallenged, building up a half-track advantage as he lapped all the way up to the seventh position, on his way to winning his third "Hell Tour" feature, his second $10,000 triumph.

"I didn't think I was gonna be able to do it from 11th, but I was watching the track and seen that the bottom was really coming in a lot. I knew that I was good down here last year when I got second so I just had to keep doing the same thing over and over again and hitting my marks."

Bobby overtook Tyler Reddick following a mid-race restart and led the remaining distance of Thursday's UMP DIRTcar Summer Nationals feature at LaSalle Speedway, earning $5,000 for his second victory on the month-long tour. The seventh-starting Pierce cruised through the second half of the 40-lap race and won by more than a straightaway.

"It was almost the same deal as Lincoln — just catfishing it there around the bottom," said Pierce, who won Lincoln's event with a similarly dominating performance on Sunday. "I had to work for this one though; it was a little bit more tough. I had to start farther back."

At a track where Bobby has raced and won at many times through his career coming up the ranks in the KidModz and later the Crate Late Models, on Sunday night he broke through and won his first major event in the Super Late Models, winning the $10,000 UMP Summer Nationals at Lincoln. He also becomes the youngest driver in history to win a Summer Nationals race.

Starting second in the 60-lap race, Bobby took the lead on lap nine and dominated the remainder of the event for his first-ever series victory. He opened up a half-straightaway lead by the time he reached lapped traffic just before lap 15, then stretched it to a straightaway by lap 20 as he worked his way through the slower cars with precision. He maintained his lead through the rest of the way, lapping all the way to the ninth spot as the second half of the race ran caution free.

"We've been trying so hard to do this, getting top fives and coming close. It's so hard to win these things; you've got the best of the best. I'm so glad to finally get one. It's amazing."

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.

The team started out the weekend in Arkansas racing in a two-day Lucas Oil event. A good start to the weekend as Bobby was fastest in his qualifying group. While running second in his heat race, the left rear tire went flat sending him pit side and out of contention for a good feature finish.

Hoping to turn his luck around and finish the weekend on a high, the team made the seven hour overnight trip home to race in front of the hometown crowd on Sunday as Danville hosted a $2,000 ALMS "Salt Fork Shootout" event. An up and down weekend ended with a hometown win as Bobby would run down the leader in traffic and take the lead late to score the much needed victory!

"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.