Two Races, Two Podiums for Austin Pierce!
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (July 19, 2017) – Austin Pierce extended his Buffalo Wild Wings NOSA Sprint Car points lead over the course of last weekend’s events. Pierce raced his way to two third place finishes, which now marks four consecutive events where he has finished in the third position.
As usual, the racing weekend began Friday night at River Cities Speedway where the NOSA Sprints co-headlined the event with the World of Outlaws Craftsman Late Models. A rain shower right at 7pm caused a lengthy rain delay, but the night was ran in it’s entirety.
Things started off with Pierce charging to a third place finish in his heat after starting in sixth. That put the Grand Forks driver outside of the front row for the 25-lap main event.
Pierce drove around the outside of Jordan Graham on the opening lap to take the lead as Thomas Kennedy followed him into second. Pierce set a blistering pace in the first one-third of the event, but it came to a halt when contact with a lapped car sent Pierce spinning to a stop.
As a result, Pierce was sent to the tail of the field in 22nd.
He didn’t say back there long.
The driver of the Opp Construction / Lithia Ford No. 2A charged back through the field, cracking into the top five in the closing laps. Pierce would pick off two more positions before taking the checkers to round out the podium in third place.
On Sunday, the Austin Pierce Racing crew unloaded at Red River Valley Speedway for NOSA’s annual visit to the three-eighths mile dirt oval.
Pierce had to drive from deep in the field during his heat race once again as he advanced from seventh to third.
At the drop of the green flag, Pierce went toe-to-toe with Jade Hastings and Wade Nygaard for the lead. Pierce led lap four, but had his hands full with Nygaard, who took the lead on lap five. Thomas Kennedy entered the fray on lap six and stole the runner-up position on lap eight.
Pierce remained a threat for the win throughout the remainder of the event and on restarts, but had to settle for the third position at the checkers.
Pierce currently holds a 75 point lead over Casey Mack atop the NOSA Sprint Car point standings and a 41 point lead over Wade Nygaard in the River Cities Speedway point standings.
The entire APR crew would like to thank their sponsors for their continued support!
Lithia Ford Lincoln of Grand Forks
Invision Ag
AJ’s Sandblasting & Painting
Solem Farms
Vollrath Farms
Hillesland Farms
Grand Forks Abstract & Title (GFabstract.com)
Adams Marketing Promotions
1st Realty
EMi – Eagle Motorsports, Schnee, Henchcraft, Stallard
Upcoming Events:
July 21st: River Cities Speedway – Buffalo Wild Wings NOSA Sprints
July 22nd: Devils Lake Speedway – Buffalo Wild Wings NOSA Sprints
2017 Stats:
Races – 19
Wins – 2
Top 5’s – 16
Top 10’s – 16
Heat Wins – 7