Shannon Babb didn’t take issue with how Bobby Pierce raced him on Wednesday at the Rio Grande Waste Services Wild West Shootout presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts at Vado Speedway Park. He dismissed any possible difference in opinion when asked if Pierce's contact was too much in the lead battle at the beginning of the 30-lap feature.

“Not really,” the 50-year-old said. “We rubbed a little bit.”

There’s some correlation between blatant contact and incidental contact, but in the end, the hard-nosed racing Babb found himself in the middle of had everything to do with the narrow racing conditions and nothing to do with Pierce stepping out of line.

“We just rubbed down the straightaway. He had to do what he did,” Babb said. “I opened the door a little bit for him. I knew that when I came off four that somebody was there. I didn’t know who it was. After he got by me, I’m like, ‘Wow, there’s more down here.’ So I should’ve been trying to dig a little lower. This is my first laps on this track. I'm learning where I need to be at. I’m really happy we have three more nights to try and get us a win.”

The Moweaqua, Ill., veteran did manage to lead a lap — the second circuit — in his encouraging third-place effort on Wednesday.

“Honestly, we were really close. We were really good. The bottom was really dominant. Bobby was probably just a tick better than what we were. We had the right tire on. We were a little bit harder on tire on the right-rear. But I had the position. I don’t know. The way it worked out is the way it worked out. It did surprise me.”

WATCH: Shannon Babb reflects on his career and his first trip to Vado Speedway Park with FloRacing's Michael Rigsby.

To give Pierce a run for his money when he had never seen Vado Speedway Park prior to this week is something to be proud of for Babb in and of itself. Aligning variables to succeed, specifically the complex tire game, isn’t as easy as it looks.

“Like, this is my first trip out here and picking tires is kind of a challenge,” I’ve never picked tires in the desert before. Like, one night it seems to be dry and hard on tires. And then tonight, the track was drying out and looking pretty good. They didn’t water it, which is why I went with harder tires. But the moisture was there. That’s what keeps us racing and enjoying racing. It’s challenging all the time. The adjustments we’re making is definitely showing up so I’m happy about that.”

He’s progressed each time he’s hit the track this week. In Saturday’s opener, he started 19th and finished 13th. On Sunday, he started eighth and placed seventh. Then on Wednesday, he was right in the mix for the $11,000 payday.

“The way the whole format is this week, it gives you a chance to think about it and work on your car a little bit,” Babb said. “You practice and see your improvements. All that went well yesterday and today. Yeah, the car really has good speed now. That’s what we’ve been needing. It’s way easier to drive. It don’t take much, only a little turn here and there, you know? You got to get out there on the racetrack to make laps. That’s what we’re doing.”