National Tours in 2017

[W2Racing09]

I think we are on the same page. You claim there is value for him running a national series in regards to Nascar aspirations, maybe so. He should have raced at Charlotte. You act like nobody knows who he his. Everybody in Nascar that would be looking for somebody like him knows who he is. The problem is, Nascar is turning into Indycar, if you don't bring a sponsor with you, you ain't gonna have a ride. I doubt Champion is going to do 30 million per year to sponsor a car full time. Any truck race he has ran other than Eldora, he has stunk. And obviously he can wheel any type of car, that is not even a discussion anymore. He can drive. We all know that.

To answer your questions: Is Bobby trying to get to nascar? Probably, who isn't? But is that his top priority? Nah I don't think so.

Is the World Finals a requirement? No, but if you are trying to swing your D*ck in front of Nascar people, yes it probably is.

I'd argue that if he was full time on a tour, he would not be as well exposed as he already is. Darrell Lanigan was hot stuff until he moved to Lucas and got railroaded. Speaking of Lanigan, he also didn't work out on asphalt.

If Bobby Pierce considers himself to be only as good as Darrell Lanigan was last season then he probably should just stick to running regionally -- I agree. However, I think Bobby could jump on the WoO (even potentially running against Madden week to week) and be a shoe in for a top 2 spot and probably the favorite over Madden, Sheppard and Clanton to win the whole thing. That is a pretty big boost in exposure over winning the The Hell Tour, or UMP National Championship which are only well known in the Midwest or by hardcore fans who are going to know about most of this stuff anyway.

One of the biggest reasons to run on tour would be selling more cars in more areas, if NASCAR isn't the primary goal then helping his family make more money probably has to be -- or at least is pretty close to the top. I see Capital cars gaining traction here in PA, despite being located in GA. I see Club 29 cars around quite a bit too, located in KY. I see Longhorn cars all over the place they are from NC. I rarely see new Pierce cars anywhere around the Mid Atlantic -- the difference, all those others chassis have House Cars running Nationally and getting all of that attention. I would be surprised if the same can't be said for most regions. Winning the World 100, and N/S will certainly help sell some cars all over -- but not as much as weekly drivers watching Pierce run away with races and setting track records against the best drivers in the country on their home track would.

I don't see how it makes sense for Pierce to continuously toil away racing in the Midwest for the rest of his career. He is at the top of what he can do racing in the Midwest already, there is nowhere to go but down as far as that goes since he has already done everything that can be done. Winning an LOLMDS or WoO championship should be the next logical thing to scratch off the list.

Thanks,
Jeff.

[Ryan21mid]

I'm not sure selling a bunch of cars is their goal. And unless the quality increases the idea of it is pointless anyway. I've heard some bad stories about the Pierce cars and with several drivers jumping in them and right back out the past few years solidifies that. I think Bobby is just a fearless wheelman and he'd be fast in anything you put him in. I don't think he could jump on the WoO tour and be a shoe in for the title but I'd say a top 5 contender. He has had success outside of the midwest, yes, but its been spotty. That being said, I do think he is ready for the next step, and a new challenge. Hopefully the money comes along to allow him to progress.

[Ryan21mid]

And I'm not throwing blows at Bobby or the cars. But there's no way at this point in time that they can consistently outperform that Rocket 1 Team with Sheppy at the helm, or Clanton's Capital Championship winning team.

[zach51]

I agree with most everything you said there Jeff, I just don't know if he would be as good on a tour as we think. He'd definitely have to alter his checkers or wreckers mentality. He'd have to learn that some nights 10th may be as good as you are and you have to be OK with that and not blow apart your equipment trying to get one or two extra spots. He does have good results on the Summernationals, but I think being young and wired up most definitely help him out. On a national tour where your veterans have weeks to massage their setups instead of putting new quarter panels on the car, we have yet to see if they can hang. But again, he has made it plenty obvious he can drop in and twirl the top cars in the country from time to time, but could he on a regular basis? I hope so, but who knows.

[W2Racing09]

I agree with most everything you said there Jeff, I just don't know if he would be as good on a tour as we think. He'd definitely have to alter his checkers or wreckers mentality. He'd have to learn that some nights 10th may be as good as you are and you have to be OK with that and not blow apart your equipment trying to get one or two extra spots. He does have good results on the Summernationals, but I think being young and wired up most definitely help him out. On a national tour where your veterans have weeks to massage their setups instead of putting new quarter panels on the car, we have yet to see if they can hang. But again, he has made it plenty obvious he can drop in and twirl the top cars in the country from time to time, but could he on a regular basis? I hope so, but who knows.

