HOFFMAN FINISHES FIRST AND THIRD IN MODIFIED TWIN TWENTIES TO WIN CHAMPIONSHIP

Bridgeport, NJ – It was “Championship Night” at Bridgeport Speedway on Saturday night, and four divisions of racing action that included five feature races did nothing but put the fans in the stands on the edge of their seats for most of the evening. With Twin Twenties on tap for the Big Block Modifieds, the action on the track was unbelievable when six drivers had a shot at the championship, with just forty-two markers separating the top five in the points chase. Two-time modified champion Doug Hoffman, driving his own #60 OVER, finished the night with a win and a third place in the two modified features, and with double points on the line in each event, left the track at the end of the night with his third Bridgeport Modified Championship. In the Bridgeport Sportsman division, Don Barone drove the D &R Boats #267 to victory in the twenty-lap feature, while G. R. Smith clinched the season championship with his fourth place finish. Street Stock driver Rich Reider had a big night, winning the fifteen-lap feature along with becoming the 2001 Bridgeport Street Stock champion in the Seven Bridges Construction #1. Monroeville, NJ’s Jeff Foote became the second Bridgeport Winged Sprint champion after finishing third in the twenty lap A-Main, while Jeff Mueller took home his fifth victory of the season in his Precise Landscaping #3J Jasper Engine sprinter.

With the night’s drama unfolding in the Big Block Modified class, several developments during the program even heightened the intensity and the pressure felt in the pits. Seven-time champion Jimmy Horton started the night as the points leader, but when his car arrived at the track late, in put Bridgeport’s all-time win leader at a severe disadvantage, having to qualify out of the consolation race. Milford, DE’s Jamie Mills, who entered the track as runner up to Horton in the points chase, got caught in a heat race accident that forced him to the pits, also relegating the 1995 point champ to qualify from the consi. In the first twenty lapper, Mike Franz had the Franz Garage #21 out to the early lead, until Lehighton, PA’s Steve Bottcher used the outside groove in turns one and two to take over the top spot after a lap five restart. Bottcher had the Zellers #31 really hooked to the track, and went the rest of the way for his second win of the season. The points battle for the Modified crown was tightened even more when Horton was eliminated from the race and the Miles Concrete #901 had to be towed back to the pits after a five car accident in turn four of the first lap. Horton’s misfortune, combined with Mills fifth place finish and Hoffman’s third place finish put Mills in the point lead by five points over Hoffman. Last week’s winner, Jimmy Chester brought the Speed Palace #44 home in second place, while 2000 Champ Wade Hendrickson finished fourth.

The second twenty-lap Modified feature started with polesitter Rich Polenz grabbing the lead for the first three laps, while Mills, who started the race as the point leader by just five points over Hoffman, was blasting up from his eighth starting position to contend for the lead. Horton’s night and shot at the championship ended on the third lap, when once again he got caught up in an accident that saw the #901 towed back to the pits for the second time. Mills took the lead on the next lap, and tried to pull away from the field, including Hoffman, who was right behind him, after starting tenth. Hoffman chased Mills for the next three laps, but on a lap seven restart after a caution flag for Butch Glisson, Hoffman worked his way by Mills to take the lead for good. Mills made attempt after attempt to try and cut down Hoffman’s lead, but Hoffman’s #60 was locked to the smooth track set up by the track crew and was never challenged for the rest of the race. At the finish, Hoffman had the win and the point championship by just two points over runner up Mills. Ricky Elliott rebounded from a tough first feature to come back and grab a third place finish in the second one, with Bucky Kell and Jimmy Chester filling out the top five. “Man, I didn’t think we would be able to pull this off, but when they said it was twin 20’s with double points, we had a shot at it, after getting behind a couple of weeks ago. I figured we would have to just keep working at it, and thanks to my crew, we pulled it off! This car was flawless for the second feature. You can’t end the season anymore exciting that the way it came down here at Bridgeport,” said the happy 2001 Bridgeport Speedway Modified Champion, Doug Hoffman, in Victory Lane after the race.

