Ellington, CT: With a strong determination to win again, the FMR 76M USAC Dirt Midget team piloted by Adam Pierson of East Corinth VT went on to victory lane during the USAC Dirt Midget Association race at Bear Ridge Speedway in Bradford, VT.
The first heat race of the night had the 18C of Mike Chaffee starting on the pole then the 96 of Rob Williams starting second. Under the green flag the 18C of Chaffee took to the lead but was short lived as the 64 driven by Andy Barrows would spin which brought out the yellow. Back to green and Chaffee in his 18C kept the point until lap three when Adam Whitney in the 12 would get around Chaffee for the lead. By the time the field came back to the start/finish line the 1W of Ray Miller would take over second with the 18C of Chaffee starting to fade back but still holding the lead position was Whitney in his number 12. Position changes from third back where happening with each lap and in the end it was the 12 of Adam Whitney from Warren, VT taking the lead with veteran driver Ray Miller from East Granby, CT in the 1W for second followed by the 64 of Andy Barrows from Peterborough, NH in third.
For the start of heat race two the 46 of Kenny Johnson had the point with the 4 of Kevin Chaffee beside Johnson in second. The race would run green for the entire eight laps all of which were action packed. The 46 of Johnson along with the 4 of Chaffee would swap the lead for the first three laps until the 76M of Adam Pierson would move up to second while the 4 of Chaffee held the lead. The 69 of Dean Christensen who started in row four would now take the third position away from Jeff Horn in the 1R and stay right with the leaders. While much of the action was with the leaders, the mid pack racing was tight. In the end Kevin Chaffee from East Orange, VT in the 4 would take the win followed by the 76M of Adam Pierson from East Corinth, VT for second and rounding out the top three was the 69 piloted by Dean Christensen of Granby, CT.
The four lap Midget Dash race began with the 76M of Adam Pierson on pole and the 4 of Kevin Chaffee on the outside. Under green the action picked up quickly with the Pierson 76M and Chaffee in the 4 holding the top two positions. The race went green for all four laps with the win going to Adam Pierson in the 76M from East Corinth, VT then the 4 of Kevin Chaffee who comes from East Orange, VT and taking third was the 12 of Adam Whitney of Warren, VT.
The nights twenty five lap feature race had a strong front row with the 4 of Kevin Chaffee on pole and the 1R of veteran racer Jeff Horn starting second. Going green, the 1R of Horn took command of the race from the 4 of Chaffee but before lap two the yellow would come out for a spin in turn three that included the 96 of Rob Williams and Jeff Champagne in the 15. Neither would return to action from the early race accident. Back to green with the 1R of Horn holding the lead followed by Chaffee in the 4 but before the field got to lap four, the 69 driven by Dean Christensen would take over the point followed by the 4 of Chaffee with Horn in the 1R moving back to third. On lap five the caution would come out again for the 64 of Andy Barrows spinning in turn three. Under the green flag with the 69 of Christensen still holding the lead and the 4 of Chaffee in second but by now the 76M with Adam Pierson had moved into third while the 1R of Horn began fading back in the field. The top three would run unchanged until a mid-race caution on lap thirteen for the spinning 57 of Dylan Duhaime which brought the field back together. This would be the last caution of the race and when the green flag waived the 69 of Christensen along with the 76M of Pierson would run side by side until lap seventeen when Pierson would get by Christensen for the lead. The 4 of Chaffee would hold the third position but keeping up with the leaders. Christensen in his 69 would keep applying pressure to the leader Pierson in the 76M for the remaining laps. Two cars that keep the fans attention was the 67 of Josh Sunn who is teammate to Pierson and Derek Graham in the 5 who for this race was a teammate to Chaffee. These two would run high and low to try and reach their teammates at the front. When the checkered flag waived it would be Adam Pierson from East Corinth, VT taking the win followed by Dean Christensen of Granby, CT in the 69 then the 4 of Kevin Chaffee of East Orange, VT for third.
The night’s event was capped off by raising money for the charity “Digs for Dogs”. This non-profit based out of New Hampshire finds homes for dogs. This has become an annual event at Bear Ridge Speedway in Bradford, VT.