On the final lap of the CARS Tour, Late Model Stock Car portion of the Heritage Truck Centers 250 at Motor Mile Speedway Ryan Repko’s car went for a spin off the front bumper of Brandon Pierce’s car. That was the culmination of a long battle between the two in this race that saw both drivers play bumper tag with one another before the spin.
Nearly three weeks after the dust-up between the two drivers, they still don’t agree about what happened or what led to it starting. Repko for his part says the contact started between the two in the season opener for the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series at Motor Mile Speedway before spilling over into the CARS Tour race.
“First race I’m just kinda running my own line and we’ve never had a problem,” Repko told RACE22.com. “He just kinda cleans me out and knocks me up into the marbles. Then we get to the CARS race and he did the exact same thing. We had a caution and I did the same exact thing to him back and that’s when he dumped me.”
Pierce doesn’t remember it quite that way.
“We had a restart there late in that second race,” Pierce told RACE22.com. “He was doing his job and holding me tight and at the same time, you have to give a guy some room. I knew with (Mike) Looney and Philip (Morris) up there I had to go, so I got into him a little bit and went on. That’s all that happened and I didn’t think anything of it.”
During the CARS Tour event, Pierce says the field stacked up on a restart and he got into the back of Repko and he says Repko’s crew might have instigated the additional contact after.
“We were all running right there together before the big wreck happened,” Pierce stated. “He got into the back of who was in front of him and I got into him. I think under that red flag some of his guys thought I crushed in his ductwork or something like that and came over running their mouth. I know it wasn’t Forrest or anyone like that but it was someone on his team kinda trying to get my attention and I wasn’t paying him much mind. I know he was signaling to Ryan to get the 2. We restarted and we ran side by side for ten laps and I never touched him. You can see it in the CARS Tour highlight video, he tucked in behind me right after that and hit me. They don’t show it from there but he hit me a few more times. He ran me up the track and got around me.”
“I hit him and he went around,” Pierce continued. “It was kind of a lazy spin to be honest. It was anything malicious there and I gave him what he gave us. I was surprised he went around.”
Repko believes that Pierce is trying to carry on the feud between Lee Pulliam (Pierce’s car owner) and Forrest Reynolds (Repko’s crew chief) that ignited back in April during the second race of the season at South Boston Speedway.
“To me, it’s kind of a non-deal,” Repko said. “He’s obviously trying to start stuff because he’s in with that Pulliam deal. To me it’s between Lee and Forrest and Brandon is trying to drag me into it. I don’t know what he’s trying to do. I don’t know that he knows what he’s trying to do.”
Pierce scoffed at the idea that he would get caught up in someone else’s feud.
“I know everybody is like ‘is it the Pulliam, Forrest rivalry?’,” Pierce commented. “There’s nothing like that with me. There’s no beef between LPP and Forrest Reynolds Racing Chassis. I hate he feels that way. To me, I can honestly tell you if anyone was to try and reprimand me down to race like that I would have to part ways. If I have beef with someone then that’s different but I can promise you Lee didn’t tell me anything. Lee wasn’t even at the track for the CARS Tour race. That’s just nonsense.”
Pierce believes the contact between the two was pretty equal in the CARS Tour race.
“I believe I didn’t give him any more bump than he gave me,” Pierce continued. “I did mean to get into him but I didn’t mean to spin him. I race people like they race me. He’s kinda always got raced me like that. I have nothing against him, he’s got talent. I just wish he could see if you give it to somebody they’ll give it back to you. I know he’ll be fast this weekend. Hopefully, we can put it behind us.
Repko says he’s not looking for payback but rather to have a good run before he runs his first NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Iowa Speedway on June 16th.
“Not to me,” Repko retorted. “I’m just looking to have a good run before we head to Iowa next weekend.”
Pierce thinks payback could come this weekend at Langley Speedway.
“I know there’s some payback coming,” Pierce stated. “I just hope he doesn’t dump me. Don’t just blatantly wreck me. He doesn’t have to race me clean but don’t just wreck me. Hopefully, he’ll come up there and run hard. We all know how well Philip runs there and he’ll have a good package. I fully expect if we get around one another he’s going to race me hard and I expect him to.”
Pierce continued saying that Motor Mile this season wasn’t the first time he and Repko have raced hard.
“You can’t worry about every little thing and what beef you have with someone,” Pierce said. “I’ve never had any run-ins with Forrest. This thing with him and Lee was unfortunate. Lee and Philip getting together at South Boston wasn’t a surprise but it has nothing to do with me and Ryan. He doesn’t give a lot of room. I don’t know, he’s put me in the wall two or three times. I don’t take that very lightly. Even before I ran for Lee he’s raced us really hard which is fine. He just wore every corner of the bumper out and I got tired of it.”
When asked if they had talked since Motor Mile, Repko was short but says he doesn’t talk to Brandon and insists this has been a one-sided deal.
“Nah I don’t talk to Brandon. I don’t know he’s been the one that’s instigated it all.”
To say that the principals in these two teams, Reynolds and Pulliam hate each other would seem to be an understatement but it appears their protégés might have an equal disdain for one another. The two rivalries might not be related but the two drivers will have to decide how much further this rivalry goes.
The two will go head to head at Langley Speedway in the sixth CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car race of the season on Saturday and it could provide the perfect place for this rivalry to boil over on the track’s tight confines. RACE22.com will have live flag to flag updates of the race on RACEDAY LIVE starting with practice tomorrow.
Cover photo by Jaden Austin.
