Pierce picks up win on emotional night; Rossburg race driver dies after wreck during preliminary heat

ROSSBURG - The 2016 edition of the World 100 ran fans through an emotional roller coaster Saturday night at Eldora Speedway.

First was the euphoria of watching 19 year-old Bobby Pierce dominate the event by snapping the 46-year Illinois jinx and become the youngest winner of dirt late model racing's most prestigious event.

"I've won some big races, and this is by far the biggest win," Pierce said in victory lane after having collected his $49,000. "It's going to take, I think, forever to sink in."

Then there was the disappointment of six-time World 100 champion Billy Moyer, who had failed to qualify for his final attempt at the famed globed trophy.

And finally was the devastating, sad news following the event that Rossburg's 35 year-old Shane Unger lost his life following a crash in turn three of the second heat race. Safety crews quickly cut the roll cage from Unger's machine and he was transported to Mercer County Community Hospital in Coldwater where he passed away a short time later.

It was a roller-coaster ride of a weekend for Pierce. A broken fan blade forced him to drop from his heat race on Thursday night and drop deep in the pack in the week-long point standings that determined Saturday heat race line-ups. He recovered by rallying to win a thrilling feature on Friday night but still was forced to start 15th in his 15-lap heat race.

Pierce raced his way to a fourth-place finish in the fifth heat race, which only qualified him for the B-main. Pierce dominated the B-main to qualify for the 22nd starting spot in the 100-lap, $49,000 to-win main event.

"Running the (B-main) really helped me a lot," Pierce said. "Most of the guys didn't have to run it but it gave me another chance to learn the race track and I think that really helped."

Once the green flag dropped on the feature event, Pierce methodically worked his way forward while 2005 World 100 winner Dale McDowell and Dennis Erb Jr., who won June's Dirt Late Model Dream, swapped the lead throughout the first half of the race.

Pierce swept around the outside of both McDowell and Erb on a lap 56 restart and once out front put his #32 on the top of the high-banked, one-half mile oval and never looked back to collect his second dirt late model "crown jewel" win in the last month.

"Winning the North/South 100 (at Florence, Kent., in August) really helped me relax tonight," Pierce said. "This is the World 100 and there is a lot of pressure, but knowing I've won a big race helped me relax and focus tonight.

"It means the world," said Pierce, who celebrated in victory lane with his father and chassis builder Bob, mother Angie, sister Ciara and girlfriend Maddy. "I kind of dreamed of this day, and when I cross the finish line, am I going to have tears coming out of my eyes or what. But I didn't … I didn't, because I think it's going to take a while to sink in. Like I don't even think I won it yet. To win it for (his family) is awesome."

Pierce overcame not only 29 competitors but the unknowns of the track's first 100-lap race under new tire rules that prevented teams from grooving or siping tires to enhance performance. During each of the event's four caution periods, drivers throughout the field pitted for fresh tires, but Pierce and all the top finishers ran all 100 laps on the same set of tires.

"Ever since lap 20, I was thinking, 'I don't know how these (tires) are going to last.' Any time I spun the wheels I just backed off and let it roll," Pierce said. "There when we had that restart and I got the lead there, I started working 'em harder and harder and harder, and they stayed under me the whole race."

Erb just missed sweeping Eldora's major late model events and, though he mounted a late challenge, had to settle for second place.

"We come up through there and just came up a little short there. (Pierce) was good up around the top and there was nothing we could do. We ran into lapped traffic there at the end and that's all we had," Erb said. "The car took off good. We were able to get a good rhythm there and stay up front, and we knew that's where we wanted to be - get up front early. I didn't know what was going to happen with the tire situation. We had a good car and came up through there but just came up a little short."

McDowell, the 2005 World 100 winner, was also pleased with his third place finish.

Finishing third is "nothing to sneeze at, we were pretty good," McDowell said. "We've still gotta make some adjustments on this car. Congratulations to Bobby, he had a really good car tonight and his whole team and his family and everything … it's pretty neat to win this deal, I know it is.

"Dennis and I had a helluva race. We were just side-by-side, and if it had been for the lead, it'd have been great. But Bobby spoiled that for us. But it was a good run for us. So we can make some adjustments on this thing and come back and see if we can improve a little bit."

Billy Moyer Jr. finished fourth and 2006 winner Earl Pearson Jr. completed the top five. Finishing 6th-10th were Chris Simpson, Shane Clanton, rookie Michael Page, Don O'Neal and Kent Robinson.

Heat races were won by R.J. Conley, Devin Moran, Moyer Jr., Casey Roberts, Erb and McDowell. B-mains were captured by Pierce and Dustin Linville. Shannon Babb and Vic Hill each picked up $1,000 by winning the B-scrambles for cars that did not qualify for the main event.

Duane Chamberlain, driving for St. Henry's Bill Dues, led the early portion of the fifth heat race before dropping back and eventually had his night end when he pulled off the track in the late stages of the heat race.

Eldora will next host the Four Crown weekend on Sept. 23-24. The World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car Series and the Eldora Stock Cars will compete on Sept. 23 and the United States Auto Club (USAC) Sprint Cars, Midgets, Silver Crown Series along with the All Star Circuit of Champions will race on Sept. 24.