Cole takes Pro England Sprint Car victory
by April May Preston
BRADFORD, Vt. -- Saturday night was Oldies 104 FM night at Bear Ridge Speedway (“The Ridge”) with a full card of racing plus the New England Sprint cars, and a 4-Cylinder Enduro event. Feature winners for this picture perfect night of racing weather were Troy Gray in the 358 Modifieds, Ryan Avery in the Pro Streets, Tyler Rich in the Sportsman Coupes, Dean Switzer in the Fast Fours, Mark Cole in the New England Sprint Cars, and Mike McKinstry in the 4-Cylinder Enduros.
The Mekkelsen RV 358 Modifieds were first up for the night with thirteen cars taking the green. Starting on the front row would be Mike Tinker and Brad Phelps setting the pace for their 25 lap event. A first lap wreck would take out some of the heavy hitters leaving Troy Gray to come from the back of the pack, methodically picking his way to the front, until he captured the fist place spot, where he would stay. From there he proceeded to pull away from the field as he went on to record his second win of the season at the Ridge. At the finish it was Vince Quenneville, Jim Ryan, and Brian Whittemore for the following three spots, in that the final deciding order as the battle for the night was for second.
Heat winners were Brian Whittemore and Troy Gray.
Feature finish: Troy Gray, Vince Quenneville, Jim Ryan, Brian Whittemore, Chris Donnelly, Gene Pierson Jr., Brad Phelps, Mike Tinker, Terry Hayes, John Landry, Jack Cook, Carl Murray, Dickie Moses.
The H.O. Taylor Chevrolet Pro Streets had a very impressive field of cars with sixteen plus taking the green. A couple of cautions\ early would keep the field bunched up as Ryan Avery continued to work his way through traffic to the front from deep in the pack, the result of taking a week off to get married. When he finally gained the lead at the half way point he cruised on to give his bride the victory. Also coming from deep in the pack would be Dan Eastman, who was caught up in one of the early cautions. Several trips to the pits under caution would see him having to come from the back. When all was said and done, Eastman had worked his way back to an impressive second place finish. Following Eastman in third was Bryan King.
Heat race winners: Jason Blake and Ryan Pierson, Semi Ryan Pierson
Feature finish: Ryan Avery, Dan Eastman, Brian King, Richard Simmons, Shawn Pallas, Joe Perreault, Anthony Perkins, Michael Bussino, Ryan Pierson, Mark White, Todd Dunham, David Stearns, Jason Blake, Rich Fadden, Will Hull.
The Journal Opinion Fast Fours seemed to be catching the bug from the 358 Modifieds as their feature event was caution laden. Dean Switzer Jr. would take the lead early and appear to be headed to victory lane, until late in the race when his car would go away from him, causing him to slide up the track. Mike McKinstry, knowing that time will tell, was there to take advantage of Switzer’s misfortune and dive under him for the lead. Once by, he quickly distanced himself from Switzer and the rest of the pack as he cruised to his 4th win in a row, and 5th of the season. Switzer held on for 2nd with Andy Johnson completing the top three.
Heat race winners: Dan Johnson and Wayland Childs
Feature finish: Chris McKinstry, Dean Switser Jr., Andy Johnson, Tim Martin, Matt Piper, Wayland Childs, Dan Johnson, Jeff Perry, Bobby Bell Jr., Robert Bell, Chandra Ryan, Kelly Miller, Bill Simmons, David Durkee, Steve Bell, David Scott Stearns, Keith Yarrick.
The Gilmour Ford Chrysler Sportsman Coupes went green to checkers in their fast paced event with Tyler Rich finding himself visiting victory lane for the first time at the Ridge, in this his rookie year in the Coupes. Giving him a strong run for his money was Paul Towle, who ran out of time, never able to quite catch and make the pass for the lead. Rounding out the top 3 was Louis Cadwell.
Heat race winners: Ryan Dutton Louis Cadwell.
Feature finish: Tyler Rich, Paul Towle, Louis Cadwell, Adam Pierson, Doug Titus, Josh Harrington, Kevin Menard, Steve Ellsworth, Bob Shepard, Ryan Dutton, James Hanson, Dean Stockwell.
In the V-8 Enduros it was Roland Bigelow for the win over Frank Thurston, Jason Rogers, Baxter Doty, Patrick Burnett, Jeremy Huntoon, Mark St. Pierre, Clayton Hatch Paul Stoddard and James Rhodes rounded out the top ten.
In the 4-Cylinder Enduros Mike McKinstry and David Chase, would see a red flag late in the race put them in the pits where they would start from as several drivers failing to head the red would be held back. It seemed the easiest thing to do was to have the pack proceed around the track, and put the pair out front when they came back around. David Chase up to the red looked to be the man to beat, McKinstry the man of experience was there for the kill when the restart occurred. McKinstry would take the win with Chase in second followed by last years track champion Mike Mooney
Feature finish: Mike McKinstry, David Chase, Mike Mooney, Eric Ware, Vinny D’Auria, Buster Porter, David Donlon, Kevin Harran, Chris King, Travis Durkee, Buck Dixon, Charlie Lakin, Randy Henry, Jim Lakin, Troy Randall, Brett Jackson, Derick Bugbee, Brian Piper, Jesse Durkee, John Donlon, Justin Bell, and Dave Renaud.
This week August 2nd is Irving Oil night with a full card of racing including the Mekkelsen RV 358 Modifieds with the winner receiving a Victoria 200 Qualifier spot, Gilmour Ford-Chrysler Sportsman Coupes, H.O. Taylor Chevrolet Pro Streets and the Journal Opinion Fast Fours plus a Twin State Modified event # 11 and a V-8 Enduro.
Bear Ridge Speedway is located off exit 16 of I91 on to rte 25 west 1 mile to South Road up the hill to Kidder Rd. For more information including the 2003 schedules you can log on to: www.bearridgespeedway.com. Sister track Canaan Fair Speedway is located on Orange Rd in Canaan NH just 12 short miles from I-89. www.canaanfairspeedway.com any questions can be sent to aprilmay@earthlink.net.