57th opening night at the Ridge goes in the record books a huge success.
57th opening night at the Ridge goes in the record books a huge success.
For Immediate Release BRS-05042024-1
It was a full day of activities and racing action with the annual festivities starting at the Bradford Fair Grounds with over seventy cars showing off their machines for the fans who stopped by. A huge thank you goes out to the Fair committee for once again holding this event. From there the drivers made their way up to the Ridge for their first spin around the famed quarter mile clay oval in an exclusive practice session for the attendees. By the time the first green waved on opening night sponsored by F.M.S. NAPA of Bradford close to a hundred drivers were waiting anxiously to grab the first green flag of the 57th consecutive season of racing at the Ridge. We can’t thank the fans, the competitors, crews, and families enough for making opening night of our 57th consecutive season always owned or operated by the Elms family such a huge success!! THANK YOU.
The first feature winners of the 57th consecutive season sponsored by F.M.S. NAPA Auto Parts of Bradford VT were Jason Gray in the Sabil & Sons DIRTcar Sportsman Modifieds; Michael Danforth in the Wells River Chevrolet DIRTcar Sportsman Coupes; Xtreme DIRTcar DMA Midgets Daniel Piastka, High Country Dispensary Late Models Kelly Miller, LaValley Building Supply Dirt Stocks Dustin Towle, Woodsville Power Equipment Ridge Runners Randy Morrill.
Jason Gray the past four seasons reigning champion of the Sabil & Sons DIRTcar Sportsman Modifieds had to earn his keep on opening night coming from mid pack to score his first win on his quest for making history by earning a fifth championship in a row. Chris Huntington found himself starting on the pole and was able for twenty-three laps before finally succumbing to Gray. Gray had to do it the hard way on the outside and after nearly a dozen laps of side-by-side racing was able to wear Huntington down and take the lead on lap twenty-three. Only a couple of cautions slowed the pace, but the restarts were enough to change the order of third back, as the outside groove was not the place to be. Huntington would fall victim to that lane and fall back to sixth by the time the checkers waved. Robert Tucker and DJ Robinson would join Gray in victory lane in that order, with Max Dolliver after having to pit for a flat tire under caution on lap ten fought his way back to the fourth place spot with Tad Kingsbury back in action as a rookie in the Mods taking home fifth.
The Wells River Chevrolet DIRTcar Sportsman Coupes are seeing a bit of a resurrection in 2024 with four rookies joining the ranks in hopes of giving the wily veterans a little competition this season. Everyone’s dream is to come out of the gate hot and Michael Danforth, your 2023 rookie of the year did just that. With the help of his Hall of Fame Gramp Gene Pierson he dogged Ricky Sanville for twenty-four laps before being able to best him for the point. From there Danforth went on to score the win, his second in his career, with Sanville holding on for second. Cooper Hodge joined the pair in third. Cody Gregoropoulos and Terry Williams rounded out the top five.
In the Xtreme DIRTcar DMA Midgets Ethan Durocher held on for thirteen laps before Daniel Piastka was able to take advantage of lapped traffic and jump to the lead. From there Piastka cruised on to claim the first checkers of the 2024 season. Durocher was shuffled back on the outside and would fall back to fifth by the time the checkers waved. A rare experience last year’s rookie of the year and track champion had difficulty coming out of the box and would finish next to last, giving everyone what they hoped for, a bit of bad luck for him and good luck for us. Two of those drivers would be teammates of the Matczak stable. Manny Dias would advance one position from his starting one taking home second with teammate Will Hull joining the pair in third. Justin Sheridan and Ethan Durocher rounded out the top five.
Kelly Miller beat last year’s track champion Matt Lashua in the High-Country Dispensary Late Models. Lashua was able to hold on to third with Scott Heath, last year’s rookie of the year joining the two veterans in victory lane in third. Mark Cole crosses the line in fourth with John Davis completing the top five.
In the LaValley Building Supply Dustin Towle took the lead on lap two and never looked back as he drove on to his first win in almost two years. Towle had to hold of the hard-fought efforts of Mike McClay, who once again found himself in second place, after finishing 2023 in the bridesmaid position. Aren Keene had a very impressive run coming home in the final victory lane spot. Tyler Tremblay and Brian King rounded out the top five. Last year’s track champion Andrew Fitzgerald had a tough night finishing in sixteenth.
The Woodsville Power Equipment Ridge Runners had a great showing of cars for opening night with several new faces geared up to tame the quarter mile clay oval. Randy Morrill took advantage of his second row starting spot to finally make it past Matthew Durphey on lap fourteen and go on to win his first race in over two years. Durphey looked poised to win the race holding off the pack for those first fourteen laps, but mechanical issues took him pit side, leaving him to dream of his win yet another day. Doug Kenny crossed the line second, but a post-race inspection saw him disqualified which moved Michael Paton to second and Travis Burroughs to third. Returning champ Kevin LaForest comes home in fourth with Kelly Miller Jr. taking home fifth.
Coming up this Saturday May 11th sponsored by Falken Tires is the first of two events hosted by Sabil and Sons DIRTcar Sportsman Modifieds, for the VP Racing Fuels DIRTcar Sportsman East Series. The event sponsored will see the winner taking home $1,057.00 and everyone taking the green a minimum $100.00. In addition, you can expect a full card of racing with the Wells River Chevrolet DIRTcar Sportsman Coupes, LaValley Building Supply Dirt Stocks, Woodsville Power Equipment Ridger Runners and visiting when at the Ridge R.E. Hinkley Granite State Mini Sprints. The Extreme DIRTcar DMA Midgets and High-Country Dispensaries Late Models are off, returning to action on May 18th. This is a SPECIAL ADMISSION show with adults, teens and seniors at $15.00.
