PHOTO: Bryan King (#X) passes Jack Cook (#1NH) for the lead in Saturday’s DIRTcar Sportsman Modified feature at Bear Ridge Speedway. (Alan Ward photo)

(From track press release)

Krawiec wins first USAC Dirt Midget Association race

BRADFORD — Bryan King shrugged off his bad luck at Bear Ridge Speedway on Saturday night with his first Bond Auto Parts DIRTcar Sportsman Modified victory of the year on Dad’s 4 By Tool & Supply Night. The Corinth veteran had a strong car, but capitalized on a little good luck, too.

King drove his famous No. X Bicknell chassis, sponsored by JT Snowplowing and Jimmy Covey Logging, under Jack Cook for the lead on 9, but was passed by Adam Pierson on lap 21. King was in the right place at the right time, though, as Pierson pit out of the lead during a caution period three laps later.

King was in contention for the win in events on May 7 and May 21 before crashes and mechanical failure took him out.

“It paid off tonight. We didn’t let anything get us down,” King said in victory lane. “I was curious about what happened to Adam, but in a way I was kind of glad, too.”

Dan Eastman of Thetford Center made a late charge from his 12th starting position to claim the runner-up finish, with Woodstock’s Jim Morgan third. Jason Gray and Kevin Chaffee were fourth and fifth, respectively. Mike Dunn, Wayne Stearns, Toby Stark, Justin Comes, and Cook completed the unofficial top ten.

Pierson, who entered the night as the DIRTcar Sportsman Modified point leader, was credited with a 14th-place finish.

Joe Krawiec of Bristol, Conn., won the first-ever 20-lap event for the new Dirt Midget Association sanctioned by the United States Auto Club, but not before a sensational battle with Chaffee. Making his first career Midget start, Fairlee, Vt., racer and former Bear Ridge Speedway champion Chaffee nearly upset Krawiec, one of the northeast’s most frequent winners in Midget competition, while driving a Skip Matczak-owned Seals-It entry as a teammate to Krawiec.

Chaffee took the lead on lap 7 and led until Krawiec used a restart with three laps remaining to take over on the outside lane.

“I think I almost taught him too much today,” Krawiec laughed in victory lane, referring to the advice he gave Chaffee at the start of the event. “I had so much fun at Bear Ridge, and Kevin learned these cars faster than anyone I’ve ever seen. I can’t wait to come back.”

Dana Shaw of Plainfield, Conn., finished third with Jim Close fourth and New England Auto Racing Hall of Famer Ray Miller fifth. The Dirt Midget Association returns to Bear Ridge Speedway on Saturday, June 18.

Sophomore driver Shane Race earned his first victory of the year in the Wells River Chevrolet Sportsman Coupe division. Race, of South Strafford, led all 20 laps of the event but was under constant pressure from a quartet of veterans. Race used a lap-14 restart to gain a slight advantage as Bob Shepard, Steve Ellsworth, Gene Pierson, and Josh Harrington swapped positions nearly every lap. They finished in that order to complete the top five finishers.

Derek O’Hearn of Campton, N.H., survived to win a rough-and-tumble 20-lap feature in the A Notch Above Automotive Limited Late Model division. Tyler Stygles of Bradford and Troy Comeau of Rumney, N.H., completed the podium finishers.

Kevin Harran of St. Johnsbury picked up his second Weglarz Property Service Fast Four win of the season over Danny Doyle of Barre and rookie Bobby Bell of St. Johnsbury.

Eric Lang of Groton made it three-for-three on the season in the KDD NAPA of Bradford Hornet division. Brent Warren of Salisbury was the runner-up with Tom Placey of Bradford third.

Defending champion Melissa King of Corinth — wife of Modified winner Bryan King — won the first Hornet Queen race of the season over Dawn Woodward of Waits River. Misty Bell of St. Johnsbury recovered from a flip on the opening lap to take third place.

Bear Ridge Speedway’s 99ROCK Weekly Racing Series is back in action on Saturday, June 4 at 6:00pm, when Woodsville Guaranty Savings Bank presents the annual Vermont Food Bank benefit. All five weekly divisions will be on hand, plus the Hornet Stinger youth class and the Granite State Mini Sprints. Admission is $10.00 for adults (age 17-61), $8.00 for teens (12-16) and seniors (62+), and $2.00 for kids (11 and under).

Bear Ridge Speedway is a quarter-mile, semi-banked clay oval located on Kidder Road in Bradford. Bear Ridge Speedway is Vermont’s only dirt track and is New England’s only track sanctioned by the World Racing Group’s Charlotte, N.C.-based DIRTcar organization. For more information, call (802) 222-4052 or visit www.bearridgespeedway.com.

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS — Dad’s 4 By Tool & Supply Night
Bear Ridge Speedway — Bradford, Vt.
Saturday, May 28, 2011

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

Bond Auto DIRTcar Sportsman Modified
1. Bryan King, Corinth
2. Dan Eastman, Thetford Center
3. Jim Morgan, Woodstock
4. Jason Gray, East Thetford
5. Kevin Chaffee, Orange
6. Mike Dunn, North Haverhill, N.H.
7. Wayne Stearns, Bradford
8. Toby Stark, Canaan, N.H.
9. Justin Comes, Middlebury
10. Jack Cook, Moultonboro, N.H.

Wells River Chevrolet Sportsman Coupe
1. Shane Race, South Strafford
2. Bob Shepard, West Topsham
3. Steve Ellsworth, Corinth
4. Gene Pierson, Jr., East Corinth
5. Josh Harrington, Topsham
6. Jason Horniak, Bradford
7. Buster Kathan, Ludlow
8. # Jason Colbeth, Newbury
9. # Teddy Salomaa, Bradford
10. # Jeff Robbins, Woodsville, N.H.

A Notch Above Automotive Limited Late Model
1. Derek O’Hearn, Campton, N.H.
2. Tyler Stygles, Bradford
3. Troy Comeau, Rumney, N.H.
4. Robert Tucker, East Corinth
5. Jason Blake, Moretown

Weglarz Property Service Fast Four
1. Kevin Harran, St. Johnsbury
2. Danny Doyle, Barre
3. # Bobby Bell, St. Johnsbury
4. Travis Hull, Graniteville
5. Andy Johnson, Wilder

KDD NAPA of Bradford Hornet
1. Eric Lang, Groton
2. Brent Warren, Salisbury
3. Tom Placey, Bradford
4. Don Reynolds, Springfield
5. Steve Sheldon, St. Johnsbury

Hornet Queen
1. Melissa King, Corinth
2. Dawn Woodward, Waits River
3. Misty Bell, St. Johnsbury
4. Julie Stender, South Strafford
5. Marissa Osgood, Bradford

USAC Dirt Midget Association
1. Joe Krawiec, Bristol, Conn.
2. Kevin Chaffee, Fairlee
3. Dana Shaw, Plainfield, Conn.
4. Jim Cloce, Ellington, Conn.
5. Ray Miller, East Granby, Conn.