2000 MODIFIED CHAMP WADE HENDRICKSON ROARS BACK INTO VICTORY LANE

Bridgeport, NJ – For the first time since April 1st of this year, Lawrenceville, NJ’s Wade Hendrickson won the big block modified feature race at New Jersey’s fastest dirt track, Bridgeport Speedway. Hendrickson, wheeling the Rio Brothers #R10, took the lead on lucky lap thirteen, after starting eighth in the twenty-five lap main event. For the second week in a row, Brandon Visser won the twenty lap Bridgeport Sportsman race in the WXCY #103.7. The street stocks, which ran their regular race along with the postponed feature from last week, saw the same result as Mays Landing, NJ’s Rich Reider doubled up, winning both fifteen lap main events. Wayne Mauro, driving out of Waretown, NJ, was in victory lane for the second time this season, winning the twenty-lap Bridgeport Winged Sprint A-Main.

Kevin Hirthler, in the #117, started on the pole and charged out to the lead to start the twenty-five lap big block Modified feature race. With Hirthler holding down the front spot, Hendrickson was blasting from his eighth starting spot and fighting his way to the front. By the second lap, Hendrickson was already in third place and by all indications was going to take the lead as quickly as possible. Leader Hirthler and runner-up Tom Pompei had other intentions though, and gave Hendrickson all the fight that they could muster, with Pompei holding off Hendrickson for eleven laps. Pompei, quite possibly running the best race of his career in modified action on the 5/8th mile South Jersey speedway, had his luck run out during a lap twelve caution period, when a flat tire forced him to the pits. On the restart, Hirthler led Hendrickson for one more lap, when Hendrickson slid his Teo chassis by Hithler in turn one. Hendrickson then proceeded to pull away from the field, and with five to go, had actually built up almost a full straightaway lead. The action behind Hendrickson was furious, with three and four car battles for position all over the speedway. 1999 Modified champ Doug Hoffman was in third spot and all over Hirthler in an effort to wrestle away the runner-up position, and after a lap twenty-four caution set up a one lap shoot out, Hoffman worked his way past to grab second place. With Starter Jimmy Phillips Jr. waving the double checkered flags, Hendrickson had made his triumphant return to victory lane, with Hoffman right behind. Hirthler held on for third, while Bucky Kell, in the Statewide #2GR, finished fourth, with Flemington, NJ’s Rich Polenz having his best finish of the season, coming home in fifth. After the race Hendrickson said, “I think we finally got the monkey off our back tonight! We’ve struggled and the track changes week to week, but we’ve all got to run on the same track so you just have to put your nose to the grindstone. The Rio team really put a great car under me tonight. Earlier tonight Frank Rio Jr. told me ‘Look, enough of the yahooing- you got to drive in straight and drive it out straight, you got to learn the slicker track driving style, that’s all there is to it.’ And he was right.” In his battle with Pompei, Hendrickson had this to say, “ Tom was running a good race, but I saw that he had a tire going down and I knew that if I took my time I’d be able to get him.” Qualifying heats for the modifieds were won by Steve Bottcher, Rick Laubach, and Polenz, while Dave Stonebraker took the consolation race.

The Bridgeport Sportsman feature race saw 2000 champ Mark Forte charge into the lead on lap three after starting eighth, but the all-time Bridgeport Sportsman feature winner’s bad luck continued, when a seven car melee in turn one forced the leader to spin. With seven cars out of the way, Havre-de-Grace, MD’s Visser, who started the race in nineteenth after qualifying through the consolation, moved into the lead and never looked back. With five to go, Visser had a ten car length lead over second place runner Don Barone, and was on his way to his third career and second win in a row. Barone held on to second over a fast closing Bob Lineman Jr. with Dan Cogdill and Billy Harris filling out the top five. Bill Briggs, Forte, and Lineman won the qualifying heats, with Visser and Andy Burkhart taking the consolation events.

The first action on the track after warm-ups was the rescheduled street stock feature from last week, and any early arriving fans were treated to a real barnburner of a race. Bill Force jumped out to the early lead after starting fourth, with four cars breathing right down his neck. First, three time champ Ron Coverly tried to grab the lead from Force, and then two-time winner Wayne Pfeil worked his way by Coverly and stuck the nose of his #72 right on the back bumper of Force’s Dalakiesa owned #29. Right behind Force and Pfeil, Coverly, Reider, and Phil Retter were close enough to where a five car lead change was possible! Pfeil actually worked his way by Force to lead lap twelve, but Force was able to grab the lead back on the next lap. As exciting as all this action was, it got even better as Rich Reider, in the #1, turned on the afterburners and charged past Pfeil and then Force to take the lead. Reider led the last two laps for his fourth win of the season, while Force and Pfeil ran nose to tail at the finish for second and third. Coverly and Dave Williams completed the top five.

The second street stock feature didn’t quite have the intensity of the first one, but it still had the fans interest as in this one first Wayne Pfeil and then Phil Retter controlled the point, but were never able to pull away and mount any substantial lead. Again Reider never let the leaders get too far away , and this time he blasted out to the lead one lap earlier than in the first feature. While the winner was the same in this race, second and third spots were swapped, as in this one Pfeil finished in the runner-up spot with Force coming home third. Coverly had his second fourth place finish of the day, with Bud Hayes coming home fifth.

