AMERICAN Super Late Model racer Bobby Pierce will race at Meeanee next week.
A son of racer and chassis builder Bob Pierce, 19-year-old Pierce is in New Zealand to be a guest driver in three rounds of the Burger King-Pro Dirt Super Saloon Series. Round three in the series will be at Auckland's Waikaraka Park on Saturday night, round four at Meeanee next Friday night and round five at Palmerston North on December 3.
Pierce, from Oakwood, Illinois, will take the seat of Aucklander Ben Harding's car which has been re-liveried with Pierce's colours and number - 32USA.
Series promoter Grant Flynn, of Hawke's Bay, said having one of the best Late Model drivers in the US as part of the series will add to what is already a great spectacle.
"It's going to lift the intensity of everything we are doing. We have a professional driver, who wants to win. Every time he puts his helmet on, he's there trying to earn a dollar.
"I had a list of drivers who were keen and I thought I'd start at the top. To me, he's the best driver out there. The fact that he's won the 2016 World 100, which is pretty much the biggest meeting in the USA, speaks for itself."