Bridgeport Motorsports Park

Bridgeport, NJ – For the first time this season, defending Foley Cat Modified Champion, Billy Pauch drove to the Weaknecht Archery Victory Lane to celebrate his victory at the end of thirty laps of non-stop racing.  “Not bad for an old guy,” Pauch quipped from the Winner’s Circle after exiting his K&A Excavating sponsored No. 1.  Pauch became the ninth different winner in the Modified ranks this season on Scrappy’s Auto Service Night at the Bridgeport Motorsports Park.

Joe Toth put the Belmont’s Garage No. 14 in the Winner’s Circle in the South Jersey Overhead Door 602 Sportsman Feature.  Jeff Dirkes earned his second win of the season as he drove to the finish line, side by side with Jeramy Doerr.

Shane Kassekert earned his first victory in the DA’s Auto Body & Repair Rookie division, picking up the win on Graduation Night while Ethan Bill was crowned as the 2021 Rookie Champion.

Jim Gallagher Jr. put his Elite Welding No. 31 out in front at the wave of the green flag and immediately began to put some distance between himself and the rest of the field.  Gallagher led the way for the first ten laps with Pauch reeling in the leader a little each lap.  Pauch challenged Gallagher for the lead on lap eleven.  Clay Butler and Sam Martz trailed the leaders while Ryan Godown and Billy Osmun III battled for fourth.  

Pauch pulled away from the field and soon found himself in lapped traffic.  On lap fifteen, Pauch, Gallagher and Butler continued to lead the way while Ryan Krachun put his Amwell Auto Body No. 29 on the top of the track and drove by both Godown and Martz to race in fourth.

Pauch was well ahead of the field when Krachun took over second on lap seventeen.  Godown, Gallagher and Martz completed the top five with ten laps to go but Alex Yankowski was on his way to challenge the top five.

Gallagher, Martz and Yankowski had a torrid battle for fourth.  Gallagher pulled of the track with overheating issues and Yankowski took over fourth.

With five laps remaining,  Krachun was able to narrow the margin somewhat but it was Pauch who drove to the checkered flag for the victory over Krachun, Godown, Yankowski and Martz.  Joseph Watson finished sixth followed by Osmun, Ryan Watt, Jordan Watson and Matt Stangle.  Both Watt and Stangle came from deep in the pack,   sharing starting spot in row number nine.

Joe Toth was behind the wheel of the Belmont No. 14 this week, prepping for next week’s All American 40 for the 602 Crate Sportsman competitors.  Toth, who has a Modified win to his credit this season, was forced to park his Modified due to some motor issues.  

Toth went to work on race leader, Steve Davis and secured the lead just before the halfway mark.  Davis wasn’t about to go away but Toth was able to answer Davis’ slide jobs with a crossover move to secure the lead.

Toth took the win over Davis, Matt Ellery, Tom Sherby and first state invader, Bryan Brobst rounding out the top five.  Howie Finch finished sixth ahead of current point leader, Sammy Martz, Jr. Michael White, Ryan Higgs and Adam White rounded out the top ten.

Sixteen year old, Shane Kassekert came close to winning a Rookie feature earlier this season.  Kassekert ran the high line and was the leader on the final lap but Ethan Bill was able to win the drag race to the checkered flag.  This week there would be no last minute challenge as Kassekert raced to the victory on graduation night.  Bill finished second and was crowned as the 2021 Rookie Champion.  Mike Creamer finished third followed by Ethan Young and Zach Steffey.

With one win to this credit from earlier this season, Mike Hughes grabbed the lead in the Sunbelt Rental Street Stock feature.  Jeramy Doerr and Jeff Dirkes were racing hard for second right behind the leader.  Doerr had the lead at the end of five laps after a three wide battle for the top spot.  

Dirkes dogged the leader for the remaining laps, timing his challenge for the final turn on the last lap.  Dirkes won the race on the homestretch by the narrowest of margins over Doerr, Gary Klimeczak, Nick Sandone III and John Parker.  Dirkes waited until the end of the race to make his move.  “I didn’t want to give him (Doerr) another chance,” Dirkes explained.

The 602 Crate Sportsman will take center stage next Saturday night as they compete in the All American 40 for the first time.  The Modifieds and Street Stocks will make it a triple header show on the eve of the nation’s birthday.  

