MILLS WINS MODIFIED MAIN EVENT & RETAKES POINT LEAD; SARKISIAN GETS THIRD SPORTSMAN WIN

Bridgeport, NJ – Milford, DE’s Jamie Mills didn’t let a little thing like a broken jaw keep him from visiting the Bridgeport Speedway Victory Lane Saturday night, after winning the twenty-five lap Big Block Modified main event. Mills, the 1995 Bridgeport Modified Champion, broke his jaw in an accident at his race shop on Wednesday and is scheduled for surgery next week. The injured driver picked up his third win of the season and also regained the season point lead from 1999 champ Doug Hoffman. Bob Sarkisian rebounded from his mid-season slump to win the twenty lap Bridgeport Sportsman feature race for his third victory of the 2001 season. In other action at the track, there were two first time winners as two time champion Ron Coverly won for the first time this year, winning the Street Stock fifteen-lap feature race, while John Wagner took his first career win in the Bridgeport Winged Sprint division.

Modified rookie Stephan Durand led the field to the post to start the Big Block Modified main event, and proved to be force to be reckoned with throughout the feature race. The two-time Bridgeport Sportsman champion, driving the Thorton’s Gulf #5, sprinted out to the early lead, controlling the front for the first seven laps. A caution flag on lap seven for Jimmy Reppert, who spun in turn three, brought the field together and closed up the lead Durand had established. Jamie Mills had charged from his sixth starting spot in the Blue Hen Racing #30 and was in second on lap six after a spirited two lap battle with the Hooters #37, driven by Oakford, PA’s Dave Adams. On the restart, Mills made a daring low dive under Mahwah, NJ’s Durand in turn one and held on to the bottom of the raceway to take the lead entering the backstretch. One lap later, Jimmy Chester pushed the new Speed Palace #44 past Durand for second place and the chase was on as Chester starting closing in on Mills. For the next eleven circuits around the wide 5/8th mile oval, Chester put the pressure on Mills, but the Newfield, NJ resident could never get the advantage and Mills had enough to cover every challenge to his lead. Lapped traffic was becoming a factor and Mills was rim-riding the cushion on the outside grove to maintain his hold on first place. Coming down the front straight to complete lap twenty, Chester’s strong run ended with mechanical problems, and he had to pull into the infield, ending his crowd-pleasing night. This turn of events returned Durand to the runner up spot, but there was still more action for the large crowd on hand, as with two to go, Jimmy Horton and Steve Bottcher were battling each other and charged past Durand for second and third spots. This exciting modified feature, which was checkered before 9:30pm, saw Mills hold off the fast closing Horton for his third win of the season, with Bottcher, Durand, and two-time winner Rick Laubach completing the top five. Ricky Ellliott, Chester, and Scott Davis won their qualifying heats, with Tom Pompei taking the consolation race.

Veteran driver Ron Roberts, in his first season of competition in the Bridgeport Sportsman class after years of running a small block modified, started the twenty lap main event in sixth position, and passed Steve Lozorak to take the lead on just the second lap. Roberts was building up a nice lead on the rest of the field, but on lap seven a turn three six-car collision, which saw Chris Christ flip his #30X, negated the lead Roberts had built up. Christ was uninjured in the accident, and when the race restarted, Roberts had immediate mechanical problems that ended his night when front-end problems forced the veteran to the infield on the charge lap. Bob Sarkisian, who started the race in fourteenth, blasted from third to first after Roberts dropped out, and began to pull away from the pack. Sarkisian was flying around the track, and at the halfway signal had built a comfortable lead along with collecting the Scotto’s Pizza Halfway Bonus $100. Lozorak was holding down the runner up spot, until with four laps left, New Castle, DE’s Steve Lindale was able get his way by for second place. At the finish, Sarkisian had his third win of the season, with Lindale coming home second followed by Dan Cogdill in third. Lozorak held on for a fourth place finish with G.R. Smith grabbing fifth. Qualifying heats were won by Dennis Price, Andy Burkhart, and Lozorak, with Cogdill and Brandon Visser taking the two consolation races.

