Ellsworth scores Sportsman Coupe win; Pierson grabs Midget victory

BRADFORD – Josh Currier held off Adam Pierson to claim his first Sabil & Sons DIRTcar Sportsman Modified win of the season on Saturday night at Bear Ridge Speedway.

The Newport, N.H. driver took the lead on lap 26 from D.J. Robinson in the 40-lap feature event. However, Robinson’s misfortune just a few laps later when his car shut down put arguably Bear Ridge’s top driver, Adam Pierson, right on Currier’s rear bumper.

Currier kept his No. 42 car glued to the inside line and had appeared to keep Pierson’s challenges at bay until a caution flag setup a green-white-checker finish. Currier held tough on the race’s final single file restart and claimed the win.

Pierson, of East Corinth, settled for second while Bradford’s Kevin Chaffee finished third. Rookie driver James Fadden of Plainfield, N.H. and three-time Bear Ridge champion Gary Siemons of Orford, N.H. completed the top-five finishers.

Sixth through tenth went to Todd Buckwold, Josh Sunn, Terry Williams, Tim Hodge, and Jordan Fornwalt.

Matt Ellsworth of Corinth took the lead on lap seven of the 30-lap Wells River Chevrolet Sportsman Coupe feature and held on through several restart to claim the win.

Vershire’s Hodge, who finished ninth in the Sportsman Modified feature, finished second in his Coupe while Brian Chaffee of Bradford finished third. Jason Colbeth and Jason Horniak finished fourth and fifth with Earl Maxham, Melvin Pierson, Stan Otterman, Josh Harrington, and Louie Cadwell sixth through tenth, unofficially.

While Pierson was denied the Sportsman Modified win, he would complete a last corner pass on Chaffee to win the 25-lap Laquerre’s Sport USAC Dirt Midget Association feature.

Chaffee had led every lap of the event as Pierson worked his way through traffic.

While Chaffee settled for second, Josh Sunn of White River Junction finished third. Dean Christensen and Jeff Champagne finished fourth and fifth while Kenney Johnson, Ray Miller, Adam Whitney, Manny Dias, and Dylan Duhaime completed the top-ten finishers.

Tim Martin of White River Junction won the 20-lap Mike Rivers Automotive Limited Late Model feature over J.P. Vaillancourt, Bryan King, rookie T.J. Morse, and Wayland Childs.

Jesse Durkee of South Royalton won the 20-lap Weglarz Property Service Four Cylinder feature with Mike Ryan second. Jonathon Baker, Kevin LaForest, and Jim Durkee completed the top-five finishers.

Bear Ridge Speedway races on Saturday, June 25 with Wells River Savings Bank night along with the Granite State Mini Sprint Club and a four and six cylinder endure. Post time is set for 6:00pm.

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS — Jiffy Mart of Bradford Night
Bear Ridge Speedway, Bradford, Vt.
Saturday, June 18, 2016

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

Sabil & Sons DIRTcar Sportsman Modifieds (40 laps)
1. Josh Currier, Newport, N.H.
2. Adam Pierson, East Corinth
3. Kevin Chaffee, Bradford
4. # James Fadden, Plainfield, N.H.
5. Gary Siemons, Orford, N.H.
6. Todd Buckwold, Orange, N.H.
7. Josh Sunn, White River Junction
8. # Terry Williams, Wells River
9. Tim Hodge, Vershire
10. Jordan Fornwalt, Bradford

Wells River Chevrolet Sportsman Coupes (30 laps)
1. Matt Ellsworth, Corinth
2. Tim Hodge, Vershire
3. Brian Chaffee, Bradford
4. Jason Colbeth, Newbury
5. Jason Horniak, Bradford
6. Earl Maxham, Enfield, N.H.
7. Melvin Pierson, Corinth
8. # Stan Otterman, West Topsham
9. Josh Harrington, Topsham
10. Louie Cadwell, North Thetford

Laquerre’s Sport USAC Dirt Midget Association (25 laps)
1. Adam Pierson, East Corinth
2. Kevin Chaffee, Bradfod
3. Josh Sunn, White River Junction
4. Dean Christensen, East Granby, Conn.
5. Jeff Champagne, Westfield, Mass.
6. Kenney Johnson, Bethany, Conn.
7. Ray Miller, Granby, Conn.
8. Adam Whitney, Warren
9. Manny Dias, Attleboro, Mass.
10. Dylan Duhaime, Loudon, N.H.

Mike Rivers Automotive Limited Late Models (20 laps)
1. Tim Martin, White River Junction
2. J.P. Vaillancourt, Plymouth, N.H.
3. Bryan King, Corinth
4. # T.J. Morse, Waterbury
5. # Wayland Childs, Chelsea

Weglar Property Service Four Cylinders (20 laps)
1. Jesse Durkee, South Royalton
2. Mike Ryan, Vershire
3. Jonathon Baker, Plymouth, N.H.
4. # Kevin LaForest, Barre
5. Jim Durkee, Hartford

PHOTO: Josh Currier (#42) races ahead of Adam Pierson (#15) for the DIRTcar Sportsman Modified win on Saturday night at Bear Ridge Speedway. (Alan Ward photo)