Jesse Smith, Brian Chaffee grab first career victories
Veteran stock car and sprint car driver Dan Douville wowed the crowd at Bear Ridge Speedway in Bradford, VT on Saturday night with a back-to-front performance in the 25-lap WYKR Sprint Cars of New England (SCoNE) feature on Jiffy Mart of Bradford/P&H Truck Stop Night as part of the 99ROCK Weekly Racing Series. A jammed pit area saw a total of 110 race teams from seven states competing on the seven-division card.
Douville’s team made wholesale changes to the setup of its No. 7x Kondrat Kustoms/Coastal181.com-sponsored Eagle chassis after qualifying, and they paid off. The Bridgewater, NH veteran started 15th on the 19-car SCoNE field and sliced his way through traffic with relative ease, taking the lead from outside polesitter Brandon Valley at lap 10 and never looking back. By the time the checkered flag fell, Douville had lapped nearly half of the field.
Bear Ridge Photos
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Tyler Rich of Lyme, NH finished second with teammate Chris Donnelly of Piermont, NH third. Valley, of Center Ossippee, NH was a season-best fourth, with Clay Dow of Barnstead, NH fifth. Tunk Berry, rookie Chris Downs, Kevin Chaffee, Jake Williams, and Will Hull rounded out the unofficial top ten.
Gary Siemons of Orford, NH was in the right place at the right time to steal the lead from Chaffee in the 35-lap Bond Auto Parts DIRTcar Sportsman Modified feature. Fairlee, VT driver Chaffee, who was pulling triple-duty in the SCoNE, Modified, and USAC Dirt Midget Association classes, drove around Mike Dunn for the lead on lap 21, but had to check up for a slower car four laps later. Siemons saw an opening and seized the opportunity, pushing his No. 5 Denecker Chevrolet/Dennis Preston Builders-sponsored Troyer to the lead at lap 25 and holding it for his first win of the year. A disappointed Chaffee finished second but retained his lead in the point standings, unofficially. Jason Gray of East Thetford, VT was third, followed by Donnelly and Dunn.
“Flat Foot” Joe Krawiec of Bristol, CT made it back-to-back wins in the 25-lap USAC Midget race. Krawiec won the hotly-contested race that saw four different drivers lead laps, including Krawiec’s teammate, Chaffee, who finished in second place. Scott Holcomb of North Granby, CT was third after leading several laps, and polesitter Jamie Spalding was fourth. Chase Dowling completed the top five. ESPN/ABC sports announcer Jack Arute made his Bear Ridge Speedway debut and finished 11th.
Rookie Jesse Smith of Topsham, VT posted his first career victory in the Wells River Chevrolet Sportsman Coupe division. Smith led every step of the way, fending off two-time champion Josh Harrington for most of the 30-lap event. Harrington spun to avoid a slower car with less than two laps remaining, though, handing the runner-up spot to Tim Hodge of Vershire, VT. Gene Pierson of East Corinth, VT slipped into third place, followed by Jason Horniak and Terry Williams.
Brian Chaffee drove to the winner’s circle for the first time after the 25-lap A Notch Above Automotive Limited Late Model feature. The West Topsham, VT sophomore wired the field, then held off a late charge from point leader Mike Greene to take the checkered flag. Greene, of Pike, NH, posted his sixth top-two finish in as many starts this season, followed by rookie Sam Comeau, Jeremy Stygles, and rookie Travis King.
Rochester, VT’s Danny Doyle made it two wins in a row in the Weglarz Property Service Fast Fours, taking the 25-lap feature. St. Johnsbury, VT drivers Steve Bell and Kevin Harran were second and third, respectively, followed by Rob Gioia and Chuck Simmons.
Mike Stender of South Strafford, VT won a wild 20-lap KDD NAPA Auto Parts Hornet feature for his first victory of the season. The Hornet class saw three- and four-wide racing throughout the event, along with some bumps and bangs, including a few by the winner. Rookie Brandon Gray of East Thetford, VT was second for the third time in four weeks, followed by Eric Lang, rookie James Fadden, and Don Reynolds.
Bear Ridge Speedway’s 45th season of stock car racing continues with Wells River Savings Bank Night on Saturday, June 23. A 4- & 6-cylinder Enduro is on the card along with the 99ROCK Weekly Racing Series divisions and the Granite State Mini Sprints. Rules and registration forms can be found online at www.bearridgespeedway.com. General admission is $10 for adults (age 18-61), $8 for teens (12-17) and seniors (62+), and $2 for children; Visa and MasterCard are accepted. Racing begins at the famous “6:00-ish” start time.
Bear Ridge Speedway is located on Kidder Road in Bradford, VT, just off Exit 16 on Interstate 91. For more information, call (802) 222-4052 or visit www.bearridgespeedway.com.
