It is a busy afternoon in Oakwood, Ill., and Bobby Pierce is looking at a looming deadline. It’s the kind of deadline a lot of 17-year-olds fret over, involving an intensely challenging subject.

Algebra.

Pierce is one of the country’s hottest Dirt Late Model racers, a growing force that shows no sign of abating. He’s already won 10 races and is on track for a phenomenal season, perhaps the greatest season in history for someone not yet 18 years old.

Pierce has little time to bask in his MORE