Fornwalt and Simmons Celebrate Wins at Bear Ridge Speedway; Pierson Dominates USAC Dirt Midget action
BRADFORD, VT – Bear Ridge Speedway celebrated Sabil & Sons Towing Old Timers Night on Saturday with hard-nosed racing, exciting finishes, and non stop action.
Rookie Jordan Fornwalt of Bradford, VT ran to the Bond Auto Parts DIRTcar Sportsman Modified win after a spirited battle with early leader Dan Eastman in the 40-lap main event. Fornwalt, the defending Limited Late Model Champion had to fend off a late charge from current point leader Chris Donnelly to secure the victory by .126 seconds. Donnelly, who started 17th, arrived on Forwalt’s back bumper with four laps remaining and finished second. Mike Gendron was third, Eastman fourth and Josh Sunn completed the top five.
Bill Simmons won the 30-lap Wells River Chevrolet Sportsman Coupe feature for his first victory of the year after a prolonged side-by-side battle for the lead with Melvin Pierson. Simmons cleared Pierson coming out of turn two on the last lap to seal the win. Pierson was a close second with Teddy Salomaa making a late race charge to third from his 12th starting spot. Early leader Martin Mastic was fourth and Louie Cadwell rounded out the top five.
USAC Dirt Midget action found Adam Pierson absolutely dominate the event, rim riding to the lead from the 11th starting position in just six laps. From there Pierson cruised to an easy victory, surviving a single caution along the way. Veteran Scott Viets moved to second at mid race, but could not catch Pierson and settled for second with Kevin Chaffee third. Josh Sunn and Adam Whitney were fourth and fifth respectively.
Brandon Gray of East Thetford, VT scored his second consecutive win and third on the season in the Laquerre’s Sports Limited Late Model Feature. Gray picked his way through the field to annex the lead from Matt Ellsworth shortly past the halfway point of the event. Point leader Jason Giguere, who is the only other driver besides Gray to score a win this season, finished second with Ellsworth third. Brian Chaffee and Jack Whynot completed the top five.
Tim Martin of White River Jct. VT once again won the 20-lap Weglarz Property Service Fast Four feature. Martin outdistanced Kevin Harran for the win. Charlie Pickering, Kelly Miller, JR and Don Reynolds completed the top five.
Bobby Bell won the 20-lap KDD NAPA Auto Parts Hornet feature after an exciting battle with Mike Ryan that was cut short when Ryan suffered a mechanical failure while racing side-by-side with Bell. Bell went on to an easy win with Chris LaForest claiming second after making a last lap pass of Traci Nelson, who finished third. Point’s leader Stan Otterman was fourth with Brent Warren fifth.
A special ceremony was held at intermission honoring former competitors from the early years of Bear Ridge Speedway and featuring many restored Bear Ridge race cars. Among the highlights were 1959 and 1964 Vermont State Champion Johnny Gammell of St. Johnsbury, VT, and his restored No. 32 Fitzgerald Ford coupe and a presentation to Owner/Promoter CV Elms commemorating some of his dominating years as a Racer.
Bear Ridge Speedway’s 46th season of stock car racing continues on Saturday, August 31 as Dead River Company presents the Sprint Cars of New England (SCoNE) for the middle round of the annual three-track, three-night SCoNE Triple Crown Series on Labor Day weekend, along with the 99ROCK Weekly Racing Series Modified, Coupe, Late Model, Fast Four, and Hornet, divisions. Special general admission 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 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.
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS – Sabil & Sons Towing Night
99ROCK Weekly Racing Series
Bear Ridge Speedway — Bradford, VT
Saturday, August 24, 2012
Pos.-Driver
Bond Auto DIRTcar Sportsman Modified Feature (40 laps)
1. Jordan Fornwalt
2. Chris Donnelly
3. Mike Gendron
4. Dan Eastman
5. Josh Sunn
6. Derek Barker
7. Jason Gray
8. Kevin Chaffee
9. Mike Dunn
10. Gary Siemons
11. Travis Barker
12. Eddie Patterson
13. Vince Quenneville Jr
14. Robert Tucker
15. Troy Comeau
16. Will Hull
17. Josh Currier
18. T.C. Forward
19. Tim Tucker
20. Adam Pierson
21. Tyler Austin
22. Adam Gage
23. Tim Hodge
24. Bryan King
Wells River Chevrolet Sportsman Coupe Feature (30 laps)
1. Billy Simmons
2. Melvin Pierson
3. Teddy Salomaa
4. Martin Mastic
5. Louie Cadwell
6. Danny Doyle
7. Josh Constantine
8. Josh Harrington
9. Terry Williams
10. Jeff Robbins
11. Jason Colbeth
12. Tom Placey
13. Kane Pike
14. Jason Horniak
15. Steve Ellsworth
16. Buster Kathan
17. Jesse Smith
18. Jeremy Beckley
19. Jerry Catterall
Blackmount Equipment Semi-Feature Winner: Jeff Robbins
USAC Dirt Midget Association powered by Ignite Racing Fuel Feature (20 laps)
1. Adam Pierson
2. Scott Viets
3. Kevin Chaffee
4. Josh Sunn
5. Adam Whitney
6. Mike Chaffee
7. Scott Holcomb
8. Dylan Duhaime
9. Joe Krawiec
10. Randy Cabral
11. Ray Miller
12. Dean Christiansen
13. Jeff Horn
14. Jamie Spaulding
15. Dylan Rock
16. Tom Gallant
17. Chris Donnelly
18. Tyler Rivard
Laquerre’s Sports Limited Late Model Feature (20 laps)
1. Brandon Gray
2. Jason Giguere
3. Matt Ellsworth
4. Brian Chaffee
5. Jack Whynot
6. Jeremy Hodge
7. James Fadden
8. Travis King
DNS: Tina Catterall
Weglarz Property Service Fast Four Feature (20 laps)
1. Tim Martin
2. Kevin Harran
3. Charlie Pickering
4. Kelly Miller Jr
5. Don Reynolds
6. Taylor Morse
KDD NAPA Auto Parts Hornet Feature (20 laps)
1. Bobby Bell
2. Chris LaForest
3. Traci Nelson
4. Stan Otterman
5. Brent Warren
6. Michael Phelps
7. Derek Stearns
8. Cary Moulton
9. Alicia Taylor
10. David Stearns
11. Eric Post
12. Peter West
13. Mike Ryan
14. Joe Kemp
Sources: April May Preston/Bear Ridge Speedway PR