Teenager is 50th overall SCoNE winner in 99th Bear Ridge event
BRADFORD, Vt. (August 19, 2024) – The kids continue to be alright on the McGee Automotive Family Sprint Cars of New England (SCoNE) Tour. Seventeen-year-old Caiden Herbert of New Hampton, N.H., came out on top in authoritative fashion after a rough-and-rowdy event at Bear Ridge Speedway on Saturday, August 17, scoring the first win of his full-size Sprint Car career.
The 25-lap race, sponsored by Sabil & Sons, was full of milestones. It was the 10th A-Main feature of the season for the SCoNE Tour and the fourth round of the five-race Green Mountain Gear-Heads Championship Series presented by Hull Motorsports at Bear Ridge. The event also marked SCoNE’s 99th appearance at the Bear Ridge ¼-mile since the series’ formation in 2004, and Herbert became the 50th winner on SCoNE’s all-time victory list.
Herbert sliced through traffic early from his eighth-place starting spot and survived a six-caution slugfest for his breakthrough victory. He was running third behind Mark Cole and Nick Kruger when the first caution period occurred for hard contact between Scott Holcomb and championship point leader Matt Hoyt, which necessitated a red flag for a blocked track. During the red flag, the fiberglass bodywork on Travis Billington’s car caught fire after being burned by a hot exhaust header. Holcomb and Hoyt were uninjured, and Billington quickly escaped his car; after the flames were extinguished, he climbed back in and was able to continue.
Herbert quickly swung around Cole and Kruger at the restart to take the lead, one lap before Kruger crashed out. One lap after the restart for Kruger’s accident, Cole suffered a similar fate for another yellow flag. A spin by Ron Davis Jr. on lap 15 slowed the field for the fourth time, and the subsequent restart is when Billington’s car came alive.
Billington zipped from fifth at the restart into second place, where he ran for the remainder of the race. Two final restarts on laps 22 and 23 gave Billington a couple more chances at Herbert’s lead, but the rookie was able to pull away and seal up his first win. Billington’s runner-up finish was his best result of the year, after starting 11th. Jake Williams quietly marched ahead from ninth at the start to finish third, just ahead of Kadyn Berry, who passed 10 cars to collect his first Karen’s Shirt Barn Hard Charger Award.
Dylan Menditto completed the top five finishers, with the balance of the top 10 completed by cousins Nick and Troy Comeau – who battled side-by-side for most of the race – in sixth and seventh, respectively, Will Hull in eighth, Floyd Billington in ninth, and Wayne Stearns in tenth.
RACE NOTES:
• A field of 19 cars made the haul to Bear Ridge Speedway to compete with SCoNE. Jason Goff was unable to start the A-Main after a crash in his qualifying heat.
• Caiden Herbert’s victory was the first of his SCoNE career. He is the 50th different driver to win a SCoNE Tour race since the series began in 2004 and the eighth different winner in 10 A-Main feature races so far in 2024.
• The two qualifying heat races were won by Mark Cole and Ron Davis Jr., 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 Kadyn Berry, who originally started 14th and finished fourth to gain 10 positions.
• Caiden Herbert won a $50 bonus from Dave Bowser Motorsports as the top-finishing registered rookie in first place; Donnie Ottati finished 11th and Nick Kruger was scored 17th.
• Despite a tough night, Matt Hoyt continues to lead the McGee Automotive Family SCoNE Tour championship standings with 391 points. Will Hull is just 12 points back at 379, followed closely by Kadyn Berry at 373, Jake Williams at 370, and Floyd Billington at 365, only 26 markers behind Hoyt’s lead.
• The point standings in the Green Mountain Gear-Heads Championship Series presented by Hull Motorsports are deadlocked at the top with Jake Williams and rookie Caiden Herbert tied at 179 points each. Troy Comeau is third at 172, Floyd Billington is fourth at 158, and Matt Hoyt is fifth at 154.
The McGee Automotive Family Sprint Cars of New England Tour has a three-week break before returning to Bear Ridge Speedway on Saturday, September 14. That event will be the finale for the five-race Green Mountain Gear-Heads Championship Series presented by Hull Motorsports 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 #4 of 5
Saturday, August 17, 2024
A-Main Feature (25 laps)
Pos.-(Start)-Driver-Hometown
(#) - denotes rookie
- (8) # Caiden Herbert, New Hampton, N.H.
- (11) Travis Billington, South Glens Falls, N.Y.
- (9) Jake Williams, Tuftonboro, N.H.
- (14) Kadyn Berry, Goffstown, N.H.
- (7) Dylan Menditto, Brooklyn, Conn.
- (6) Nick Comeau, Hebron, N.H.
- (5) Troy Comeau, Warren, N.H.
- (10) Will Hull, Plainfield, Vt.
- (18) Floyd Billington, South Glens Falls, N.Y.
- (17) Wayne Stearns, Bradford, Vt.
- (13) # Donnie Ottati, Rumney, N.H.
- (3) Mark Reynolds, Hudson Falls, N.Y.
- (15) Sam Comeau, Hebron, N.H.
- (2) Ron Davis Jr., Moultonborough, N.H.
- (16) Matt Hoyt, Campton, N.H.
- (1) Mark Cole, Lebanon, N.H.
- (4) # Nick Kruger, Rupert, Vt.
- (12) Scott Holcomb, Granby, Conn.
Did Not Start: Jason Goff, Preston Hollow, N.Y.
Lap Leaders (1 lead change among 2 drivers): Mark Cole, 1-9; Caiden Herbert, 10-25.
Cautions (6): Laps 9 [red], 10, 11, 15, 22, 23.
Contingency Award Winners:
• CK & Sons Trucking Heat Winners: Mark Cole, Ron Davis Jr.
• Karen’s Shirt Barn “Hard Charger” Award: Kadyn Berry (+10 positions)
• Green Mountain Gear-Heads Award: Caiden Herbert (1st)
• Highside Racewear Award: Travis Billington (2nd)
• 802 Print Award: Jake Williams (3rd)
• VT Fire Award: Kadyn Berry (4th)
• Venom Choppers Award: Dylan Menditto (5th)
• Big Al’s Photos Award: Nick Comeau (6th)
• Waddell Communications & Repairs Award: Troy Comeau (7th)
• 87Speed Award: Will Hull (8th)
• Dave Bowser Motorsports Rookie of the Race: Caiden Herbert (1st)
Upcoming Events:
• Saturday, September 14 – Bear Ridge Speedway – Bradford, Vt.
• Friday, September 20 – Unity Raceway – Unity, Me.
• Saturday, September 21 – Unity Raceway – Unity, Me. – SEASON FINALE