BRANDON BEATS DAN IN BATTLE OF PIASTKA BROTHERS AT BEAR RIDGE

Bradford, Vermont (August 27, 2022)………Brandon Piastka (West Suffield, Conn.) took the lead from his brother Dan in lap traffic and went on to score his second win of the season in the USAC-DMA midgets at Bear Ridge Speedway Saturday night.

Dan Piastka jumped into the lead at the green flag followed by Nikki Ouellette.  Justin Sheridan, Brandon Piastka and Seth Carlson were third through fifth. Sheridan took second from Ouellette on the third lap. Brandon Piastka moved into third four laps later.

While the front five settled into a rhythm, action was heating up behind them. Josh Sunn was trying to work his way by Manny Dias when disaster struck. After completing lap 13, Sunn rode over Dias’s right rear tire and rolled over numerous times. Sunn was able to walk away from the wreck but did have some back pain. His car sustained heavy damage.

When the race restarted, Dan Piastka continued to lead while brother Brandon got by Sheridan for second. Nikki Ouellette made a run at third place but was repelled by Sheridan. One lap later, Ouellette’s teammate Carlson got by her for fourth place.

As the leaders were dealing with traffic with only a few laps left, Dan Piastka went to the inside of a lapped car down the back stretch but ran out of racing room. Brandon Piastka went to the high side and took the lead which he maintained to the finish. Brother Dan recovered to finish second.

The newlywed winner has had some tough luck recently and was glad to see things turn around. “I’m very happy to grab another win after a rough couple of weeks. We made some changes on the car and some of them really seem to help. Thank you to Ray Miller and everyone else who helps on the cars.”

Second place finisher Dan Piastka was disappointed in the result but was glad his brother got the win. “I want to say how happy and grateful I am to be able to race with the Ray Miller team. We lost the motor at Albany-Saratoga two weeks ago and if it weren’t for all the help from the team, I wouldn’t have been able to race last night. I feel we had the car to beat, I just screwed up in traffic and it cost me the race. But congratulations to my brother for getting the win, it’s awesome to be racing with him and I wouldn’t’ have wanted to lose it to anyone else.”

Seth Carlson’s third place finish gives him the point lead going into the final two races as he tries for his third straight championship. Since finishing fifth on opening night, Carlson has rattled off nine straight finishes in the top three. Justin Sheridan finished in fourth spot and Nikki Ouellette had her best finish of the season finishing fifth.

Mike Chaffee won the first heat after a close race with Nikki Ouellette. Dan Piastka was the winner of the second heat race.

The USAC-DMA midgets will be back at Bear Ridge Speedway on September 10.

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USAC DIRT MIDGET ASSOCIATION RACE RESULTS:  August 27, 2022 – Bear Ridge Speedway – Bradford, Vermont

FIRST HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Mike Chaffee (#18c Miller), 2. Nikki Ouellette (#14 Matczak), 3. Mike Netishen (#5 Netishen), 4. Jeff Horn (#A1 Horn), 5. Joey Chick (#5c Chick), 6. Wayne Koehler (#91 Koehler), 7. James Fitzgerald (#55 Netishen), 8. Todd Mable (#2K Mable). NT

SECOND HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Dan Piastka (#1 Miller), 2. Seth Carlson (#4 Matczak), 3. Brandon Piastka (#7 Miller), 4. Justin Sheridan (#17 Shookus), 5. Josh Sunn (#76m Mancini), 6. Manny Dias (#42 Dias), 7. Will Hull (#3 Matczak). NT

FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Brandon Piastka, 2. Dan Piastka, 3. Seth Carlson, 4. Justin Sheridan, 5. Nikki Ouellette, 6. Mike Netishen, 7. Mike Chaffee, 8. Manny Dias, 9. Jeff Horn, 10. James Fitzgerald, 11. Wayne Koehler, 12. Todd Mable, 13. Josh Sunn, 14. Will Hull (#2 Matczak), 15. Joey Chick. NT

Will Hull drove the Matczak #2 in the feature

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-21 Dan Piastka, Laps 22-25 Brandon Piastka.

**Josh Sunn flipped on lap 13 of the feature.

USAC SPEED2 DIRT MIDGET ASSOCIATION POINTS: 1-Seth Carlson-574, 2-Josh Sunn-544, 3-Justin Sheridan-530, 4-Brandon Piastka-519, 5-Dan Piastka-475, 6-Manny Dias-343, 7-Ralle Rookey-323, 8-Todd Mable-259, 9-Mike Netishen-238, 10-Jeff Horn-220.

NEXT USAC DIRT MIDGET ASSOCIATION RACE:  September 10, 2022 – Bear Ridge Speedway – Bradford, Vermont