Fast Talk presented by MD3 and Five Star Bodies

Fast Talk: Will Pierce's WoO record stand?

August 24, 2026, 11:25 am

On a weekend with Bobby Pierce setting a World of Outlaws Late Model Series record and Mike Marlar continuing a hot streak, our roundtable weighs in for the weekly feature presented by MD3 and Five Star Race Cars Bodies (edited for clarity and length):

Are we seeing Bobby Pierce set a WoO single-season victory record never to be surpassed?

Kevin Kovac, DirtonDirt senior writer: If Pierce continues as a WoO regular in the coming years, then the answer just might be no. He still can push his 2026 total higher with 12 races remaining on the schedule, but he only turns 30 in November so he should be just entering his prime and he’s increased his victory output in each of his four seasons as a WoO regular (11, 13, 14, 19-and-counting). Provided he keeps the fire burning, why couldn’t he just keep on rolling up more and more wins in the future? Perhaps Nick Hoffman could start taking more checkered flags from Pierce, (he’s won six WoO features this year while finishing second to Pierce eight times), but Pierce’s WoO dominance has been so all-encompassing this season (wins at 19 tracks in 13 states), it’s difficult to envision a dramatic dropoff.

Kyle McFadden, DirtonDirt staff reporter: If Pierce reaches 23 or 24 victories by season’s end — certainly possible with 12 races remaining — then we may look back on this as a record that’ll never be broken. But history says to be careful with that assumption. I’m sure the 18-win season for Josh Richards in 2016 seemed nearly untouchable at the time. Then Brandon Sheppard, who entered 2017 with only six career WoO victories, matched Richards the very next year and did it again in ’19. Pierce is another example of how quickly the guard can change. He didn’t win his first WoO race until April 2021, yet five years later he owns the single-season record. If we’d asked this question after Richards’s 2016 season, I doubt Sheppard — and certainly Pierce — would’ve been the obvious candidates to eventually match and surpass him. So if Pierce pushes the record into the 23- or 24-win range, it could stand a long time. But Dirt Late Model racing has a way of producing the next dominant driver at some point down the line. Someone who isn’t even on our radar today could eventually come along and rewrite the record book.

Bryan Ault, contributing DirtonDirt writer: Yeah, I’d say so. Not even the Rumley No. 6 piloted by Hudson O’Neal could stop Bobby Pierce at Maquoketa on Saturday, or Marshalltown on Tuesday. It’s been a consensus that Bobby Pierce has been the best driver this year for a long time. This won’t happen, but I think it’s getting to a point where we need to have some type of creative incentive program for Pierce where he has the option of getting extra money if he skips qualifying and starts on the tail of a heat race and still manages to win. I bet he’d take that bet, and probably win more often than we think. Seriously, it’s an otherworldly level of dominance we’ve seen from him over the past couple of years and this summer in-particular, one we’re unlikely to see again.

Mike Ruefer, contributing DirtonDirt photographer: Let me say this. Over the last three previous seasons Pierce has averaged more than 30 victories. Currently he sits at 26, 19 with WoO. I think it’s safe to say he hits the 30 mark again and adds to his WoO win column. In the near future, if the record is going to be broken, it will be by him. I just don’t see anyone being that good consistently to beat him. Now if he left WoO for another national tour someone like Nick Hoffman could possibly do it.

What else struck you about Iowa Speedweek at Marshalltown, Mason City and Maquoketa?

McFadden: Averaging 33 cars across the three tracks isn’t necessarily eye-popping, but the number is more impressive considering Iowa doesn’t have a weekly Super Late Model track. For a state without that built-in weekly base, the Speedweek concept was well-supported across three of Iowa’s marquee venues. Hat tip to Jeff Hoker of Hoker Trucking for spearheading the idea, putting together a points fund and helping make the week attractive enough to draw the likes of Jonathan Davenport, Brandon Sheppard and Hudson O’Neal while bringing together FloRacing Night in America and the World of Outlaws Late Model Series.

