ONA - Scott Pierson is the president of his own business and, in his spare time, he operates Ona Speedway.
Occasionally he'll hop in his car and compete on what is billed as West Virginia's only asphalt racetrack. It is the great equalizer for the 64-year-old.
"That car don't know how old I am," Pierson said.
Pierson and his son, also named Scott, work together during the day as president and vice president of Pipe Plus. Since August 2013, they've worked together to reinvigorate the races at Ona Speedway.
It's working.
"Our car count is up; the crowd is up. All of the bills are being paid," said the elder of the two Piersons. "That doesn't sound like much, but we've had some continuity and now we've been there a while so more people are coming. They don't want to put a lot into their cars and then find the track is shutting down. The stability is increasing our car count."
The Piersons didn't initially seek to run a track. When he was 61, Pierson decided to join his son at the track and race a car.
"I had fun and I ended up buying one," Pierson said. "It was kind of a whim."
After his first race, the track operator announced races would cease.
"I had just bought a car," Pierson said, "so of course the track operator left and I had a car and no place to drive it."
Naturally, Pierson wondered about the fate of the races, the season and Ona.
"I don't know Dad, but I know someone who could do it," Pierson Jr. remembered telling his father.
So Pierson and his son took over operations. When the 2016 season begins Saturday, it will be their third full year in charge. The Piersons monitor every single detail at the Speedway.
"My mom runs the concession stands, Dad runs the track, I take care of the website and social media, my 12-year-old sons are over there on Saturdays putting trash bags in the garbage cans and helping me with my racecar," Pierson Jr. said. "Because of that, Dad wants it to be a family atmosphere. We don't serve alcohol. Kids 10 and under are free."
The race schedule runs from Saturday through Aug. 27, which is Championship Night. There will be a fireworks show following the races on July 2.
Race classes include 6 cylinder, U Cars, Hobby Stock, Classics, Modified and Late Models. Tickets are $10 for adults, $7 for children and free for those 10 and under.
The races are getting bigger and better because of the stability the Piersons have brought to the track.
"My dad is the type of guy who says what he means and means what he says," the younger Pierson said. "With these drivers, they've come to realize that about him. No one wants to go out and put money in a racecar and you do away with a class or you don't pay what you say you're going to pay or you change the rules in the middle of the season.
"If Dad says something, he backs it up. As these guys come to realize that we have more of them building and buying racecars."
That's why the opening night turnout should be high Saturday when the gates open at 5 p.m. and races start at 7 p.m. The Piersons are putting a lot of love into the track at Ona, sure, but the drivers know they're not going to get sideswiped by news of a canceled season before the checkered flag comes down.
"Usually this is one of our bigger crowds of the year, first race of the season, and we usually get a pretty good car turnout," Pierson Jr. said. "There's usually a guy or two who doesn't have their car ready, but most of these guys are champing at the bit to get out there."