Rain Cuts Bear Ridge Opener Short

Hull wins Late Models, Sheldon is top Hornet

BRADFORD – Mother Nature won the majority of Bear Ridge Speedway's opening night event on Saturday, but not before Will Hull and Karl Sheldon put their cars in the winner's circle.

East Montpelier driver Hull put together segment finishes of first and second for an overall low score of three points to win the Limited Late Model main event, while St. Johnsbury racer Sheldon took a third and a first in the Hornet segments to win his division's overall trophy before rains forced the postponement of the evening's final three races.

Jason Giguere of Lebanon, N.H., beat Hull to win the second Limited Late Model segment and finished second overall, with Bradford's Jeremy Hodge third. Tyler Stygles of Bradford and T.C. Forward of Lyme, N.H., completed the unofficial overall top-five.

Defending Hornet champion Tom Placey of Bradford was the overall runner-up in the Hornet class, with Corinth's Mike Pittman third, Mike Chapin of Chelsea fourth, and Jesse Smith fifth, unofficially.

Ryan Avery’s quick start continued as he took the first of two Sportsman Modified segments. The Thornton, N.H., driver also copped the opening night victory at the new Big Daddy’s Speedbowl in Rumney, N.H., last week. "I’ve got a lot of laps in this car, it’s my third year with this chassis," said Avery. "We turned about 130 laps already at Big Daddy’s, and I know what this car is going to do. We left 'em [behind] tonight. It felt really good." Chris Donnelly, Blake Shepard, Bryan King, and Jason Gray completed the top-five in the segment.

Chris Carbee of Topsham took a surprise victory in the first Sportsman Coupe segment after a pass of Jason Horniak at the halfway point. King finshed third with Mike McGinley and defending champion Josh Harrington in tow.

Josh Sunn of White River Junction took the first segment in the Fast Four division over Danny Doyle, Andy Johnson, Robert Tilden, and Kevin Harran.

The second segments for the Sportsman Modified, Sportsman Coupe, and Fast Four divisions will be completed at the May 22 program at Bear Ridge in addition to a full card of racing for all five divisions and the Granite State Mini Sprint Club.

Bear Ridge Speedway Results 5/15/10

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS -- KDD NAPA Auto Parts Opening Night
Bear Ridge Speedway -- Bradford, Vt.
Saturday, May 15, 2010

(Pos.-Driver-Hometown)

A Notch Above Auto Limited Late Model Overall Finish
1. Will Hull, East Montpelier
2. Jason Giguere, Lebanon, N.H.
3. Jeremy Hodge, Bradford
4. Tyler Stygles, Bradford
5. T.C. Forward, Lyme, N.H.

KDD NAPA Hornet Overall Finish
1. Karl Sheldon, St. Johnsbury
2. Tom Placey, Bradford
3. Mike Pittman, Corinth
4. Mike Chapin, Chelsea
5. Jesse Smith

Bond Auto Sportsman Modified Segment #1 Finish
1. Ryan Avery, Thornton, N.H.
2. Chris Donnelly, Orford, N.H.
3. Blake Shepard, Newton, N.H.
4. Bryan King, Corinth
5. Jason Gray, East Thetford

Wells River Chevrolet Sportsman Coupe Segment #1 Finish
1. Chris Carbee, Topsham
2. Jason Horniak, Bradford
3. Bryan King, Corinth
4. Mike McGinley, East Barre
5. Josh Harrington, Topsham

Journal Opinion Fast Four Segment #1 Finish
1. Josh Sunn, White River Junction
2. Danny Doyle, Hancock
3. Andy Johnson, Wilder
4. Robert Tilden, East Thetford
5. Kevin Harran, St. Johnsbury

VIDEO GALLERY: Gettin' Dirty at Bear Ridge

Bear Ridge Speedway in Bradford threw off a great night of racing on Saturday with close action in every division. In the first video, the Sportsman Coupes run for a few laps in the second segment of a three-round, Monza-style feature. The clip starts with Chris Carbee (#5) bouncing off the front stretch wall, ends with Billy Simmons (#16) spinning in Turn 4 to bring out the caution, and has lots of side-by-side action in between with eventual podium finishers Melvin Pierson (#33), Josh Harrington (#71), and Bryan King (#X).

In the second video, Chris Donnelly (#17) makes the winning pass for the Sportsman Modified feature win on lap 29 over Bryan King (#X) -- who finished third in both of the features he ran -- and Jack Cook (#1NH) gets past King for second place.

In the final video, the always entertaining SCoNE 360 Sprint Cars begin the second and final 15-lap segment of the their feature race with Anthony Cain (#15C) taking the lead, and some nice moves turned in by eventual winner Matt Tanner (#90) and runner-up Clay Dow (#59). (And special thanks to event sponsor Upper Valley Stove Co. for letting us perch on the roof of their truck for the SCoNE feature!)

(Videos by Justin St. Louis/VMM)