Ruefer: It was an amazing four-race stretch and Iowa showed up! The Late Model heritage in Iowa is second to none in my opinion. The Iowa faithful still love open-motor thunder that only Super Late Models provide. I’ve seen good crowds at all these tracks but this past week was standing room only and you could feel the buzz. The drivers and their hot rods didn’t disappoint either. For a state with no local weekly super late model racing the Iowa Speedweek concept hit it out of the park. The events and race tracks shined in the national spotlight.

Ault: Tim McCreadie logged finishes of second and sixth at Maquoketa and is positioning himself for wins. He’s had six top-10 runs since July 11, He just hasn’t reached victory lane since a May 14 series win at Selinsgrove Speedway, but something tells me he’s overdue. He could be a darkhorse pick heading into the World 100 in two weeks, especially if he gets on a roll over the remaining three WoO shows in Iowa.

Kovac: Four Iowa races in five nights between the FloRacing and WoO tours — with the Lucas Oil Series idle — proved to be a perfect opportunity for Hudson O’Neal and Kevin Rumley to hook up for multiple events. Not surprisingly, O’Neal continued his prolific output in his limited action behind the wheel of the iconic Rumley No. 6, winning twice and adding second- and third-place runs to push his sterling performance record in the car this season to nine victories among 18 top-five and 22 top-10 finishes in 24 starts. He earned an extra $2,500 as the champion of the Hawkeye State Great 8 points fund, which was a neat sidelight to the week. How often do you see a miniseries points fund between races from two tours?

Laud a non-national touring winner (or near-miss driver).

Ault: Josh Rice swept the Northern Allstars doubleheader at Circle City Raceway and Brownstown Speedway, earning $20,000 in earnings. Part of me wonders where Rice would be in the Lucas Oil Series standings if he would’ve started off the season in a Rocket XR2. He’s told me he’s very comfortable in the Mark Richards-owned chassis brand and that it was nice to bring it out to more familiar territory as a three-time Northern Allstars series champ. Of course, it’s understandable that JRR Motorsports wouldn’t want to make that big of a change to their program with a fresh face behind the wheel, but I think he would be much higher than eighth place and probably have a few more wins.

McFadden: Clay Harris picking up a $5,000 victory well outside his Florida territory at Selinsgrove (Pa.) Speedway deserves some recognition, especially considering the field he beat. Outrunning Gregg Satterlee, Drake Troutman, Rick Eckert, Ross Robinson and Lane Snook, among others, ought to be a nice pick-me-up for the Lucas Oil regular amid a national season that’s dealt him plenty of adversity. It may not look like much compared to the five-figure purses Harris regularly chases on tour, but victories at the Super level are hard-earned these days no matter where you go. For Harris to venture that far from home and beat a formidable group of regional standouts makes this one worth appreciating.

Kovac: Mike Marlar is certainly a national-level driver, but he popped in to his home state’s Smoky Mountain Speedway on Saturday for a regional Hunt the Front Super Dirt Series show and dominated from flag-to-flag for a $12,000 victory. He’s really found something with his move to Rocket Chassis in late June. His five victories and two runner-up finishes in his last eight starts represent his hottest stretch in nearly two decades. Considering the way he’s running, he has to be excited about the looming World 100, a race in which was the runner-up in 2021 but hasn’t truly contended for the win since (he failed to qualify last year).

Ruefer: I was happy to see Tad Pospisil pick up the win on Saturday at the co-sanctioned Revival and Heartland Tour in Hutchinson, Kan. I’ve watched Tad race a lot over the last five seasons on Malvern Bank tours, where he’s always a contender. Tad, like his fellow Malvern Bank Series drivers, is a solid performer. Just because they primarily run that series doesn’t mean they can’t outrun drivers on other tours, as he did Saturday.

Pick a driver you have a hunch will score a career-high payday before the season ends.