Chip Brown’s bad luck continued in the Bridgeport Winged Sprint A-Main, when the veteran once again broke while leading. This time, Pennsville, NJ’s Brown, who started on the pole, had the left front wheel break off coming down the front stretch to complete lap six. Brown’s misfortune put John Wagner in the lead in his #54 Jasper Engine sprinter. Wagner, who makes the weekly tow from his home in Wyomissing, PA, drove the race of his life to try to get his first win in the Bridgeport Winged Sprint class. On lap thirteen, four-time winner Jeff Mueller hit the outside guardrail in turn two, but was able to restart and finish the race. Wagner had his hands full holding on to the lead, with Mike Piersig trying every angle to get his Comcast #24 past Wagner. Piersig’s race ended with one lap left, when he hit one of the infield marker tires in turn one, shearing off the left front wheel and forcing the former ARDC midget driver to the infield. At the finish, it was Wagner followed across the line by Piersig’s Comcast teammate, Mares Stellfox, with Jeff Foote, 2000 champion Steve Fleetwood, and Mueller completing the top five.

It took Ron Coverly two laps to get by Bud Hayes to take the lead in the fifteen lap Street Stock feature race, but once by Coverly, who started fourth, charged away from the field to try and get his first win of the season. With Coverly holding down the top spot, all eyes were on point leader Rich Reider, who was working his way up from his eleventh starting position. Lap six saw Reider get into third place, but one lap later Reider spun in turn three bringing out the caution flag. On the restart, Coverly was still holding down a comfortable lead over runner-up Wayne Pfeil. With Coverly and Pfeil running one-two, Bill Force was charging back up to the front after pitting on the third lap for a flat tire and getting tangled with Reider in the lap six accident. At the finish, Coverly had his first win in almost two years, with Pfeil and Force right behind him. Phil Retter and Dave Williams filled out the top five.

BRIDGEPORT SPEEDWAY RESULTS - AUGUST 18, 2001

MODIFIEDS

Heat 1 – Elliott, Hoffman, Hallowell, Franz, Lineman, Reppert,

Heat 2 – Chester, Horton, Bottcher, Durand, Kell, Kerr

Heat 3 – Davis, Adams, Mills, Hendrickson, Laubach, Weaver

Consi – Pompei, Hartnett, Hughes, Miller, Edwards, Hatt

Modified Feature – 25 Laps

Jamie Mills, Jimmy Horton, Steve Bottcher, Stephan Durand, Rick Laubach, Wade Hendrickson, Bucky Kell, Dave Adams, Scott Davis, Ryan Kerr, Mike Franz, Doug Hoffman, Kevin Hartnett, Tom Pompei, Gary Edwards, Bill Miller, Ben Hatt, Mike Hughes, Ricky Elliott, Don Hallowell, Paul Weaver, Jimmy Chester, Jimmy Reppert, Bob Lineman

BRIDGEPORT SPORTSMAN

Heat 1 – Price, Ratoskey, Lindale, Christ, Forte, McDonnell

Heat 2 – Burkhart, Roberts, Wescott, Stinson, Sarkisian, Wyant

Heat 3 – Lozorak, Smith, Pursell, Briggs, DiMascio, Lineman Jr,

Consi 1 – Cogdill, Townsend, Harris, P.Collins

Consi 2 – Visser, Barone, K.Collins, Kormann

Bridgeport Sportsman Feature – 20 Laps

Bob Sarkisian, Steve Lindale, Dan Cogdill, Steve Lozorak, G.R. Smith, John Pursell, Richie Pratt, Kevin Collins, Paul Collins, Don Barone, Billy Harris, Andy Burkhart, John Townsend, Eric Kormann, Dennis Price, Robert Wyant, Bill Briggs, B.J. DiMascio, Ron Roberts, Christopher Christ, Frank McDonnell, Bob Lineman Jr, Sam Wescott, Rob Ratoskey, Mark Forte, Rich Stinson, Brandon Visser

BRIDGEPORT WINGED SPRINTS

Heat 1 – Brown, Walter, Piersig, Adams, Brennfleck

Heat 2 – Stellfox, Wagner, Durbin, Butts, Foote

Bridgeport Winged Sprint Feature – 20 Laps

John Wagner, Mares Stellfox, Jeff Foote, Steve Fleetwood, Jeff Mueller, Jim Walter, Bob Adams, Wayne Mauro, Greg Lotosky, Warren Durbin, Duane Lawler, Tim Moore, Mike Piersig, Dave Brown, Chip Brown, Matt Beasley, John Barnett, Jon Brennfleck, Joe Butts Jr, George Coffin Jr.

STREET STOCKS FEATURE – 15 Laps

Ron Coverly, Wayne Pfeil, Bill Force, Phil Retter, Dave Williams, Ron Bradley, Rich Reider, Gary Voss, Ken Moren, Joe Pellegrino, Bud Hayes, Daddy Pfeil, Ron Dirkes, Eric Blakey, John Bilofsky, Chris Vadasz