LOGAN SEAVEY SCORES BRIDGEPORT USAC VICTORY IN FINAL LAPS
Bridgeport, NJ – Logan Seavey ended his 2022 winless streak with a victory at the Bridgeport Motorsports Park in night two of the AMSOIL USAC National Sprint cars Easter Storm. Rodota Trucking & Excavating sponsored the mid-week event. Seavey had the Baldwin-Fox Racing No. 5 up against the wall where he found some extra grip in the final laps of the race and that gave him the speed he needed to take the lead from Allentown, PA driver, Briggs Danner in the final three laps of the race sponsored by Danny’s Pizza Pizzazz.
The Sutter, CA driver made his mark in Eastern Storm competition this trip and he’s not finished yet!
Seavey raced in second or third for most of the thirty lap distance around the high banks. Thomas Meseraull, “TMez” put the Chris Dyson owned/Sean Michael wrenched No. 20M into the lead at the wave of the green flag with Seavey and Danner in hot pursuit. Emerson Axsom’s race came to an end early as he made hard contact with the turn three and four wall on the first lap. Fast timer for the night, CJ Leary raced in fourth through the first five laps.
With five laps scored, Alex Banales flipped going into turn four. TMez led the field back to the green flag, choosing a different line to use on every restart to keep the competition guessing. Danner put the Mike Heffner owned/Curt Michael wrenched No. 5G into second and was able to offer a challenge the leader regardless of the line that he chose on each restart.
At the halfway point, TMez led Danner, Seavey, Leary and Justin Grant.
On a lap seventeen restart, TMez took the high outside and Danner dove t the bottom of the track to challenge for the lead. Danner came away with the lead as TMez slowed with fuel issues. Leary had just raced by Seavey to take third but would now restart behind the new race leader – Briggs Danner.
Danner’s very first wingless sprint car experience came on the Bridgeport high banks late in the 2020 season. Danner won the race in his sprint car debut and here he was, less than two years later with the lead in a National Sprint Car event.
With ten laps to go, Danner led Leary, Seavey, Robert Ballou (last year’s Bridgeport winner) and Grant.
With just five laps to go, Seavey got a run by Leary to take over second and set his sights on Danner. Seavey closed in on Danner in the next two laps and then used a turn one slide job to take the lead on lap twenty-eight. A lap twenty-eight caution had the field lined up nose-to-tail for the restart. Danner was a little quick on the restart and USAC rules dictate a one position penalty in that situation. That moved Chase Stockon to second followed by Danner, Leary and Ballou. Leary took third from Danner following a lap twenty-nine restart.
Seavey drove to the win over Stockon, Leary, Danner and Ballou. Jadon Rogers, Alex Bright, Meseraull, Matt Westfall and Brady Bacon completed the top ten in the running order. Bright was the race’s Hard Charger, racing from 22nd to 7th in thirty laps. Meseraull rebounded from his mid race issues to finish eighth.
“I had a great race car,” Seavey related. “I couldn’t make a lot of speed early. The car really came to life there in the end,” the race winner continued. “I was running up to the wall and I found a little grip there.” That gave Seavey the late race speed that he was looking for.
Chase Stockon and CJ Leary left Bridgeport tied in Eastern Storm points with Danner just two points behind.
For the fifth time this season, Leary was the fast timer. The top thirteen cars in time trials were all faster than the previous track record, now held by Leary with his time of 14.779 for non-wing sprint cars.
Ballou, Rogers and Bacon scored wins in the F&L Door heat races.
The Precision Hydraulic & Oil 602 Sportsman were part of the Wednesday night program that saw thirty-three cars compete for starting spots in the twenty-five lap, $2,000 to win main event.
Bridgeport regular, Tom Sherby took the lead at the start and then led every lap to the checkered to earn his first win of the 2022 season. The race was slowed by a single caution that fell with six laps scored.
Sherby was able to drive away from his competition. Matt Ellery raced into second, chasing Sherby for the length of the race. Ryan Godown, Jr. raced in third followed by Bob Lineman, Jr. and Sammy Martz, Jr. Brian Papiez finished sixth followed by Joe Toth, Steve Kemery, Joe Brown and Nick VanWickle.
Sherby, Craig Whitmoyer, and Bob Lineman picked up the wins in the Hoffman Discount Parts heat races with Travis Hill winning the consolation.
USAC AMSOIL NATIONAL SPRINT CARS: 1. Logan Seavey, 2. Chase Stockton, 3. C.J. Leary, 4. Briggs Danner, 5. Robert Ballou, 6. Jadon Rogers, 7. Alex Bright, 8. Thomas Meseraull, 9. Matt Westfall, 10. Brady Bacon, 11. Joey Amantea, 12. Timmy Buckwalter, 13. Jake Swanson, 14. Brandon Mattox, 15. Justin Grant, 16. Shane Cottle, 17. Charles Davis Jr., 18. Korbyn Hayslett, 19. Steven Drevicki, 20. Michael Markey, 21. Alex Banales, 22. Emerson Axsom
PRECISION HYDRAULIC AND OIL 602 SPORTSMAN: 1. Tom Sherby, 2. Matt Ellery, 3. Ryan Godown Jr., 4. Bob Lineman Jr., 5. Sammy Martz Jr., 6. Brian Papiez, 7. Joe Toth, 8. Steve Kemery, 9. Joe Brown, 10. Nick Van Wickle, 11. Will Dupree, 12. Travis Hill, 13. Cole Stangle, 14. Ethan Bill, 15. James Hill, 16. Ricky Wegner, 17. Craig Whitmoyer, 18. Steve Davis, 19. David Burns, 20. Jason Musser, 21. Paul Hartwig Jr., 22. Tom Moore Jr., 23. Thomas Prychka, 24. Ryan Simmons
DNS: Howie Finch