SONG REMAINS THE SAME FOR CARLSON AT BEAR RIDGE
By: John DaDalt
Bradford, Vermont (September 11, 2021)………Seth Carlson (Stafford, CT) came from a last row starting spot to take the lead with four laps remaining and went on to win Saturday night’s USAC DMA midget feature at Bear Ridge Speedway.
The win was Carlson’s third of the season and solidified the defending champion’s point lead. With one race remaining Carlson only needs to take the green flag to repeat as champion.
Manny Dias jumped into the lead from his outside front row starting spot. Behind Dias, Daniel Piastka, Josh Sunn and Justin Phillips dueled for position as Justin Sheridan, Joe Krawiec and Seth Carlson trailed. Krawiec got into the back of Sheridan on lap four sending Krawiec spinning into the infield off of turn two.
On the re-start Dias maintained the lead as Phillips moved into second and Sunn, Piastka and Carlson battled for third through fifth. With Carlson working the outside of Piastka, Sunn got over the inside berm in turn two and upon re-entering the race track collided with Piastka sending Piastka into a flip. Piastka walked away from the incident with the car suffering a broken axle.
Over the next dozen laps it was an intense race for the top spot. Dias holding his line down low looked strong holding off Carlson who was repeatedly making a run on the outside of Dias as Phillips nosed under Carlson to try to take second. Just when it looked like Dias would be unbeatable, he closed in on a lapped car and as the old racing adage goes, sometimes it’s better to be second in lapped traffic. With Dias blocked down low, Carlson sailed by on the outside to take the lead.
With only four laps left and the cars running close lap times, Dias was unable to get back into the lead. Carlson nailed down the win followed by Dias and Phillips.
Back to back wins by Carlson have put him in an excellent position to defend the title. He started in the last row and needed both patience and aggression to make the outside groove work to his advantage. Afterwards, Carlson commented on the race. “It was fun racing with Justin and Manny, the track had just enough bite on the outside to get something rolling. It was a close race.”
A tough break for Manny Dias who appeared to be on his way to his first win with the USAC-DMA midgets. “We had a good car, just came up short. I closed on the 52 a little quicker than I expected. It was a great job by Seth getting it done. We’ll keep digging. On to the next one.”
Coming off of a disappointing eighth place finish in the last race, third place finisher Justin Phillips was satisfied with the race. “We had a good run and it felt good to get back on the podium with a car that felt strong. We had a great race with Seth for second, but he ultimately got us. Congratulations to him on the win. Only one race left so I hope we can keep building and close out strong.”
Justin Sheridan ran a steady race to finish fourth. Joe Krawiec rebounded from his early spin to come in fifth and keep his hold on second place in points. Josh Sunn ended up sixth and Brandon Piastka seventh.
Jake Trainor from Medway, MA made his debut on a dirt track in the Skip Matczak owned #2 midget. Trainor ran a trouble free race eventually finishing in the eighth spot.
Jeff Horn, who was recently elected into the New England Antique Racers Hall of Fame, was ninth and late arriving Tyler Stark finished tenth.
The two heat races were won by Josh Sunn and Justin Phillips.
The USAC-DMA midgets will end the 2021 season on Saturday September 25 at Bear Ridge Speedway, Bradford, VT
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USAC DIRT MIDGET ASSOCIATION RACE RESULTS: September 11, 2021 – Bear Ridge Speedway – Bradford, Vermont
FIRST HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Josh Sunn (#76 Mancini), 2. Mike Chaffee (#18c Miller), 3. Daniel Piastka (#7x Miller), 4. Jake Trainor (#2c Matczak), 5. Jeff Horn (#A1 Horn), 6. Adrian Tetreault (#52x Tetreault). NT
SECOND HEAT: (8 laps) 1. Justin Phillips (#16 Miller), 2. Manny Dias (#42 Dias), 3. Seth Carlson (#4 Matczak), 4. Justin Sheridan (#17 Miller), 5. Brandon Piastka (#7 Shookus), 6. Joe Krawiec (#1B Miller). NT
FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Seth Carlson, 2. Manny Dias, 3. Justin Phillips, 4. Justin Sheridan, 5. Joe Krawiec, 6. Josh Sunn, 7. Brandon Piastka, 8. Jake Trainor, 9. Jeff Horn, 10. Tyler Stark (#75 Stark), 11. Adrian Tetreault, 12. Daniel Piastka. NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-21 Manny Dias, Laps 22-25 Seth Carlson
USAC DIRT MIDGET ASSOCIATION POINTS: 1-Seth Carlson-649, 2-Joe Krawiec-617, 3-Justin Sheridan-609, 4-Justin Phillips-602, 5-Manny Dias-587, 6-Brandon Piastka-570, 7-Josh Sunn-561, 8-Will Hull-512, 9-Wayne Koehler-291, 10-Adrian Tetreault-286.
NEXT USAC DIRT MIDGET ASSOCIATION MIDGET RACE: September 25, 2021 – Bear Ridge Speedway – Bradford, Vermont