Press Release By: Marty Czekala – September 29, 2024 – Photo By: Erika Bye, EC Media
The pass on lap 11 Friday night at Utica-Rome Speedway determined the championship.
Initially, it was a race to determine who would have a slight advantage Saturday. Still, Kyle Pierce found his way past Tomy Moreau to move up into third. With Moreau fading to fifth, Pierce entered Land of Legends with a four-point advantage.
In a race that was canceled due to weather, Kyle Pierce was declared the 2024 CRSA Sprints Champion after the championship race was rained out.
“It hasn’t really quite sunk in,” Pierce said post-race. “It feels bittersweet. Anyone in the pits wants to finish on the track, but Mother Nature plagued half the year.”
The fourth grade teacher at Spencer-Van Etten Central School went into the homestretch of the season trying not to get the points in his head and race his own race. Once he finished with a good result, Pierce started to feel more comfortable.
“It’s a relief because we went from not worrying about points, then we had a good weekend at Penn Can and Woodhull,” said Pierce. “Last night, was a get what you can get, although Tomy and I got to battle. There was nobody better to run with this year than Tomy and Dalton [Herrick].”
The driver of the No. 9K recorded a pair of wins at Afton May 31 and Thunder Mountain Aug. 10. Those wins were good enough for Pierce to win the Joe’s Garage Southern Tier Series championship by four points on Herrick. “The Flyin’ School Teacher” also secured the inaugural Dandy Triple Play this year by one point on Herrick.
“My dad [Cliff] and I keep chipping away,” said Pierce. “We’ve shown speed for the last couple of years. This year, Shawn Donath got us dialed in. If it wasn’t for a couple bad luck races that put us back, who knows what this weekend would’ve looked like. Compared to how we started our first full year four years ago is remarkable.”
It will be fun Monday with his fourth-grade class, but he is still trying to teach his new students about racing. They may understand when Mr. Pierce tells them about the championship during snack time.
“This class isn’t up to it yet, but I get emails from my kids checking in from last year. They’re definitely going to be pumped about it.”
Pierce’s four-point win is the closest point difference since 2015, when Kyle Smith beat Josh Pieniazek, also by four.
The A-Verdi Storage Containers CRSA Sprints are powered by Super Gen Products. Associate sponsors for 2024 include Pit Stop Convenience Stores, DisBatch Brewing Company, Dandy, Joe's Garage, Westward Painting Company, the Maguire Family of Dealerships, Powdertech Powdercoating, PJC Sprayfoam, Profab Enterprises, Magsarus Ignitions, Hoosier Racing Tire, Insinger Performance with their Stinger Race Fuel, My Race Pass and is owned and operated by Mike Emhof Motorsports.
For more information on the series, results and points, please visit our website, www.crsa.myracepass.com.
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