Crate Sportsman Pit Notes – Season Opener at Bridgeport Motorsports Park  

Brian Papiez took the early lead over Eric Korrman but by lap 7 both were back in the pits with Ryan Godown Jr moving into the lead.  A battle of the restarts developed between Travis Hill and Ryan Godown Jr.   Hill took the lead on one restart only to have another caution fly on the next lap with Godown retaking the lead on the next restart.  Once Godown got some green flag laps he was able to extend his lead by over 1 second and take his 2^nd win in a row at Bridgeport Motorsports Park in the 45-minute & 10 caution feature race.

Ryan Godown Jr. battled potholes, cautions, and 3 wide restarts to hang onto his second win in a row at Bridgeport and pick up the first points event this season.

Godown Jr noted “I thought I was dumping the season on lap 2 when the whole left side of the car went airborne and was off the ground from hitting that hole in turn 2.  The only thing I could do was stomp on the breaks and turn right.  Luckily it came back down and landed on all fours, and I was able to get back down the straightaway.  I was trying to go three wide with Eric Kormann and Brian Papiez and hit that hole.”   

Godown Jr continued “Wayne (Weaver) was in the mix and with Travis (Hill) it was a fun race to be part of tonight.  We were lucky that things went our way in the end tonight, and we were able to get it done.  The restarts were definitely a challenge, but I would have liked the race to have more green flag runs instead of 10 cautions.   I think my car was good enough that I would have been able to pull away from the field if I got some green flag laps.  We are definitely going for the 2022 points championship but it’s going be tough to accomplish with the level of talent here at Bridgeport.”

Travis Hill finished 2^nd from a 12^th starting position.  Hill secured the lead twice for a lap only to see another caution come out for another restart that Godown used to reclaim the lead for good.

Back at the pits Travis Hill reflected “We weren’t even going race tonight.  I got the lead from starting a restart on the top.  I had lost a race last year choosing the top on a restart and because of that ended up second guessing myself and choose the bottom.  Both of us choose the bottom and each time found that the top was the place to be.  We both figured it out at the same time, but I didn’t get another chance to choose the top.  Ryan gave an inch and ran me clean and can’t ask for more than that.  We ran from 12^th to 2^nd and it was a good night for us.  It’s been a good start to the season for us so far.”

Wayne Weaver had a solid 3^rd place finish from his 9^th place starting position.  Wayne was in close contention for the lead on several occasions went 3 wide with Godown and Hill in the final laps.  Wayne is off to his best start on the high banks track with a win and a 3^rd place finish. 

Postrace Wayne commented “We are off to a great start this season and I hope this carries us through the long season of intense weekly competition in the Sportsman division at Bridgeport this year.  We have found a couple of things on our TEO car that have turned into positive adjustments for us.  I think our biggest change this year was we spent a lot of time on the dyno and with the carb and header combinations and I feel we have a very good setup this year for the High Banks at Bridgeport.  As a driver it has taken some adjustment and time on my part to make the successful transition from the big track to the high banks since they are totally different.  I really feel that in our 3^rd year on the high banks we have everything is coming together this year from driving, setup, and combination and we are now on top of our game and ready for our best season ever on the High Banks at Bridgeport.

Wayne’s best points finish in two years of racing on the high banks track was last year with a 15^th place finish in the 2021 crate point standings.  For 2022, Wayne is poised to return to top 5 contention just like his big track days but this time on the High Banks at Bridgeport Motorsports Park.

Howie Finch started off his 2022 season with a 4^th place finish from the 8^th starting position in the feature.  In addition, he also finished 4^th in his heat race starting from 10^th and last place to earn a redraw spot and landing the 8^th starting position in the feature.    Howie finished 5^th in Bridgeport crate points in 2021 and is hopefully that he can move up a few spots in 2022 to the number one spot.

Matt Ellery finished 5^th from a 10^th starting position and he also has a 2^nd place finish at an earlier non-points event in his only other start of the 2022 season.  Matt is off to a good start for the 2022 season; but expectations are high as Matt finished 3^rd in the 2021 crate points at Bridgeport last year.

Matt noted “Overall it was a good night for us.  Restarts are very important at Bridgeport, and we had 10 of them tonight.  I could had done better tonight if I hit my restarts as good as I should have.  Success in the early season is just showing up prepared every week and having a great group of people around the car and me.  My father kept us going every week and without him we would not have any success.”

Jim Dallett finished 6^th from a 6^th starting position.  He upgraded to a 2018 Bicknell which has performed well in only two outings this season with a 6^th and 7^th in some stout fields of 30 plus cars already this season.  Jim finished 9^th in points last year but has his sights set on an upgrade to the top five in points for the 2022 season.

