Comeau Scores Popular First SCoNE Win at Bear Ridge

7/23/2024

Sprint Cars of New England

Comeau Scores Popular First SCoNE Win at Bear Ridge

Longtime racer earns first victory with late-race pass

BRADFORD, Vt. (July 22, 2024) – It was a long time coming, but it was well worth the wait for Troy Comeau. The second-generation dirt racing veteran earned the first A-Main victory of his career on the McGee Automotive Family Sprint Cars of New England (SCoNE) Tour at Bear Ridge Speedway on Saturday, July 20, and he was met with thunderous applause by both fans and his fellow racers.

The 25-lap race was the halfway point of the season for both the overall 12-race McGee SCoNE Tour and the Green Mountain Gear-Heads Championship Series presented by Hull Motorsports – a mini-series comprised of the five SCoNE events at Bear Ridge Speedway in 2024.

Following success in Late Models and Modifieds, Warren, N.H., racer Comeau won SCoNE Rookie of the Year honors in 2013 and has driven Sprint Cars, both winged and wingless, for a dozen years. Though he had earned sporadic podium finishes, Comeau had never crossed the line first until Saturday night. It didn’t come easily, either. On a dry-slick surface, rookie Nick Kruger led the first six laps including following the race’s first restart with five circuits complete.

Forty-year veteran driver Floyd Billington, who ran best in the middle groove, snatched the lead from Kruger on the seventh lap and held on through the final two restarts, but Comeau’s car turned exceptionally well and was locked down on the extreme inside line, where he was able to wiggle past Billington at lap 20. Comeau – who was the recipient of the SCoNE Sportsmanship Award last year – ran away in the final five laps and crossed the finish line as the fans rose to their feet in cheers.

Billington held strong for the runner-up finish – his best result of the season. Nick Comeau, the winner’s cousin, ran an impressive race on the extreme outside lane and rebounded from a major mid-race bump to earn his second consecutive podium finish in third place. Rookie Caiden Herbert was a career-best fourth, and Jake Williams marched forward from his 15th starting position to finish fifth and earn the Hard Charger Award presented by Karen’s Shirt Barn. The balance of the top 10 finishers, in order, was Matt Hoyt, Travis Billington, Scott Holcomb, Kadyn Berry, and Kruger.

RACE NOTES:
• A field of 19 cars made the haul to Bear Ridge Speedway to compete with SCoNE.
• Troy Comeau’s victory was the first of his SCoNE career. He is the 48th different driver to win a SCoNE Tour race since the series began in 2004 and the sixth different winner in seven A-Main feature races so far in 2024.
• The two qualifying heat races were won by Jason Goff and Ron Davis Jr., with each grabbing a $100 bonus from CK & Sons Trucking of Barnstead, New Hampshire; the win for Davis was his first-ever checkered flag in a Sprint Car.
• Jason Goff received a free 55-gallon drum of racing fuel from the Sabrena’s Creative Styles of Tilton, N.H., and the McPhail Racing Team for finishing 13th.
• Caiden Herbert of New Hampton, N.H., won a $50 bonus from Dave Bowser Motorsports as the top-finishing registered rookie in sixth place; Nick Kruger was 10th, Tyler Chartrand was 11th, and Donnie Ottati was 18th.
• Through the first six events of the overall 12-race McGee Automotive Family SCoNE Tour schedule, Matt Hoyt leads Scott Holcomb by 24 points, 286-262. Jake Williams (260), Troy Comeau (244), and Floyd Billington (241) round out the top five.
• The point standings in the Green Mountain Gear-Heads Championship Series presented by Hull Motorsports are have the same top five drivers in the same order, but seven points separate first-place Hoyt and fifth-place Billington.

The McGee Automotive Family Sprint Cars of New England Tour returns to the fast half-mile at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in West Haven, Vt., on Saturday, July 27, as McGee Automotive Family presents the racing event. To learn more about the Sprint Cars of New England, visit www.nesprintcars.com or find the “SCoNE – Sprint Cars of New England” page on Facebook.

OFFICIAL RESULTS – McGee Automotive Family Sprint Cars of New England
Bear Ridge Speedway – Bradford, Vt.
Green Mountain Gear-Heads Championship Series presented by Hull Motorsports – Race #3 of 5
Saturday, July 20, 2024

A-Main Feature (25 laps)
Pos.-(Start)-Driver-Hometown
(#) - denotes rookie

(4) Troy Comeau, Warren, N.H.
(6) Floyd Billington, South Glens Falls, N.Y.
(5) Nick Comeau, Hebron, N.H.
(8) # Caiden Herbert, New Hampton, N.H.
(15) Jake Williams, Tuftonboro, N.H.
(12) Matt Hoyt, Campton, N.H.
(11) Travis Billington, South Glens Falls, N.Y.
(14) Scott Holcomb, Granby, Conn.
(13) Kadyn Berry, Goffstown, N.H.
(1) # Nick Kruger, Rupert, Vt.
(7) # Tyler Chartrand, Johnsonville, N.Y.
(10) Caleb Lamson, Moretown, Vt.
(3) Jason Goff, Preston Hollow, N.Y.
(9) Will Hull, Plainfield, Vt.
(2) Ron Davis Jr., Moultonborough, N.H.
(18) Mark Reynolds, Hudson Falls, N.Y.
(19) Mark Cole, Lebanon, N.H.
(16) # Donnie Ottati, Rumney, N.H.
(17) Sam Comeau, Hebron, N.H.
Lap Leaders (2 lead changes among 3 drivers): Nick Kruger, 1-6; Floyd Billington, 7-19; Troy Comeau, 20-25.
Cautions (3): Laps 5, 11, 18.

Contingency Award Winners:
• CK & Sons Trucking Heat Winners: Jason Goff, Ron Davis Jr.
• Karen’s Shirt Barn “Hard Charger” Award: Jake Williams (+10 positions)
• Green Mountain Gear-Heads Award: Troy Comeau (1st)
• Highside Racewear Award: Floyd Billington (2nd)
• 802 Print Award: Nick Comeau (3rd)
• VT Fire Award: Caiden Herbert (4th)
• Venom Choppers Award: Jake Williams (5th)
• Big Al’s Photos Award: Matt Hoyt (6th)
• Waddell Communications & Repairs Award: Travis Billington (7th)
• 87Speed Award: Scott Holcomb (8th)
• Sabrena’s Creative Styles/McPhail Racing Team Award: Jason Goff (13th)
• Dave Bowser Motorsports Rookie of the Race: Caiden Herbert (4th)

Upcoming Events:
• Saturday, July 27 – Devil’s Bowl Speedway – West Haven, Vt.
• Saturday, August 10 – Airborne Park Speedway – Plattsburgh, N.Y.

(Photos by Alan Ward/Big Al's Photos)

Submitted By: Justin St. Louis