The Bridgeport Sportsman division didn’t have the high drama of such a tight point race like the modifieds, but the night began with three drivers in the running for the title and with double points at stake, the Sportsman feature event was a real barnburner! Second year driver Sam Wescott started the race in tenth place and in third position in the points standings, and took the lead from Program Dynamics Most Popular Sportsman Driver, Ron Roberts on lap five. With Wescott holding off seasoned veteran Roberts for the lead, all eyes were on G.R. Smith and Steve Lindale, who were one-two in the points and battling up through the field. Smith and Lindale started the race in thirteenth and eleventh, respectively, and the two young drivers were not holding back anything as they raced to the front. After a couple of exciting three wide moves, Smith finally got past Lindale on the ninth lap, and settled into the fourth position. With that part of the race seemingly settled, the action for the lead again began to heat up, as Don Barone began really putting the pressure on Wescott. At the halfway mark, Wescott was still in the lead, but with five to go, Barone made his final charge and worked past Wescott for the lead. Barone went the rest of the way for his first win of the season, with Wescott finishing second in front of a fast closing Brandon Visser. Smith finished fourth to clinch his first point championship, with nineteenth starting Bill Klingmeyer finishing fifth and Lindale coming home sixth. Roberts, Bob Sarkisian, and Billy Harris won the qualifying heat races, with Klingmeyer taking the consolation race.

When the Street Stock feature began, Wayne Pfeil was close enough to point leader Rich Reider to be able to overtake Reider and finish the season as the point champ, but Reider made sure that was not a possibility, as he blew through the field from his ninth starting spot to take the lead from Bill Force Sr. on the fourth lap. Mays Landing, NJ’s Reider was flying around the track in the Wawa #1, and neither Pfeil nor 2000 champ Mike Burns had a chance at the lead while Reider was running. For Reider and the rest of the Thomas team, they dominated the race to put an exclamation point on their season that saw them win eight times on the way to the championship. Burns, out for only the second time in his new #11, was again a factor in the race, coming from thirteenth place to finish second. Pfeil, who started the race in twelfth, ended his first full season of racing at Bridgeport with a third place finish. Pfeil was the runner up in the points chase after winning five times in 2001. Force and Eric Blakey completed the top five.

The Bridgeport Winged Sprint class was the only division where the season championship was pretty much locked up before the night’s racing, with Jeff Foote holding a commanding eighty-seven point lead at the start. The twenty lap A-Main saw Mares Stellfox take off from pole to lead the first two circuits around the big five-eighth mile clay oval, with Jeff Mueller right behind, after starting sixth. Mueller was not to be denied his fifth win of the season, and the Somerset, NJ driver shot past Stellfox for the lead on the third lap. One lap later, Stellfox retired from the event with mechanical problems, giving the runner up spot to the much improved Joe Butts Jr. in the B & F Towing #29. While Butts was trying to get some bite in the high groove around the track to take away Mueller’s lead, point leader Foote settled into the third position after starting fifth. Butts tried for lap after lap to get by Mueller, but the best he could do is get along side, after entering the turns with so much momentum from driving flat out into the corner. Each time, Mueller would have enough drive out of the corner to hold off the young charger, and Mueller went the rest of the way for the win, with Butts right behind and Foote in third. Chip Brown and Warren Durbin completed the top five.

NOTES: What a great night of racing at New Jersey’s fastest dirt track, with every feature jammed with action and great displays of driving talent. The longest feature of the night was the sprint A-Main, which took just twenty-five minutes. The complete four division five feature program was over at just a tick after 10:30pm. The fans that persevered with the chilly night air saw one heck of a show…Coming up this week at Bridgeport will be a regular three division show of micro sprint racing on the ¼ mile oval on Friday night, followed by another big show on Saturday night that features the 358 modifieds, along with open competition sportsman and street stocks, Bridgeport Winged Sprints, enduro stocks, and an appearance by the Garden State Vintage Stock Car Club. This fall season opener has a starting time of 4pm, with pit gates opening at 1:30, with the front gates opening one hour later. Any Tri-Track or DIRT legal 358 modified is welcome to come, with 2450lbs as the minimum weight specification. No pit license is required for the fall shows, to entice outsiders to participate. For more information, call the track office at 856-467-4408 during regular business hours.

