Bradford, VT — (June 16, 2012) — Defending champion Dan Douville of Bridgewater, NH used both the top and the bottom of the race track to charge from his 15th starting position and win the 25 lap Sprint Cars of New England feature at Bear Ridge Speedway on Saturday.
After a heat race in which he started eighth and finished fourth, Douville along with his father Dennis and his entire crew made major changes to the car for the feature.
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“We ran OK in the heat and passed some cars, but I told my father that we needed to make some changes. We have a different motor this week, so after the heat we changed the gear, the shocks, some tires, some bars and tweaked the throttle linkage. It was like a whole new car when I went out for the feature and it all came together, obviously. I was going really, really well. The first five or six laps I ran the bottom and it stuck real well and I was picking them off. Then I got to the top five and I thought ‘I know the top is up there’ so we jumped up top and boy, she was good up there too. I could really fly it in to turn 3; on turn 1 the cushion was so far outside that I actually went in a little bit lower and let it go up as I was coming out and it seemed to work out real well. I wasn’t really gaining on them coming out of two, but I could gain everywhere else, so it was great. I really need to thank my father, my crew and our sponsors Kondrat Kustoms, Coastal181.com, Sargent Service Center, Amtech Tank Linings and Napa of Laconia.”
The highly competitive SCoNE series has run four races this year without a repeat winner. The handicapping system that places the fastest cars to the rear of the starting grid regularly produces passing from start to finish.
Still looking for his first win of the season, 2011 Rookie of the Year Tyler Rich started tenth and came home second. In the waning laps, he raced side-by-side with teammate and car owner Chris Donnelly, a previous winner this year who worked his way through traffic from his 17th starting spot. Donnelly jumped in his Sprint Car after competing in the 35 lap DIRTcar Sportsman Modified feature, where he raced his way to a top-five finish from the back of the pack.
SCoNE stalwart Brandon Valley had an outstanding night, leading the first 10 laps and finishing fourth. Clay Dow raced from 16th to finish fifth.
The race was slowed by three caution flags in the early stages, the most dramatic of which occurred on lap seven. Will Hull, looking for his second consecutive win at Bear Ridge, dove to the inside of Brandon Valley while exiting turn four in a bold attempt to capture the lead. Wheels touched and Hull spun, Valley bobbled from the impact, but was able to soldier on.