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UNOFFICIAL RESULTS – Jiffy Mart of Bradford/P&H Truck Stop Night
Bear Ridge Speedway — Bradford, VT
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Pos.-Driver-Hometown
(# – denotes rookie)
WYKR Sprint Cars of New England (25 laps)
1. Dan Douville, Bridgewater, NH
2. Tyler Rich, Lyme, NH
3. Chris Donnelly, Piermont, NH
4. Brandon Valley, Center Ossipee, NH
5. Clay Dow, Barnstead, NH
6. Tunk Berry, Center Ossipee, NH
7. # Chris Downs, Moultonboro, NH
8. Kevin Chaffee, Fairlee, VT
9. Jake Williams, Center Tuftonboro, NH
10. Will Hull, East Montpelier, VT
11. Shawn Lawler, Mason, NH
12. Randy Wimert, Falmouth, ME
13. Mark Cole, Lebanon, NH
14. Jim Lowrey, Jr., Tilton, NH
15. Butch Valley, Jr., Hollis, NH
16. Bob Giuliani, Middleton, NH
17. Matt Robie, Hill, NH
18. Shawn Berry, Center Ossipee, NH
19. Bruce Kimball, Lebanon, NH
Bond Auto DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Feature (35 laps)
1. Gary Siemons, Orford, NH
2. Kevin Chaffee, Fairlee, VT
3. Jason Gray, East Thetford, VT
4. Chris Donnelly, Piermont, NH
5. Mike Dunn, North Haverhill, NH
6. Adam Pierson, Fairlee, VT
7. Derek Graham, Woodsville, NH
8. Robert Tucker, East Topsham, VT
9. Billy Lussier, Fair Haven, VT
10. Bob Shepard, West Topsham, VT
11. Bryan King, Corinth, VT
12. Richie Simmons, Bradford, VT
13. Justin Comes, Middlebury, VT
14. Evan Kingsbury, Bradford, VT
15. # Troy Comeau, Rumney, NH
16. # Josh Currier, Newport, NH
17. Josh Sunn, White River Junction, VT
18. # Eddie Patterson, Websterville, VT
19. Blake Shepard, Newton, NH
20. Jack Cook, Moultonboro, NH
21. Jeff Elliott, Benton, NH
22. Dan Eastman, Thetford Center, VT
Wells River Chevrolet Sportsman Coupe Feature (30 laps)
1. # Jesse Smith, Topsham, VT
2. Tim Hodge, Vershire, VT
3. Gene Pierson, Jr., East Corinth, VT
4. Jason Horniak, Bradford, VT
5. Terry Williams, Wells River, VT
6. Jeremy Beckley, Woodsville, NH
7. # Josh Constantine, East Corinth, VT
8. Steve Ellsworth, Corinth, VT
9. Josh Harrington, Topsham, VT
10. Buster Kathan, Ludlow, VT
11. Jason Colbeth, Newbury, VT
12. # Jerry Catterall, Piermont, NH
13. # Rusty Bean, Barre, VT
14. # Tom Placey, Bradford, VT
15. Mike McGinley, East Barre, VT
16. Rick Fletcher, East Corinth, VT
17. Martin Mastic, Bradford, VT
18. Teddy Salomaa, Bradford, VT
19. Jeff Robbins, Woodsville, NH
USAC Dirt Midget Association (25 laps)
1. Joe Krawiec, Bristol, CT
2. Kevin Chaffee, Fairlee, VT
3. Scott Holcomb, Granby, CT
4. Jamie Spalding, Chaplin, CT
5. # Chase Dowling, Roxbury, CT
6. Tim Gallant, Wales, MA
7. Ray Miller, East Granby, CT
8. Adam Whitney, Warren, VT
9. Greg Olson, East Providence, RI
10. Dave Hotchkiss, East Granby, CT
11. Jack Arute, Westfield, MA
12. Jim Close, Ellington, CT
13. Dana Shaw, Plainfield, CT
14. Dean Christensen, Granby, CT
15. Denny Zimmerman, Glastonbury, CT
16. Jim Mossman, Hollis, NH
17. # Jeff Champagne, Westfield, MA
18. # Connor Leighton, Castleton, NY
A Notch Above Automotive Limited Late Model Feature (25 laps)
1. Brian Chaffee, West Topsham, VT
2. Mike Greene, Jr., Pike, NH
3. # Sam Comeau, Rumney, NH
4. Jeremy Stygles, Bradford, VT
5. # Travis King, Corinth, VT
6. Jordan Fornwalt, Bradford, VT
7. # Val Lund, Vershire, VT
Weglarz Property Service Fast Four Feature (25 laps)
1. Danny Doyle, Rochester, VT
2. Steve Bell, St. Johnsbury, VT
3. Kevin Harran, St. Johnsbury, VT
4. Rob Gioia, East Thetford, VT
5. Chuck Simmons, Bradford, VT
6. Tim Martin, White River Junction, VT
7. Andy Johnson, Wilder, VT
8. Bobby Bell, St. Johnsbury, VT
9. Dave Durkee, Sr., White River Junction, VT
KDD NAPA Auto Parts Hornet Feature (20 laps)
1. Mike Stender, South Strafford, VT
2. # Brandon Gray, East Thetford, VT
3. Eric Lang, Groton, VT
4. # James Fadden, North Haverhill, NH
5. Don Reynolds, Springfield, VT
6. Brent Warren, Salisbury, VT
7. Mike Ryan, Chelsea, VT
8. Charlie Lakin, Groton, VT
9. Andy Mooney, Danville, VT
10. # Jacob Blake, Waterbury, VT
11. Mike Lique, West Lebanon, NH
12. Joe Kemp, Leicester, VT
13. # Travis Tattersall, Bradford, VT
14. # Ryan Farnham, Fairlee, VT
15. # Ethan Bird, Barre, VT
16. # Lisa Austin, White River Jct., VT
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