PIERCE ENDS SEASON WITH RUNNER-UP FINISH AT RIVER CITIES FINALE
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (September 21, 2023) – Austin Pierce wrapped up his 2023 season last Friday night with a runner-up finish at River Cities Speedway in Grand Forks. Pierce’s 15th season behind the wheel of the Opp Construction / Nelson Auto Center No. 2A finished with an eighth top five in his 12th race of the season.
Heading into season track championship night fifth in the season long standings at River Cities, Pierce started on the inside of the second row in the first heat race as track championship night traditionally starts straight up by the point standings.
Pierce finished second in that heat race, setting up another start on the inside of the second row in the final 25-lap main event of the 2023 campaign.
Pierce started what ended up being a race long battle with Nick Omdahl at the start of the race, falling back to fourth on the opening lap. The leaders started working lapped traffic on lap seven which saw Pierce cut into Omdahl’s advantage in battle for the third spot.
Omdahl and Pierce remained close as the traffic got thicker at the midway point of the race, which was slowed by the lone caution of the event three laps later, setting up a single file restart.
Pierce went side-by-side with Omdahl as the pair improved to second and third respectively when Jade Hastings broke at the end of the first lap of the resumed race.
The leaders started working traffic again in the final handful of laps which saw Pierce sneak to the inside of Omdahl in turns three and four on the final lap, stealing the runner-up spot as the pair came to the drop of the final checkers of the season.
Pierce finished his season fifth in the track points standings, just four points out of third. Pierce’s eight top fives and eight top tens were highlighted by his 50th career win on July 15th, a victory that was with $5,000, winning his second career feature with the Wisconsin based Interstate Racing Association, a year to the date of his first win with the series.
The entire APR crew would like to thank their sponsors for their continued support!
Opp Construction
Nelson Auto Center of Grand Forks & Fergus Falls
Highland Excavating
Dahlstrom Motors Inc.
Bun Lounge
InVision Ag
Auggie’s Flying Service
AJ’s Sandblasting & Painting
Solem Farms
Vollrath Farms
Hillesland Farms
All Pro Electric LLC
Danielle’s Cleaning Service
The Hub Pub
Curt D. Johnson Auction Company-K-BID.com Indpendent Affiliate
Grand Forks Abstract & Title
EMi – Eagle Motorsports, Schnee, Henchcraft, Stallard
2023 Stats:
Races: 12
Wins: 1
Top 5’s: 8
Top 10’s: 8