GODOWN, GODOWN AND DANNER ARE BRIDGEPORT FEATURE WINNERS
Bridgeport, NJ – For the second time this season, Ryan Godown Senior and Junior raced to victories in their Bridgeport Motorsports Park feature events on Saturday night. It was Ryan Godown’s sixth win in the Foley Cat Modifieds while Ryan Junior earned his fifth win of the season in the South Jersey Overhead Door 602 Crate Sportsman. Briggs Danner raced to the win in the USAC All-Pro Speedster feature – that’s three wins at Bridgeport for Danner this season who also has a pair of victories in the USAC East Coast Wingless Sprint Cars.
The Modified feature event was full of slide jobs, cross-overs and close racing as Godown raced to the win in a highly contested thirty lap feature event. Regardless of who your favorite driver might be, it was a racing fans dream of a finish as several cars were contending for the win right up to the checkered flag.
Godown dedicated the win to the memory of his parents just days after his father’s birthday.
Defending Bridgeport Champion, Billy Pauch grabbed the lead at the wave of the green with Clay Butler, Matt Stangle and Billy Osmun III chase the yellow No. 1 around the high banks. Stangle moved into second at the end of the first lap with Dominick Buffalino taking over third on lap three. Godown raced into the top five from his eleventh place start on lap five.
Godown moved up to fourth and Neal Williams to fifth just one lap later.
Five laps later, the leaders were catching the back of the field. Alex Yankowski was challenging Williams for a spot in the top five just before the first caution flag with twelve complete. Buffalino headed to the pits with a flat tire, relinquishing his third-place run. Pauch restarted from the outside and led the way back to the green over Stangle and Godown.
Godown quickly moved into second but Pauch led the way through a pair of restarts. Godown raced into the lead on a lap twenty restart as Stangle raced in second over Yankowski, Tim Buckwalter and Williams.
With five laps to go, Stangle was racing inside and out, trying to find the way to the lead. Buffalino raced his way back into the top five and was racing with Buckwalter for fourth. A few laps later, Pauch battled his way back into the top five.
A last lap caution set up a single file restart and a dash to the checkered as Godown won the drag race to the finish over Stangle, Yankowski, Buffalino and Pauch. Buckwalter, Williams, Osmun, Butler and Troy Ale completed the top ten at the finish. However, the Stangle No. 6 was disqualified in post-race tech, moving everyone up one spot and Tom Moore, Jr. rounding out the top ten.
Ryan Godown, Jr. drew the pole for his starting spot in the South Jersey Overhead Door 602 Crate Sportsman feature but frequent cautions kept Godown’s challengers close. By lap three, Joe Toth and Steve Kemery were racing behind Godown.
Godown led from the green to the checkered flag for the win. Toth had the advantage over Kemery at the finish line with Matt Ellery and Jim Dallett rounding out the top five at the checkered. Steve Davis, Ryan Simmons, Tom Sherby, point leader, Sammy Martz, Jr. and Bob Lineman, Jr. completed the top ten. Martz raced his way from the back of the field after pitting for a tire change.
Just days before the final race of the season at the Championship Energy Action Track, USA, Briggs Danner raced his E Schneider & Sons No. 78 All Pro SpeedSTR to victory in the twenty lap feature event at Bridgeport. After a total rebuild was needed after a crash in its last race, Danner wanted to test the car before the Tuesday event.
Former National SpeedSTR champion, Mike Bednar grabbed the lead at the start but the competition was three wide coming out of turn two. Some contact was made which led to Bednar hitting the turn three wall, ending his night.
On the restart, Tim Buckwalter led the field for the first two laps with Danner taking over second on lap two. One lap later, Danner had the No. 78 out in front.
Danner dominated the remaining laps for the win over Buckwalter, Billy Pauch Sr., Louden Reimert and Ryan Krachun. Jason Musser, Tom Mayberry, TJ Mayberry, Dustin Morris and Nick Pecko rounded out the top ten.
Racing returns to the high banks next Saturday with the Modifieds, 602 Crate Sportsman and Street Stocks in action with just two races remaining to determine the 2021 track champions!
FOLEY CAT MODIFIEDS (30 laps)
- Ryan Godown, Sr., 2. Alex Yankowski, 3. Dominick Buffalino, 4. Billy Pauch, Sr., 5. Tim Buckwalter, 6. Neal Williams, 7. Billy Osmun, III, 8. Clay Butler, 9. Troy Ale, 10. Tom Moore, Jr., 11. Joseph Watson, 12. Jim Gallagher, Jr., 13. Frank Cozze, 14. Jim Britt, 15. Mike Franz, 16. Sam Martz, Jr., 17. Roger Manning, 18. Ryan Kratchun, 19. Billy Lasko, 20. David Burns, 21. David Crossman, 22. Tommy Beamer, 23. Ryan Forte, 24. Kevin Vaclavicek, DQ – Matt Stangle, DNS – Ron Roberts, Brandon Grosso, DNQ – D.J. Hunt, W.B. James
SOUTH JERSEY OVERHEAD DOORS 602 SPORTSMAN (25 laps)
- Ryan Godown, Jr., 2. Joe Toth, 3. Steve Kemery, 4. Matt Ellery, 5. Jim Dallett, 6.
Steve Davis, 7. Ryan Simmons, 8. Tom Sherby, 9. Sam Martz, Jr., 10. Bob Lineman, Jr., 11. Nick DeSantis, 12. Travis Hill, 13. Ryan Higgs, 14. Anthony Tramontana, 15. Ian Humphreys, 16. Ethan Bill, 17. Joseph Brown, 18. Josh Brinker, 19. Will Dupree, 20. Billy Chester, 21. Wayne Weaver, 22. Brett Ballard, 23. Howard Huepful, 24. Bryan Brobst, 25. Scott Hulmes, DNQ – Pete Serra, Aaron Weaver, Shane Kassekert, Eric Mattson, Brian Rogers, Jeramy Doerr, Matt Miller, Will Protinick
USAC ALL PRO SPEEDSTRS (20 laps)
- Briggs Danner, 2. Tim Buckwalter, 3. Billy Pauch, Sr., 4. Louden Reimert, 5. Ryan Krachun, 6. Jason Musser, 7. Tom Mayberry, 8. T.J. Mayberry, 9. Dustin Morris, 10. Nick Pecko, 11. Justin Thompson, 12. Scott Houdeshell, 13. Billy Pauch, Jr., 14. Mike Bednar