Kyle Pierce Ends ’24 With First CRSA Sprint Title; Parrow’s Dispatch Brewing Co. Challenge Champ

Story By: MARTY CZEKALA / CRSA – SODUS, NY – The pass on lap 11 Friday night at Utica-Rome Speedway determined the CRSA Sprints 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.

BOBBY PARROW WINS 2024 DISBATCH BREWING CO. CHALLENGE CHAMPIONSHIP

Bobby Parrow has shown all season why he’s tough to beat at Land of Legends Raceway.

This season’s 305 Sprint track champion can now add on DisBatch Brewing Company Challenge Champion as a result of Saturday’s rainout of the final race.

“Tommy Fletcher got us into this years ago, so we went on with our own team,” Parrow said post-race. “My crew keeps this car going where they know their thing.”

Parrow was set to battle many drivers for the Challenge title, including Dillon Paddock, a good friend and close opponent who finished third in points in both the DisBatch Challenge and weekly action at the Land of Legends.

After Parrow entered Friday night’s race at Utica-Rome, he complained about his motor sputtering. He tried to nurse it home Saturday night. It’s a motor that Parrow has used since 2022 that was starting to give out. While he may be glad he didn’t have to use the motor Saturday night, Parrow wished though he wanted to race.

“It’s not the way we all wanted it to end,” said Parrow. “Now I have to listen to Dillon [Paddock] getting on me all winter saying that he would’ve won it. He’s gotten pretty good, but I think I could’ve taken him.”

Parrow recorded a pair of wins this season in weekly Saturday Night Spectaculars in Canandaigua. When CRSA came to town, he finished second and fourth in both DisBatch events.

Now, “BP80” gets set to go on an offseason vacation or two. Safe to say, the championship money earned can help pay for it.