13-year-old Alberta racer Rhett Pearce caps historic season with Medicine Hat win

It marks the first time a driver has swept an entire season at the track.

But for Pearce, Saturday’s race in Medicine Hat was about more than another trip to victory lane.

“I’m just really hoping to just enjoy the track, enjoy the friends, and overall just have a really good experience with everyone, with the kids that have been racing with me,” Pearce said before the race.

“It’s been a memorable journey, and hopefully I can go for championship.”

Pearce’s success in Medicine Hat adds to a summer that has already included his first trip to the United States to compete in a Legend Car event in Idaho.

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READ: Alberta racer chasing dreams with Idaho debut while hoping to bring Legend Cars back to Medicine Hat

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The July race did not go as planned, with Pearce spinning in the third corner and crashing before the race began.

He was not injured, but the incident ended his first Legend Car race before it started.

Despite the setback, his family said the experience provided an opportunity to meet other racers, share his passion for racing and mentor younger drivers.

Back in Alberta, Pearce continued his season while pursuing his goal of racing Legend Cars more regularly in the United States.

His success at Edmonton International Raceway gave him another milestone to chase in Medicine Hat, where he entered Saturday’s race leading the series by two points.

He said his Edmonton championship gave him confidence heading into the Medicine Hat race.

“Coming into the last race of the season, I was feeling pretty confident with a 12-point gap to second place,” Pearce said. “I had already won all the main events in Edmonton, so I had a lot of first-place hardware.”

That meant he could approach the final race without feeling overwhelmed by the pressure.

“I was happy with the gap that I had to second place, so I wasn’t overly nervous,” Pearce said.

“I was just going to race like another race, just work my way through it.”

Pearce ultimately brought home another first-place finish.

For his parents, Michelle and Roy, watching their son race in Medicine Hat and across Alberta has been a family experience as much as a racing one.

“It’s definitely been a family affair for the last four years,” Michelle said.

“We enjoy it as a family. We’re definitely rooting for Rhett all the time.”

Pearce started racing at just 10 years old, something his mother said still feels difficult to believe.

“We’re trying to pinch ourselves at every race, because we can hardly believe that this is his fourth year and that he actually started as young as 10 years old,” she said.

Michelle said the young drivers have developed a strong bond despite their competition on the track.

“They’re all competitive, but it’s in a positive way, it’s just really enjoyable watching them all grow off the track, as well as on the track,” she said.

Roy said Pearce’s approach to racing has also earned him respect from competitors and adult drivers.

“He’s very respectful on the track,” Roy said.

“He’s not ramming, he’s not spinning people out to try to take a win or anything like that.”

That respect extends beyond the racing surface, he said.

“Even in the pits, they all get along very well, and adult drivers come up and compliment him and talk about how respectful he actually is,” Roy said.

That reputation may already be opening doors for the young racer.

Roy said one driver who recently started in a new series has bought two cars and mentioned the possibility of having Pearce drive one of them.

The family is also looking ahead to the next stage of Pearce’s development.

There has been discussion of a possible invitation to Ontario in the spring to take part in an open-wheel racing academy.

And the family plans to continue pursuing Legend Car opportunities in the United States.

“Over the winter, we plan to head south and head to the warmer climate to be able to do that,” Michelle said.

For Pearce, the focus remains simple: gain experience, enjoy racing and keep learning.

“I just want to get a lot of experience in different cars, because not everyone gets to experience that,” he said.

The 2026 season has already given Pearce a championship at Edmonton International Raceway, a first trip to an American Legend Car event and, now, a victory in Medicine Hat.

For a 13-year-old racer, it has been a season full of milestones, and one that ended with another trip to victory lane in Medicine Hat.

by Jett Schwaier

13-year-old Alberta racer Rhett Pearce caps historic season with Medicine Hat win

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