BRETT HEARN GIVES COMMAND PERFORMANCE, WINS USNA GARDEN STATE 200 AT BRIDGEPORT SPEEDWAY
SYRACUSE, NY…..Brett Hearn rebounded from mechanical breakdowns in the Syracuse 200 and dominated the 30-car field at Bridgeport Speedway to win the United Speedways of North America (USNA) Garden State 200. The race was the second of the 11-race USNA season, and the first of three USNA events to be held at Bridgeport in the year 2000.
Starting third on the grid, Hearn moved into the lead before ten laps were completed, passing pole sitter Jamie Mills. Hearn opened up a huge lead during a long session of green flag laps that lasted until lap 67. Behind Hearn and Mills, there was a tremendous fight for position between Billy Decker, Jack Johnson, and Roger Laureno, as they swapped positions back and forth. Coming up to join in the battle was Jimmy Horton, who had started back in the 11th position.
With Hearn setting a torrid pace in the early going, several contenders fell down one lap to the lead pace as Hearn expertly weaved through heavy traffic. Among those falling down a lap were Kenny Brightbill and Syracuse 200 winner Dave Camara, the point leader coming into the Garden State 200. By the lap 75 mark, only twelve cars remained on the lead lap as Hearn continued to open up his lead by as much as eleven seconds over Mills.
Horton came on strong in the latter portion of the first half of the 200-lap main, moving himself into the top five by the halfway break at lap 100. In the second segment of the event, Horton moved into the second position as Mills faded back through the field. Jack Johnson was fighting to stay in the lead pack after his crew had discovered a broken panhard bar during the 15-minute break between segments. Once again, Hearn continued his furious pace at the front of the field, lapping into the top ten.
Billy Decker, who had been solidly in the top five all race long, fell off the pace and took his New England Financial machine to the pits on lap 130. As Horton chased down Hearn in traffic, Ricky Elliott came on strong, moving in with Craig Von Dohren to battle with Jack Johnson. Roger Laureno, meanwhile, closed in on and passed Mills, who continued to slip back in the pack.
A crash by Rich Eurich in turn three ended another long session of green flag laps and backed Hearn up to the rest of the field for a restart with less than twenty laps to go. Horton’s car was getting stronger as he was able to clear lapped traffic and stay within sight of Hearn. As the pair continued back into heavy traffic, Horton closed in on Hearn, with Laureno not too far behind. Hearn benefited from two late race restarts that cleared traffic away and held off Horton in the two lap dash to the finish to claim the win. Horton was followed closely by Laureno, with Mills holding to fourth at the checkers. Craig Von Dohren was fifth, and the top ten was completed by Elliott, Jack Johnson, Mith Gibbs, Dave Camara, and Jeff Heotzler.
Jamie Mills’ lap at 23.406 seconds was good enough to earn him the M2 Race Systems Pole Award and the $750 cash prize. Six qualifying heats were held, with wins going to Brian Swartzlander, Hearn, Gibbs, Heotzler, Laureno, and Decker. The two consolation races were won by Jack Cottrell and Duane Howard.
The next race on the USNA schedule will be the Green Mountain 200 at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in Fair Haven, VT, on Saturday, June 17.
RACE SUMMARY-USNA GARDEN STATE 200
BRIDGEPORT SPEEDWAY – SATURDAY, JUNE 10, 2000
HEAT RACE WINNERS: Brian Swartzlander, Brett Hearn, Mitch Gibbs, Jeff Heotzler, Roger Laureno, Billy Decker.
CONSOLATION RACE WINNERS: Jack Cottrell, Duane Howard.
FEATURE: (200 LAPS) – BRETT HEARN, Jimmy Horton, Roger Laureno, Jamie Mills, Craig Von Dohren, Ricky Elliott, Jack Johnson, Mitch Gibbs, Dave Camara, Jeff Heotzler, Steve Bottcher, Jimmy Chester, Kenny Brightbill, Jack Cottrell, Jeff Trombley, Mike Sena, Brian Swartzlander, Wade Hendrickson, Eddie Marshall, Bucky Kell, Rich Eurich, Billy Decker, Richie Pratt, Kevin Hirthler, Dave Adams, Bill Tanner, Duane Howard, Scott Kania, Tom Hager, Rick Laubach.