7/20/2025
USAC East Coast Sprint Cars
“The Big Show” Joey Amantea Dominates at Bridgeport
After weeks of weather delays, Joey Amantea finally got the green light to unleash the JPA Masonry No. 88j—and he made every lap count at Bridgeport Motorsports Park.
With 21 Innovative Machining Technology USAC 360 Sprint Cars signed in, anticipation was high. Two heat races kicked off the night, with victories going to David Swanson and Amantea—both making their season debut in impressive fashion.
The feature redraw placed Ed Aikin (Lincoln University) and “The Boyertown Bullet” Ronald Helmick on the front row for the 25-lap main event. As the green flag waved over the 4/10-mile high-banked oval, Aikin jumped to the early lead. But it didn’t take long for fourth-starting Amantea to go to work.
By Lap 6, Amantea powered to the front, executing a decisive move past Aikin. Once in clean air, he never looked back.
While Amantea checked out from the field, the battle for second became the highlight of the race. Aikin, Helmick, tenth-starting Bobby Butler, points leader Steven Drevicki, and Chris Allen engaged in a thrilling, high-speed chess match, trading slide jobs and positions in spectacular fashion.
With six laps to go, Amantea encountered heavy lapped traffic. Despite a few close calls that had fans holding their breath, the young Mount Pocono native maintained control and built an impressive—and unknown to him—six-second lead.
The feature went caution-free, and Amantea flashed under the checkered flag for his first USAC 360 Sprint victory of the season. Drevicki charged from sixth to finish second, while Butler earned hard charger honors with a run from tenth to third. Aikin held strong for fourth, and Chris Allen (Old Bridge, NJ) rounded out the top five.
Amantea’s performance was nothing short of dominant—proving once again why he’s called The Big Show.
BDB Grapics Heat 1: 1. David Swanson (117 Swanson) 2. Tom Radivoy (1Q Radivoy) 3. Ronald Helmick ( 22R Helmick) 4. Bruce Buckwalter (83 Buckwalter) 5. Mick DaGostino (91D DaGostino) 6. Rich Carnathan (64 Carnathan) 7. Dirk Rimrott (27 Rimrott) 8. Jason Cherry (67 Cherry) 9. Gary Huston (44 Huston) 10. Brendan Hires (2 Hires) DNS: Patrick Chilmonik (1 Chilmonik)
E Schnieder and Sons Heat 2: 1. Joey Amantea (88j Amantea) 2. Ed Aikin (7 Aikin) 3. Chris Allen Jr. ( 71 Allen) 4.Steven Drevicki (19 Drevicki) 5. Bobby Butler (5B Butler) 6. Jonathon Swanson (17 Swanson) 7. Brett Rose (45R Rose) 8. Mike Haggenbottom (51 Kelly) 9. Heidi Hedin (3H Hedin) 10. Greg Shepsis (75 Shepsis)
GENE FRANCKOWIAK Presented Feature: 1. Joey Amantea (4) 2. Steven Drevicki (6) 3. Bobby Butler (10) 4. Ed Aikin (1) 5. Chris Allen Jr (8) 6. Ronald Helmick (1) 7. Tom Radivoy (7) 8. David Swanson (5) 9. Bruce Buckwalter (3) 10. Mick Dagustino (9) 11. Rich Carnathan (11) 12. Brett Rose (14) 13. Mike Haggenbottom (16) 14. Jason Cherry (15) 15. Heidi Hedin (18) 16. Gary Huston (17) 17. Johnathan Swanson (12) 18. Dirk Rimrott (13) 19. Greg Shepsis (20) DNS: Brendan Hires (19) Patrick Chilmonik (21)
Award Winners:
JW Home Improvements Highest Crate or 305: Mick Daugstino
Bitner AutoMotive FAST TIME: Joey Amantea (15.607 @ 86.5 mph)
Hoosier Tire Poker Chip was 12: Brett Rose
JPA Racing Products Hard Luck: Brendan Hires
C&C Landscape Hard Charger: Bobby Butler 10-3
Next Week the Series tries for the 3rd time to invade the Snyder County 1/2 Mile of Selinsgrove!
Steve Koletar Photos
Submitted By: Kurt Bettler
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