Hodge, Colbeth split Coupe wins; Sunn continues winning ways in Midgets
BRADFORD – Adam Pierson continued his Sportsman Modified dominance on Saturday night at Bear Ridge Speedway.
The East Corinth driver worked his way from a 21st place starting position to earn his third straight Sabil & Sons DIRTcar Sportsman Modified feature win.
Pierson was able to work his way around leader Gary Siemons on lap 18 and kept the lead for the remainder of the 40-lap feature.
Kevin Chaffee of Fairlee followed Pierson up through the field to finish second while Jordan Fornwalt of Bradford finished third. Robert Tucker of West Topsham and Allan Hammond of Canaan, N.H. completed the top-five finishers.
Rookie Matt Lashua, Josh Currier, Todd Buckwold, Tim Tucker, and Louie Cadwell finished sixth through tenth, respectively.
During the 40-lap feature, driver Arnie Stygles was involved in a medical emergency on the track. Stygles, from Bradford, exited his car after an incident and began walking back to the pit area. Stygles reportedly collapsed in the infield and was tended to by track emergency personnel. Stygles was transferred to a local hospital and, according to multiple family reports, had suffered a heart attack. Stygles remains in the hospital as of press time.
Tim Hodge and Jason Colbeth split the Wells River Chevrolet DIRTcar Sportsman Coupe feature wins.
Hodge, of Vershire, finished first in the make-up event that was rain shortened one week ago. Hodge came out on top of a side-by-side battle with Jason Horniak to claim the win. Thomas Placey of Bradford got by Horniak, also of Bradford, for second while Horniak settled for third. Melvin Pierson and Colbeth completed the top-five.
Colbeth took the lead on lap 11 from Horniak in the second 25-lap feature to claim the win. Michael Danforth of Corinth finished second with Horniak claiming another third place finish. Rookie driver Chris LaForest finished fourth and Hodge finished fifth.
Josh Sunn of White River Junction took the lead on lap six of the 20-lap Laquerre’s Sport USAC Dirt Midget Association feature event to claim his second straight win.
Pierson finished second to his teammate Sunn while Christensen, who held the early race led, finished third. Adam Whitney and Jeff Champagne finished fourth and fifth.
Tim Martin of White River Junction took the lead early in the 15-lap Mike Rivers Automotive Limited Late Models and claimed the win. T.J. Mores and Don Reynolds finished second and third while J.P. Vaillancourt and Wayland Childs completed the top-five finishers.
Mike Ryan of Chelsea won the 20-lap Weglarz Property Service Four Cylinder feature over Buddy Welch, Jim Durkee, Jesse Durkee, and Charlie Lakin.
Bear Ridge Speedway returns to action on Saturday, May 28 with the first appearance of 2016 for the Sprint Cars of New England. Post time is 6:00pm.
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS – Dad’s 4 By Tool & Supply Night
Bear Ridge Speedway, Bradford, Vt.
Saturday, May 21, 2016
Pos.-Driver-Hometown
(# — denotes rookie)
Sabil & Sons DIRTcar Sportsman Modifieds (40 laps)
1. Adam Pierson, East Corinth
2. Kevin Chaffee, Fairlee
3. Jordan Fornwalt, Bradford
4. Robert Tucker, West Topsham
5. Allan Hammond, Canaan, N.H.
6. # Matt Lashua, Canaan, N.H.
7. Josh Currier, Newport, N.H.
8. Todd Buckwold, Orange, N.H.
9. Tim Tucker, Northfield
10. Louie Cadwell, North Thetford
Wells River Chevrolet DIRTcar Sportsman Coupes (25 laps – 5/14 makeup)
1. Tim Hodge, Vershire
2. Thomas Placey, Bradford
3. Jason Horniak, Bradford
4. Melvin Pierson, Corinth
5. Jason Colbeth, Newbury
6. Bob Shepard, Corinth
7. Josh Harrington, Topsham
8. Brian Chaffee, Bradford
9. Michael Danforth, Corinth
10. Louie Cadwell, North Thetford
Wells River Chevrolet DIRTcar Sposman Coupes (25 laps)
1. Jason Colbeth, Newbury
2. Michael Danforth, Corinth
3. Jason Horniak, Bradford
4. # Chris LaForest, Barre
5. Tim Hodge, Vershire
6. Melvin Pierson, Corinth
7. Bob Shepard, Corinth
8. Earl Maxham, Bradford
9. Brian Chaffee, Bradford
10. Thomas Placey, Bradford
Laquerre’s Sport USAC Dirt Midget Association (20 laps)
1. Josh Sunn, White River Junction
2. Adam Pierson, East Corinth
3. Dean Christensen, East Granby, Conn.
4. Adam Whitney, Warren
5. Jeff Champagne, Westfield, Mass.
6. Jeff Horn, Ashland, Mass.
7. Kenney Johnson, Bethany, Conn.
8. Ray Miller, East Granby, Conn.
9. Manny Dias, Attleboro, Mass.
10. Alex Rose, Keene, N.H.
Mike Rivers Automotive Limited Late Models (15 laps)
1. Tim Martin, White River Junction
2. # T.J. Morse, Danville
3. Don Reynolds, Springfield
4. J.P. Vaillancourt, Plymouth, N.H.
5. Wayland Childs, Chelsea
Weglarz Property Service Four Cylinders (20 laps)
1. Mike Ryan, Chelsea
2. Buddy Welch, East Corinth
3. Jim Durkee, West Hartford
4. Jesse Durkee, South Royalton
5. Charlie Lakin, Groton
PHOTO: Adam Pierson celebrates his Bear Ridge Speedway DIRTcar Sportsman Modified feature win on Saturday night. (Alan Ward photo)
