EAGLE BRIDGE, NY – Chad Pierce fought hard all evening long Saturday night, battling competitors and Mother Nature, to come home with a thirteenth-place finish at Lebanon Valley.

The veteran racer was flirting with a top 10 finish early in the 24-lap feature, only to encounter trouble.

“We were a little tight early in the race running the high side,” he said. “I was about eleventh and got caught up in an accident and had had to restart from the rear.”

The crew, led by Chad’s father, the veteran “Peanut” Pierce, went to work checking things over and got the H. Sausville Construction #83 back on track and into the fight.

“She may not be pretty anymore, but it was just a lot of cosmetic body damage,” Pierce said. “Once I could get going we were pretty good, but you have to be on your game in this class. There’s about five really, really fast cars out there and they make you step up.”

At the end of the race, the orange PMC-chassis machine sat thirteenth in the running order, which again, wasn’t a true indication on how good it was.

“We didn’t get to run a normal night with heat races due to the rain we got at the track,” Pierce said. “That pushed the whole show back and eliminated our heats. I’m happy we got back to thirteenth. My crew worked hard to get me back out there, but they deserve more.”

What more does Pierce want?

“I want at least one more win this year,” he said. “We’re good to go for the rest of the season.”

Chad now sits thirteenth in points, just 25 markers outside the top 10. The next event for the team will be this Saturday at Lebanon Valley Speedway when it’s “Back To School Night” at the Valley of Speed. Gates open at 5pm.