Overcomes fuel issue for two-segment victory and track title
BRADFORD, Vermont (September 15, 2025) – Caiden Herbert nearly lost it all at Bear Ridge Speedway on Saturday, September 15 – at least that’s how it looked from grandstands. But the New Hampton, NH youngster rebounded to post his first victory of the McGee Automotive Family Sprint Cars of New England Tour (SCoNE) season and earn his second consecutive Bear Ridge Speedway Track Championship title.
Herbert entered the special two-segment event with a too-close-for-comfort lead of just 13 points over Matt Tanner as the night marked the finale of the five-race Bear Ridge mini-series. Tanner was very strong in time trial qualifying, posting the third-fastest speed of the 20 entries, while Herbert struggled and timed only ninth-quick. With two cumulatively scored, 25-lap segments and a full-field invert in between, Herbert had his work cut out for him.
Time trials and the first segment were dominated by Travis Billington and his David Bowser-owned racecar. After being a McGee SCoNE Tour championship contender for most of the season, the car began to stumble in recent weeks and had struggled mightily at Bear Ridge all summer. In the off-week leading up to the Bear Ridge finale, Billington made the 460-mile round trip from his home in South Glens Falls, NY, to Bowser’s racing garage in Hollis, ME, and the duo completely rebuilt the car’s suspension trying to find the problem.
Their efforts paid off with Billington turning a blistering lap of 12.032 seconds in time trials and running away from the field to win the first 25-lap leg of the race. With scoring points and an overall total score determining the overall race finish, Billington’s win earned him one point; Tanner finished second for two points and Kadyn Berry took third for three points. Herbert was able to take advantage of three restarts and some pre-race handling adjustments to finish fourth ahead of Jake Williams.
Both Herbert and Williams were among those to narrowly avoid disaster when second-place runner Matt Hoyt’s car broke and spun out in the face of the field at lap 12, forcing Tyler Chartrand to spin his car to avoid contact and drop from fourth place. Chartrand restarted at the back of the field, while Hoyt headed to the pit area for repairs.
After an intermission break, lead-lap cars from the finish of the first segment were inverted to start the final 25 laps; with 16 of the 19 starters running strong at the end of the first round, that put rookie Mac MacDuffie (16th in Segment 1) on the pole with Mia Koponen (15th in Segment 1) on the front row, with Billington and Tanner starting 16th and 15th, respectively. Tanner was able to get though traffic, but Billington was unlucky and stayed outside the top 10.
Koponen led the first 13 laps and held an impressive lead when the third caution period of the segment stacked everyone up for a restart. Will Hull was able to blast by on the outside and take the lead for keeps, while Koponen came home second and Shawn Lawler ran a strong third. Herbert’s car suffered from a fueling issue and kept shutting down before the start of the second segment, necessitating three different attempts to push-start his car. Once it finally stayed running, he drove from 13th to finish fourth, and Scott Holcomb held Tanner off for fifth.
When the segment scoring points were tallied up, Herbert (fourth, fourth) and Tanner (second, sixth) tied with eight points; Herbert was given the tiebreaker based on his better finish in the final segment, granting him his first victory of the season and the Bear Ridge Speedway Track Championship. Hull (eighth, first) score nine points to take third place overall. Holcomb (7, 5 = 12) got the tiebreaker over Billington (1, 11 = 12) to give them fourth and fifth, respectively. Lawler (13 points) finished sixth overall after a three-way tiebreaker ahead of Williams and Berry. Koponen (17) and Troy Comeau (19) rounded out the official overall Top 10.
RACE NOTES:
• A field of 20 cars attended the Bear Ridge Speedway event. Former SCoNE Tour champion Clay Dow made his first appearance of the season.
• Caiden Herbert’s victory was his first of the season and the second of his SCoNE career.
• The two 25-lap segment races were won by Travis Billington and Will Hull, and Billington was the fastest in time trial qualifying.
• Chris Downs Motorsports presented the Hard Charger Award, with a $50 bonus going to Caiden Herbert, who started ninth and finished fourth to gain five positions in Segment 1 and started 13th and finished fourth to gain nine positions in Segment 2, combining for a total of 14 positions gained. Shawn Lawler and Jake Williams each gained 11 total positions.
• Mark Reynolds won a $50 bonus from Dave Bowser Motorsports as the top-finishing rookie in 15th place overall; Tyler Chartrand finished 16th and Mac MacDuffie finished 18th.
• The Hoyt Racing No. 07 team posted a $100 bonus for the leader of lap 20 in memory of Evan Donna, which went to Travis Billington in Segment 1.
