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SCoNE Set to Crown Gear-Heads Champion at 100th Bear Ridge Race

“Home of the Coupes” to host special format for milestone event

BRADFORD, Vt. (September 7, 2024) – Bear Ridge Speedway and the McGee Automotive Family Sprint Cars of New England (SCoNE) Tour are ready to hit a major milestone together on Saturday, September 14. The rustic, ¼-mile dirt oval, located on a mountainside in Bradford, Vermont, will host the SCoNE Sprint Cars for the 100th time, and the first-ever champion of SCoNE’s new Green Mountain Gear-Heads Championship Series presented by Hull Motorsports will be crowned.

As Bear Ridge Speedway prides itself on being a little different – it is the “Home of the Coupes” after all, featuring cars resembling stock cars from the post-World War II era – the race format will look different from usual. Track promoter C.V. Elms III and SCoNE president Justin St. Louis have worked to create a two-segment race totaling 50 laps in distance and offering extra money through the field.

The starting lineup will be set by time trials, starting heads-up in order with the fastest car earning a $100 bonus. The “winged, wild, and wicked fast” Sprint Cars will race for 25 laps and a $50 first-place bonus from AppleKnockers General Store in Warren, New Hampshire. Each driver will be given a point score – first place receives one point, second place receives two points, and so on.

The cars finishing on the lead lap in the first 25-lap segment will then be inverted to start the second leg, with cars one or more laps down starting in order behind the lead lap cars. Another AppleKnockers bonus and another set of points will be awarded after the second 25-lap segment, and the driver with the lowest combined score will be declared the overall winner and earn a $1,500 payday. The runner-up will take a $1,000 check home, and each driver through the field will receive an extra $50, all courtesy of Bear Ridge Speedway. In the event of ties for overall position, the driver with the better finish in the second segment will earn the position.

In addition to that, the event is the last round of the five-race Green Mountain Gear-Heads Championship Series presented by Hull Motorsports, and the championship point standings could quite literally not be any closer. Rookie driver Caiden Herbert and SCoNE Tour veteran Jake Williams find themselves deadlocked in a tie for the lead at 179 points apiece after the first four races, with Troy Comeau only seven points behind at 172. In fact, a remarkable nine drivers have a mathematical chance at winning the Gear-Heads title, with Floyd Billington, Matt Hoyt, Scott Holcomb, Kadyn Berry, Will Hull, and Nick Comeau all within 39 points of the co-leaders.

Bear Ridge Speedway hosted its first SCoNE event on July 30, 2005, with inaugural SCoNE champion Mark Cole taking the win; since then, a total of 27 drivers have won SCoNE A-Mains at Bear Ridge. Eight-time SCoNE Tour champion Chris Donnelly leads with 23 victories, while Caiden Herbert earned his first-career win in the most recent race there on August 17.

The Bear Ridge event also sets the stage for NAPA Championship Weekend at Maine’s Unity Raceway on September 27-28. Hoyt leads Hull for the overall McGee SCoNE Tour championship by just 12 points entering Bear Ridge, with Berry, Williams, and Billington all within 26 points of the lead.

Action at Bear Ridge Speedway starts at “6:00-ish” on Saturday, September 14. Grandstand general admission is $15 for adults, $13 for students aged 12-17 and seniors aged 62+, and just $2 for kids aged 11 and younger. Bear Ridge Speedway is located at 1058 Kidder Road in Bradford, Vermont.

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.

POINT STANDINGS – McGee Automotive Family Sprint Cars of New England Tour
After
Pos.-(Car No.)-Driver-Hometown-Points-(Wins)
(#) - denotes rookie

1. (07) Matt Hoyt, Campton, N.H. – 391 (1)
2. (61) Will Hull, Plainfield, Vt. – 379 (2)
3. (12) Kadyn Berry, Goffstown, N.H. – 373
4. (73) Jake Williams, Tuftonboro, N.H. – 370
5. (19) Floyd Billington, South Glens Falls, N.Y. – 365
6. (23NH) # Caiden Herbert, New Hampton, N.H. – 354 (1)
7. (89) Troy Comeau, Warren, N.H. – 334 (1)
8. (03) Nick Comeau, Hebron, N.H. – 330
9. (68) Caleb Lamson, Moretown, Vt. – 288
10. (91) Scott Holcomb, Granby, Conn. – 280 (1)

POINT STANDINGS – Green Mountain Gear-Heads Championship Series presented by Hull Motorsports
Pos.-(Car No.)-Driver-Hometown-Points-(Wins)
(#) - denotes rookie

1. (23NH) # Caiden Herbert, New Hampton, N.H. – 179 (1)
   (73) Jake Williams, Tuftonboro, N.H. – 179
2. (89) Troy Comeau, Warren, N.H. – 172 (1)
3. (19) Floyd Billington, South Glens Falls, N.Y. – 158
4. (07) Matt Hoyt, Campton, N.H. – 154
5. (91) Scott Holcomb, Granby, Conn. – 152 (1)
   (12) Kadyn Berry, Goffstown, N.H. – 152
6. (61) Will Hull, Plainfield, Vt. – 148
7. (03) Nick Comeau, Hebron, N.H. – 140
8. (739) # Nick Kruger, Rupert, Vt. – 111

Upcoming Events:
• Saturday, September 14 – Bear Ridge Speedway – Bradford, Vt.
• Friday, September 27 – Unity Raceway – Unity, Me.
• Saturday, September 28 – Unity Raceway – Unity, Me. – SEASON FINALE

(Alan Ward Photo)

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