RPW Exclusive: His Family’s Racing Lineage May Be Strong, But Jaden Pierce’s Forging His Own Way

Column By: BOBBY CHALMERS / RPW – EAGLE BRIDGE, NY – The notion that a child should follow the footsteps of a parent into a particular sport has been around for ages.

However, with that comes several other feelings, none more prevalent than the added pressure called expectation.

For the Pierce family, that lineage runs extremely deep. Young Jaden Pierce, who will turn 17 on January 19th, is trying to forge his own way in the sport of auto racing, and is ready to do so, but has some good size shoes to fill.

His father, Chad, is a champion driver from the Lebanon Valley Speedway and his grandfather, Edmund, better known to everyone as Peanut, is a member of the Hall of Fame for both the Valley and New York State Stock Car Association. Unfortunately, Peanut passed away in June of 2020 after a courageous fight against Cancer.

The next generation in the Pierce clan has begun to live up to that legacy, however. In 2024, he became a champion in his own right, capturing the Lebanon Valley Kart Track’s Senior Slingshot division crown in just his second year in the class.

Now, for 2025, however, comes another massive step in his racing career. Jaden and the team will move up to the Limited Sportsman division. That’s right. They’re moving to the big cars.

During the off-season, Pierce’s dad made a deal to purchase a 2018 Bicknell from former Albany-Saratoga Speedway racer and car owner Dick Bisson. Since that day, it’s been all hands on deck as the team preps the car for action this season.

The big question, however, is how did Jaden finally wear his parents down?

“I kept bugging dad that I’d like to try it,” Pierce said. “I knew that if I did well with the Slingshot, and kept my head down, learning as much as I could, maybe he’d finally do it. Mom, on the other hand, was too scared to do it.”

Last season saw the team score four victories and 14 top 5 finishes in 24 starts with the Slingshot. They also finished 13th in the World Slingshot standings out of 222 competitors. This season, though, will be a learning curve, for sure, but Pierce is ready.

“I know this is going to be tough,” he said. “I’m going to try and be realistic in how our season goes. I know I’ve got a lot to learn, but with my dad as my coach, and several other drivers to lean on for advice, I hope that our season can be thought of as a success when it’s over.”

The big thing that Pierce is hoping will help his learning curve with the Limited Sportsman actually took place last season. With the team following the Slingshot Series and traveling to a multitude of race tracks, Pierce gained valuable experience on a multitude of conditions against tough fields wherever they went.

“I think racing the different places and with the Series helped me a great deal,” he said. “We ran against some really good competition and the places we ran were always changing. Having someone like my dad, who use to race, helped me learn a lot quicker and that will help me with the big car this season.”

Does Jaden have expectations for he and the JPR 74 team in 2025?

“I really just want to do the best that I can,” he said. “I know this isn’t going to be easy but I want to try and make my Mom, my Dad, my family and my team proud. I am going to do everything I can to try and get a win and maybe be top 10 in points, but I just want to do the best job I can possible do.”

The team hasn’t designated a track they plan to race at yet, though Pierce has an idea where he’d like to go.

“I would like to run at either Albany-Saratoga or Glen Ridge Motorsports Park,” he said. “No matter where we go though, I want to run against good drivers and there are several tracks that have strong Limited Sportsman divisions so I know we’ll be racing against some of the best.”

It seems like the younger Pierce has a good head on his shoulders for the new season. He knows what he’s in for but is ready to work at getting better as a driver as he enters his freshman season behind the wheel of a Sportsman car.

Is dad ready for this though?

“I’m cautiously optimistic but excited to see him grow into something he’s enjoying,” Chad Pierce said. “It’s also exciting to see him keep the Pierce Racing tradition alive.”

Is the team ready for this as well?

“Everybody’s kind of rejuvenated to have a Modified back in the shop,” he said. “They’re excited to sipe and groove tires again. We’re working hard to give our driver everything he needs to compete at a high level.”

Now comes the big question. What would Peanut think about his grandson racing a Sportsman this season?

“I think he’d be excited for this and really, really be into it,” he said. “That’s a topic that comes up a lot around the shop. ‘Peanut would love this,’ or ‘man, Nut would think this was cool.’ The crew talks about him all the time and what would he think. But, he’d really just love watching Jaden race.”

The 2025 season will be another chapter in the motorsports journal that is Pierce Racing. The race shop on a small road in Pownal, VT has produced many feature victories and Jaden Pierce is hoping that he’ll be able to add to that lore behind the wheel of a big car.

There’s no doubt he’s living up to the expectations associated with the family tradition. Now Jaden’s trying to write his own chapter.