WADE HENDRICKSON MAKES IT TWO IN A ROW IN BRIDGEPORT MODIFIED ACTION

Bridgeport, NJ – It’s beginning to look a lot like the year 2000 to the big block modified competitors at Bridgeport Speedway, with Lawrenceville, NJ’s Wade Hendrickson winning the twenty-five lap main event on Saturday night. It was Hendrickson’s second win in a row, as well as his third victory in the last four shows, and to everyone behind him it is very reminiscent of the 2000 season when the “Flying Farmer” won a record five races in a row at New Jersey’s fastest dirt track. In other action at the track, two second generation drivers won the sportsman and sprint features, as Richie Pratt Jr. took the twenty lap sportsman feature and Matt Beasley won the Bridgeport Sprint A-Main.

After a first lap accident in turn two moved a few cars to the rear of the field to start the modified feature, Milford, DE’s Jamie Mills made a couple of daring moves to blast from his ninth starting spot to first place on lap two. Mills was out front, but could not get away from the Auger Machinery #93 driven by Rick Laubach, who stayed right on the rear bumper of the 1995 Bridgeport Modified champion. While Laubach was pressuring Mills, another battle was being waged for third place as Wade Hendrickson and Doug Hoffman were running door to door for the better part of two laps. The two former modified champs raced each other all around the raceway, with 2000 champ Hendrickson taking third place by lap five. On the next lap, Laubach dove under Mills in turn one, and took over the lead exiting turn two. Richlandtown, PA’s Laubach was really flying around the speedway and in a little more than a lap had built a commanding lead over the field, but a lap ten tangle with a lapped car sent the fastest car on the track to the pits for the night. This development put the lead back in the hands of Mills, driving his father’s Blue Hen Racing #30, who held on to the lead for the next seven laps. Lap seventeen saw Hendrickson make his move on Mills, as he pulled even with the leader on the backstretch and entering turn three. The two ran side by side through the turns and coming down the front straight, Hendrickson pulled ahead to lead lap eighteen. A caution period with two to go tightened up the field, giving Mills one last chance at the lead, and while he was able to pull even with Hendrickson in the turns, the Rio Brothers #R10 had too much horsepower getting to the new Bridgeport clay surface, and Hendrickson went on for his third win of the season. Behind Hendrickson and Mills, Hoffman, Duane Howard, and Jimmy Horton filled out the top five of the main event. Hendrickson, Mills, and Howard won the eight lap qualifying heats, with Ricky Elliott winning the consolation race in the Trenton Mack #704.

Jim Britt, driving his own #118, charged out to lead the sportsman feature from his outside pole position start, and held on to the top spot for the first two laps. Richie Pratt, driving the Klair #34, had other ideas and pulled into the runner up spot on the first lap, after starting the race in sixth place. A yellow flag for Bob Cook on lap two gave Pratt the opportunity he needed, and on the restart he charged past Britt for the lead. Two laps later, Billy Harris, who is the only repeat winner in the sportsman class, pushed the Haldeman Ford #3 past Britt for second, and began to chase down Pratt. What happened in the next ten laps made the sportsman feature possibly one of the best of the year, as Harris and Pratt ran door to door for lap after lap, with each young driver taking turns running different grooves at different times. At the halfway mark, Harris got past Pratt for the lead, but Pratt never let Harris get too far away. With five to go Pratt dove low into turn one under Harris, who was running the high groove, and got enough bite through the turns to take the lead as the two racers ran down the back straight. While everyone had to be watching this super battle for the lead, Andy Burkhart and last week’s winner, Ron Roberts were putting on a similar display in a fight for third place. At the checkered flag, Pratt had his first win of the year with Harris right on his tail, while Burkhart held off Roberts for third place. Milford, DE’s Judd Mills, in his first year of competition in the sportsman division, had his best finish yet, coming home in fifth. Pratt, Bob Sarkisian, and Britt won the qualifying heats, while Tom Miller and Joe Masiado won the consolation races.

