Lucas Oil Series notebook
Three drivers plan to chase Lucas rookie title
The roster of Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series regulars boasts three first-time national travelers this season with Bobby Pierce of Oakwood, Ill., Billy Moyer Jr. of Batesville, Ark., and Jason McBride of Carbondale, Ill., all planning to chase the national tour’s JRi Shocks Rookie of the Year Award presented by Dunn-Benson Ford.
With four points races already contested, Pierce, the 16-year-old son of Hall of Famer Bob Pierce, leads the rookie standings while ranking fourth in the tour’s championship chase. Pierce, who recently won a $50,000 sponsorship contest from Champion Spark Plugs, has two top-five finishes in Lucas Oil’s four points-paying events this season and leads the tour’s Red Buck Fast Time points category among all series drivers with three top qualifier awards already this season.
"We feel like winning the JRi Shocks Rookie of the Year title would not only be a great honor, but would be an outstanding feat for our team,” said Pierce, who drives the No. 32 house car for his father’s Bob Pierce Race Cars. “We'll be competing against two other extremely talented drivers for the Rookie title and will be racing against the toughest group of drivers in the nation all season. We just hope that we can make it happen on a great series like this.”
Moyer Jr., another second-generation driver and son of Hall of Famer Billy Moyer, is currently second in the rookie standings and 11th in the overall standings. The 26-year-old racer boosts a considerable amount of points racing experience with his resume including a championship of the Arkansas-based Comp Cams Super Dirt Series and a top-10 points finish on the grueling UMP Summernationals tour.
"I'm excited to run for the RoY on the LOLMDS in 2013. My goal is to get one series feature win and hopefully win the Rookie title,” said Moyer, who drives the No. 21jr Victory Circle Race Car out of his father’s shop. “To be able to race against this level of talent and compete on the LOLMDS week-in and week-out, will make me a better racer and improve my overall program. This is a great series and we're looking forward to traveling to a lot of new places in 2013.”
McBride, another talented up-and-coming driver out of the Land of Lincoln rounds out the current rookie standings and sits 14th in the overall championship points. McBride, 27, is entering his sixth year of Late Model competition and his first year of national touring after a couple of solid seasons in the Midwest.
"We feel like this is the best opportunity for us to compete on a national tour, given all the options,” said McBride, who drives a No. 77 Victory Circle Race Car from Billy Moyer’s shop. “It was simple to choose the Lucas Oil tour because of their professionalism, contingencies, and other programs that they offer to us racers. It's going to be tough to run against the best [drivers] in the country every week, but it's going to be a lot of fun to race at all the new tracks this season"
The three drivers will continue their quests for the $10,000 rookie title when the national tour returns to action with a tripleheader April 19-21 at Roaring Knob Motorsports Complex in Markleysburg, Pa., Hagerstown (Md.) Speedway and West Virginia Motor Speedway in Mineral Wells, W.Va.
