GENERAL RACING NEWS 2011
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JULY 31, 2011 ..... Dan Douville Jets to SCoNE Victory at Bear Ridge Speedway ..... It only took 6 minutes and 11.8 seconds for Dan Douville of Bridgewater, NH to win his second Sprint Cars of New England feature of the season before a packed house at Bear Ridge Speedway on Saturday. Starting 12th and running a line so high that he risked being cited by the Federal Aviation Administration, Douville grabbed the lead from rookie Will Hull on lap 9 and spent the balance of the 25 lap non-stop event flying through lapped traffic.
A SCoNE series record 23 cars attempted to qualify for one of 18 starting spots.
“We really had the car going good tonight,” said Douville, understating his driving talent. “We’ve wanted to make a major change to the chassis set-up for the last couple of races, but I just didn’t have the guts to do it because we were running decent. We finally said ‘let’s do it’ and boy, did it work. Everybody else was running the first, second or third groove, so the fourth was wide open and I was able to carry my momentum up there.”
Defending Champion and SCoNE points leader Chris Donnelly of Piermont, NH started 13th and methodically worked his way through traffic, moving into second place on lap 22. Unable to close Douville’s substantial lead, Donnelly had to settle for a runner-up finish.
“I got bottled up at the start and I saw Dan take off and pull out three wide. I knew it was going to be tough if he got out there and got going and within a few laps he was six or eight cars ahead of me. It would have been fun to race with him, but my car was super fast and I can’t complain. There was a lot of bite up top and I was able to make some three wide moves – I’ve been watching Dan and I learn.”
After putting down the fastest lap of 13.405 during time trials and working his way from fifth to second in the feature, Sprint Car rookie Tyler Rich of Lyme, NH finished third, in a car owned by Donnelly.
“Chris has been helping me out a lot, he’s taught me everything I know about Sprint Cars, so that helps. The lapped traffic forced me to move up to the top and I knew that was the fast way around, but there was no catching Dan. Then I saw a green wing go by me and I knew it was Chris. It was a good run for all of us.”
Kevin Chaffee “The Fairlee Flier” finished fourth and former SCoNE Champ Shawn Lawler was fifth.
The Sprint Cars of New England return to Legion Speedway in Rumney, NH next Sunday, August 7 along with the Granite State Mini Sprints, North East Mini Sprints and the East Coast Mini Sprints for the second event in the Open Cockpit Super Sunday Series. Hot laps are at 2:00 pm and the first heat races at 3:00.
Sprint Cars of New England (25 laps): 1. Dan Douville, Bridgewater, NH, 2. Chris Donnelly, Piermont, NH, 3. Tyler Rich, Lyme, NH, 4. Kevin Chaffee, Fairlee, VT, 5. Shawn Lawler, Mason, NH, 6. Will Hull, East Montpelier, VT, 7. Andy Seuss, Hampstead, NH, 8. Matt Shuart, Walkill, NY, 9.Matt Robie, Hill, NH, 10. Jim Lowrey, Jr., Tilton, NH, 11. Shawn Berry, Center Ossipee, NH, 12. Randy Wimert, Falmouth, ME, 13. Tunk Berry, Center Ossipee, NH, 14. Lacey Hanson, Orwell, VT, 15. Nick Berry, Manchester, NH, 16. Jake Williams, Center Tuftonboro, NH, 17. Robby Bodwell, Sanford, ME, 18. Dylan Campbell, Southboro, MA. Did Not Qualify: Bruce Kimball, Lebanon, NH; Rob Shuart, Walkill, NY; Brandon Valley, Center Ossipee, NH; Bob Giuliani, Middletown, NH; Mark Cole, Lebanon, NH. Heat Winners: Donnelly and Shuart. LCQ: Williams.
Time Trials: 1. Tyler Rich 13.405, 2. Dan Douville 13.431, 3. Kevin Chaffee 13.605, 4. Chris Donnelly 13.675, 5. Jim Lowrey 13.756, 6. Shawn Lawler 13.759, 7. Mark Cole 13.822, 8. Matt Robie 13.915, 9. Tunk Berry 13. 929, 10. Jake Williams 13.930, 11. Shawn Berry 13. 991, 12. Will Hull 14.064, 13. Randy Wimert 14.131, 14. Nick Berry 14.142, 15. Robby Bodwell 14.216, 16. Brandon Valley 14.240, 17. Bruce Kimball 14.297, 18. Lacey Hanson 14.301, 19. Bob Giuliani 14, 20 Matt Shuart 14.441, 21. Andy Seuss 14.579, 22. Rob Shuart 14.579, 23. 14.588.
Notes: The father and son team of Rob and Matt Shuart towed from Walkill, NY with their 305 c.i. Sprint Cars, the only 305’s in the field. Matt had an especially good night, winning his heat and finishing 8th in the feature... After starting 19th and finishing 15th with the World of Outlaws at Lebanon Valley Speedway the previous Sunday, Mark Cole had a tough night at Bear Ridge, failing to qualify after hitting a car that spun in front of him. Cole may be using a different chassis in the next race at Legion Speedway; he had already placed this one on probation for poor performance... After more than $2,000 in repairs by car owner Dave Bowser, Randy Wimert returned to action. In his last outing, Wimert flipped, but landed on his wheels and finished his heat race. His bad luck continued that night- after leaving the track he hit a moose on I-91, totaling his Dodge Magnum and being pinned by its crushed roof... A full 50% of the Top 10 were rookies: Tyler Rich third, Will Hull sixth, Andy Seuss seventh, Matt Robie ninth and Jim Lowrey tenth. Time trials didn’t affect starting positions; they were just run as an extra added attraction for both race fans and competitors. Competition is so close in SCoNE this year that 19 cars timed within 1 second of fast timer Tyler Rich and the total spread from top to bottom was only 1.183 seconds.
Center Tuftonboro, NH, 17. Robby Bodwell, Sanford, ME, 18. Dylan Campbell, Southboro, MA. Did Not Qualify: Bruce Kimball, Lebanon, NH; Rob Shuart, Walkill, NY; Brandon Valley, Center Ossipee, NH; Bob Giuliani, Middletown, NH; Mark Cole, Lebanon, NH. Heat Winners: Donnelly and Shuart. LCQ: Williams.
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