Well, lets hope then that someday we will get to find the answer to all of these questions if he jumps on one of the tours. I do agree, maybe I am overvaluing his performance a bit in saying that he is a shoe-in for the top 2. Maybe I'm just being extra-optimistic today.

[Bubstr]

From what I'm reading, some think Midwest regional racing is second class racing. If you deduct the travel expense, most would be ahead dollar wise to race regionally in the Mid West. It's not easy pickings, but there is a lot of money up for grabs. There are more 5k and 10k races just during Hell tour than most areas have all year.Six a week for a month. This does not include The other sanctions and unsanctioned races. Then the tours come threw for more money Why do you suppose Moyer, Mars and Birky came back to regional racing, just to name a few?

[Highside Hustler25]

More money, provisional to some of the biggest races, access to more and higher profile sponsors, and probably most importantly for someone trying to make it to the next level of racing (NASCAR) is the exposure. I think it would be decidedly harder to land a big time financial backer, or be noticed by a NASCAR team if on the average Saturday night you are running for $3k at some little track in the Midwest. At least the LOLMDS and WoO shows get National Exposure for every race through DoD, and lots of other racing news outlets, etc. Another thing to gain would be business for the family company, there is a reason why all of the House Cars run a National tour. People in PA don't even see any Pierce chassis at all that often, let alone one winning all the time. If he wants to sell more chassis outside of the Midwest they will eventually need to start racing often in other areas as well. Just my .02 on the matter.

Thanks,
Jeff.

As successful as Bobby has been, you don't see many guys in a Pierce chassis around here the way you would expect. Not sure why. Their have been a lot of guys try them but few stick with them. Unzicker and Weaver have hung on and Rich Bell ran very well in one last year but with the success Bobby has had, you would think more guys around Illinois would be wheeling one. Don't know the answer.

If Pierce were to run one of the top series, he'd be a threat every night. His only problem might be consistency.

[W2Racing09]

I just wanted to make a list of the drivers for each tour in 2017 that I will update over time. Right now this is just the 2016 Drivers minus the ones we know for sure are not planning to run the series at this point. Please post to let me know if you know for sure of a driver planning to run, or planning to drop off.

LOLMDS DRIVERS
0 - Scott Bloomquist (Sweet/Bloomquist) [House Car]
1 - Josh Richards (Rocket)
39 - Tim McCreadie (Longhorn) [House Car]
5 - Don O'Neal (Club 29)
28E - Dennis Erb Jr (Club 29)
15L - Darrell Lanigan (Club 29) [House Car]
1 - Earl Pearson Jr (Longhorn)
20 - Jimmy Owens (Rocket)
777 - Jared Landers (Sweet/Bloomquist)
75 - Colton Flinner (Rocket)
4 - Bob Gardner (Longhorn)

LOLMDS Dropped from Tour
6 - Jonathan Davenport (Longhorn)
15F - Steve Francis (Black Diamond)
B5 - Brandon Sheppard (Rocket)

LOLMDS Possible Additions
15F - Steve Francis (Capital)

World of Outlaws DRIVERS
1 - Brandon Sheppard (Rocket) [House Car]
25 - Shane Clanton (Capital) [House Car]
7 - Rick Eckert (Longhorn)
21JR - Billy Moyer Jr (Victory) [House Car]
18 - Eric Wells (Longhorn)
1* - Chub Frank (Victory)
3S - Brian Shirley (Longhorn)
99JR - Frank Heckenast (Capital)
14M - Morgan Bagley (Black Diamond)
91 - Tyler Erb (Rocket)
2C - Joey Coulter (Rocket)
99B - Boom Briggs (Victory)
18C - Chase Junghans (Capital)
93 - Donald Bradsher (Longhorn)
99 - Devin Moran (Rocket)
44 - Chris Madden (Longhorn)

WoO Dropped from Tour
76 - Brandon Overton (Capital)
1 - Josh Richards (Rocket)
C9 - Steve Casebolt (Rocket)

WoO Possible Addition(s)
116 - Brandon Overton (Longhorn)
16 - Tyler Bruening (Capital)
22 - G.R Smith (Rocket)
15F - Steve Francis (Capital)

Moved Chris Madden from WoO Possible Additions to World of Outlaws DRIVERS.

Thanks,
Jeff.

[Snake X3]

RE: Pierce on tour - I'd much rather see Pierce run WoO than Lucas...and I say that as a Lucas fan. I'm already much more interested in WoO than ever, but if they had Clanton, Sheppard, Madden and Pierce running each week plus all of the others? That would make for some good shows and take the series up another notch.