Jim commented “When you are on coils like we are; a rough surface like tonight is always a handful but we managed to sneak into a redraw spot with a 3^rd in our heat race.  We started 6th in the feature and after gaining some positions and then losing some we wound up finishing back in 6th.  I had some good, clean battles with a couple competitors throughout the 25 laps but with the surface being rough I kept my maneuvers conservative and did the best I could to run smooth laps and bring the car home in one piece.  While we’re always striving to finish up front, the underlying goal of our limited budget race team is to roll the car back into the trailer at the end of the night in one piece.”

Jim continued “This race was extremely long due to the 10 cautions.  Every restart is a chess match which you need to plan out your moves in advance to try and make some forward progress while factoring in your risks at the same time.  Tonight’s rough conditions were most definitely taxing on race equipment despite only 25 laps.  We will be putting a wrench on every single bolt and nut on this car this week for sure!”

Greg Humlhanz made the trip up from Delaware well worth while and finished 7^th in the feature from a 7^th starting position.  

Greg noted “We had a good night, and it was only our second race at Bridgeport.  Started 7th in the heat and picked up the heat race win.  Started 7 in the feature and finished in 7th.  Car was a little off tonight. Our goal for the 2022 season is to be up front competing for the win at every race we attend.  As of now we don’t plan race weekly at any track this season.”

Billy Chester finished 9^th from his 20^th starting position to kick off his 2022 season with a low budget top ten finish.  With two low budget top ten points finishes in both 2021 and 2020 Billy is looking to add a 3^rd low budget top ten points finish in 2022 despite rising fuel, tire, sheet metal and parts costs which already appear to be presenting unprecedented challenges for low budget teams this year.

Postrace Billy noted “In the feature I decided to ride and see what comes to my way.  There are 22 race point season so no sense wadding up my stuff the first night of the season.  I stuck to the plan, and it worked.  We went from 14th to 9th in the last 7 laps.  That last double file restart was key.  I was able to get where I wanted to be and I that’s when I started to pick off cars.”

Billy continued “the track was rough, yes, but with all the rain we had all week we all knew what was going to be.  I think some of the 10 cautions were from the track and while others were from lack of driver patience.  As a low buck racing program, you got to use your head.  Your always one wreck away from sitting on the couch the rest of the season.” 

Isabella Van Orden towed in from New York and posted a 13^th place finish in her first visit to the Bridgeport High Banks.

Isabella stated “We are running the Short Track Super Series for points this year, so we came down today to get my driving approvals by the New Jersey State Troopers and also get some track time at one of the STSS tour stops.  As an underage 15-year-old driver I have completed & passed the NJ state underaged driver requirements today and now can compete in New Jersey.

Isabella continued “I really enjoyed the high bank track and found out you have to use a lot of muscle on the car.  This track is very wide and a challenge to read the track and where the other drivers are going.  We learned a lot tonight and that’s why we were here.”

Bryan Brobst finished the 2021 season with several strong top 10 finishes and looked forward to making a strong run at the Crate points championship during the 2022 season.  Then racing did what racing does.  During hot laps at his first outing of the season Bryan got pinched into the wall and the frame and axle got bent.  Bryan raced with the bent frame and finished 4^th but still needed a race car before the points season started in two weeks.  The #11 team found a new chassis thanks to Jamie Mills and were back on track for today’s Bridgeport season opener.  Bryan was moving forward from 14^th to 8^th but racing contact collapsed his front end and ended his night on the hook.  Bryan will return at the next points race on 4/23 to get the program back on track and the #11 back on plan and in the top 5.

When Eric Kormann (10) and Brian Papiez (37) battled for the early lead was reminiscent of the big track years when these two raced each other almost every weekend under different numbers as Papiez was 99 and Kormann 16 back in the day.

Brian Papiez took the early lead until a lap 5 flat sent him to the pits and the back of the field.  Brian ran his way back through the field to 6^th only to have to stop on track for safety equipment issues and eventually pulled off.

Eric Kormann took a brief lead but was retired to the pits with front end damage after contact with a competitor and then the outside wall.

PRECISION HYDRAULIC AND OIL 602 SPORTSMAN:

 1. Ryan Godown Jr., 2. Travis Hill, 3. Wayne Weaver, 4. Howie Finch, 5. Matt Ellery, 6. Jim Dallett, 7. Greg Humlhanz, 8. Stephen Yankowski, 9. Billy Chester, 10. Brandon Shipley, 11. Thomas Prychka, 12. Brian Rogers, 13. Isabella Van Orden, 14. David Jenkins, 15. Anthony Sisco, 16. Ethan Young, 17. Brian Papiez, 18. Scott Hulmes, 19. Bryan Brobst, 20. Nick Desantis, 21. Pete Serra, 22. Eric Kormann, 23. Howard Huepful, 24. Ethan Bill

DNQ – John Scarpati, Sara Napora, Nolan Openshaw, Dan Hulmes, Erik Matson, Chris Martinez, Greg Nailor & Jim Cheeseman.

Next up at Bridgeport on April 16^th is Modified, Mass 305 Sprint cars, Street Stocks and Vintage cars with racing at 6:00 PM.