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Herbert, Tanner Shine in Wild 100th Bear Ridge SCoNE Race

Rookie wins five-race Green Mountain Gear-Heads Championship Series title

BRADFORD, Vt. (September 16, 2024) – Caiden Herbert and Matt Tanner were the stars of a wildly unpredictable show at Bear Ridge Speedway on Saturday, September 14, as the McGee Automotive Family Sprint Cars of New England (SCoNE) Tour celebrated its 100th race at the Vermont quarter-mile oval. Tanner stood in victory lane as the winner of the two-segment main event, and teenage rookie Herbert clinched the Bear Ridge track title in the five-race Green Mountain Gear-Heads Championship Series presented by Hull Motorsports.

The night started off well for longtime competitor Floyd Billington, who turned the fastest lap in time trial qualifying and earned a $100 bonus, but his run quickly soured after contact on the opening lap of the first 25-lap segment sent his car caroming through the infield and suffering major front-end damage. Tanner, who started second, was able to capitalize at the restart and grabbed the lead. After the race’s only other restart on lap 6, he ran away from the pack. Once he caught lapped traffic, though, Chase Moran was able to reel him and poke ahead to lead laps 15 and 16.

Stephentown, N.Y.’s Tanner got back out front, though, and he held on to win the first 25-lap segment. Each segment carried a scoring system that award one point per position, with the lowest two-segment score determining the winner – unlike the championship point system. Tanner’s win was worth one scoring point, while Moran’s runner-up finish earned him two points. Scott Holcomb, Clay Dow, and Matt Hoyt finished third through fifth, with the balance of the top 10 filled by Chris Donnelly, Kadyn Berry, Caiden Herbert, Jason Goff, and Will Hull. Nick Kruger and Nick Comeau were the final lead-lap finishers in 11th and 12th, respectively.

With an invert of the lead-lap cars between segments, it was rookie Kruger who jumped from the outside of the front row to the lead in the second leg. He held strong and battled with eight-time champion Donnelly for several laps in lapped traffic before finally giving up the spot on lap 14. Donnelly was out front when Moran came charging through the field up to second place, holding the unofficial lead in the segment scoring for the overall victory. But disaster struck Moran with six circuits remaining, as he tangled with the lapped car of Ron Davis, flipping Davis onto his side and causing race-ending damage for Moran; neither driver was injured.

After the restart for the lap-19 red flag, Donnelly drove away uncontested to win the segment, while Kadyn Berry, Tanner, and Herbert were each able to slice through traffic and improve their positions. Donnelly led Berry, Tanner, Kruger, and Herbert at the finish, followed by Dow, Goff, Holcomb, Comeau, and Hoyt.
With the scores combined, it was Tanner’s four points (1st, 3rd) that gave him the overall race-winning low score and a $1,500 payday, courtesy of Bear Ridge Speedway and Green Mountain Gear-Heads. Donnelly – in his first race back since a big crash in May – scored seven points (6th, 1st) for the overall runner-up finish. Young racer Berry’s roller coaster of a day ended with him on the podium in third place with nine points (7th, 2nd). He was followed by two-time SCoNE champion Dow – making his first start of the season – with 10 points and Holcomb with 11 points.

New Hampton, N.H.’s Herbert finished sixth overall in the race and was able to seal up the crown for the Green Mountain Gear-Heads Championship Series presented by Hull Motorsports. Kruger’s seventh-place finish was a career-best, and he was followed by Hoyt, Goff, and Comeau.

Seventeen-year-old Herbert won the Gear-Heads track title over Scott Holcomb by 19 points (214-195). Berry, Troy Comeau, and Hoyt completed the top five in the Gear-Heads standings, all within 24 points of Herbert. The championship-winning rookie posted finishes of ninth, sixth, fourth, first, and sixth in the five-race series.

RACE NOTES:
• A field of 22 cars made the haul to Bear Ridge Speedway to compete with SCoNE. Five drivers – Clay Dow, Mike Kondrat, Mia Koponen, Haylee Papp and Sophya Papp – each made their first SCoNE start of the season; the Papp sisters each made their first-ever appearance with SCoNE.
• Of the three female competitors in the race, Mia Koponen is the oldest at 17 years, nine months. Haylee Papp turned 17 in August, and Sophya Papp is 14.
• Kadyn Berry, also 17, had a roller coaster of a day that started with a roadside rescue from Sabil & Sons Towing after his team hauler overheated about 50 miles from Bear Ridge Speedway. The team arrived at the track less than 10 minutes before time trials began, and Berry qualified ninth. He then finished seventh and second in the two segments, good enough for third place overall in the race. With his efforts, he finished third in the Green Mountain Gear-Heads Championship Series presented by Hull Motorsports and moved up to second place in the season-long McGee SCoNE Tour standings.
• McGee SCoNE Tour championship point leader Matt Hoyt was joined at the track by wife Lauren and their daughter, Melanie, who was born just 10 days earlier.
• Matt Tanner’s victory was the 11th of his SCoNE career, coming in the 100th SCoNE race at Bear Ridge Speedway. His first SCoNE win also came at Bear Ridge Speedway some 15 years and two days earlier, on September 12, 2009 – SCoNE’s seventh race at Bear Ridge.
• The two 25-lap segments were won by Matt Tanner and Chris Donnelly, with each earning a $50 bonus from Appleknockers General Store of Warren, N.H., and another $50 bonus from longtime Bear Ridge Speedway official Teri Wyman.
• Karen’s Shirt Barn, also of Barnstead, N.H., presented the Hard Charger Award, with a $50 bonus going to Matt Tanner, who gained a race-high total of 10 positions with the two segments combined.
• Caiden Herbert won a $50 bonus from Dave Bowser Motorsports as the top-finishing registered rookie in sixth place; Nick Kruger was finished seventh and Donnie Ottati finished 17th.
• Matt Hoyt continues to lead the McGee Automotive Family SCoNE Tour championship standings with 427 points. Kadyn Berry is just 12 points back at 415, followed closely by Will Hull at 408. Floyd Billington sits fourth at 391 and Caiden Herbert is fifth at 389, only 38 points behind Hoyt.

