PHOTO: Chris Donnelly (#91) passes Louie Cadwell (#81x) en route to his victory at Bear Ridge Speedway on Saturday. (Buzz Fisher photo)

(From track press release)

BRADFORD — Chris Donnelly capped a perfect weekend by winning the Bond Auto Parts DIRTcar Sportsman Modified “Madness” event on Woodsville Guaranty Savings Bank Night at Bear Ridge Speedway on Saturday. The multi-time champion from Piermont, N.H., won a three-segment event by posting finishes of first, third, and second for a total low score of six points.

Donnelly also won the Sprint Cars of New England event at Canaan, N.H., on Friday night.

Donnelly started 12th of 18 cars in the first 35-lap segment, moving under Gary Siemons to take command with five laps left. With the finishing order reversed to begin the second segment, Donnelly came from the rear to finish third behind Derek Graham and Jim Morgan.

With the second-segment finish inverted again to start the final leg, Donnelly held a two-point lead over Morgan, of Woodstock, with Siemons, Adam Pierson, Graham, and Justin Comes close behind. Pierson quickly worked from seventh to take the lead and eventually win the third leg for a total of 10 points (3+6+1), but Donnelly again came from the rear of the field to finish second for his six-point total. Morgan was in the hunt during the final round but finished eighth in the segment after a spin.

Pierson, of Fairlee, finished second overall, with Morgan third (4+2+8=14 pts.). Siemons finished fourth with 16 points, and Bryan King was fifth with 18 points. Comes, Jason Gray, Graham, Dan Eastman, and rookie Josh Sunn completed the unofficial top ten.

Defending Wells River Chevrolet Sportsman Coupe champion Gene Pierson, Jr., of East Corinth gutted out an outside-lane performance to steal his first victory of the year. Pierson battled side-by-side with Waits River driver Terry Williams over the closing laps and only led the final 20 yards of the race in the top lane. His official margin of victory was just 0.163 seconds. Steve Ellsworth of Corinth finished third, with Bob Shepard and Josh Harrington fourth and fifth, respectively.

Hometown driver Tyler Stygles held off a late charge from Newbury’s Jeremy Hodge to take his first win of the season in the A Notch Above Automotive Limited Late Model division. Robert Tucker, Troy Comeau, and rookie Jordan Fornwalt completed the top five finishers after some close-quarters racing.

Former champion Andy Johnson of Wilder snapped a long losing streak in the Weglarz Property Service Fast Four division with his victory. Tim Hodge was the runner-up over point leader Kevin Harran, Danny Doyle, and Travis Hull.

Eric Lang’s perfect season came to an end in the KDD NAPA of Bradford Hornet division, as South Strafford driver Mike Stender copped his first career win. Lang, who won the first three races of the season, finished second with Tom Placey third.

Kodie Pittman of Corinth won the Hornet Stinger feature for youth racers, with Dominic Bassett of Lyndonville second and Geoff Durphey of Springfield third.

Rich Crooker of Nashua, N.H., won the Granite State Mini Sprint 600cc event over Jacob Williams and Kevin Heath. Josh Boissoneau of Bedford, N.H., won the GSMS 500cc race over Lacey Hanson and rookie Scott Cunningham.

Bear Ridge Speedway’s 99ROCK Weekly Racing Series is back in action on Saturday, June 11 at 6:00pm, as Miller Auto Group presents the all five weekly divisions, plus the Sprint Cars of New England and Hornet Queens. 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 — Woodsville Guaranty Savings Bank Night
Bear Ridge Speedway — Bradford, Vt.
Saturday, June 4, 2011

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

Bond Auto DIRTcar Sportsman Modified
1. Chris Donnelly, Piermont, N.H.
2. Adam Pierson, Fairlee
3. Jim Morgan, Woodstock
4. Gary Siemons, Orford, N.H.
5. Bryan King, Corinth
6. Justin Comes, Middlebury
7. Jason Gray, East Thetford
8. Derek Graham, Woodsville, N.H.
9. Dan Eastman, Thetford Center
10. # Josh Sunn, White River Junction

Wells River Chevrolet Sportsman Coupe
1. Gene Pierson, Jr., East Corinth
2. Terry Williams, Waits River
3. Steve Ellsworth, Corinth
4. Bob Shepard, West Topsham
5. Josh Harrington, Topsham
6. Shane Race, South Strafford
7. Kane Pike, Bradford
8. Steve Bell, St. Johnsbury
9. Buster Kathan, Ludlow
10. Jeremy Beckley, Woodsville, N.H.

A Notch Above Automotive Limited Late Model
1. Tyler Stygles, Bradford
2. Jeremy Hodge, Newbury
3. Robert Tucker, East Corinth
4. Troy Comeau, Rumney, N.H.
5. # Jordan Fornwalt, Bradford

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

KDD NAPA of Bradford Hornet
1. Mike Stender, South Strafford
2. Eric Lang, Groton
3. Tom Placey, Bradford
4. Jessie Smith, Topsham
5. Brent Warren, Salisbury

Hornet Stinger
1. Kodie Pittman, Corinth
2. Dominic Bassett, Lyndonville
3. Geoff Durphey, Springfield

Granite State Mini Sprint 600cc
1. Rich Crooker, Nashua, N.H.
2. Jacob Williams, Tuftonboro, N.H.
3. Kevin Heath, Enfield, N.H.

Granite State Mini Sprint 500cc
1. Josh Boissoneau, Bedford, N.H.
2. Lacey Hanson, Orwell
3. # Scott Cunningham, Raymond, N.H.