BRIDGEPORT CLOSES OUT 2020 SEASON IN A BIG WAY
Bridgeport, NJ – Bridgeport’s Wild Card Weekend saw the Logan Township racing facility close out the 2020 racing season in a big way. In spite of all of the loss, the obstacles and the uncertainties, Doug and Brittany Rose brought great racing to their Bridgeport Motorsports Park. The Wild Card Weekend sponsored by John Blewett Inc. was a huge success with more than one hundred cars filling the Bridgeport pit area for every one of the three days of the weekend event. It was such an awesome sight to see Modifieds lined up from the turn three access road all the way to the pits as they waited for their warm-up session on Sunday.
Pottsdam, NY driver, Mike Maresca closed out the Foley Cat Modified season with his win in the High Bank Classic 50. Maresca’s win was a popular one as illustrated by the many competitors who extended congratulations to the feature winner as well as the response of the fans.
Maresca stopped at Bridgeport’s Wild Card Weekend last year while he traveled home from the World Finals in Charlotte and picked up a podium finish. That was the final race on the 5/8th mile track. This year, the Wild Card Weekend was on Maresca’s schedule. Maresca had hoped to race in the Danny Serrano 100 but scheduling didn’t allow for his participation in September. But he made sure to be a part of the final race of the season.
“Danny was really cool to me,” Maresca told the fans on Sunday. “He was a good friend. As a matter of fact, he text me the day before he died. We dedicate this win to Danny.”
The 2020 Fonda Champion showed a lot of speed all day, picking the win in his heat race. He then raced from his ninth place start to take the lead on lap nineteen and he never looked back.
Jack Lehner, another out of state invader, led the first eleven laps of the High Bank Classic 50 before four time Bridgeport Champion, Ryan Watt raced into the lead, using the outside line.
Rick Laubach brought out the yellow and then the red on lap fourteen with a fire onboard his Gary Hermann owned No. 7. Laubach first steered away from other cars and then rolled the car to the infield where the fire truck was waiting. Laubach escaped injury.
On the lap fourteen restart, Watt had Lehner and Maresca in a three way battle for the lead. Watt won the battle and led through lap eighteen. Alex Yankowski ran into problems with eighteen laps scored and the yellow flag waved once again. Maresca raced into the lead on the restart.
Watt was able to stay with Maresca and even narrowed his lead as they raced through lapped traffic but Maresca raced to the checkered without a serious challenge. Watt trailed Maresca to the finish for his second runner-up finish of the weekend.
Richie Pratt had the Danny’s Pizza Pizazz No. 51 working anywhere he put it. Pratt had a huge run on a lap twenty-nine restart that saw him race through the top five and challenge for second. Watt regained the runner-up spot but Pratt picked up a podium finish in third at the end of fifty laps.
Jimmy Blewett looked right at home on the new Bridgeport surface, bringing home the red, white and blue No. 76 in fourth. Ryan Krachun made up for his disappointment in the Danny Serrano 100 the night before to finish fifth. Billy Pauch, Dominick Buffalino, Billy Pauch, Jr., Jeff Strunk and Ryan Godown rounded out the top ten.
Steve Davis came up with another win in the South Jersey Overhead Door 602 Sportsman feature after battling with race leader, Anthony Tramontana. The cars of Tramontana and Davis got hooked together while Davis challenged for the lead. Davis was eventually able to disconnect the No. 4 and continue but Tramontana was not as fortunate. After leading the first seven laps, Tramontana had to restart from the rear.
Paul Mancini chased Davis to the finish followed by Jonathan Swift whose third place finish was a season best. Stacy Jackson finished fourth with Steve Kemery picking up fifth late in the race after starting deep in the field. Travis Hill, Dan Fleming, Adam White, Sammy Martz, Jr. and Howie Finch rounded out the top ten.
TJ Henry picked up the final win of the season in the Sunbelt Rental Street Stock twenty-five lap feature event. For a while, it looked like the race might be a repeat of Friday night’s event as Lee Allen and Rich Stinson, Jr. were again battling for the lead. Unfortunately, Stinson, the 2020 Champion, exited the raced prematurely with a mechanical issue. Henry raced Allen for the lead and took over the top spot on lap eight.
Henry raced to yet another feature win over Allen, Mike Hughes, Jr., Jeramy Doerr and John Parker. Mike Creamer, Drew Brocklebank, Andrew Joslin, Spider Ensinger and Nick Sandone III completed the top ten at the finish line.