FOLEY CAT MODIFIEDS (30 laps): 1. Billy Pauch, 2. Ryan Krachun, 3. Ryan Godown, 4. Alex Yankowski, 5. Sam Martz, 6. Joseph Watson, 7. Billy Osmun III, 8. Ryan Watt, 9. Jordan Watson, 10. Matt Stangle, 11. Neal Williams, 12. Clay Butler, 13. Tommy Beamer, 14. Mike Franz, 15. Troy Ale, 16. Ron Roberts 17. Billy Lasko, 18. Jim Gallagher Jr., 19. Kevin Sockriter, 20. Tom Moore Jr., 21. Jim Britt, 22. Dominick Buffalino, 23. Brad Brightbill, 24. Brett Ballard

South Jersey Overhead Door 602 Sportsman (25 laps): 1. Joe Toth, 2. Steve Davis, 3. Matt Elery, 4. Bryan Brobst, 5. Tom Sherby, 6. Howie Finch, 7. Sammy Martz Jr., 8. Michael White, 9. Ryan Higgs, 10. Adam White, 11. Travis Hill, 12. Jim Dallett, 13. Brad Cicio, 14. Billy Chester, 15. Josh Bricker, 16. Scott Hulmes, 17. Nick Desantis, 18. Ryan Godown Jr., 19. Wayne Weaver, 20. Ethan Bill, 21. Andy Walko, 22. Joel Smith, 23. Pete Serra, 24. Zach Steffey, 25. Shane Kassekert, 26. Joe Brown, 27. Bob Lineman Jr.

Sunbelt Rentals Street Stocks (15 laps): 1. Jeff Dirkes, 2. Jeramy Doerr, 3. Gary Klimeczak, 4. Nick Sandone III, 5. John Parker, 6. Tom Wills Jr., 7. Mike Hughes

D.A.’s Auto Body & Repair Rookies (7 laps): 1. Shane Kassekert, 2. Ethan Bill, 3. Mike Creamer, 4. Ethan Young, 5. Zach Steffey, 6. Courtney Pickens

Bridgeport, NJ – Just days before he moves into a new ride, Matt Stangle took his family owned Ace Materials No. 6 to Weaknecht Archery Victory Lane after winning the Foley Cat Modified thirty lap feature on the high banks of the Bridgeport Motorsports Park.

Steve Kemery came out on top of a highly contested South Jersey Overhead Door 602 Crate Sportsman feature event that saw four wide racing for the lead. TJ Henry picked up the win in the Sunbelt Rentals Street Stocks in just his second appearance of the 2021 season. Ethan Bill waited until the final corner of the final lap in the DA’s Auto Body and Repair Rookie feature to take the lead for his fifth win of the season. Dave Carraghan made his first appearance of 2021 on the Spirit Auto Center quarter mile and raced to the win in the Afternoon Matinee for the All Star Slingshots.

Matt Stangle was a man on a mission. As Stangle prepares to move into the Danny’s Pizza Pizzazz No. 51 this week, he had one last thing to accomplish. Stangle told his dad, John, that he wanted to win in their own No. 6. And that’s exactly what he did!

Stangle started eleventh on the grid – sharing the sixth row with Alex Yankowski with 2021 feature winners, Dominick Buffalino and Ryan Godown right behind him. Troy Ale grabbed the lead from Jim Gallagher, Jr. on the initial lap and led through lap seven when Jim Britt and his CIL Underground No. 118 challenged for the top spot. Britt led laps eight and nine but it was Stangle who raced ahead of the field following a lap ten restart.

Ryan Krachun and Dominick Buffalino raced into second and third behind Stangle. Ryan Godown made a four-car race just a few laps later. Krachun and Buffalino raced each other for second, lap after lap. As the leaders approached lapped traffic, Stangle showed a clear advantage as the leader was able to move through the traffic with ease.

The lapped traffic caused quite a bit of congestion in front of the leaders in the final laps but Stangle raced to the checkered flag for the win. After trading the position back and forth, Krachun raced to the finish line ahead of Buffalino with Godown in fourth. Alex Yankowski worked his way through traffic to finish fifth.

Billy Pauch, Tommy Beamer, Britt, Billy Pauch, Jr. and Billy Osmun III completed the top ten at the end of the thirty lap feature.

In addition to picking up the win, Stangle was able to get in some practice laps with the Sommerling No. 51. The crew had a new mount ready for Stangle who will make his first Bridgeport start in his new ride on Wednesday when the Modifieds join the Eastern Storm USAC Sprint cars in a doubleheader show on the high banks.

