The Radley Cadillac & Chevrolet 125 at Dominion Raceway was a showcase between the two best drivers of the CARS LMSC Tour in Bobby McCarty and Josh Berry, with the latter being the one to take home the victory at the end of the evening.

Finishing behind Berry and McCarty in the third position was Brandon Pierce, who wanted an opportunity to battle the two frontrunners in the CARS LMSC Tour point standings for the win, but he was satisfied with the way his race turned out, especially with all of the unknowns they faced going into the weekend.

“We were a Top 3 car,” Pierce said. “I felt like me, the #88 and the #22 were the three best cars here all weekend. Nobody really knew what the tire situation was going to be like until the long run. The high speeds here really put a load on the tires, so everyone was a little bit concerned about that, but we all settled down after the craziness of the first few laps.”

Pierce’s solid run at Dominion continues what has been an inconsistent 2019 campaign for him, which began on a high note with his first career victory in the Solid Rock Carriers 300 at Southern National Motorsports Park after he bumped Berry out of the way on the last lap.

Pierce appeared to be in a great position to pick up another win in the following race at Hickory Motor Speedway, but mechanical issues relegated him to a 15th place finish. Pierce bounced back with Top 5s at Orange County Speedway and Motor Mile Speedway, but he also suffered from another disappointing showing at Ace Speedway.

After being forced to use Tommy Lemons Jr.’s car at Langley Speedway following a crash in practice, Pierce was ready to arrive in Thornburg for the Radley Cadillac & Chevrolet 125 on Saturday, where his team would have additional support from Grand Atlantic Ocean Resort.

Pierce would qualify his Late Model on the outside of the third row for the 125-lap Late Model feature, but he had only climbed to the fifth position by the 25th lap of the event as he and the rest of his competition attempted to save tires.

A blown engine from Camden Gullie and a multi-car pileup on Lap 26 led to a lengthy cleanup that required the remaining cars to make several laps around the track to work the speedy dry in, which forced the field to make a mandatory pit stop for fuel after a competition caution on Lap 66.

On the ensuing restart, Pierce was able to find the momentum necessary to pass Mini Tyrrell for the third position, but he would remain for the rest of the evening as he watched Berry and McCarty pull away from him over the final 40 laps.

“I think I would have cleared Josh if I had the chance, but I don’t know if I would have stayed in front of him,” Pierce said. “I could roll the top, but he was trying to get an arc so he could get under Bobby, and that would allow the #81 to get back to me. We all respected each other and we all ran hard, but Josh was a little bit better than all of us after that last stop.”

Although Pierce wanted an opportunity to compete for the win, he plans to take his fourth Top 5 of the 2019 CARS LMSC Tour season and use it as motivation for the division’s next race at Carteret County Speedway on July 13th.

Pierce admitted that his issues with consistency have frustrated him frequently throughout the year, but he knows that the equipment provided by Lee Pulliam Performance will lead to many successful weekends before 2019 concludes.

“You just have to stay positive,” Pierce said. “We’ve brought fast, race-winning cars every single week and that’s a comfortable thing to have. Everyone knows we are a threat every time we come to the race track, but hopefully, tonight starts a string of good luck for us.”

Pierce and his team will use the same car that they brought to Dominion for the first race of the Virginia Late Model Triple Crown on Saturday evening in the Thunder Road-Harley Davidson 200 at South Boston Speedway, where he will do battle with several of the best Late Model competitors on the East Coast that will include Philip Morris, Peyton Sellers, and many others.

Cover photo by Andy Newsome.