BRIDGEPORT SPEEDWAY RESULTS – SATURDAY 9-29-01

MODIFIEDS

HEAT 1 – Chester, Mullin, Bottcher, Polenz, Stonebraker, Watkins

HEAT 2 – Hendrickson, Pompei, Adams, Elliott, Radd, Durand

HEAT 3 – Hoffman, DeSantis, Kell, Franz, Shaffer, Weaver

CONSI – Mills, Kania, Glisson, Schweibinz, Horton, Voss

MODIFIED FEATURE 1 – 20 LAPS

Steve Bottcher, Jimmy Chester, Doug Hoffman, Wade Hendrickson, Jamie Mills, Bucky Kell, Dave Adams, Ricky Elliott, Paul Weaver, Rick Shaffer, Craig Mullins, Rich Polenz, Bud Schweibinz, Mike Illes, Bobby Watkins, Barry Voss, Dave Stonebraker, Mike Franz, Scott Kania, Stephan Durand, Butch Glisson, Tom Pompei, Jimmy Horton, Donnie Radd

MODIFIED FEATURE 2 – 20 LAPS

Doug Hoffman, Jamie Mills, Ricky Elliott, Bucky Kell, Jimmy Chester, Scott Kania, Rich Polenz, Steve Bottcher, Mike Illes, Wade Hendrickson, Bud Schweibinz, Paul Weaver, Rick Shaffer, Stephan Durand, Craig Mullins, Dave Adams, Tom Pompei, Bobby Watkins, Jim Meitzler, Dave Stonebraker, Butch Glisson, Barry Voss, Jimmy Horton, John Ryngarson

2001 MODIFIED CHAMPION – DOUG HOFFMAN

BRIDGEPORT SPORTSMAN

HEAT 1 – Roberts, Pursell, Lindale, Briggs, Smith, Poole

HEAT 2 – Sarkisian, McDonnell, Visser, Wescott, Cogdill, Burkhart

HEAT 3 – Harris, Dekutoski, Barone, Lineman, Forte, Parker

CONSI – Klingmeyer, Beaver, Cook, Miller, Sadler, Christ, Harrison, B.Horton

BRIDGEPORT SPORTSMAN FEATURE – 20 LAPS

Don Barone, Sam Wescott, Brandon Visser, G.R. Smith, Bill Klingmeyer, Steve Lindale, Mark Forte, Bill Harris, Frank McDonnell, Ron Roberts, Joe Dekutoski, Bob Sarkisian, Bill Briggs, Jeff Parker, Andy Burkhart, Bob Cook, Blaine Sadler Jr, Tom Miller, Bill Horton, Rick Beavers, Steve Harrison, John Pursell, Christopher Christ, Bob Lineman Jr., Dan Cogdill, Skip Poole

2001 BRIDGEPORT SPORTSMAN CHAMPION – G. R. SMITH

BRIDGEPORT WINGED SPRINT FEATURE – 20 LAPS

Jeff Mueller, Joe Butts Jr., Jeff Foote, Chip Brown, Warren Durbin, Duane Lawler, Tim Moore, Bob Adams, Jack Curtis, Matt Beasley, Mitch Bodine, Greg Lotoski, Mike Piersig, Mares Stellfox DNS – John Wagner

2001 BRIDGEPORT WINGED SPRINT CHAMPION – JEFF FOOTE

STREET STOCK FEATURE – 15 LAPS

Rich Reider, Mike Burns, Wayne Pfeil, Bill Force Sr., Eric Blakey, Bud Hayes, Joe Pellegrino, Ken Moren, Ron Dirkes, Frank Rowan, Ron Bradley, Matt Rodgers, Jack Mullin, Tim Walker

2001 STREET STOCK CHAMPION – RICH REIDER