PHOTO: Dan Douville (right) and Paul Bellefeuille of Wells River Chevrolet in victory lane at Bear Ridge Speeedway on Saturday. (Justin St. Louis/VMM photo)

BRADFORD — Dan Douville and Gary Siemons showed the way at Bear Ridge Speedway in Saturday’s Wells River Chevrolet event, each dominating his division for the victory on a fast, dry track.

Douville, of Bridgewater, N.H., earned the Sprint Cars of New England win by running away from the field in the 30-lap SCoNE Triple Crown feature. Douville battled 2010 SCoNE champion Chris Donnelly in the opening laps of the race, but drove uncontested to the win after Donnelly pitted for adjustments during a caution period on lap 12. The caution was necessitated by a hard flip down the frontstretch by former series champion Tunk Berry; Berry was uninjured.

Clay Dow of Ossipee, N.H., came out on the losing end of a fierce battle for second place as the lapped car of Robby Bodwell spun directly in front of Dow and South Glens Falls, N.Y., driver Floyd Billington with two laps remaining. Dow was forced to slow his car to avoid Bodwell, allowing Billington and Kevin Chaffee of Orange, Vt., to slip into the second and third positions. Dow finished fourth with Mark Cole of Lebanon, N.H., fifth.

“We go well here. We’ve got the right setup and I know the track, and we just go well,” said Douville, whose win was his fourth in six Bear Ridge starts this season. “I had a decent starting spot due to the draw tonight, and I was the first one to get to the cushion so it helps. They put a lot of water on it, but that’s just how this track is. It dries out and it gets a nice cushion [on the top lane], and if you can get the bottom to work it’s to your benefit because most everybody ends up on the cushion, but sometimes they don’t quite go high enough.”

Douville, a rookie, won the SCoNE Triple Crown opener on Friday night at Canaan, N.H., and will try for the clean sweep on Sunday at Big Daddy’s Speedbowl in Rumney, N.H.

Three-time defending track champion Siemons, of Orford, N.H., turned in one of the more convincing performances of the year in the Sportsman Modified division, ending a victory dry spell nearly three months long. Siemons, who started sixth, drove into the lead on lap 12 and cruised to the 25-lap win over point leader Adam Pierson of Fairlee.

Chaffee, pulling double-duty for the night, landed in third place for the second time of the night after an intense battle with Middlebury teenager Justin Comes over the final five laps. Jim Morgan of Woodstock was fifth.

“I actually didn’t think we had much because Adam went by [in the early laps], but he went on the outside so I figured I had to go out there,” said Siemons. “The car was super on the top. I had to go on the bottom in [turns] one and two, but there was a berm up there [in turns three and four] and you can just drive it in wide open. We haven’t won in a while, so it felt good.”

Josh Harrington of Topsham pulled off a rare feat by not only winning his fourth-straight Sportsman Coupe feature, but also having cars he owns finish second and third. Harrington blistered through the field after starting 11th, taking the lead at lap 14. He survived two late restarts and a challenge from teammate Jason Horniak of Bradford for the victory. Chris Carbee of South Ryegate finished third to complete the Harrington sweep. Point leader Gene Pierson and Mike McGinley rounded out the top five finishers.

Robert Tucker of Topsham led all 20 laps of a caution-laden Limited Late Model feature for his first career victory. Ray Johnson of Campton, N.H., finished second. Newbury’s Jeremy Hodge — who spun his no less than four times during the race — finished third over T.C. Forward and Jason Blake.

White River Junction driver Josh Sunn won the three-segment “Madness” event for the Fast Four division for his 12th win of the year. Sunn posted finishes of first, second, and third in the three 15-lap segments to earn a low total score of six points. Tim Hodge of Vershire was second overall with seven points, followed by Kevin Harran, Travis Hull, and Andy Johnson.

Tom Placey of Bradford won his 11th Hornet victory of the year over Mark Nickles of Piermont, N.H., and rookie Brad Martin of Thomaston, Conn., who squeaked out the podium finish as Eric Lang and Jesse Smith crashed each other out of a third-place battle as the checkered flag waved.

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS — Wells River Chevrolet Night
Bear Ridge Speedway, Bradford, Vt.
Saturday, September 4, 2010

(Pos.-Driver-Hometown)
# – denotes rookie

WYKR Sprint Cars of New England (30 laps)
1. # Dan Douville, Bridgewater, N.H.
2. Floyd Billington, South Glens Falls, N.Y.
3. Kevin Chaffee, Orange
4. Clay Dow, Ossipee, N.H.
5. Mark Cole, Lebanon, N.H.
6. # Chris Donnelly, Piermont, N.H.
7. Matt Shuart, Walkill, N.Y.
8. Robby Bodwell, Sanford, Me.
9. Bruce Kimball, Lebanon, N.H.
10. Bob Giuliani, Middletown, N.H.

Bond Auto Sportsman Modified (25 laps)
1. Gary Siemons, Orford, N.H.
2. Adam Pierson, Fairlee
3. Kevin Chaffee, Orange
4. # Justin Comes, Middlebury
5. Jim Morgan, Woodstock
6. Ryan Avery, Thornton, N.H.
7. # Jeff Elliott, Benton, N.H.
8. Mark Williams
9. Mike Dunn, North Haverhill, N.H.
10. Bryan King, Corinth

Wells River Chevrolet Sportsman Coupe (25 laps)
1. Josh Harrington, Topsham
2. Jason Horniak, Bradford
3. Chris Carbee, South Ryegate
4. Gene Pierson, Jr., East Corinth
5. Mike McGinley, East Barre
6. # Shane Race, South Strafford
7. # Dwight Burgoyne, Jaffrey, N.H.
8. Buster Kathan, Ludlow
9. Melvin Pierson, East Corinth
10. # Steve Bell, St. Johnsbury

A Notch Above Auto Limited Late Model (20 laps)
1. Robert Tucker, Topsham
2. Ray Johnson, Campton, N.H.
3. Jeremy Hodge, Newbury
4. T.C. Forward, Lyme, N.H.
5. Jason Blake, Moretown

Journal Opinion Fast Four (3×15 laps)
1. Josh Sunn, White River Junction
2. Tim Hodge, Vershire
3. Kevin Harran, St. Johnsbury
4. Travis Hull, Graniteville
5. Andy Johnson, Wilder

KDD NAPA Hornet (20 laps)
1. Tom Placey, Bradford
2. Mark Nickles, Piermont, N.H.
3. # Brad Martin, Thomaston, Conn.
4. Bobby Bell, St. Johnsbury
5. J.P. Vaillancourt