The McGee Automotive Family Sprint Cars of New England Tour has one weekend off before wrapping up the championship season with the two-day NAPA Championship Weekend at Maine’s Unity Raceway. Racing is Friday, September 27 and Saturday, September 28, with a full card of qualifying and feature races each night, along with the Sabil & Sons/Friends of Veterans “Favorite Driver Poll” race on Saturday night.

To learn more about the Sprint Cars of New England Tour, 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 #5 of 5
Saturday, September 14, 2024

A-Main Feature (2 Segments – 25 Laps Each)
Pos.-(Start)-Driver-Hometown-Segment Score
(#) - denotes rookie

1. (2) Matt Tanner, Stephentown, N.Y. (1, 3 = 4)
2. (8) Chris Donnelly, Piermont, N.H. (6, 1 = 7)
3. (9) Kadyn Berry, Goffstown, N.H. (7, 2 = 9)
4. (7) Clay Dow, Barnstead, N.H. (4, 6 = 10)
5. (4) Scott Holcomb, Granby, Conn. (3, 8 = 11)
6. (11) # Caiden Herbert, New Hampton, N.H. (8, 5 = 13)
7. (13) # Nick Kruger, Rupert, Vt. (11, 4 = 15)
8. (5) Matt Hoyt, Campton, N.H. (5, 10 = 15)
9. (10) Jason Goff, Preston Hollow, N.Y. (9, 7 = 16)
10. (18) Nick Comeau, Hebron, N.H. (12, 9 = 21)
11. (6) Will Hull, Plainfield, Vt. (10, 12 = 22)
12. (3) Chase Moran, Fultonville, N.Y. (2, 20 = 22)
13. (12) Troy Comeau, Warren, N.H. (13, 13 = 26)
14. (16) Sophya Papp, Goshen, Conn. (14, 14 = 28)
15. (1) Floyd Billington, South Glens Falls, N.Y. (21, 11 = 32)
16. (18) Haylee Papp, Goshen, Conn. (17, 15 = 32)
17. (21) # Donnie Ottati, Rumney, N.H. (19, 16 = 35)
18. (14) Mia Koponen, Ludlow, Vt. (18, 18 = 36)
19. (19) Ron Davis Jr., Moultonborough, N.H. (15, 21 = 36)
20. (15) Wayne Stearns, Bradford, Vt. (16, DNS-22 = 38)
21. (22) Mike Kondrat, Freedom, N.H. (DNS-22, 17 = 39)
22. (20) Sam Comeau, Hebron, N.H. (20, 19 = 39)

SEGMENT 1:
Lap Leaders (3 lead changes among 3 drivers): Floyd Billington, grid; Matt Tanner, 1-14; Chase Moran, 15-16; Tanner 17-25.
Cautions (2): Laps 1, 6.

SEGMENT 2:
Lap Leaders (2 lead changes among 3 drivers): Nick Comeau, grid; Nick Kruger, 1-13; Chris Donnelly, 14-25.
Cautions (2): Laps 1, 19 [red].

Contingency Award Winners:
• Bear Ridge Speedway Time Trial Award: Floyd Billington (14.528 seconds)
• Appleknockers General Store/Teri Wyman Segment Winners: Matt Tanner, Chris Donnelly
• Karen’s Shirt Barn “Hard Charger” Award: Matt Tanner (+10 positions)
• Green Mountain Gear-Heads Award: Matt Tanner (1st)
• Highside Racewear Award: Chris Donnelly (2nd)
• 802 Print Award: Kadyn Berry (3rd)
• VT Fire Award: Clay Dow (4th)
• Venom Choppers Award: Scott Holcomb (5th)
• Big Al’s Photos Award: Caiden Herbert (6th)
• Waddell Communications & Repairs Award: Nick Kruger (7th)
• 87Speed Award: Matt Hoyt (8th)
• Dave Bowser Motorsports Rookie of the Race: Caiden Herbert (6th)

Upcoming Events:
• Friday, September 27 – Unity Raceway – Unity, Maine
• Saturday, September 28 – Unity Raceway – Unity, Maine – SEASON FINALE

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

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