Steve Kemery was the race winner in the 602 Crate Sportsman, taking the lead following a lap eighteen caution that saw four cars competing for the win as they headed out of turn four.

Sammy Martz, Jr. was the early race leader, withstanding the challenges of a persistent Steve Davis. Davis took the lead following a lap seventeen caution and lead the way for two laps. Davis and Kemery raced to the start/finish line, side by side on lap nineteen but Kemery moved the US Electrical Services No. 69k into the lead on the next circuit.

Kemery grabbed his third Bridgeport win of the season over a hard charging Ryan Godown Jr. who picked his way through the top five in the late stages of the race. Martz finished third followed by Tom Sherby and Matt Smith.
Matt Ellery finished sixth followed by Howie Finch, Jonathan Swift, Jim Dallett and Michael White to complete the top ten.

Ethan Young led all the way to the final lap of the Rookie feature when Ethan Bill executed a slide job on the final corner to capture his fifth win of the season. Young finished second followed by Mike Creamer, Shane Kassekert and Courtney Pickens.

TJ Henry raced to his first win in just his second Bridgeport start of the 2021 season in the Street Stock main event. Mike Hughes was the leader up until the final two laps when Henry raced the one-time feature winner for the lead. When Hughes won earlier this season, he was quick to thank Henry for his help. Henry had responded to Hughes request for help and it made all of the difference. On Saturday night, it was a race between teacher and student.

Trailing Henry and Hughes to the checkered were Jeramy Doerr, Nick Sandone and Tom Wills, Jr.

Dave Carraghan made his first start of the season on the Spirit quarter mile and duplicated his results from a year ago by taking the win in the twenty lap All Star Slingshot feature.

Carraghan chased Amanda Angstadt to the finish in the heat race that preceded the main event but the roles were reversed when he passed Angstadt for the lead in the feature. Angstadt finished second followed by Michael Beckett, Ryan Davey and Scott Phillipp.

FOLEY CAT MODIFIEDS: 1. Matt Stangle, 2. Ryan Krachun, 3. Dominick Buffalino, 4. Ryan Godown, 5. Alex Yankowski, 6. Billy Pauch, 7. Tommy Beamer, 8. Jim Britt, 9. Billy Pauch Jr., 10. Billy Osmun III, 11. Joseph Watson, 12. Clay Butler, 13. Neal Williams, 14. Jim Gallagher Jr., 15. Brett Ballard, 16. Briggs Danner, 17. Billy Lasko, 18. Sam Martz, 19. Cale Ross, 20. Mike Franz, 21. David Crossman, 22. Tom Moore Jr., 23. Troy Ale, 24. Wade Hendrickson, 25. Joe Toth, 26. Jordan Watson

SOUTH JERSEY OVERHEAD DOOR 602 SPORTSMAN: 1. Steve Kemery, 2. Ryan Godown Jr., 3. Sammy Martz Jr., 4. Tom Sherby, 5. Matt Smith, 6. Matt Ellery, 7. Howie Finch, 8. Jonathan Swift, 9. Jim Dallett, 10. Michael White, 11. Josh Bricker, 12. Adam White, 13. Joe Brown, 14. James Hill, 15. Ryan Stangle, 16. Billy Chester, 17. Will Protinick, 18. Mike Creamer, 19. Scott Hulmes, 20. Steve Davis, 21. Ryan Higgs, 22. Ethan Bill, 23. Sean Metz, 24. Brad Cicio, 25. Pete Serra, 26. Greg Reed, 27. Erik Mattson

SUNBELT RENTALS STREET STOCKS: 1. TJ Henry, 2. Mike Hughes, 3. Jeramy Doerr, 4. Nick Sandone III, 5. Tom Wills Jr., 6. John Parker, 7. Ken Moren, 8. Terry Chaney, 9. Jeff Dirkes

D.A.’S AUTOBODY AND REPAIR ROOKIES: 1. Ethan Bill, 2. Ethan Young, 3. Shane Kassekert, 4. Mike Creamer, 5. Courtney Pickens

ALL STAR SLINGSHOTS: 1. Dave Carraghan, 2. Amanda Angstadt, 3. Michael Beckett, 4. Ryan Davey, 5. Scott Philipp, 6. Ryan Harris, 7. Tim Franks, 8. Dave Morrell, 9. PJ Bozowski, DNS – Tomas Mowery