Two-time winner Mares Stellfox pulled out to the early lead in the Bridgeport Winged Sprint race, and led for four laps of the twenty lap A-Main. After a 360-degree spin in turn two, Stellfox got the out of control racer pointed in the right direction and continued, dropping back to fifth place. When Stellfox spun, Wayne Mauro took over the lead in his #101, and began to build a lead over the rest of the field. While Mauro was leading, the action was hot behind him as point leader Jeff Foote and Bob “the Lone Ranger” Adams were hooked up in a torrid battle for third place and New Egypt, NJ’s Warren Durbin, in the Lucas Electric #69, was charging through the pack after spinning out on the first lap. At the five to go signal, Mauro had a comfortable lead over runner up Jim Walters, while Durbin had marched back to third place. After getting the two to go sign from Started Jimmy Phillips Jr., Durbin powered into turn one and shot by Walters to grab second place in turn two. At the finish it was Mauro leading a fast closing Durbin across the line for his second win of the year, with Walters and Adams finishing third and fourth. 2000 champ Steve Fleetwood had his best finish of the year, after his horrible opening day flip, coming home in fifth place.

NOTES: The Bridgeport Sportsman heats all went non-stop, with all three heats being run on three minutes, seven seconds. All three heats were within several tenths of a second of being the same….Reider’s wins were his second and third in a row, giving him a total of five victories for the season….The Kids Skateboard and Scooter Giveaway, which is done every week for fans 12 and younger, were won by Vineland, NJ’s Chad Schweigle and Pennsgrove, NJ’s Andy Oliver…..Early arriving fans for this week’s regular four division program will be greeted by Steve Bottcher, Richie Pratt, Chip Brown, and Bud Hayes behind the main grandstand before the races. These drivers, along with their racers, will be there to talk to the fans and sign autographs until right before warm-ups, in another way of getting the fans and racers closer at New Jersey’s fastest dirt track! Front gates open at 4:30pm., with warm-ups getting started at 5:15pm. First race will take the track at 6 o’clock, when the Bridgeport Sportsman start off the show with their qualifying heats.

BRIDGEPORT SPEEDWAY RESULTS – Saturday July 21, 2001

STREET STOCK FEATURE (7-14-01) – 15 LAPS

Rich Reider, Bill Force, Wayne Pfeil, Ron Coverly, Dave Williams, Daddy Pfeil, Ron Dirkes, Ken Moren, Jack Mullin, Matt Rodgers, Tim Walker, Rich Retter, Tom Anderson

BRIDGEPORT SPORTSMAN

Heat 1 – Bill Briggs, Steve Lozorak, Frank McDonnell, Tom Miller, Tom Fox, Kevin Collins

Heat 2 – Mark Forte, Jim Bruno, Sam Wescott, Paul Collins, Bill Klingmeyer, GR Smith

Heat 3 – Bob Lineman Jr, Ron Roberts, John Pursell, Don Barone, Richie Pratt, Rob Ratoskey

Consi 1 – Visser, Cogdill, Harris, Cook

Consi 2 – Burkhart, DiMascio, Kormann, Stinson

BRIDGEPORT SPORTSMAN FEATURE – 20 LAPS

Brandon Visser, Don Barone, Bob Lineman Jr, Dan Cogdill, Billy Harris, Paul Collins, Bill Briggs, GR Smith, Kevin Collins, Rob Ratoskey, Bob Cook, John Pursell, Eric Kormann, Steve Lozorak, BJ DiMascio, Steve Lindale, Mark Forte, Frank McDonnell, Rich Stinson, Sam Wescott, Ron Roberts, Richie Pratt, Bill Klingmeyer, Tom Fox, Tom Miller, Jim Bruno, Andy Burkhart

MODIFIEDS

Heat 1 – Bottcher, Schultz, Hirthler, Hoffman, Adams, Davis

Heat 2 – Laubach, Durand, Kell, Lineman, Horton, Elliott

Heat 3 – Polenz, Chester, Hendrickson, Pompei, Mills, Kania

Consi – Stonebreaker, Weaver, Franz, Infante, Miller, Cox

MODIFIED FEATURE – 25 LAPS

Wade Hendrickson, Doug Hoffman, Kevin Hirthler, Bucky Kell, Rich Polenz, Jimmy Horton, Ricky Elliott, Steve Bottcher, Rick Laubach, Jimmy Chester, Jared Schultz, Bob Lineman Sr, Dave Adams, Stephan Durand, Dave Stonebraker, Paul Weaver, Bill Miller, Tom Pompei, Mike Franz, Jamie Mills, Scott Kania, Carmine Infante, Scott Davis, Clyde Cox

BRIDGEPORT WINGED SPRINTS

Heat 1 – Stellfox, Walters, Durbin, Brown

Heat 2 – Mauro, Adams, Butts, Wagner

BRIDGEPORT WINGED SPRINT FEATURE – 20 LAPS

Wane Mauro, Warren Durbin, Jim Walters, Bob Adams, Steve Fleetwood, , Mares Stellfox, Jack Curtis, John Wagner, Jeff Foote, Chip Brown, George Coffin DQ- Joe Butts Jr

DNS – Mike Piersig, Mike Donaghy

STREET STOCK FEATURE – 15 LAPS

Rich Reider, Wayne Pfeil, Bill Force, Ron Coverly, Bud Hayes, Dave Williams, Ron Bradley, Daddy Pfeil, Ken Moren, Jack Mullin, Rich Retter, Greg Schmidt, Matt Rodgers, Ron Dirkes, Tim Walker, Gary Voss, Tom Anderson

DNS- Eric Blakey