From Mark Hahn
Ellington, CT — (August 22, 2015) — Team owners dream about getting to Victory Lane with the team but for Frank Manafort, owner of FMR Racing, his dream was exceeded with all three teams that he owns scoring a podium finish Saturday night at Bear Ridge Speedway in Bradford, VT. This was race one of the series Triple Crown Presented by New England Racing Fuel. It was also Dick Berggren’s Speedway Illustrated Night at the speedway.
Heat race one had the 47 of Scott Holcomb on pole followed by the 69 of Dean Christensen starting second. Under the green flag, the 47 of Holcomb would hold the point for the first three laps while being pressured for the lead by Adam Pierson in the 76M. By lap four, the 76M of Pierson was able to get by the 47 of Holcomb and took over the lead with Holcomb now back to second and Christensen in the 69 now in third. Action was highly contested for third on back and by lap five, the 5 driven by Derek Graham had moved into third with the 67 of Josh Sunn taking down fourth. By the time the checkered flag was displayed, Adam Pierson of Bradford, VT in the FMR owned 76M had won the race followed by Scott Holcomb in the 47 with the 5 of Derek Graham rounding out the top three.
Heat race two began with the 15 of Jeff Champagne on the point with the 18C driven by Mike Chaffee starting outside row one. From the start, this race was close with tight battles for every position. Champagne in the 15 was strong and held the lead for the first five laps until the 46 of Kenny Johnson was able to get around Champagne and taking the race lead. Long time racers Jeff Horn in the red 1R and Ray Miller driving his famous black 1W put on a great mid pack show for the fans. Back up front Johnson in the 46 along with Champagne in the 15 would run nose to tail for the final three laps and in the end it was the 46 of Kenny Johnson from Bethany, CT getting the win followed by the 15 of Jeff Champagne and then the 18C of Mike Chaffee holding down third place. Also noted that in the second heat race, the 17 was driven this week by Mark Cole who has driven in other divisions at Bear Ridge Speedway.
The Midget Dash race had Jeff Champagne in the 15 on pole with the 18C of Mike Chaffee starting second. The four lap dash race was quick from flag to flag with the 67 of Josh Sunn getting the lead by lap two and holding the lead from lap two to the finish on lap four. Josh Sunn of White River Junction, VT won with his teammate Adam Pierson in the 76M in second with the other FMR owned car of Jeff Champagne in the 15 for third.
The feature was now ready to go with the 15 of Jeff Champagne starting on pole followed up by the 96 of Rob Williams for the second starting spot. Champagne, who is just coming off a win in his kart race at Lebanon Valley Speedway, was the one to beat this night and ready for any challenge. When the green flag waived, Champagne in his 15 took the lead with the 46 of Kenny Johnson quickly moving into second with the 1W of Ray Miller now into third. Before lap three could take place, the caution came out for a five car wreck in turn one that took out four of the five involved. Back to green and the 15 of Champagne began where he had left off with the lead and the 46 of Johnson holding the second spot along with Miller in the 1W for third. While the leaders kept battling up front, the 67 of Josh Sunn and the 76M of Adam Pierson where busy moving up and gaining positions with every lap. Champagne in his 15 would hold the lead up until lap ten when the 67 of Sunn had moved into second and worked his way around Champagne and took over the lead on lap eleven. This pass gave the 76M of Pierson room to get around Champagne in the 15 giving Pierson the second place spot and moving Champagne back to third. Sunn, piloting his 67, was firmly in control of the race and was able to keep the 76M of Pierson and the 15 of Champagne in his mirror while positions fourth on back had three wide battles lap after lap for position. From the half way point of the race and until the end, Sunn would be tough to beat no matter how hard the competition would try. It was the most exciting race of the evening, with Josh Sunn of White River Junction, VT scoring the win in his 67 followed by the 76M of Adam Pierson for second with the 15 of Jeff Champagne rounding out the top three. All three teams on the podium are owned by Frank Manafort Racing.
The series will be back in action on August 28th at Albany-Saratoga Speedway in Malta, New York for the Andy Fusco-John McCarthy Tribute Race. This will be race two of the series Triple Crown Presented by New England Racing Fuel.
To learn more about the USAC Dirt Midget Association, please visit the series website at www.usacdma.com or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/DirtMidgetAssociation
For additional information regarding this press release please contact Mark J. Hann, USAC DMA Public Relations & Marketing, at (860) 256-5574 or usacdma@usacdma.com
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Heats Race Results from 8/22/15
Heat Race 1:
1st- Adam Pierson
2nd- Scott Holcomb
3rd- Derek Graham
4th- Josh Sunn
5th-Dean Christensen
6th- Dylan Duhaime
7th- Mark Cole
8th – David Moniz
Heat Race 2:
1st- Kenny Johnson
2nd- Jeff Champagne
3rd- Mike Chaffee
4th- Jeff Horn
5th- Kevin Chaffee
6th- Ray Miller
7th- Andy Barrows
8th –Adam Whitney
9th – Rob Williams
Dash Race:
1st – Josh Sunn
2nd – Adam Pierson
3rd – Jeff Champagne
4th – Scott Holcomb
5th – Derek Graham
6th – Mike Chaffee
7th – Jeff Horn
8th – Kenny Johnson
Feature Race Results from 8/22/15:
1st- Josh Sunn (67)
2nd- Adam Pierson (76M)
3rd- Jeff Champagne (15)
4th- Ray Miller (1W)
5th- Kevin Chaffee (4)
6th- Kenny Johnson (46)
7th- Scott Holcomb (47)
8th- Dylan Duhaime (57)
9th- Jeff Horn (1R)
10th- Derek Graham (5)
11th- Adam Whitney (12)
12th- Rob Williams (96)
13th- David Moniz (9)
14th- Andy Barrows (64)
15th- Dean Christensen (69)
16th- Mark Cole (17)
17th – Mike Chaffee (18C)