Adam Pierson Wins Elliott Beveridge Memorial
USAC Dirt Midget Association
Race at Vermont’s Bear Ridge Speedway
Ellington, CT: In what was the biggest race of the year for the USAC Dirt Midget Association it was only fitting that driver Adam Pierson win the race that was in honor of his past mechanic. In total twenty one teams came to Bear Ridge Speedway to compete but only nineteen took the green flag in the feature.
For heat race one the 78 driven by Stanley Otterman was to be on pole but mechanical issues prevented him from starting so the 11R of Alex Rose was awarded the pole for this heat race. Once the green flag came out it did not take long before the 11V of Vincent Lucca took the lead with the 76X of Jeff Champagne moving into second and the pole sitter 11R of Rose was now in third place. Just before the half way point, Amanda Habel in the 09 spun which brought out the caution and grouped the field back together. The race went back to green but was brought back under caution in two laps as the 09 of Habel spun. Back to green with the 11V of Lucca charging out front and holding the lead. On lap six the 24T of Tom Thompson went off track but kept running and back onto the track without any issues. As the checkered flag flew it would be Lucca in the 11V taking down the heat race win. The 76X of Champagne was to have finished second but was moved back to fourth for jumping the restart on the last caution. With that change it now moved the 11R of Rose to second and Dylan Rock in the 49 to third. Champagne was driving for Frank Manafort Racing this night in the number 76X Elliott Beveridge Memorial tribute USAC midget.
In heat race two, Adam Whitney in the 12 was on pole with the 1R of Jeff Horn starting outside. As the race went green, the action heated up quickly with the 12 of Whitney out front and with Ray Miller in the 1W now taking over second and the 1R of Horn rounding out third position. The battle for the top three was tight leaving no room for error amongst the leaders. By lap five the leaders had a new driver in third which was the 6 of Joe Krawiec who had moved up from the back of the pack. Racing continued close right up to the end with Whitney in the 12 taking the win and leading the race flag to flag. Krawiec in the 6 took second with the 1W of Miller for third.
The third heat race would test the team’s abilities as this race would have several issues. The 9 of Dean Christensen was on pole with Scott Holcomb in the 47 starting outside. The race ran green for less than two laps when the 4 of Chris Donnelly would flip violently in turn three and four which brought out the red flag. Donnelly would emerge unhurt but unable to finish the night due the severe damage done to the racecar. When the green flag came back out the 47 of Holcomb would lead with the 5 of Tim Hodge now in second and Christensen in the 9 now back to third. The 29 of Anthony Nocella would move to the outside and quickly run up on the leaders and got into the rear of Hodge in the 5 which caused Hodge to spin and bring out the caution. Nocella was then penalized for the caution and moved to the rear but when the green came out there was no slowing the 29 of Nocella who would again charge forward. The top three would change again with the 76M of Adam Pierson taking over the lead, the 47 of Holcomb in second followed by Nocella in the 29 for third. When the checkered flag came out the 76M of Pierson had the win followed by the 29 of Nocella who had passed the 47 of Holcomb on the last lap moving Holcomb to third.
The Elliott Beveridge Midget Dash four lap race included the first and second place finishers of each heat race. The 12 of Adam Whitney was on pole and the 11V of Vincent Lucca starting second. The dash race was only green for less than two laps as the 6 of Joe Krawiec would flip in turn three bringing out the red flag. Krawiec walked away from the crash but would be unable to race in the feature due to the racecars damage. When the green was shown, Pierson in the 76M would quickly take the lead followed by the 12 of Adam Whitney. At the end of four laps, the 76M of Pierson would have the win followed by Whitney in the 12 and Lucca driving the 11V.
The nights feature race would be the longest of the year with 30 green flag laps and as an added bonus double points. The race was being held in honor of Elliott Beveridge who had passed away earlier this year and was a mechanic who knew how to make a racecar handle to perfection. In addition to awarding the top three drivers, the top three mechanics would also be recognized with special trophies.
The feature would have the 11R of Alex Rose on pole and the 11V of Vincent Lucca on the outside. When the race went green the action would be quick with the 11V of Lucca taking a commanding lead followed by the 12 of Adam Whitney and Mike Chaffee in the 18C for third. The top three would stay out front for several laps with mid pack racing tight and action packed. Before the race was a third of the way over, the leaders began lapping traffic with the 76M of Adam Pierson moving up on the outside cushion. By the time the race hit the halfway point, Pierson in the 76M was now in the lead followed by a tight pack of drivers running hard for the big win of the season. But there was no stopping Pierson in the 76M as he took control of the race. While Pierson was running out front his teammate Josh Sunn in the 76 would be powering through the field and moved into second with less than ten to go. Just when it looked like Pierson would cruise to the win, the 57 of Dylan Duhaime would spin which brought out the caution. Once back to green, the 76M of Pierson and the 76 of Sunn picked up right where they had left off but now the 9 of Dean Christensen had moved into the third position. As the race came to end, the 76M of Adam Pierson from East Corinth, Vermont was first followed by Josh Sunn of White River Junction, Vermont in the 76 for second and Dean Christensen of Granby, CT taking down third position. Pierson has multiple series wins this season.
The top three mechanic awards went to JR Machini for the first place 76M team, Paul Corazzo for the second place 76 team and driver/mechanic Dean Christensen for the 9 team. In addition to special trophy awards, the top three drivers and mechanics also received apparel from series sponsor RacingJunk.Com.
In other series news, well known NASCAR pit road reporter and founder of Dick Berggren’s Speedway Illustrated, Dick Berggren, was on hand for the Victory Lane interviews and color commentary during the race announcing. In the booth for this race and calling the action was Mark McKeon who is well known to the fans of Bear Ridge Speedway.
The series will be back in action on August 9th at Bear Ridge Speedway in Bradford, Vermont for the Speedway Illustrated Fan Appreciation Night.
To learn more about the USAC Dirt Midget Association, please visit the series website at http://dmaracing.org.