5/5/2019
Bear Ridge Speedway
Seth Carlson Scores Victory at Season Opener for USAC Dirt Midget Association
Ellington, CT: Seth Carlson was victories at Bear Ridge Speedway in Bradford VT for the 2019 season opening race of the USAC Dirt Midget Associations. For Carlson, he continued the momentum from his run at the 2019 Chili Bowl in Tulsa, OK.
For heat race one the 42 of Manny Dias was on the pole with the 7X of Dan Douville starting second. When the green flag waived the field began the first official race of the season and Manny Dias in his 42 took control of the race. By lap three the 69 of Dean Christensen had moved into second and was closing in quickly on Dias. Lap four had the red flag come out for the 23 of Tim West flipping on the back stretch and the 5 of Steve Midford spinning to avoid West upside down racecar. West would return to racing in the feature. Back to green, Christensen made quick work to get his 69 into the lead on lap five and moving the 42 of Dias back to second. When the checker flag waived it was the 69 of Dean Christensen of Granby CT driving for Miller Racing winning the heat race followed by the 42 of Manny Dias and the 7X piloted by Dan Douville for third.
Heat race 1 finishing order: Dean Christensen (69), Manny Dias (42), Dan Douville (7X), Wayne Kohler (91), Steve Midford (5), Tim West (23) - DNF, Justin Phillips (17) - DNF, Cal Chandonnett (71) - DNS.
In heat race two, the line-up had the 16 of Justin Sheridan in the pole position with long time racer Jeff Horn in the A1 on the outside of row one. For the first five laps Sheridan in the 16 and Horn with his A1 battled to keep the top two spots while the 18C driven by Mike Chaffee and 3 of Will Hull raced hard for third and fourth. With the 3 of Hull on a mission to pick off the competition one by one, lap 6 would be pivotal as Hull moved into second putting the A1 of Horn to third. With only two laps left in this heat race, Sheridan kept a commanding lead with the 3 of Hull coming strong and the 18C of Mike Chaffee now in third after getting around the A1 of Horn. With this race going green flag to flag the 16 of Justin Sheridan in his Miller Racing midget from Suffield, CT took the win over the 3 of Will Hull and in third was Mike Chaffee in the 18C.
Heat race 2 finishing order: Justin Sheridan (16), Will Hull (3), Mike Chaffee (18C), Seth Carlson (2), Jeff Horn (A1), Joe Krawiec (1), TJ Foster (26), Adam Whitney (12) - DNF.
The feature race had the 42 of Manny Dias starting pole position with 7X driven by Dan Douville outside row one. When the green flag was displayed the field took off into turn one for the first feature of the season with the pack running side by side and Dias in the 42 holding the point position. By the end of lap one Dias 42 would be second and the 7X of Douville now had the lead. The only yellow flag of the race would come out on lap 3 for the spinning 12 of Adam Whitney. Back to green and Douville’s 7X would keep the lead over the 42 of Dias and the 16 with Justin Sheridan in third. The top three would stay the same for the next several laps with Seth Carlson in the 2 now making his move towards the front. On lap eleven Carlson had worked his 2 up front and into the lead with Dias in the 42 now second and the 7X of Douville falling back through the field. Carlson would hold the lead with a commanding margin over the rest of the field while positions two to four would see a battle between Dias (42), Joe Krawiec (1) and Will Hull (3). The spectators, who filled the grandstands for opening night, where now standing to see side by side racing all the way around the track.
With two laps left, the 3 of Hull would get around the 1of Krawiec for second which would move the 42 of Dias back to fourth. Meantime the 2, with Carlson behind the wheel, would be looking for season win number one. Under the checker flag, Seth Carlson in his Skip Matzcak owned Seals-it sponsored number 2 midget would score the victory. Following Carlson would be his teammate Will Hull in the 3 and rounding out the top three would be Joe Krawiec in the 1.
Feature race finishing order: Seth Carlson (2), Will Hull (3), Joe Krawiec (1), Manny Dias (42), Justin Sheridan (16), Dan Douville (7X), Jeff Horn (A1), Dean Christensen (69), Adam Whitney (12), Wayne Kohler (91), Tim West (23), TJ Foster (26), Mike Chaffee (18C), Steve Midford (5) - DNF, Justin Phillips (17) – DNF.
The series will be back in action on May 18th at Bear Ridge Speedway in Bradford, Vermont.
To learn more about the USAC Dirt Midget Association, please visit the series website at www.usacdma.com or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/DirtMidgetAssociation
For additional information regarding this press release please contact Mark J. Hann, Director-USAC DMA Public Relations & Marketing, at usacdma@usacdma.com
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