I don't know if it makes sense for him to run a tour though. Maybe running a tour would be impossible for him with his father running the chassis biz or maybe he just doesn't want to be out on the road. I'm sure they're smart enough to decide what works best for them. There is plenty of money out there to run a schedule like he has in the past and he ran most of the bigger races as it is.

RE: NASCAR - I think any driver would like the chance to run NASCAR, Indy Car of F1 but I don't know if that's Bobby's ultimate goal. I'd like someone to ask him. Like Zach51 said, NASCAR is like the top open wheel divisions now...no sponsorship = no ride. Would running the World Finals help him get more attention from NASCAR types? Maybe, but unless they have sponsors it doesn't do him much good. Getting a ride with a non-charter team wouldn't allow him to showcase his talents and there are tons of asphalt drivers that are even younger than he is that are already playing the NASCAR game. Pierce is 20 now. In Today's NASCAR time will pass him by pretty quickly. It ain't like it used to be when guys wouldn't get a chance until they were in their late 20s or older. The only older rookies you see now are the ones that are buying their rides.

RE: Pierce chassis - Could Pierce handle servicing as many customers as some of the bigger builders? Much like with the Moyers, to grow the business and be successful as a larger chassis builder I'd think it would require Bob stay at the shop to service customers and Bobby being out there giving his dad the info to do that. Even without running a national tour Bob is on the road with Bobby all the time. I think he'd be hard pressed to keep pace. I'm only guessing. I don't know how big their operation is. I would think part of the reason there aren't more drivers in a Pierce chassis is they aren't ready for production on that scale.

[Highside Hustler25]

It really makes no sense in Bobby running a National tour unless he picks up a MAJOR sponsor. Their is just to many big paying shows around Central Illinois to pass up. He made a lot of money in 2016 without traveling to far.
Bobby took home $150 G in wins alone just racing around home. That's not counting the 100G he won at the World and N/S. Also not counting 11 - 2nd place finishes. That's really good money for not running a tour. I'd guess they pocketed close to 300 G's running pretty much regional with some crown jewels thrown in the mix.
Again, a major sponsor could change all of that.

[PushinTheLimit]

I'm surprised Pierce doesn't already have a major sponsor on his car.

[Josh Bayko]

I'm surprised Pierce doesn't already have a major sponsor on his car.

Major sponsors aren't particularly common in DLM racing.

[PushinTheLimit]

I agree, but with his age, ability and connections... just surprised a big one hasn't come calling him yet.

[Josh Bayko]

I agree, but with his age, ability and connections... just surprised a big one hasn't come calling him yet.

Regional racers aren't going to be high on a potential sponsor's list of drivers to sponsor. Bobby is fantastic, but he's regional. He isn't going to be in front of nearly as many eyes as, say, Josh Richards or Brandon Sheppard.

[Pennsboro23]

There's a rumor going around my area now of a driver that's going to be taking his talents to Lucas next year. I don't want to say much more than that until I get confirmation that it's true. If it is, I can't wait to see it. He's been deserving of a big time ride and run a national series.

[Josh Bayko]

There's a rumor going around my area now of a driver that's going to be taking his talents to Lucas next year. I don't want to say much more than that until I get confirmation that it's true. If it is, I can't wait to see it. He's been deserving of a big time ride and run a national series.

Jared Hawkins in the Hudkins ride?

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

Jared Hawkins in the Hudkins ride?

They will do good if all Lucas shows are at Tyler.

[Pennsboro23]

They will do good if all Lucas shows are at Tyler.

Lol, Jared's good mostly everywhere he goes. Look how well he ran last year at Lawrenceburg and Ponderosa, before mechanical problems. First time ever seeing those tracks and was mixing it up with the leaders.

[MasterSbilt_Racer]

Lol, Jared's good mostly everywhere he goes. Look how well he ran last year at Lawrenceburg and Ponderosa, before mechanical problems. First time ever seeing those tracks and was mixing it up with the leaders.

Not a knock on the driver. There is something sub par about the team.

[W2Racing09]

Not a knock on the driver. There is something sub par about the team.

Are they running new or mostly new equipment? I was having a convo with someone at Tyler last season and they were talking about the team and how they had been running some older Bloomquist cars. I seem to remember an article about them acquiring one of the Sweet/Bloomquist cars though so I'm not really sure what to believe. All I know is trying to run a National tour with cars from 2011 or 2012 is probably not going to work well unfortunately when most of the guys are putting new stuff together again even during the season to replace the new stuff they started the season with.

Thanks,
Jeff.