Thu, 6 Nov 2008, 10:28 PM $7,500 or B.O.

By Bob Frey Photo copyright 2008 Auto Imagery, Inc.

Pierce and family celebrate win.

I was watching the Barrett-Jackson car auction the other day, the one that was held in Las Vegas and featured a lot of really nice cars. These were all cars that I would love to own and drive but they were also cars that I knew, deep down, I would never be able to afford. All of the cars at this auction were going for "no reserve," which meant that they were going to be sold regardless of the top offer. And even though that auction is so high tech and fast paced, it still reminded me of those cars that are parked along side of the road or in somebody's front yard. You know the cars I'm talking about, the ones with the signs in the window that usually say something like, "$2400 or B.O." "B.O," for those of you who are not into the car buying mode, means "Best Offer." It also means that the seller is open for any and all lower bids. I once went to a guy who had a Corvette for sale for "5,000 or B.O." I asked him if he had any offers yet and he said "no." At which time I quickly said, "Nine dollars." To which he replied, "What's that?" "That's the best offer as far as I can see," was my reply. "So is the car mine?" I'm pretty sure you can figure out how that conversation ended. Anyway, I bring this up because of a conversation I had with Brad Pierce after he had won Super Gas at the AC Delco Nationals at the Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this past weekend. Let me explain.....

Pierce vs. Geise

While Brad was waiting his turn in the winner's circle after he beat Curt Geise to claim the Super Gas title in Las Vegas, I asked him about the car that that he was running. "It's a '58 Corvette and we've had it for a few years," he said. The "we" he referred to was himself and his brother, Hubert Jr.. And when I asked him where they found it he told me that he and his brother had answered an ad in an area newspaper. "The guy wanted $7,500 for the car, but when I told him that that was too much and that we would offer him 6500 for it, he said OK. And then right after we finished the deal, literally as we were walking out with the car, several other guys came by and wanted to buy it. I guess we were just lucky to get there first." Sure, lucky for Brad, but unlucky for the other contenders in the Super Gas class and unlucky for those other potential buyers, too. Since that day, Brad Pierce, the younger of the two Pierce brothers, has won three national events with the venerable 540 cubic inch powered Chevrolet and he shows no signs of letting up.

Brad Pierce

We often say that the Super Comp class is loaded with rear-engine, big-block Chevrolet-powered dragsters, and lately it looks like the Super Gas class is becoming home to a lot of Chevrolet Corvette-bodied cars. Brad Pierce drives a Corvette but it's certainly not one of the new, high-tech variety, the ones that are so prevalent in the class. "The car weighs almost 2,700 pounds with me in it," Brad said. "It's kind of a throwback to the old days, you know, like a retro car. I currently have over 1,500 runs on the car and I have the log books to prove it." That's a lot of racing for a car that really is a 1958 Chevrolet. "It was a rolling chassis when we bought it," Brad said. "But the car is a real '58 Corvette from the doors back." The car has been in the Pierce family for several years since Brad and his brother bought it with that now-famous "best offer." Brad did a lot of the work on the car which he drives most of the time on the NHRA divisional and national event level. "My bother has driven it occasionally, but I do most of the driving even though we are partners in the car." And when I asked his brother, Hubert, why Brad gets the nod to drive he just smiled and said, "Well, he did most of the work on it and I was driving for someone else when we got the car so I just figured he'd drive this." Isn't it nice when brothers can agree on something? Anything?

Brad Pierce

One of the things that the brothers always agree on is the fact that they love to race. Both were high school champions in the Division 7 Summit E/T Series, Brad winning for Inyokern and his older brother winning for Los Angeles County International Raceway. They accomplished those championships with their own cars, but both admit to the fact that they thoroughly enjoy racing with the '58 'Vette. And the fact that the car is a 1958 Corvette is not lost on the fans who love to see it race, and it's also not lost on the brothers who prepare it. "We'd love to have a Pro Stock-type car to run in this class but it's beyond our means right now. All those other cars are very fast and expensive, especially when you compare them to what we have. If I had that much money I'd probably build a Comp car or something like that. But with our car the way it is, it makes it a lot of fun to run, and it makes it even better when we beat some of those other type cars. You know, those newer Super Gas cars." Brad has been doing a lot of running and beating this year, a year that looks like it's destined to end with his best national finish ever. Brad went eight rounds to get the win this past weekend, and included in his round wins was a perfect (altitude adjusted) 10.050 in round two.

Hubert Jr., Hubert & Brad

Both Brad and his brother grew up around racing. Their dad raced at some of the legendary southern California tracks when he was young and he has even raced overseas. "When I was stationed in Japan we raced at Mt. Fuji Raceway," he said, "and we raced anything that had wheels on it. I had a '56 Ford when I raced at O.C.I.R. and Lions and now I enjoy watching the boys race." Well, dad will get a lot of chances to see the '58 Corvette race in the next few weeks. "We'll leave the car here in Las Vegas this week and then come back and run the divisional race next week. And then we'll go to Pomona for the last race of the season," Brad said. When he's not racing Brad works as a heavy equipment operator and he'll sprinkle a few days of work in with his racing over the next two weeks. And then, if he continues to win, he'll get a chance to read all about it in the upcoming issues of National Dragster, which just happens to be where his wife, Debbie, works. "We all love drag racing, and when you have a weekend like we had in Vegas it makes it all that much more fun and it makes all the hard work pay off."