The Bridgeport Jasper Racing Engines Winged Sprint A Main saw King of Prussia, PA’s Matt Beasley rocket out to the lead and never look back. Beasley, driving the Norristown Auto Parts #12, went on to blister the field in a race that went non-stop for the twenty laps. While Beasley was flying around the new clay in record setting fashion, Jeff Mueller was back in his groove, charging from his fifth starting spot to the runner up position by lap nine using the cushion of the high groove. At the halfway mark, Beasley had a straightaway lead, but Mueller was slowly cutting into that margin. With five to go, Beasley’s lead was cut in half, but it was still enough for the youngster to get his first win of the season. Mueller was closing in fast at the finish, with Warren Durbin steering the Lucas Electric #69 to a third place finish. One time winner Shane Smith and Joe Butts Jr. completed the top five. The entire race was completed in a record setting six minutes and forty-eight seconds, which translates into an average speed of a little over 110mph!

BRIDGEPORT SPEEDWAY RESULTS – SATURDAY APRIL 27, 2002

MODIFIEDS

Heat 1 – Hendrickson, Horton, Dekutoski, Radd, Barone, Glisson,

Heat 2 – Mills, J.Chester, Ratoskey, Franz, Schweibinz, Stonebraker

Heat 3 – Howard, Laubach, Weaver, Hoffman, Hirthler, Bottcher

Consi – Elliott, Infante, Hatt, Davis, Adams, Hieber

Modified Feature – 25 Laps

Wade Hendrickson, Jamie Mills, Doug Hoffman, Duane Howard, Jimmy Horton, Don Radd, Dave Adams, Ricky Elliott, Jimmy Chester, Steve Bottcher, Carmine Infante, Kevin Hirthler, Ben Hatt, Paul Weaver, Don Barone, Danny Hieber, Dave Stonebraker, Scott Davis, Mike Franz, Joe Dekutoski, Rick Laubach, Butch Glisson, Bud Schweibinz, Rob Ratoskey

LAP LEADERS- Dekutoski-1, Laubach-4, Mills-12, Hendrickson-8

SPORTSMAN

Heat 1 – Pratt, Sadler, Roberts, Osmun, Pursell, Mills

Heat 2 – Sarkisian, Pierce, K.Collins, Cook, Burkhart, Horton

Heat 3 – Britt, Lileck, McDonnell, Harris, Lozorak, Forte

Consi 1 – Miller, Klingmeyer, Wescott, Hirthler

Consi 2 – Masiado, Cogdill, Lindale, Briggs

Sportsman Feature – 20 Laps

Richie Pratt, Billy Harris, Andy Burkhart, Ron Roberts, Judd Mills, Jim Britt, Kevin Collins, Mark Forte, Bob Lileck, Dan Cogdill, Jay Horton, Steve Lozorak, Willie Osmun, Bill Briggs, Sam Wescott, Tom Miller, Blaine Sadler Jr, Bob Cook, Joe Masiado, John Pursell, Bob Sarkisian, Bruce Hirthler, Bill Klingmeyer, Frank McDonnell, Steve Lindale DQ-Rob Pierce

LAP LEADERS: Britt-2, Harris-5, Pratt-13

BRIDGEPORT JASPER RACING ENGINES WINGED SPRINTS

Heat 1 – Beasley, Durbin, Schmidt, Wyers, Mueller, Howe

Heat 2 – Strubble, Smith, Brown, Nagy, Butts, Anderson

Bridgeport Sprint A-Main – 20 Laps

Matt Beasley, Jeff Mueller, Warren Durbin, Shane Smith, Joe Butts Jr, Steve Strubble, Chip Brown, Ron Karnbach, Steve Schmidt, Keith Anderson, John Wyers, Joe Howe, Garry Mondschein, Mike Donaghy, Greg Lotosky, Jack Curtis, Mares Stellfox, Mike Piersig

LAP LEADERS: Beasley-20