Hull wins A-Main; Berry has big payday in Favorite Driver Race
UNITY, Maine (September 30, 2024) – Matt Hoyt put the cherry on top of his championship season at Maine’s Unity Raceway on Saturday, September 28, claiming his first title with the McGee Automotive Family Sprint Cars of New England (SCoNE) Tour. The Campton, N.H., driver finished second in both halves of the NAPA Championship Weekend doubleheader to seal up the title.
Not to be outdone, fellow championship contenders Will Hull and Kadyn Berry each had a big night on Saturday as well, with Hull winning the 25-lap NAPA-sponsored A-Main feature race and Berry winning the 12-lap Sabil & Sons Towing “Favorite Driver Race” benefitting the Friends of Veterans organization.
After qualifying was complete on Saturday night, Hoyt entered the finale with a 22-point cushion over Hull and 27 points on Berry, needing only an eighth-place finish to clinch the championship. Following a win at the fast Unity 1/3-mile in July and a runner-up finish in Friday night’s race, Hoyt was expected to waltz to the title. Instead, he nearly gave it away in the first half of the race, getting stuck in traffic and riding as low as 10th while Hull streaked forward.
Plainfield, Vt., racer and former SCoNE champion Hull – who was racing while on vacation in Maine with his wife, Erin, as they celebrated their anniversary – took the lead from rookie Nick Kruger just after the halfway mark. Hoyt was able to break out and begin an impressive charge at the same time, and after some impressive moves, he found himself in fourth place on the final lap when the race quickly unraveled.
As Hull took the checkered flag nearly a half-lap ahead of the fight for second place between Kruger and Caiden Herbert, that duo made incidental contact that sent Kruger into a wild, high-flying flip down the backstretch. The race was red-flagged with the checkered waving, and with Hull having already crossed the finish line to complete the 25th lap, the race was deemed complete with Hull the official winner.
Herbert and Kruger, who both escaped injury, were placed at the tail of the lead-lap cars in 10th and 11th place, respectively, as they were both involved in the accident. That moved Hoyt up to second place, officially, with Berry third. Travis Billington and Troy Comeau completed the top five, followed by Friday night winner Nick Comeau, Jake Williams, Dylan Menditto, Floyd Billington, and Herbert.
Hoyt’s final championship margin was 17 points over Hull, 532-515, and 32 points over Berry, at 500. Hoyt celebrated in victory lane with his family and team – including his three-week-old daughter, Melanie – and was presented the inaugural Fred Frame Championship Trophy from SCoNE and a WWE-style title belt from Unity Raceway. Herbert was officially named SCoNE Rookie of the Year and finished fourth in the overall point standings with Jake Williams fifth.
RACE NOTES:
• A field of 15 cars competed with SCoNE at Unity Raceway on Saturday night. Former SCoNE champion Clay Dow was unable to compete after an engine failure on Friday night. Pro All Stars Series and American-Canadian Tour asphalt Late Model star Ben Ashline made his SCoNE debut in Mike Kondrat’s familiar No. 5 car.
• Will Hull’s victory was his third of the 2024 season and the 24th of his SCoNE career. He ranks third on SCoNE’s all-time win list.
• The two qualifying heat races were won by Dylan Menditto and Will Hull, with each grabbing a $100 bonus from CK & Sons Trucking of Barnstead, New Hampshire.
• Karen’s Shirt Barn, also of Barnstead, N.H., presented the Hard Charger Award, with a $50 bonus going to Matt Hoyt, who started ninth and finished second to gain seven positions.
• Caiden Herbert of New Hampton, N.H., won a $50 bonus from Dave Bowser Motorsports as the top-finishing registered rookie in 10th place; Nick Kruger finished 11th, Shawn Cassidy was 13th, and Donnie Ottati was unable to start the A-Main after engine problems in his qualifying heat race.
Following the completion of the main event, 17-year-old Kadyn Berry dominated the special 12-lap Sabil & Sons Towing “Favorite Driver Race.” It was announced just before the start of the A-Main that Berry had won the most fan votes in the season-long Favorite Driver Poll and that he would be starting on the pole position for the non-points bonus race later in the evening. The Goffstown, N.H., youngster led every circuit and pulled away from both Matt Hoyt and Caiden Herbert to earn his first win in a winged 360 Sprint Car.
Herbert passed Hoyt near the end of the race to finish second. Jake Williams and Troy Comeau were next in line, followed by Ben Ashline and Will Hull.
The season-long fan vote was designed to benefit the Friends of Veterans organization based in White River Junction, Vt., and brought in more than 91,000 votes, raising $4,400. The money was split so that half would be donated to Friends of Veterans, with the remaining funds divided evenly among the winner of the overall voting and the race. Since Berry won both, he collected a cool $2,200.
The Sprint Cars of New England Awards Banquet will be held on Saturday, November 23, at the New England Racing Museum on the grounds of New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon; information will be made public soon. 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
NAPA Championship Weekend
Unity Raceway – Unity, Maine
Saturday, September 28, 2024
A-Main Feature (25 laps)
Pos.-(Start)-Driver-Hometown
(#) - denotes rookie
- (5) Will Hull, Plainfield, Vt.
- (9) Matt Hoyt, Campton, N.H.
- (6) Kadyn Berry, Goffstown, N.H.
- (10) Travis Billington, South Glens Falls, N.Y.
- (2) Troy Comeau, Warren, N.H.
- (12) Nick Comeau, Hebron, N.H.
- (8) Jake Williams, Tuftonboro, N.H.
- (4) Dylan Menditto, Brooklyn, Conn.
- (3) Floyd Billington, South Glens Falls, N.Y.
- (7) Caiden Herbert, New Hampton, N.H.
- (1) # Nick Kruger, Rupert, Vt.
- (11) Ben Ashline, Pittston, Maine
- (13) # Shawn Cassidy, Bethel, Vt.
Did Not Start: Tunk Berry, North Conway, N.H.; # Donnie Ottati, Rumney, N.H.
Lap Leaders (1 lead change among 2 drivers): Nick Kruger, 1-13; Will Hull, 14-25.
Cautions (2): Laps 19, 25 [red].
Contingency Award Winners:
• CK & Sons Trucking Heat Winners: Dylan Menditto, Will Hull
• Karen’s Shirt Barn “Hard Charger” Award: Matt Hoyt (+7 positions)
• Highside Racewear Award: Matt Hoyt (2nd)
• 802 Print Award: Kadyn Berry (3rd)
• VT Fire Award: Travis Billington (4th)
• Venom Choppers Award: Troy Comeau (5th)
• Waddell Communications & Repairs Award: Jake Williams (7th)
• 87Speed Award: Dylan Menditto (8th)
• Dave Bowser Motorsports Rookie of the Race: Caiden Herbert (10th)
Upcoming Events:
• Saturday, November 23 – SCoNE Awards Banquet – New England Racing Museum – Loudon, N.H.
(Photos by John DaDalt)