Sunday, November 22 - It was up early to go to the second church service, instead of our usual third service, then afterwards it was pick up Craig Witte at the park and ride. We then we headed down the PA Turnpike and around Philadelphia on the Blue Route. We were headed to Bridgeport Speedway for their final show of the year and considering it was the second half of November they had a real nice day. It was sunny and the temperature was in the 50’s. There was a slight breeze blowing but considering the time of year you could not ask for more. We arrived at 12:45 for the 2:00 start and found a larger then usual crowd then what we anticipated. Bruce’s brother, Bob, saved us seats and by the time the first race started we ate, socialized and were ready for racing.

There was a large field of cars in the pits and 127 cars participated in the five division show. The main division was the modifieds and they had the highest car count at 37. There were 29 358 sportman, 22 crate sportsman, 23 outlaw stocks and 16 305 sprints. All divisions ran qualifying heats with the exception of the sprints, who only ran a 20 lap feature. What I really appreciated was that they did not run excessive heats. What I mean by this is there were 37 modifieds and they only ran 3 heats. Bridgeport is a large 5/8 mile track and nothing is worse then small field of cars spread out on a big track. The show was run very efficiently and in 1 hour and 15 minutes the 10 heats were run. A consolation for the 358 sportsman was next and from here they went right into the 305 sprint feature. The sprint feature was not a bad show and when the 358 or 410 sprints are not on the same show you really do not realize how slow they are going. Chuck Palmucci won the event.

The modified consolation was won by Craig VonDohren and the Outlaw Stocks ran their 20 lap main event prior to intermission. This race had 6 cautions and I questioned why when they only ran 4 lap heats did they run a 20 lap feature but this was their championship event and I guess everyone wanted to win. PJ Oliver won the $500 prize for finishing in first after 25 minutes of racing. A one half hour intermission ensued and during this time a Halloween Custume contest was run for the kids. Yes, this show was postponed a few times prior to the actual running.

At 5:40 the green flag fell on the 35 lap Charlie Bray Memorial. By now the sun was down and the air was cold but the racing warmed you up. Surprisingly the surface did not turn into the typical daytime surface and the track was quite racey. This was a very competitive event with a lot of passing. I decided to follow Rick Laubach and he pitted during a lap 4 caution and came back up through the pack to finish 5th. The final restart of the event was on lap 28 and Mike Gular clearly jumped at the start and I was a bit upset since he passed Laubach. Wade Hendrickson won the event with Richie Pratt Jr. second. Consolation winner Craig VonDohren came up to finish third followed by Ryan Watt. Gular finished 5th but wait there was a correction and he was set back 4 positions, moving Laubach into the 5th position. It was an all around good race.

We stayed to see the 358 sportsman run their 25 lap feature won by Mike Lyons and then decided to call it a day. There was still a crate sportsman feature to run but it was 7:00 and cold. In the past we have not always been pleased with the show here at Bridgeport but today they hit a homerun. It was well worth attending.