The USAC All Pro SpeedSTRs competed in two twenty lap feature events including the race rained out in September.
Kenny Miller III picked up the win in the first race, leading every lap from the green to the checkered in his DA Hanson No. 67. It was Miller’s first win on the 4/10 mile track. Miller had just won his first race on the Spirit quarter mile during the season finale. Briggs Danner, Louden Reimert, Jared Silfee and Ryan Godown battled throughout the top five with Reimert finishing second to Miller at the checkered flag. Silfee finished third followed by Danner and Godown. Steve Buckwalter, Jeff Hartman, Tom Mayberry, Tim Iulg and Jay Hartman finished in sixth through tenth in the held over event.
Steve Buckwalter dominated the second twenty lapper to earn his first ever win at Bridgeport. Godown, Jeff Hartman, Steve Drevicki and Reimert raced hard for a top five finish with Godown crossing the line behind Buckwalter, Drevicki, subbing for Tim Buckwalter in the Earl Fellin No. 52, finished third followed by Jeff Hartman and Reimert. Tim Iulg, Jay Hartman, TJ Mayberry, Jason Muesser and Danner rounded out the top ten.
FOLEY CAT MODIFIEDS HIGH BANKS CLASSIC (50 LAPS)
Michael Maresca 2. Ryan Watt 3. Richie Pratt Jr 4. Jimmy Blewett 5. Ryan Krachun 6. Billy Pauch 7. Dominik Buffalino 8. Billy Pauch Jr 9. Jeff Strunk 10. Ryan Godown 11. Danny Bouc 12. Jack Lehnar 13. Mike Mahaney 14. Peter Brittan 15. Dillon Steuer 16. Matt Stangle 17. Frank Cozze 18. Brandon Grosso 19. Jim Britt 20. Tommy Beamer 21. Tyler Dippel 22. Joseph Watson 23. Davey Sammons 24. Jared Umbenhauer 25. Rocky Warner 26. Rich Rutski 27. Neal Williams 28. Roger Manning 29. Alex Yankowski 30. Eric Kormann 31. Rich Laubach 32. Jimmy Horton
SOUTH JERSEY OVERHEAD DOOR 602 SPORTSMAN (20 LAPS)
Steve Davis 2. Paul Mancini 3. Jonathan Swift 4. Stacy Jackson 5. Steve Kemery 6. Travis Hill 7. Dan Fleming 8. Adam White 9. Sammy Marty Jr 10. Howie Finch 11. Wayne Weaver 12. Ryan Simmons 13. Justin Grosso 14. Ryan Higgs 15. David Jenkins 16. Anthony Tramontana 17. Erik McKinney 18. Joseph Brown 19. Michael White 20. Payton Talbot 21. Ricky Wegner 22. Brandon Edgar 23. Danny Buccafusca 24. Addison Bownan
SUNBELT RENTALS STREET STOCKS (25 LAPS):
TJ Henry, 2. Lee Allen, 3. Mike Hughes, 4. Jeramy Doerr, 5. John Park, 6. Mike Creamer, 7. Drew Brocklebank, 8. Andrew Joslin, 9. Spider Ensinger, 10. Nick Sandone III, 11. Rich Stinson Jr., 12. Darren Cox
USAC ALL PRO SPEEDSTRS (FEATURE -20 LAPS):
Steve Buckwalter, 2. Ryan Godown, 3. Steve Drevicki, 4. Jeff Hartman, 5. Louden Reimert, 6. Tim Iulg, 7. Jay Hartman, 8. TJ Mayberry, 9. Jason Musser, 10. Briggs Danner, 11. Jared Silfee, 12. Mark Mohr, 13. Jason Rochelle, 14. Trevor Kobylarz, 15. Tom Mayberry, 16. Gary Wagner Jr., 17. Kenny Miller III
USAC ALL PRO SPEEDSTRS (HELD OVER FEATURE 20 LAPS):
Kenny Miller III, 2. Louden Reimert, 3. Jared Silfee, 4. Briggs Danner, 5. Ryan Godown, 6. Steve Buckwalter, 7. Jeff Hartman, 8. Tom Mayberry, 9. Tim Iulg, 10. Jay Hartman, 11. TJ Mayberry, 12. Jason Musser, 13. Steve Drevicki, 14. Mike Bednar, 15. Steven Kemery, 16. Trevor Kobylarz, 17. Gary Wagner Jr.