by Jay | Jun 25, 2012 | Bear Ridge, Dirt Track, New England, Vermont
Harrington grabs Coupe checkers
Chris Donnelly returned to victory lane in a big way at Bear Ridge Speedway on Wells River Savings Bank Night on Saturday, driving from last place on the 21-car starting grid to win the 35-lap Bond Auto Parts DIRTcar Sportsman Modified feature. The Piermont, NH veteran put on a show, passing cars in both low and high grooves for his first 99ROCK Weekly Racing Series win of the year.
Donnelly piloted the No. 91 Tuck’s Repair-sponsored Bicknell chassis owned by Tim Tucker to the win after avoiding a six-car wreck on the opening lap, then slicing through the pack as the laps clicked away.
“It doesn’t get any better than that, 21st to the win,” Donnelly said after catching his breath in victory lane. “It’s been a long time since I had a car that good. Thanks to Tim Tucker for letting me drive it tonight.”
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by Jay | Jun 19, 2012 | Bear Ridge, Dirt Track, Modified, New England, Vermont
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.
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by Jay | Jun 17, 2012 | Bear Ridge, Dirt Track, New England
BY MARK McKEON
Defending Champion Joe Krawiec of Bristol, CT earned his second USAC DMA Powered by Ignite Racing Fuel feature of the year with a determined drive from the 12th starting spot. His teammate Kevin Chaffee of Fairlee, VT, who started 13th and led briefly, finished second while mid race leader and former Sprint Car pilot Scott Holcomb of Granby, CT came home third.
“My car owner Skip Matczak gave me an amazing car’, Krawiec said. “Kevin and Scott raced me hard, but they raced e clean, which was really great. It’s been an amazing year so far, we had a little shortcoming at the beginning, but we’re trying to earn as many points as we can, but with Kevin hot on our trail it’s going to be tough.”
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by Jay | Jun 10, 2012 | Bear Ridge, Dirt Track, New England, Vermont
King Sneaks Into Miller Auto Group Win at Bear Ridge Speedway
Williams nips Pierson for Coupe checkers, Fornwalt again in Late Models
Bear Ridge Photos (from this race and others)
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Veteran stock car driver Bryan King of Corinth, VT sneaked into victory lane on Miller Auto Group Night at Bear Ridge Speedway on Saturday. King used a lapped car to execute a “pick” move with just two laps remaining in the 35-lap Bond Auto Parts DIRTcar Sportsman Modified feature and steal the lead from Evan Kingsbury.
Kingsbury, of Bradford, VT, drove the best race of his young Modified career to hold for the runner-up finish after leading the first 33 laps. Justin Comes of Middlebury, VT won a heated multi-car battle for third. “If it wasn’t for that lapped car, I probably wouldn’t have got [Kingsbury],” King said. “It just took that little bit and I got him.”
Kingsbury was disappointed in losing the race but was happy with his finish. He and Comes both credited Miller Auto Group, an automotive dealer in West Lebanon, NH that also offers many of the factory-built General Motors racing engines used in the Modified class. “I was hoping those lapped cars would get out of the way, but unfortunately they didn’t,” Kingsbury said. “I want to thank Miller Auto Group. Without these engines I don’t know if I’d be racing – they make it pretty inexpensive to do this.”
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by Jay | May 27, 2012 | Bear Ridge, Dirt Track, New England, Vermont
Sunn dominates Modifieds, McGinley wins Coupes
Will Hull returned to his home track at Bear Ridge Speedway to post the first victory of his career in the WYKR Sprint Cars of New England (SCoNE) series on Saturday. Hull, of East Montpelier, VT and a former Limited Late Model track champion, made a dramatic late-race pass in heavy lapped traffic to steal the lead from Tyler Rich and earn the win on Dad’s 4 By Tool & Supply Night.
Polesitter Lacey Hanson of Orwell, VT led the first seven laps of the 25-lap race, but Lyme, NH sophomore Rich sailed through the field from his tenth starting position to pass Hanson up front on lap 8. Rich held a comfortable lead but slowed in lapped traffic, allowing Hull and Chris Donnelly to close quickly. Hull squeezed by coming to the final lap, bringing Donnelly with him, and held on for his first victory in the open-wheel, winged touring division. Donnelly finished second with Rich third, followed by Clay Dow and defending SCoNE champion Dan Douville. Matt Robie, rookie Chris Downs, Tunk Berry, Andy Seuss, and Hanson completed the unofficial top ten.
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by Jay | May 25, 2012 | Bear Ridge, Dirt Track, New England, Vermont
Jeff Horn Will Take One Off The Bucket List This Saturday,
Makes Sprint Car Debut with SCoNE at Bear Ridge Speedway
BY MARK McKEON
Vermont native Jeff Horn, who’s lived the flatlander’s life in Massachusetts for the past few decades, hasn’t left many mountains unclimbed. The 67 year old began his racing career at the late, lamented Catamount Stadium in Milton, VT back in 1965 and except for a couple of years in the U.S. Army- including a tour of duty as an infantry soldier in Viet Nam- he hasn’t stopped racing since.
A pavement specialist, Horn has had spectacular success with Midgets, Supermodifieds, Late Models and Modifieds, but he’s never raced a Sprint Car, let alone raced one on dirt. That omission will be rectified this Saturday night when Horn makes his Sprint Car debut with the Sprint Cars of New England at Bear Ridge Speedway.
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