Father-son team trying to make history

BRADFORD — The season is far from over at Bear Ridge Speedway. That doesn’t mean it’s not in the bag for Adam Pierson. The Fairlee driver earned his seventh Sportsman Modified victory of the year in a dominating performance in the 30-lap Sabil & Sons Towing feature on Saturday night.

Pierson started seventh on the 18-car grid and benefitted from the misfortunes of leaders Justin Comes and Bryan King one lap apart in the early going. Jason Gray, Pierson’s closest pursuer in the championship chase, inherited the lead after King’s car shut down and Comes spun out on lap 9, but Pierson passed Gray on the high side three laps later. From there he ran uncontested to the win, despite a restart with ten laps remaining.

“I’m having a pretty good year,” Pierson said in the understatement of the summer. “At the beginning of the season I was getting banged up a little bit but now I’ve got the car going real good. My dad works on it every week and he kind of does whatever I want to it. I’ve had a real good year. Guys have been running me clean and a lot of the new guys are getting better, so it’s been making it better racing, too.”

Pierson, 27, has won seven of the sixteen features run thus far at Bear Ridge, and despite skipping the July 31 event, unofficially increased his point lead to 15 over Gray on Saturday night with three events remaining. The race was his third win in four weeks. He brushed off the notion that he is the top division’s dominant driver.

“Not all the time,” he said. “Sometimes the track dries out, and I like a dry track, it’s my favorite [type of] track. I learned a lot back in the day when we were running 358 [Modifieds] and the track used to be dry all the time. I love a dry track, and if my car is going good I’m going to run everybody hard just like they’d run me hard.”

Pierson’s father, Gene, finished second in the Sportsman Coupe race behind Topsham racer Josh Harrington. Gene Pierson capitalized on a tough night by his brother, Melvin, and pushed his point lead from just two points over Melvin Pierson to 22. Gene Pierson’s lone career championship came in the Sportsman Coupe division in 1984 when Adam was just one year old. No father-and-son team has ever won championships in the same year at Bear Ridge Speedway.

“If he won the title this year and I did too, that would be awesome,” said Adam Pierson. “That’s what we’re shooting for, but I try not to think about that every week. I just kind of go out and want to win races, and that’s my plan. My dad, it’s the same thing. He’s in it for points but he just wants to win every week, too.”

“It ain’t over yet,” grinned Gene Pierson, “but yeah, it would be nice. It’s been a long time for me. The kid can drive anything and he’s earned it.”

Gray’s car fell slightly off the pace after Adam Pierson took command in the Sportsman Modified race, relegating him to fifth place. Kevin Chaffee of Orange claimed the runner-up spot, while Wayne Stearns of Bradford drive from 14th to finish third. Gary Siemons was fourth, followed by Gray.

Harrington’s Sportsman Coupe victory was his third straight and fifth on the year. Rookie Shane Race finished third behind Gene Pierson, with Jeremy Beckley and Kane Pike completing the top five.

Will Hull of East Montpelier ran away with his sixth Limited Late Model win of the year over Jason Blake, Tyler Stygles, Jeremy Hodge, and T.C. Forward. Josh Sunn of White River Junction took his eleventh Fast Four win of the year over Brandon Lamere, Kevin Harran, Travis Hull, and Nathan Minard. Tom Placey of Bradford won his fourth-straight and tenth overall Hornet race, followed by Eric Lang, Brad Martin, Mike Ryan, and J.T. Descoteaux.

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS — Sabil & Sons Towing Night
Bear Ridge Speedway, Bradford, Vt.
Saturday, August 28, 2010

(Pos.-Driver-Hometown)
# – denotes rookie

Bond Auto Sportsman Modified (30 laps)
1. Adam Pierson, Fairlee
2. Kevin Chaffee, Orange
3. Wayne Stearns, Bradford
4. Gary Siemons, Orford, N.H.
5. Jason Gray, East Thetford
6. # Dan Eastman, Thetford Center
7. # Justin Comes, Middlebury
8. Jack Cook, Moultonboro, N.H.
9. Blake Shepard, Newton, N.H.
10. # Josh Sunn, White River Junction

Wells River Chevrolet Sportsman Coupe (25 laps)
1. Josh Harrington, Topsham
2. Gene Pierson, Jr., East Corinth
3. # Shane Race, South Strafford
4. # Jeremy Beckley, Woodsville, N.H.
5. Kane Pike, Thetford
6. Bryan King, Corinth
7. Chris Carbee, South Ryegate
8. Buster Kathan, Ludlow
9. # Steve Bell, St. Johnsbury
10. Jason Horniak, Bradford

A Notch Above Auto Limited Late Model (25 laps)
1. Will Hull, East Montpelier
2. Jason Blake, Moretown
3. Tyler Stygles, Bradford
4. Jeremy Hodge, Newbury
5. T.C. Forward, Lyme, N.H.

Journal Opinion Fast Four (20 laps)
1. Josh Sunn, White River Junction
2. Brandon Lamere, Lebanon, N.H.
3. Kevin Harran, St. Johnsbury
4. Travis Hull, Graniteville
5. Nathan Minard

KDD NAPA Hornet (20 laps)
1. Tom Placey, Bradford
2. # Eric Lang, Groton
3. # Brad Martin, Thomaston, Conn.
4. Mike Ryan, Chelsea
5. J.T. Descoteaux, Concord