MARYVILLE, Tenn.  In 11 previous World of Outlaws Late Models races at Smoky Mountain Speedway, no driver from the Midwest had ever rolled into victory lane.

That was until Bobby Pierce came to town.

In his first trip to Maryville, the driver of the No. 32 led every lap of the Tennessee Tipoff on the way to win No. 32 with the series.

A lot went through our minds coming here, thinking if we could come away with a top 10, that would be good, top five would be great, Pierce said. Definitely would not have imagined winning this race. Ive never been here, but on top of that, it is red dirt, thats not what Im from and everyone knows that. We had a good car, thats all I can say.

Pierce began the 35-lap showdown from the outside of the front row next to Bilstein Pole Award winner Nick Hoffman. A strong run around the outside propelled the Smooth Operator to the early advantage while Hoffman raced Devin Moran for second behind him.

The gap between Pierce and Hoffman began to close once Pierce caught the tail of the field, but by that point, all eyes were on Jonathan Davenport, who drove from eighth to third in nine laps and was quickly running down the leaders.

Twelve laps in, Superman dove to the bottom entering Turn 3 and slid up in front of Hoffman to take over second. At that point, a head-to-head duel between two of dirt late model racings winningest drivers over the past decade was on.

Davenport got within range of Pierce on multiple occasions in the closing laps, but as the racing groove began to narrow late in the going, he ran out of opportunities to make the winning move as Pierce cruised to his first World of Outlaws win of the season.

The win netted Pierce the series points lead by 12 markers over Hoffman. Given the circumstances of racing on a new track that was wildly different than anything the series typically faces, the win proved that Pierce and team have both the speed and versatility to vie for a second title in three years.

If we can win on tracks we dont think were going to be good at, thats what it takes, Pierce said. I just want to be top five on tracks Im not good at and then hopefully win the tracks Im good at, thats how you win the points.

After an unlucky redraw, Davenport took his chances with his tire choice in an effort to get to the front as soon as possible. He did just that, but was ultimately unable to get past the last car on his list in Pierce.

I was just going where they werent, Davenport said. We went for a little bit different tire combination, started so far back. Short race, I didnt figure there would be a lot of cautions with how slick the place was. We gambled a little bit and it paid off, got us close. I just needed the lap cars to work out a little bit different a time or two.

Hoffman rounded out the podium in third for the second-straight race. After a week that included a last-minute trip to Illinois to pick up a substitute toter home, the strong run and subsequent second spot in points was exactly what Hoffman needed to make the extra effort worthwhile.

I felt decent at the beginning of the race, just keeping pace with Bobby, Hoffman said. JD just blew my doors off and slid me there and then we just got in a train. I peeked the nose a couple times, got him to move down and debated on going back to the middle to try and roll back around him and it just didnt play out.

Dale McDowell finished fourth in his first start of the year in the Shane McDowell Racing No. 17m, while Devin Moran completed the top five.

Saturday nights weekend finale was canceled because of the threat of severe weather.

The finish:

Bobby Pierce, Jonathan Davenport, Nick Hoffman, Dale McDowell, Devin Moran, Jimmy Owens, Sam Seawright, Mike Marlar, Carson Ferguson, Garrett Alberson, Tanner English, Camaron Marlar, Cory Hedgecock, Ricky Thornton Jr, Cody Overton, Max Blair, Brandon Sheppard, Brandon Overton, Ryan Gustin, Tim McCreadie, Brian Shirley, Ashton Winger, Ethan Dotson, Drake Troutman, Kyle Bronson, Hudson ONeal.