KRAWIEC VICTORIOUS AT BEAR RIDGE
By: Mark Hann
Bradford, Vermont (September 7, 2019)………Joe Krawiec, driving his 1B Ray Miller Racing USAC DMA midget, dominated the racing action Saturday night at Bear Ridge Speedway and scored his first win of the season. Krawiec, from Granby CT, is the series two-time past champion.
Heat race one (8 laps) started with the 5 of Manny Dias from Danielson, CT on pole and the 23 of Tim West from Vernon, CT starting second. Under green it would be Dias in the 5 jumping to a three-car length lead but before the end of lap one the 17 of Justin Sheridan from Suffield, CT had now moved into second with his teammate Justin Phillips in the 16 from West Suffield, CT to third.
The top three positions would stay locked together while West in the 23 and Wayne Koehler of Jewett, NY in the 91 rounded out the field. Mike Chaffee in the 18C had started the race but pulled off on lap three due to mechanical issues. After eight laps and under the checker flag it would be Manny Dias in the 5 taking heat race one win followed by Justin Sheridan’s 17 in second and Justin Phillips in the 16 for third.
Heat race two (8 laps) had the 12 of Adam Whitney from Warren, VT starting inside row one and Jeff Horn in the A1 outside the front row. Lap one would be controlled by Horn in the A1 followed by the 1B of Joe Krawiec of Granby, CT who had made his way from the fourth starting spot.
Lap two would now have Krawiec’s 1B taking over the race lead and Whitney in the 12 would follow in second. The 77 of Jeff Champagne from Westfield, MA began the race but pulled into the pits on lap four with a mechanical problem. The battle for third, fourth and fifth would take place between Horn in the A1, Seth Carlson of Stafford, CT in the 4 and Will Hull of Plainfield, VT in the 3. It would be all Krawiec showing the way from lap two to lap eight and taking the win for heat race two followed by the 12 of Adam Whitney in second and Jeff Horn’s A1 for third.
With a rain delay before the evenings racing could begin, the fans waited out the rain knowing the on track action would be worth the wait.
Twenty-five lap feature race would start with the 5 of Manny Dias from Danielson, CT on pole and Tim West in the 23 from Vernon, CT starting second. Off into turn one under green and Dias 5 would take a commanding lead over the field followed by West in the black 23 and Jeff Champagne from Westfield, MA in the 77 now third.
Series pointss leader Will Hull of Plainfield, VT had moved from eighth to third in a matter of two laps while Dias still kept control over the field. On lap four, Hull in the 3 would make his move to second and looking to catch his Seals-it teammate Dias in the orange 5. The top three of Dias (5), Hull (3) and Champagne (77) would hold those spots for several laps until lap sixteen when the 77 of Champagne had suspension issues and pulled off the track. This now opened the position for Joe Krawiec in the 1B from Granby, CT as he took over third and was now looking to challenge the leaders.
Dias in his 5 looked to have the race won except mechanical problems would take him out of contention on the start of lap eighteen which now gave Hull in the 3 command of the race followed by the 1B of Krawiec and in third was the 16 piloted by Justin Phillips of West Suffield, CT who had started tail on the field. On lap twenty-two, Krawiec in his 1B would make the move around Hull in the 3 and take over the race lead. Seth Carlson in the 4 from Stafford, CT had moved from the last row at the race start to fourth.
Lap twenty-three would see Adam Whitney driving the 12 from Warren, VT drop out of the race with issues. Krawiec (1B) and Hull (3) would run side by side for the last five laps and neither one wanted to give up the battle. In the end it would be the 1B of Joe Krawiec taking down the win followed by Will Hull in the 3 and rounding out the top three was Justin Phillips in the 16.
The series will be back in action on Friday night September 20th at Bear Ridge Speedway in Bradford, VT. This will be the last race of 2019 season.
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 Series Director, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
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USAC SPEED2 DMA MIDGET RACE RESULTS: September 7, 2019 – Bear Ridge Speedway – Bradford, Vermont
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Manny Dias (#5 Matczak), 2. Justin Sheridan (#17 Miller), 3. Justin Phillips (#16 Miller), 4. Tim West (#23 West), 5. Wayne Kohler (#91 Kohler). 6. Mike Chaffee (#18 Chaffee). 2:00.00
SECOND HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Joe Krawiec (#1B Miller), 2. Adam Whitney (#12 Whitney), 3. Jeff Horn (#A1 Horn), 4. Seth Carlson (#4 Matczak), 5. Will Hull (#3 Matczak), 6. Jeff Champagne (#77 Champagne). 1:51.00
FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Joe Krawiec, 2. Will Hull, 3. Justin Phillips, 4. Seth Carlson, 5. Justin Sheridan, 6. Jeff Horn, 7. Tim West, 8. Adam Whitney, 9. Wayne Koehler, 10. Manny Dias, 11. Jeff Champagne. 6:07.00
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FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-17 Manny Dias, Laps 18-21 Will Hull, Laps 22-25 Joe Krawiec.
NEW USAC DMA SPEED2 MIDGET POINTS 1-Will Hull-1,198, 2-Joe Krawiec-1,164, 3-Seth Carlson-1,095, 4-Justin Phillips-944, 5-Adam Whitney-886, 6-Manny Dias-853, 7-Jeff Horn-824, 8-Justin Sheridan-776, 9-Tim West-648, 10-Jeff Champagne-642.
NEXT USAC SPEED2 DMA MIDGET RACE: September 20, 2019 – Bear Ridge Speedway – Bradford, Vermont