THREE-PEAT FOR CARLSON WITH USAC DMA IN 2022
By: Richie Murray – USAC Media
Speedway, Indiana (December 26, 2022)………The decade of the 2020s has belonged to Seth Carlson in USAC Dirt Midget Association competition, and for the third consecutive year, he’s the series king.
The Stafford Springs, Connecticut native’s 2022 championship route included four feature victories, all of which came at the series’ home track of Bear Ridge Speedway in Bradford, Vermont.
In 10 starts, Carlson went unblemished by recording 10 top-fives and 10 top-tens. In two additional non-points special events, he was top-five in both of those as well at The Flat Track at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Carlson earned a 47-point margin in the title race, and his win output pushed him up to second all-time in career series with 19, and now only trails Adam Pierson’s 33.
Justin Sheridan (Suffield, Conn.) elevated to the runner-up position in the final point tally for 2022, his best career season-long performance after taking third in 2021.
Brandon Piastka (West Suffield, Conn.) became a first-time DMA winner this past season, and he accomplished it twice with both triumphs coming at Bear Ridge in May and August. In turn, he came home third in the final standings.
Longtime series veteran Josh Sunn (Plainville, Conn.) won three times total (twice at Bear Ridge and once at New York’s Albany-Saratoga Speedway) to bring himself home fifth in the standings. Sunn has now finished inside the top-five of the standings on five occasions, but 2022 marked his first such appearance since 2016.
Meanwhile, Will Hull (Plainfield, Vt.), the 2019 DMA champ, won once in 2022 during the series’ venture to Albany-Saratoga back in June.
Top Rookie Dan Piastka (West Suffield, Conn.) came home fourth in the standings and scored a non-points special event victory in June at New Hampshire. Sunn captured the series’ only other non-points event in July, also at New Hampshire.
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2022 USAC DMA DRIVER POINT STANDINGS:
POS. PTS. DRIVER, HOMETOWN
1. 727 Seth Carlson, Stafford Springs, Conn.
2. 680 Justin Sheridan, Suffield, Conn.
3. 658 Brandon Piastka. West Suffield, Conn.
4. 608 (R) Dan Piastka, West Suffield, Conn.
5. 544 Josh Sunn, Plainville, Conn.
6. 454 (R) Ralle Rookey, Suffield, Conn.
7. 382 (R) Todd Mable, Topsham, Vt.
8. 343 Manny Dias, Danielson, Conn.
9. 312 Mike Netishen, Auburn, N.H.
10. 291 Jeff Horn, Ashland, Mass.
11. 272 Wayne Koehler, Jewett, N.Y.
12. 180 (R) Joey Chick, Ayer, Mass.
13. 115 James Fitzgerald, Raymond, N.H.
14. 10 Jim Mossman, Hollis, N.H.
(R) = Series Rookie
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2022 USAC DMA FEATURE WINNERS:
May 7: Bear Ridge Speedway - Bradford, VT
WINNER: Brandon Piastka (Ray Miller #7)
May 21: Bear Ridge Speedway - Bradford, VT
WINNER: Josh Sunn (J.R. Mancini #76m)
Jun 4: Bear Ridge Speedway - Bradford, VT
WINNER: Seth Carlson (Skip Matczak #4)
Jun 10: Albany-Saratoga Speedway - Malta, NY
WINNER: Will Hull (Skip Matczak #3)
Jun 18: The Flat Track at New Hampshire Motor Speedway - Loudon, NH (SE)
WINNER: Dan Piastka (Ray Miller #1)
Jul 2: Bear Ridge Speedway - Bradford, VT
WINNER: Josh Sunn (J.R. Mancini #76m)
Jul 15: The Flat Track at New Hampshire Motor Speedway - Loudon, NH (SE)
WINNER: Josh Sunn (J.R. Mancini #76m)
Jul 30: Bear Ridge Speedway - Bradford, VT
WINNER: Seth Carlson (Skip Matczak #4)
Aug 12: Albany-Saratoga Speedway - Malta, NY
WINNER: Josh Sunn (J.R. Mancini #76m)
Aug 27: Bear Ridge Speedway - Bradford, VT
WINNER: Brandon Piastka (Ray Miller #4)