• Through the first 11 events of the McGee Automotive Family SCoNE Tour schedule, Matt Tanner holds the championship lead with 486 points. Jake Williams ranks second with 424 points ahead of Caiden Herbert (410), Travis Billington (407), and Matt Hoyt (397).
• Caiden Herbert clinched the five-race Bear Ridge Speedway Track Championship standings with his overall victory in the finale. Herbert earned 252 points to Matt Tanner’s 234 points, for an 18-point margin of victory. Jake Williams (209) finished third with Troy Comeau (196) fourth and Will Hull (186) fifth.
The McGee Automotive Family Sprint Cars of New England Tour heads to Loudon, NH on Friday, September 19 for the Sig Sauer Academy Dirt Duels to kick off the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, racing on the quarter-mile “Flat Track” located at the South Entrance next to the New England Racing Museum. SCoNE will have single-car time trial qualifying, two preliminary 15-lap feature races for championship points, and the first-ever “SCoNE All-Star Showdown” for $1,500 to win to conclude the event. Tickets and information can be found at www.nhms.com.
To learn more about the Sprint Cars of New England, visit www.nesprintcars.com or find “SCoNE – Sprint Cars of New England” on Facebook. For more information about McGee Mazda Claremont, NH, McGee Toyota of Claremont, NH, and McGee Toyota of Epping, NH, visit their award-winning dealerships or click on McGeeCars.com.
OFFICIAL RESULTS – McGee Automotive Family Sprint Cars of New England
Bear Ridge Speedway – Bradford, VT
Saturday, September 13, 2025
A-Main Feature Overall Finish (two 25-lap scored segments)
Pos.-(Start)-Driver-Hometown-Segment Scores
(# – denotes rookie)
- (9) Caiden Herbert, New Hampton, NH (4, 4 = 8 pts.); 2. (3) Matt Tanner, Stephentown, NY (2, 6 = 8 pts.); 3. (5) Will Hull, Plainfield, VT (8, 1 = 9 pts.); 4. (11) Scott Holcomb, North Granby, CT (7, 5 = 12 pts.); 5. (1) Travis Billington, South Glens Falls, NY (1, 11 = 12 pts.); 6. (17) Shawn Lawler, Nashua, NH (10, 3 = 13 pts.); 7. (12) Jake Williams, Tuftonboro, NH (5, 8 = 13 pts.); 8. (7) Kadyn Berry, Goffstown, NH (3, 10 = 13 pts.); 9. (8) Mia Koponen, Ludlow, VT (15, 2 = 17 pts.); 10. (6) Troy Comeau, Wentworth, NH (6, 13 = 19 pts.); 11. (14) Floyd Billington, South Glens Falls, NY (9, 12 = 21 pts.); 12. (10) Tunk Berry, North Conway, NH (14, 9 = 23 pts.); 13. (2) Matt Hoyt, Campton, NH (18, 7 = 25 pts.); 14. (15) Clay Dow, Barnstead, NH (12, 15 = 27 pts.); 15. (19) # Mark Reynolds, Hudson Falls, NY (13, 16 = 29 pts.); 16. (4) # Tyler Chartrand, Johnsonville, NY (11, 19 = 30 pts.); 17. (16) Donald Ottati, Rumney, NH (19, 14 = 33 pts.); 18. (18) # Mac MacDuffie, Salisbury, NH (16, 17 = 33 pts.); 19. (13) Nick Kruger, Rupert, VT (17, 18 = 35 pts.); Did Not Start: Mark Cole, Lebanon, NH
Lap Leaders (3 lead changes among 4 drivers): Seg. 1 – Travis Billington, 1-25; Seg. 2 – Mac MacDuffie, grid; Mia Koponen, 1-13; Will Hull, 14-25.
Cautions (6): Seg. 1 – Laps 3, 3, 12; Seg. 2 – Laps 0, 10, 13.
Contingency Award Winners:
• Time Trial Winner: Travis Billington (12.032 seconds)
• Segment Winners: Travis Billington, Will Hull
• Chris Downs Motorsports “Hard Charger” Award: Caiden Herbert (+14 positions)
• Dave Bowser Motorsports Rookie of the Race: Mark Reynolds (15th)
• Evan Donna Memorial Lap 20 Leader Bonus: Travis Billington
Upcoming Events:
• Friday, September 19 – The Flat Track at New Hampshire Motor Speedway – Loudon, NH
• Friday, September 26 – Unity Raceway – Unity, ME
• Saturday, September 27 – Unity Raceway – Unity, ME (Season Finale)
(Photos by Alan Ward)