Remember in today’s society we could all use a little more family entertainment, and the Ridge is your best place to be for just that. The admission price is more than reasonable; the show top-notch, the food superior, and the family friendly atmosphere is just what you are looking for!
Tune in to hear April May and Butch as they join Stephen John for all the highlights of Bear Ridge Speedway from the week before and what is coming up every Friday morning from 6:30 to 7:00 on WYKR, and on the world wide web!
The price of a regular show general admission (front gate) ticket for adults (ages 17 to 61) is $12.00 a person. Seniors 62 and older $10.00. Teens 12 to 16 WITH a paying adult $10.00, and children 11 and under WITH a paying Adult $2.00. Military Discounts are available at $2.00 off for those with a valid ID. The back gate (pit gate) ticket price for Bear Ridge Speedway and DIRTcar 2024 license holders is $30.00. Non-license holders are $35.00 (both prices include the front gate ticket.)
Bear Ridge Speedway is as an alcohol-free family friendly entertainment spot, with our goal to make each experience at the Ridge better than the last. We continue to offer the best source of good inexpensive high-quality entertainment for families.
Please stay safe and be kind to others!
Visa and MasterCard are accepted. Racing begins at the famous “6:00-ish” start time every Saturday starting in May thru September.
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. Questions can be sent to brsdirt@charter.net Visa and Master card accepted
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS – 57th Season of Racing sponsored by FMS NAPA Auto Parts of Bradford VT night.
99ROCK Weekly Racing Series
Bear Ridge Speedway — Bradford, VT
Saturday May 4, 2024
Sabil & Sons DIRTcar Sportsman Modifieds (35 laps)
1st 00 Jason Gray
2nd 42T Robert Tucker
3rd 4 DJ Robinson
4th 29 Max Dolliver
5th 09 Tad Kingsbury ®
6th 9h Chris Huntington
7th 86 Mike Ryan
8th 26 Jeremy Huntoon
9th 16 Brian Chaffee
10th 3 Jeff Huntington
11th 66 Tim Churchill
12th 02 Wayland Childs
13th 3H Kyle Huntington
14th 631 Todd Buckwold
15th 24p Ashton Pierson
21 Earl Maxham DNS
HEAT one: Tad Kingsbury
HEAT two: DJ Robins
Sting Vintage Race Cars Buster Kathan Dash for Cash winner: Tad Kingsbury
Wells River Chevrolet DIRTcar Sportsman Coupes (30 Laps)
1st 44 Michael Danforth JR
2nd 93 Ricky Sanville
3rd 17 Cooper Hodge
4th 12 Cody Gregoropoulos
5th 16 Terry Williams
6th 21e Matt Ellsworth
7th 20 Todd Hayward
8th 2 Tim Hodge
9th 3 Jason Horniak
10th 66 Alexander Pushee
11th 89 Lucas Wheeler ®
12th 96 Rob Williams ®
13th 27 Matthew Borst ®
14th 56 Jeremy Huntoon
15th 11 Josh Harrington
16th 28 Bob Shepard
17th 69x AJ Pushee ®
HEAT one: Terry Williams
HEAT two: Todd Hayward
Xtreme DIRTcar DMA Midgets Feature (25 laps)
1st 1B Daniel Piastka
2nd 3 Manny Dias
3rd 2 Will Hull
4th 17 Justin Sheridan
5th 9 Ethan Durocher
6th 0 Keith Brown
7th 91 Wayne Koehler
8th 52k Todd Mable
9th 01 John Forlano
10th 02 Anthony Marvuglio ®
11th 7 Brandon Piastka
12th 76 Chris Murray
13th 19 Stephen Krueger ®
HEAT one: Ethan Durocher
HEAT two: Daniel Piastka
High Country Dispensary Late Model Feature (20 Laps)
1st 04 Kelly Miller Sr
2nd 316 Matt Lashua
3rd 16 Scott Heath
4th 6x Mark Cole
5th 96 John Davis
6th 2B Ryan Avery
7th 70 Robb Rugg
HEAT one: Ryan Avery
LaValley’s Building Supply Dirt Stockers (20 Laps)
1st 60 Dustin Towle
2nd 82 Mike McClay
3rd 35 Aren Keene
4th 27 Matt Pike
5th 32 Tyler Tremblay
6th X Bryan King
7th 25 Timothy Blake
8th 44 Keith Mansur
9th 18D Dawn Rumrill
10th 81 Dana Carter
11th 42 Jacob Hall Larson
12th 5j John Fields
13th 6x Chris Cole
14th 71x Tyler Fellows
15th 71 James Thompson
16th 55 Andrew Fitzgerald
17th 1x Nathan Felch
18th 94 Ryan Sayers
HEAT one: Dana Carter
HEAT two: Dustin Towle
Woodsville Power Equipment Ridge Runners (20 laps)
1st 28 Randy Morrill
2nd 1 Michael Paton
3rd 53 Travis Burroughs
4th 49 Kevin LaForest
5th 04 Kelly Miller Jr.
6th 54 Katie Burroughs
7th 5 Tim Davis
8th 17 Shane Stygles
9th 66 Kyle Morris
10th 50 Matt Lucas
11th 26 Noah Mathieu
12th 64 Matthew Durphey
13th 4 Mystery Driver
14th 21 Braiden Wyman
15th 08 David Hunt Jr.
16th 55 Rick Stygles
17th 3 Travis King
18th 9 Raven Streeter
63 Doug Kenny D’qd post race inspection
HEAT one: Travis Burroughs
HEAT two: Tim Davis
Joe Mama’s Sporting Goods 4/6 Cylinder Enduro
First Event 5/25/2024