Sep 10: Bear Ridge Speedway - Bradford, VT
WINNER: Seth Carlson (Skip Matczak #4)
Sep 24: Bear Ridge Speedway - Bradford, VT
WINNER: Seth Carlson (Skip Matczak #4)
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2022 USAC DMA FEATURE WINS (FULL POINTS):
4-Seth Carlson (Jun 4 at Bear Ridge Speedway, Jul 30 at Bear Ridge Speedway, Sep 10 at Bear Ridge Speedway & Sep 24 at Bear Ridge Speedway)
3-Josh Sunn (May 21 at Bear Ridge Speedway, Jul 2 at Bear Ridge Speedway, Aug 12 at Albany-Saratoga Speedway)
2-Brandon Piastka (May 7 at Bear Ridge Speedway & Aug 27 at Bear Ridge Speedway)
1-Will Hull (Jun 10 at Albany-Saratoga Speedway)
2022 USAC DMA FEATURE WINS (NON-POINTS SPECIAL EVENTS):
1-Dan Piastka (Jun 18 at The Flat Track at New Hampshire Motor Speedway)
1-Josh Sunn (Jul 15 at The Flat Track at New Hampshire Motor Speedway)
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2022 USAC DMA FEATURE LAPS LED:
76-Dan Piastka
57-Josh Sunn
36-Seth Carlson
23-Will Hull
20-Mike Chaffee & Ralle Rookey
14-Kevin Chaffee
9-Brandon Piastka & Justin Sheridan
1-Wayne Koehler
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2022 USAC DMA TOP-5 FEATURE FINISHES:
10-Seth Carlson
8-Justin Sheridan
7-Brandon Piastka & Dan Piastka
6-Josh Sunn
4-Will Hull
2-Matt Tanner
1-Mike Chaffee, Jeff Champagne, Manny Dias, Nikki Ouellette, Justin Phillips & Ralle Rookey
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2022 USAC DMA TOP-10 FEATURE FINISHES:
10-Seth Carlson, Brandon Piastka & Justin Sheridan
9-Dan Piastka
7-Josh Sunn
6-Manny Dias & Ralle Rookey
5-Mike Chaffee, Will Hull & Mike Netishen
4-Jeff Horn & Nikki Ouellette
3-Wayne Koehler, Todd Mable & Matt Tanner
2-Justin Phillips
1-Kevin Chaffee, Tom Chaffee, Jeff Champagne, Joey Chick, James Fitzgerald & Scott Holcomb
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2022 USAC DMA FEATURE STARTS:
10-Seth Carlson, Brandon Piastka & Justin Sheridan
9-Dan Piastka
8-Todd Mable, Ralle Rookey & Josh Sunn
6-Manny Dias, Will Hull & Mike Netishen
5-Mike Chaffee, Jeff Horn & Wayne Koehler
4-Joey Chick & Nikki Ouellette
3-Matt Tanner
2-Tom Chaffee, James Fitzgerald, Justin Phillips & Tyler Stark
1-Kevin Chaffee, Jeff Champagne, Scott Holcomb & Kevin Mahoney
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2022 USAC DMA HEAT RACE WINS:
4-Dan Piastka
2-Seth Carlson, Mike Chaffee & Manny Dias
1-Jeff Champagne, Jeff Horn, Will Hull, Mike Netishen, Brandon Piastka, Justin Sheridan & Josh Sunn
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2022 USAC DMA FAST TIMES:
1-Dan Piastka
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ALL-TIME USAC DMA FEATURE WINS:
33-Adam Pierson
19-Seth Carlson
18-Will Hull
16-Joe Krawiec
9-Josh Sunn
5-Scott Holcomb
4-Jeff Champagne, Dean Christensen & Jason Goff
3-Kevin Chaffee, Justin Phillips & Scott Viets
2-Mike Chaffee, Derek O’Hearn, Brandon Piastka & Adam Whitney
1-Dylan Duhaime, Kenney Johnson, Ray Miller, Dana Shaw & Justin Sheridan
NON-POINTS SPECIAL EVENT WINS:
1-Kevin Chaffee, Scott Holcomb, Dan Piastka & Josh Sunn
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USAC DMA DRIVER CHAMPIONS:
2011: Joe Krawiec, Bristol, Conn.
2012: Kevin Chaffee, East Orange, Vt.
2013: Joe Krawiec, Bristol, Conn.
2014: Adam Pierson, East Corinth, Vt.
2015: Adam Pierson, East Corinth, Vt.
2016: Adam Pierson, East Corinth, Vt.
2017: Dean Christensen, Granby, Conn.
2018: Jason Goff, Preston Hollow, N.Y.
2019: Will Hull, Plainfield, Vt.
2020: Seth Carlson, Stafford Springs, Conn.
2021: Seth Carlson, Stafford Springs, Conn.
2022: Seth Carlson, Stafford Springs, Conn.