Carlson Out Duels Hull for His Fourth Win of the Season
BRADFORD, VT……
USAC DIRT MIDGET ASSOCIATION RACE RESULTS: September 5, 2020 – Bradford, Vermont –
Bear Ridge Speedway
Carlson out duels Hull for his fourth win of the season.
Seth Carlson became the first driver to win two straight features with the USAC DMA midgets this year as he and teammate Will Hull went toe to toe for 25 laps at Bear Ridge Speedway Saturday night. The win was Carlson’s fourth of the season and solidified his point lead heading into the DMA finale on September 19.
Tim West and Floyd Billington shared the front row at the start with Billington jumping out into the lead. Trouble began on lap two when Melvin Pierson flipped. Starting in fifth position, Pierson roared into the top three and was challenging for third on lap two when he caught a competitor’s wheel and flipped in turn four. Pierson was unhurt in the incident.
After the red flag, the race re-started with Billington in the lead. As has been the case all year, Hull and Carlson were on the move from the green flag, neither wanting to let the other out of their sight. Hull quickly broke into the top five, taking second on lap three and began to chase down leader Brandon Piastka. Piastka had taken first from Billington to lead laps three and four before yielding to Hull on lap five. Carlson was only slightly behind his teammate.
Using the middle groove on a dust-free race track Carlson was fifth on lap four, third on lap five and then took second from Piastka on lap seven. Carlson began to chip away at Hull’s lead and when he finally caught the leader the race was on. With Hull down low and Carlson up a groove, the two officially traded the lead three times but at times one would inch past the other over the course of a lap. The final pass occurred on lap fifteen when the two leaders split the lapped car of Wayne Koehler. Carlson on the high side, Hull low. Carlson emerged with the lead that he never relinquished. While Hull was unable to get back by Carlson, he stayed within close range for the remainder of the feature. The two cars just about equal, lap times between the two differed slightly over the course of the feature. Miller Racing teammates Joe Krawiec and Justin Phillips had worked their way into the top five and pressured Piastka in another Ray Miller Racing car for third. Krawiec took third on lap eleven while Phillips had to work a little harder, finally overtaking Piastka on lap twenty. Scott Holcomb stepped into the Matczak number 2 earlier this season and has steadily improved. Two weeks ago Holcomb had to drop out of the feature while leading with an overheating engine. With that issue fixed Holcomb climbed from his thirteenth place starting spot methodically passing the competition before breaking into the top five on 21. The top five at the end were Carlson, Hull, Krawiec, Phillips, and Holcomb.
Carlson’s night wasn’t perfect. The engine shut off while he took the checkered flag to win heat race number one. A faulty ignition switch was found to be the cause. After a quick repair, the Matczak number four was ready for the feature. When things are going good, racing is fun and Carlson is having fun this year. “The race was really close between Will and I. Especially when we got up into lapped traffic but it was a blast,” said Carlson after his win. Carlson heads into the USAC DMA midgets final race with the point lead as he looks to lock up his first championship with the club.
Third place finisher Joe Krawiec was satisfied and optimistic. “After a short season with both the delayed start due to COVID and me taking a few weeks off, I feel the Miller Racing #1B is finally hitting it’s stride and showing what we’ve got. Once again Butch and crew gave us a great track throughout the night. Hopefully, we can keep the momentum up and finish the season strong.”
Seymour Performance Products heat race winners were Brandon Piastka and Seth Carlson. The USAC DMA midgets will be back at Bear Ridge Speedway on Saturday, September 19 for the DMA’s final race of the 2020 season.
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Seth Carlson (#4 Matczak)
SECOND HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Brandon Piastka (#7 Miller)
FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Seth Carlson 2. Will Hull 3. Joe Krawiec 4. Justin Phillips 5. Scott Holcomb 6. Manny Dias 7. Brandon Piastka 8. Justin Sheridan 9. Jeff Horn 10. Floyd Billington 11. Tim West 12. Wayne Koehler 13. Darren Jacobs 14. Melvin Pierson 15. Adam Whitney
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: 1-2 Floyd Billington, 3-4 Brandon Piastka, 5-12 Will Hull, 13 Seth Carlson, 14 Will Hull, 15-25 Seth Carlson
NEXT USAC DMA MIDGET RACE: September 19 – Bradford, VT– Bear Ridge Speedway
Sources: John DaDalt/USAC DMA PR