Harrington breaks Coupe winless streak, Christian takes third Limited Late Model win
BRADFORD – Walter J. Hammond picked up his first career Sabil & Sons DIRTcar Sportsman Modified feature win on Saturday night at Bear Ridge Speedway.
The Canaan, N.H. driver started in the second row of the 40-lap feature and quickly moved into the top spot. From there, Hammond pulled away and used lapped traffic to separate himself from second place to earn his first checkered flag victory.
Multi-time champion Adam Pierson of East Corinth raced his way through the field to finish second with Ryan Christian of Canaan, N.H. third. Terry Williams finished fourth with point leader Derek Graham fifth.
Second place point driver Richie Simmons finished sixth with D.J. Robinson seventh. Allan Hammond, Jordan Fornwalt, and Steven Flint completed the top-ten finishers.
Josh Harrington turned his season around in a big way in the 30-lap Wells River Chevrolet DIRTcar Sportsman Coupe feature.
The Topsham multi-time division champion claimed his first in over a year and his first top-five place finish all season.
Fellow multi-time division champion Bob Shepard finished second with Corinth’s Matt Ellsworth third. Chris LaForest and Danny Doyle completed the top-five finishers while Melvin Pierson, Jeremy Beckley, Matt Lashua, Jason Colbeth, and Todd Hayward finished sixth through tenth, respectively.
Ryan Christian earned his third C.A. Miller Limited Late Model feature win on the season in their 20-lap event.
The Canaan, N.H. driver broke the two-race win streak of Wayland Childs, who finished second. Derek Stearns completed the podium with Kevin Dickinson and Brett Allen fourth and fifth.
Jesse Durkee claimed the win in the 20-lap Weglarz Property Service Four Cylinder feature over Bobby Bell and Steve Bell. Jason Porter and Buddy Welch were fourth and fifth while Sean Perron, Dave Durkee, Kelly Miller Jr., Mike Sherburne, and Tim Davis completed the top-ten finishers.
Kyle Pittman of Corinth won the 20-lap 500cc Granite State Mini Sprint feature over Ken Stridsberg and Will Pinkham Jr. while Zach Hebert claimed the win in the 20-lap 600cc Granite State Mini Sprint feature over Drew Eldridge and John Mills.
Mark Cole won the Wingless Auto Club feature.
Bear Ridge Speedway continues its 50th season on racing on Saturday, June 24 with Wells River Savings Bank night. The Sprint Cars of New England will be on hand for their fourth appearance of the season. Post time is set for 6:00pm.
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS – Jiffy Mart of Bradford Night
Bear Ridge Speedway, Bradford, Vt.
Saturday, June 17, 2017
Pos.-Driver-Hometown
(# — denotes rookie)
Sabil & Sons DIRTcar Sportsman Modifieds (40 laps)
1. # Walter J. Hammond, Canaan, N.H.
2. Adam Pierson, East Corinth
3. Ryan Christian, Canaan, N.H.
4. Terry Williams, Wells River
5. Derek Graham, Woodsville, N.H.
6. Richie Simmons, Bradford
7. D.J. Robinson, Sharon
8. Allan Hammond, Canaan, N.H.
9. Jordan Fornwalt, Bradford
10. Steven Flint, Orange
Wells River Chevrolet DIRTcar Sportsman Coupes (30 laps)
1. Josh Harrington, Topsham
2. Bob Shepard, West Topsham
3. Matt Ellsworth, Corinth
4. Chris LaForest, Barre
5. Danny Doyle, Rochester
6. Melvin Pierson, Corinth
7. Jeremy Beckley, Woodsville, N.H.
8. Matt Lashua, Canaan, N.H.
9. Jason Colbeth, Newbury
10. Todd Hayward, Bradford
C.A. Miller Limited Late Models (20 laps)
1. Ryan Christian, Canaan, N.H.
2. Wayland Childs, Chelsea
3. Derek Stearns, Bradford
4. Kevin Dickinson, Canaan, N.H.
5. Brett Allen, Newbury
Weglarz Property Service Four Cylinders (20 laps)
1. Jesse Durkee, South Royalton
2. Bobby Bell, St. Johnsbury
3. Steve Bell, Danville
4. Jason Porter, Freeport, Maine
5. Buddy Welch, East Corinth
6. Sean Perron, Sharon
7. David Durkee Jr., South Royalton
8. Kelly Miller Jr., Johnson
9. Mike Sherburne, Lyndonville
10. Tim Davis, Bradford
500cc Granite State Mini Sprint Club (20 laps)
1. Kyle Pittman, Corinth
2. Ken Stridsberg, Montpelier
3. Will Pinkham Jr., Bennington, N.H.
4. Ed Vickery, Temple, N.H.
5. Tyler Vickery, Nashua, N.H.
600cc Granite State Mini Sprint Club (20 laps)
1. Zach Hebert
2. Drew Eldridge, Chelmsford, Mass.
3. John Mills
4. Tony Shaw, Harvard, Mass.
5. Kyle Pittman, Corinth
Wingless Auto Club (20 laps)
1. Mark Cole, Lebanon, N.H.
PHOTO: Walter J. Hammond earned his first career Sportsman Modified feature win on Saturday night at Bear Ridge Speedway. (Alan Ward photo)
