Laubach Wins Modified Main – Stinson Returns to Victory Lane in Bridgeport Sportsman

Bridgeport, NJ – Rick Laubach, driving the Auger Machine #93 big block modified, won the twenty-five lap main event at the Bridgeport Speedway on Saturday night. Laubach, who makes the weekly trip to South Jersey from his home in Richlandtown, PA, won his second feature of the 2001 season and the third of his career on the big 5/8th mile speedway. In the Bridgeport Sportsman twenty-lap feature, Neshanic Station, NJ’s Rich Stinson returned to the winner’s circle for the first time in the 2001 season, driving the Bruce Ward owned #91. Stinson’s last win at the track was in August of 2000, when he was driving his family-owned #27. Bob “the Lone Ranger” Adams won the twenty lap Bridgeport Winged Sprint A-Main, while Wayne Pfeil took his third victory of the year in the fifteen lap street stock feature

Somerdale, NJ’s Mike Iles paced the twenty-four car big block modified field to start their main event, but outside polesitter Tom Pompei steered his #100 past Iles to grab the early lead. Pompei, representing his hometown of Sellersville, PA, has been running stronger every week and held on to the lead for the first three circuits of the 5/8th mile oval. A yellow flag for the spinning Iles and 1999 champion Doug Hoffman, in the Flurer #60over, tightened up the field and put Laubach, who had taken over the runner-up spot on the second lap, outside Pompei on the restart. On the restart, Laubach and Pompei ran door to door into turn one, with Laubach taking over the lead charging out of turn two down the backstretch. Laubach proceeded to pull away from the field in the Keith Rouse owned #93, while the action behind him kept the modified fans on the edge of their seats. Last week’s winner, 2000 champion Wade Hendrickson, put on quite a show blasting from a dead last starting spot in the Rio Brothers #R10 to pull into ninth place on lap eight. Other action around the track saw Ricky Elliott, Bucky Kell and Steve Bottcher all come from deep in the pack to crack the top five. At the halfway mark, Elliott, who started eleventh in the Overhead Doors #0, was in third place and trying to catch up to second running Scott Kania. While Elliott was in pursuit of Kania, Bottcher, who started sixteenth, and Kell, who worked his way up from nineteenth, were hooked up in a torrid battle for fifth spot. Kell got past Bottcher for fifth and with five to go, charged past Paul Weaver, who was running fourth in the Buff Farms #24. At the finish, Laubach had a ten-car length lead for his second win of the year. Ferndale, PA’s Kania, driving the Hughes Plumbing #4 held on to second place in front of Elliott, Kell and Weaver. Bottcher finished sixth, while Hoffman rebounded from his early miscue to come all the way back for a seventh place finish. Bridgeport Speedway’s all time modified career winner, Jimmy Horton finished eighth with Flemington, NJ’s Rich Polenz and Hendrickson filling out the top ten. Heat race wins went to Iles, Dave Adams, and Horton, with Kell winning the consolation.

Twenty-seven racers took the green in the twenty lap Bridgeport Sportsman feature event and Rich Stinson guided the Speed Palace #91 from his outside front row starting spot to run away from the field in the number one spot. By the third lap, Stinson had over a half straightaway lead over runner up John Pursell, who held on to second place until lap six, when second generation driver Andy Burkhart powered by Pursell after a restart for a caution flag brought out for a turn three accident that included Bob Lineman Jr., Paul Collins, and Richie Pratt. As the race went along, Stinson was never really challenged, but a twelfth starting Don Barone, in the D & R Boats #267, and G.R. Smith, who worked his way up from twentieth in the Statewide #2GR kept the race interesting as they worked their way up through the pack to try to get to the front. With four laps left, Barone worked his way by 2000 champ Mark Forte for third place, while Forte had his hands full trying to hold off the charging Smith. Smith and Forte battled each other clean, with each racer trying different grooves to get past the other with both running within inches of each other. At the finish Stinson had a commanding lead over Burkhart, followed by Barone Forte and Smith. Steve Lindale came home sixth in the NTB #54, with Billy Harris, who had to qualify for the feature by winning the consolation race, finishing seventh. Bob Sarkisian, who returned to action after a three week absence, finished eighth while last week’s winner, Brandon Visser, and Sam Wescott filled out the top ten. Burkhart’s racer failed the post race tech inspection, causing him to be disqualified and being credited with a last place finish, moving the rest of the field up by one position. Burkhart, Dave Czachorowski, and Stinson won the qualifying heats with Harris winning the consolation.

The Bridgeport Winged Sprint A-Main started with Comcast Team cars of Mares Stellfox and Mike Piersig on the front row leading the pack to the green flag. Both racers had the misfortune of having bad luck while leading, with first Piersig and then Stellfox falling out while in first place. Piersig led the first five laps until mechanical problems forced him to retire to the infield. Stellfox took over the lead from her teammate and nine laps later a brush with a lapped car caused enough damage to cause Stellfox to spin out in turn four and be towed back to the pits. Bob Adams, who was hooked up in an early race battle with Jim Walter for third place, was in the right place at the right time and after the Comcast cars were in the pits, Adams was there to take over the lead, and his luck stayed in the good side, giving him the win after holding off the fast closing Jeff Mueller, who returned to competition after missing two shows in the Precise Landscaping #3J. Walter came home third and point leader Jeff Foote finished fourth, while for the second week in a row 2000 champion Steve Fleetwood finished fifth. Walter and Adams won the qualifying heats for the Jasper Racing Engines spec motored winged sprints.

