CARLSON & SEALS-IT CORRAL USAC DMA FINALE AT BEAR RIDGE, MAKE IT A CHAMPIONSHIP HAT TRICK

By: John DaDalt

Bradford, Vermont (September 24, 2022)………Seth Carlson of Stafford, Conn. was the overall winner in the USAC Dirt Midget Association at Bradford, Vermont’s Bear Ridge Speedway on Saturday night.

In winning his fourth race of the season, Carlson became the USAC DMA midget champion for the third consecutive season.

The racing was divided into three segments with points being awarded by finishing position in each segment. Lowest number of points for all three races would be the winner of the event. The first segment was 10 laps. Dan Piastka set fast time for the night and led every lap to win with Seth Carlson and Justin Sheridan close behind.

Segment two featured some of the best racing of the season as the inverted start had the fastest cars coming from the back. Former series champion Kevin Chaffee subbing for the injured Josh Sunn in the J.R. Mancini #76m showed he hadn’t forgotten how to race a midget as he grabbed the lead on lap two from Wayne Koehler and led the remainder of the race.

While Chaffee was setting the pace up front, the race behind was heating up as Brandon Piastka fought to hold off Matt Tanner who was making the outside groove work. Carlson was right behind the duo looking for an opening as was Justin Sheridan. Tanner got by Brandon Piastka for second and closed in on Chaffee for the top spot but ran out of laps. Sheridan made a strong move under Carlson and Piastka late in the race to take third.

The final segment went 20 laps with the field inverted from the second segment. Mike Chaffee ran well in the first segment finishing fifth but trouble in the second segment placed him last for that race. Chaffee used his pole starting spot to dominate the race winning by three seconds over Mike Netishen. Dan Piastka, Carlson, Brandon Piastka and Sheridan followed the lead pair across the line. With his fourth-place finish, Carlson ended up with the overall win with ten points. One point better than Dan Piastka.

Carlson joins Joe Krawiec as a three-time champion of the USAC-DMA midgets. The title was the eighth championship for Skip Matczak and the Seals-It Racing team. Three each for Carlson and Krawiec and one apiece for Will Hull and Kevin Chaffee. Carlson went into the event with a solid lead in points which allowed him to experiment.

“We tried a completely different set up going from our usual coil springs to torsion bars in the rear of the car and learned a few things,” Carlson said.  “The track was a little different than what we have been on all year and provided good racing. Overall, it was a good day for us. I’d like to thank Skip Matczak and the Seals-It team, Charlie, Karl, Tom, Lloyd, and my dad (Paul) for all their work on getting us another championship.”

The USAC DMA midgets would like to thank the staff at Bear Ridge Speedway, Albany-Saratoga Speedway and the Flat Track at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for their support in making the 2022 season a successful one. And a thank you to all competitors for their support. See you in 2023.

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USAC DIRT MIDGET ASSOCIATION RACE RESULTS: September 24, 2022 – Bear Ridge Speedway – Bradford, Vermont

QUALIFYING: 1. Dan Piastka, 1B, Miller-15.149; 2. Justin Sheridan, 17, Shookus-15.372; 3. Seth Carlson, 4, Matczak-15.436; 4. Mike Chaffee, 18c, Miller-15.436; 5. Mike Netishen, 5, Netishen-15.465; 6. Brandon Piastka, 7, Miller-15.547; 7. Matt Tanner, 2, Matczak-15.637; 8. Ralle Rookey, 50, Matczak-15.673; 9. Kevin Chaffee, 76m, Mancini-15.801; 10. Jeff Horn, A1, Horn-16.223; 11. Wayne Koehler, 91, Koehler-16.479; 12. Todd Mable, 2K, Mable-NT; 13. James Fitzgerald, 55, Netishen-NT.

FIRST SEGMENT: (10 laps) 1. Dan Piastka, 2. Seth Carlson, 3. Justin Sheridan, 4. Brandon Piastka, 5. Mike Chaffee, 6. Matt Tanner, 7. Ralle Rookey, 8. Kevin Chaffee, 9. Mike Netishen, 10. Jeff Horn, 11. Todd Mable, 12. James Fitzgerald, 13. Wayne Koehler. NT

SECOND SEGMENT: (15 laps) 1. Kevin Chaffee, 2. Matt Tanner, 3. Justin Sheridan, 4. Seth Carlson, 5. Brandon Piastka, 6. Ralle Rookey, 7. Dan Piastka, 8. Wayne Koehler, 9. Mike Netishen, 10. Jeff Horn, 11. Todd Mable, 12. James Fitzgerald, 13. Mike Chaffee. NT

THIRD SEGMENT: (20 laps) 1. Mike Chaffee, 2. Mike Netishen, 3. Dan Piastka, 4. Seth Carlson, 5. Brandon Piastka, 6. Justin Sheridan, 7. Matt Tanner, 8. Ralle Rookey, 9. Kevin Chaffee, 10. James Fitzgerald, 11. Wayne Koehler, 12. Todd Mable, 13. Jeff Horn. NT

OVERALL FINISH: 1. Seth Carlson, 2. Dan Piastka, 3. Justin Sheridan, 4. Brandon Piastka, 5. Matt Tanner, 6. Kevin Chaffee, 7. Mike Chaffee, 8. Mike Netishen, 9. Ralle Rookey, 10. Wayne Koehler, 11. Jeff Horn, 12. James Fitzgerald, 13. Todd Mable. NT

FIRST SEGMENT LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-10 Dan Piastka.

SECOND SEGMENT LAP LEADERS: Lap 1 Wayne Koehler, Laps 2-15 Kevin Chaffee.

THIRD SEGMENT LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-20 Mike Chaffee.

FINAL USAC SPEED2 DIRT MIDGET ASSOCIATION POINTS: 1-Seth Carlson-727, 2-Justin Sheridan-680, 3-Brandon Piastka-658, 4-Dan Piastka-608, 5-Josh Sunn-544, 6-Ralle Rookey-454, 7-Todd Mable-382, 8-Manny Dias-343, 9-Mike Netishen-312, 10-Jeff Horn-291.