CARLSON OUTDUELS HULL FOR 4TH DMA WIN
Bradford, Vermont (September 6, 2020)………Seth Carlson became the first driver to win two-straight features with the USAC DMA midgets this year as he and teammate Will Hull went toe-to-toe for 25 laps at Bear Ridge Speedway Saturday night.
The win was Carlson’s fourth of the season and solidified his point lead heading into the DMA finale on September 19.
Tim West and Floyd Billington shared the front row at the start with Billington jumping out into the lead. Trouble began on lap two when Melvin Pierson flipped. Starting in fifth position, Pierson roared into the top-three and was challenging for third on lap two when he caught a competitor’s wheel and flipped in turn four. Pierson was unhurt in the incident.
After the red flag, the race restarted with Billington in the lead. As has been the case all year, Hull and Carlson were on the move from the drop of the green flag, neither wanting to let the other out of their sight. Hull quickly broke into the top five, taking second on lap three and began to chase down leader Brandon Piastka. Piastka had taken first from Billington to lead laps three and four before yielding to Hull on lap five.
Carlson was only slightly behind his teammate. Using the middle groove on a dust free racetrack, Carlson was fifth on lap four, third on lap five and then took second from Piastka on lap seven. Carlson began to chip away at Hull’s lead, and when he finally caught the leader, the race was on.
With Hull down low and Carlson up a groove, the two officially traded the lead three times, but at times, one would inch past the other over the course of a lap. The final pass occurred on lap 15 when the two leaders split the lapped car of Wayne Koehler with Carlson on the high side, Hull down low. Carlson emerged with a lead that he never relinquished.
While Hull was unable to get back by Carlson, he stayed within close range for the remainder of the feature. With the two cars just about equal, the lap times between the two differed slightly over the course of the feature.
Miller Racing teammates Joe Krawiec and Justin Phillips had worked their way into the top-five and pressured Piastka in another Ray Miller Racing car for third. Krawiec took third on lap 11 while Phillips had to work a little harder, finally overtaking Piastka on lap 20.
Scott Holcomb stepped into the Matczak number 2 earlier this season and has steadily improved. Two weeks ago, Holcomb had to drop out of the feature while leading with an overheating engine. With that issue fixed, Holcomb climbed from his 13th place starting spot, methodically passing the competition before breaking into the top-five on 21. The top-five at the end were Carlson, Hull, Krawiec, Phillips and Holcomb.
Carlson’s night wasn’t perfect. The engine shut off as he took the checkered flag to win heat race number one. A faulty ignition switch was found to be the cause. After a quick repair, the Matczak number 4 was ready for the feature.
When things are going good, racing is fun, and Carlson is having fun this year.
“The race was really close between Will and I, especially when we got up into lapped traffic, but it was a blast,” said Carlson after his win.
Carlson heads into the USAC DMA Midgets’ final race with the point lead as he looks to lock up his first championship with the club.
Meanwhile, third-place finisher Joe Krawiec was satisfied and optimistic.
“After a short season with both the delayed start due to Covid and me taking a few weeks off, I feel the Miller Racing number 1B is finally hitting its stride and we’re showing what we’ve got,” Krawiec stated. “Once again, Butch and crew gave us a great track throughout the night. Hopefully, we can keep the momentum up and finish the season strong.”
Seymour Performance Products heat race winners were Brandon Piastka and Seth Carlson. The USAC DMA midgets will be back at Bear Ridge Speedway on Saturday September 19 for the DMA’s final race of the 2020 season.
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USAC DIRT MIDGET ASSOCIATION RACE RESULTS: September 5, 2020 – Bear Ridge Speedway – Bradford, Vermont
SEYMOUR PERFORMANCE FIRST HEAT: (8 laps) 1. 4-Seth Carlson, 2. 42-Manny Dias, 3. 17-Justin Sheridan, 4. 33-Melvin Pierson. NT
SEYMOUR PERFORMANCE SECOND HEAT: (8 laps) 1. 7-Brandon Piastka, 2. 1B-Joe Krawiec, 3. 3-WIll Hull, 4. A1-Jeff Horn, 5. 16-Justin Phillips, 6. 5-Tim West, 7. 44-Floyd Billington, 8. 10-Darren Jacobs. NT
FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Seth Carlson, 2. Will Hull, 3. Joe Krawiec, 4. Justin Phillips, 5. 2-Scott Holcomb, 6. Manny Dias, 7. Brandon Piastka, 8. Justin Sheridan, 9. Jeff Horn, 10. Floyd Billington, 11. Tim West, 12. 91-Wayne Koehler, 13. Darren Jacobs, 14. Melvin Pierson, 15. 12-Adam Whitney. NT
FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-2 Floyd Billington, Laps 3-4 Brandon Piastka, Laps 5-12 Will Hull, Laps 13-25 Seth Carlson.
USAC DIRT MIDGET ASSOCIATION POINTS: 1-Seth Carlson-523, 2-Justin Phillips-447, 3-Brandon Piastka-438, 4-Manny Dias-436, 5-Will Hull-426, 6-Justin Sheridan-406, 7-Jeff Horn-347, 8-Melvin Pierson-338, 9-Floyd Billington-315, 10-Tim West-312.
NEXT USAC DMA MIDGET RACE: September 19, 2020 – Bear Ridge Speedway – Bradford, Vermont