A caution flag for an accident involving Gary Voss and point leader Rich Reider on the first lap, which saw Reider retire from the race, opened up the street stock fifteen-lap feature race. With Reider, who won the last three races in a row for the full bodied stock cars, now out of the race, it gave the other competitors a much better shot at victory lane, and Parksburg, NJ’s Wayne Pfeil, in his #72, saw the opportunity and jumped out to the early lead in the race. Pfeil and two-time champ Ron Coverly battled each other lap after lap, but Pfeil had the answer for every move Coverly could make, to hold down first place. Bill Force, in the Dalakiesa #29, was running in third place but could not make up the ground needed to make a run at Coverly, and at the finish, it was Pfeil, Coverly, and Force with Jack Mullin and Ken Moren completing the top five.

NOTES: The feature events for all four divisions were competitive and entertaining, with none taking longer than nineteen minutes. It was a great job by all the drivers that ran the show…In his victory lane interview with Track Announcer Jeff “Terminator” Ahlum, modified winner Rick Laubach dedicated the win to his friend, the late Ken Wismer Jr, the sportsman driver who passed away in January…The Kids Scooter and Skateboard Giveaway were won by Ashley Royd, age 11, from Merchantville, NJ and Dalton Seifert, a 9 year old from Quakertown, PA. Track owner Peggy Lincoln gets a great charge from the enthusiasm from all the kids when the call is made for them to report to the office for their free ticket to the drawing, which is picked weekly by one of the race winners in victory lane…Coming up August 18th will be Banner Night, when banners for the fans favorite driver will be displayed and judged with prizes being awarded to the winners… This week there will be two nights of action on the big track, when the Bridgeport Sportsman Non-Winners race will be run Friday night along with three divisions of Micro Sprints on the ¼ mile speedway. This Sportsman race is open to any driver who has competed in the division in 2001 and has never won a Bridgeport Sportsman feature. Then on Saturday night, the regular four division show will be run along with another appearance by the Enduro Stocks, with the first race taking the track at 6:00pm.

BRIDGEPORT SPEEDWAY RESULTS – SATURDAY JULY 28, 2001

MODIFIEDS

HEAT 1 – Iles, Laubach, Elliott, Pompei,Polenz, Bottcher,

HEAT 2 – Adams, Hoffman, Chester, Epright, Hirthler, Stonebraker

HEAT 3 – Horton, Mills, Kania, Weaver, Voss, Reppert

CONSI – Kell, Schultz, Franz, Davis, Watt, Cox

MODIFIED FEATURE – 25 LAPS

Rick Laubach, Scott Kania, Ricky Elliott, Bucky Kell, Paul Weaver, Steve Bottcher, Doug Hoffman, Jimmy Horton, Rich Polenz, Wade Hendrickson, Jamie Mills, Jared Schultz, Scott Davis, Dave Stonebraker, Kevin Hirthler, Mike Iles, Mike Franz, Ryan Watt, Clyde Cox, Jimmy Reppert, Barry Voss, Tom Pompei, Dave Adams, Jimmy Chester, Fritz Epright

BRIDGEPORT SPORTSMAN

HEAT 1 – Burkhart, Kormann, Lineman Jr, Briggs, Clark, B.Horton

HEAT 2 – D.Czachorowski, Lindale, Pursell, DiMascio, Fucilli, Poole

HEAT 3 – Stinson, Forte, P.Collins, Barone, Sarkisian, Cogdill

CONSI – Harris, Wescott, Smith, Ratoskey, Roberts, K.Collins, Visser, Christman

BRIDGEPORT SPORTSMAN FEATURE – 20 LAPS

Rich Stinson, Don Barone, Mark Forte, GR Smith, Steve Lindale, Bill Harris, Bob Sarkisian, Brandon Visser, Sam Wescott, Dan Cogdill, John Pursell, Bill Briggs, Rob Ratoskey, Ron Roberts, Bob Lineman Jr, Eric Kormann, Walt Clark, Dave Czachorowski, Chris Christ, Kevin Collins, Brian Fucilli, Bill Horton, Terry Poole, BJ DiMascio, Paul Collins, Richie Pratt

Bridgeport Winged Sprints

HEAT 1 – walters, Stellfox, Mueller, Foote

HEAT 2 – Adams, Piersig, Fleetwood, Durbin

BRIDGEPORT WINGED SPRINT FEATURE – 20 LAPS

Bob Adams, Jeff Mueller, Jim Walter, Jeff Foote, Steve Fleetwood, Wayne Mauro, Warren Durbin, George Coffin, Keith Anderson, Mares Stellfox, John Wagner, Mike Piersig, Hank Trum

DNS – Chip Brown

STREET STOCK FEATURE – 15 LAPS

Wayne Pfeil, Ron Coverly, Bill Force, Jack Mullin, Ken Moren, Daddy Pfeil, Ron Dirkes, Tom Anderson, Frank Rowan, Bud Hayes, Gary Voss, Rich Reider DNS – Tim Walker

Next Events: Fri. Aug 3 7:30 – Little Bridgeport ¼ Mile 125, 250, 600cc Micro Sprints + Bridgeport Sportsman Non Winners Race on the 5/8th mile Saturday Aug 4, 6:00 – Modifieds(25 Laps), Bridgeport Sportsman(20 Laps), Bridgeport Winged Sprints(20 Laps), Street Stocks(15 Laps) + Enduro Stocks