McFadden: With $50,000 on the line this weekend when the Lucas Oil tour visits Port Royal Speedway, I’ll highlight a trio of Pennsylvanians who could capitalize — Max Blair, Gregg Satterlee and Drake Troutman. Blair has proven several times this season that he has a car capable of knifing through aero-dependent traffic, something especially important at big half-miles such as Port Royal and Eldora. Satterlee hasn’t won a national touring event since 2022 at Port Royal, but he’s always a threat at the sprawling half-mile. And Troutman and his newly launched Jerry Foster-owned team enter the weekend with momentum after a $5,000 victory at Port Royal this past weekend and another triumph the week before at Lernerville. All three know Port Royal well, so home-track familiarity could provide the opening one of them needs for a career payday.

Ault: I’ll go with Max Blair. His consistency in the first half of season has waned a bit throughout the dog days of summer, but he managed to win a preliminary race at Batesville, proving he still has speed, and a couple of upcoming tracks on the national tour are right up his alley: a two-day show at Port Royal two weeks before the World 100. He finished second at last June’s Dream to Pierce, so a World 100 victory is certainly a possibility.

Ruefer: I just have this feeling that with Drake Troutman returning to the national stage in his new Jerry Foster-owned Late Model team, big things are going to happen. He’s quietly been picking up Pennsylvania regional wins as they get their footing on the new venture. Drake has impressed me in his young career and he’s quite talented. I won’t be surprised when he breaks through with something very big, perhaps someday matching his six-figure mod payday he had with Mr. Foster. Troutman has been a rising star for a couple years and soon will shine even brighter.

Kovac: Ashton Winger is a driver I have my eye on in this regard. He’s been hot over the last three months with eight victories overall, including five on the Hunt the Front Series that have helped him build a solid points lead. I’m not predicting that he’s going to win a mega-purse crown jewel before the year is over, but his career-richest win is $20,000 (three times, most recently last October at Mississippi’s Whynot Motorsports Park) so that $30,000 top prize for Nov. 14’s FloRacing Night in America-sanctioned Peach State Classic finale at Senoia (Ga.) Raceway — Winger’s home track — could have his name on it.

If you get into a fender bender, is your move to blame the other person, chalk it up as “one of them deals” — or retaliate with more contact?

Kovac: Road rage on the highways can be dangerous, so it’s best to keep a calm head if something does happen. You never know who you might be dealing with in the other car, which makes charging out of my seat to angrily confront that driver a risky move. And is retaliating with more contact after really a thing when you’re on the road? Sure, we’ve all probably dreamed of using a well-placed bump to spin out someone who’s cut us off on the highway, but that’s very impractical, especially after a “fender bender” that has almost certainly prompted you to stop and exchange insurance information. It would be pretty crazy to make the situation even worse by gunning your engine and hitting the person who hit you.

Ruefer: Nowadays there is really no such thing as a minor fender bender. Cost of repair is just too expensive. It can be somewhat “one of those deals,” if you’re hit and run while not in your vehicle, but with a moving vehicle, it changes. Instead of blaming the other driver just don’t accept blame. Let the authorities and insurance folks do their job. You should never retaliate.

McFadden: I’ve never been in a fender bender, so I can’t speak from experience. I definitely can’t see myself retaliating with more contact should that happen — on the regular, everyday roads, that is. It’s far too risky. On the racetrack? That might be a different outcome. Realistically, I’d probably just do everything I could to make the story sound like the other person was at fault. We writers can find a way to frame the narrative in our favor, right?

Ault: If it's my fault, I'd accept responsibility. As a pretty cool customer on the road, I’m unlikely to retaliate directly out of mindfulness for how much cars cost these days, even if it's their fault or we both contributed equally to the collision. I'm probably going to see it as "one of them deals," get a police report, exchange insurance information, get my car fixed, and move on with life, not unlike most of the racing incidents we see on the track. My wife, who commutes to downtown Indianapolis and deals with the pain of daily traffic tieups, might have a different perspective. If she's involved, she'd admit that other motorists might watch out for a demolition derby.