Bear Ridge Speedway

5/9/2018

Bear Ridge Speedway

Kevin Chaffee and Thomas Placey amongst the Winners on Opening Night

For Immediate Release BRS-050518-1

After an unusually wet and cold spring, which meant the management team at Bear Ridge Speedway had to hustle to get the facility ready for the 51st consecutive season of racing at the Quarter Mile Dirt oval nestled high in the hills of Bradford, VT. Heavy rains the night before opening forced the annual Race morning Bradford car show to be moved to the local High School due to the wet conditions of the field normally used.

The small in size buy mighty in speed and performance Laquerre’s Sports USAC DMA Midgets were the first to hit the track. Most of these guys trek from far away to be a part of the full card weekly racing and for those that have a great night it is well worth the trip. At the drop of the green Jeff Champange rocketed into the lead from the pole position. With one lap in the books Derek O’Hearn caught a wheel while battling for second and took a wild ride, flipping through turns three and four. When racing resumed Champange once again moved to the lead with Jason Goff on the move into second. Goff Challenged Champange for the lead for a few laps before taking the top spot. The running order of the top two would remain the same for the next 15 laps while a torrid battle took place for positions three through five. With just five laps left in the feature Seth Carlson, who had to restart in the rear after an early race spin, made his way to toward the front, challenged Jeff Champange for second, and completed the pass with three laps to go. At the Checkers it was Jason Goff with the win with Seth Carlson second, Jeff Champange third with Mike Chaffee fourth and former Champion Joe Kraweic completing the top five. For winner Jason Goff it was quite a feat as he had not been in a race car since 2002 and it was the first time ever in a Midget.

The Wells River Chevrolet DIRTcar Sportsman Coupes were next on the track for their thirty lap main event. Matt Ellsworth took the lead when the green flag flew and repelled the charges of Chris LaForest and Thomas Placey through a number of restarts. With 21 laps complete disaster struck for Ellsworth as he ended spinning while battling for the lead with Placey. Thomas Placey inherited the lead and made it stick holding off the advances, first of Todd Hayward and later Chris LaForest to take the win. LaForest claimed the second spot with Tanner Siemons third. Earl Maxham was fourth and Matt Ellsworth made a late race charge to come from the rear to finish 5th

Up next came the pounding thunder of the Sabil & Sons DIRTcar Sportsman Modifieds. Mike Ryan and Stephen Lary brought the field to green with Ryan able to take the top spot. Steven Flint was the man on the move early in the Feature as he came from his 4th starting spot to 2nd in just a lap and eventual taking the lead from Ryan with five laps complete. It wasn’t long before Robert Tucker started to pressure Flint for the lead, eventually taking the top spot of the 40 Lap event with 10 laps in the books. From there Tucker held off the charge of Terry Williams and later Kevin Chaffee, who challenged for the lead for a number of laps before taking the top spot from Tucker in traffic. Once in the lead Chaffee quickly started pulling away from the field and went on to take the exciting win. Robert Tucker held on for 2nd with Richie Simmons third. Reigning track Champion Derek Graham crossed the line in 4th with Adam Pierson completing the top five.

The Weglarz Property Service Four Cylinders came out 24 strong in a feature that turned into a rather ragged affair. Kelly Miller Jr took the lead early but only lasted a few laps before mechanical problems relegated him to the pits. Rodney Davis then held the top spot through a couple of cautions before Buddy Welch took the lead. Meanwhile Danny Doyle was making his way towards the front and started to put intense pressure on Welch, finally taking the lead while the duo were slicing through lapped traffic with 17 laps complete. The caution would fly just a later for Welch, whose car suffered a mechanical failure and was then hit by another competitor. Doyle held the lead on the restart and drove to victory. Bobby Bell claimed second with reigning 4-Cylinder Champion Jesse Durkee third. Dennis Perry and Jason Porter completed the top five.

The C.A. Miller Limited Late Models concluded the night with John Neddo taking the top spot when the green flew, holding it until the first restart of the race when perennial front runner Ryan Christian took the top spot and ran away from the field to take the win. Neddo claimed second with Jesse Durkee crossing the line third, however a rules infraction discovered in post race inspection moved him to last in the finishing order and moved George Osgood to third.

Bear Ridge Speedway’s season of dirt car racing continues Saturday, May 12th with the Sabil & Sons DIRTcar Sportsman Modifieds, Wells River Chevrolet DIRTcar Sportsman Coupes, C.A. Miller Inc Limited Late Models, and the Weglarz Property Service Four Cylinders. Plus the Sprint Cars of New England will be on hand. Special general admission for the 99Rock Weekly Racing Series is $13 for adults (age 18-61), $10 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 as an alcohol free family friendly entertainment spot, with our goal to make each experience at the Ridge better than the last. Remember “Dirt where every lap is the last lap” we continue to offer the best source of good inexpensive high quality entertainment for families.

Bear Ridge Speedway is located off exit 16 of I91 on to Rte 25 west 1 mile to South Road up the hill to Kidder Rd. The green will wave every Saturday evening through September at 6:00 pm(ish). Be sure to check the web www.bearridgespeedway.com Questions can be sent to brsdirt@charter.net

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS – Opening Night sponsored by FMS NAPA Auto Parts

99ROCK Weekly Racing Series

Bear Ridge Speedway -- Bradford, VT

Saturday, May 5 2018

Sabil & Sons DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Feature (40 laps)

1 73c Kevin Chaffee

2 42 Robert Tucker

3 34 Richie Simmons

4 10 Derek Graham

5 15 Adam Pierson

6 24 Jordan Fornwalt

7 97 Terry Williams