Kevin Ridley turned out a dominating performance on the final night of the World Short Track Championships, leading the entirety of the 30-lap Feature.
Ridley maintained his lead through several restarts, as the matchup was filled with cautions, requiring the contenders to continually refire efficiently to maintain their position.
“It was getting a little scary because Rogers was on the inside of them and he’s really good here,” Ridley said. “He won last year. So I was a little concerned. But there was a good patch of moisture on the top all the way around. As long as I hit that, I could drive down off the corner and then clear them guys and get right back to the bottom.”
Starting in the pole position, #410 Mike Fowler of Fulton, NY was overpowered by Ridley on the initial start. Fowler ran strong for the first 20-laps, fending off charging competitors running not far behind.
One of the most significant reshuffles of positions came with five laps to go, when after charging his way from an 11th place starting position to fourth, Dave Conant passed first night Feature winner David Rogers and Fowler.
“I had some good restarts,” Conant said. “I timed them good, and just had a really, really good race car to come from 11th. These are really tough cars and hard to pass.”
Rogers held his third-place position for the last five laps of the race, giving him a podium finish to go along with his first night Feature victory. Zachary Buff finished in fourth and Derrick McGrew finished in fifth.
VP Racing Fuels NE Sportsman Modifieds | 21 Entries
Feature 30 Laps | 00:22:49.188
1. 20X-Kevin Ridley[2]; 2. 44C-Dave Conant[11]; 3. 44-David Rogers[8]; 4. 01-Zachary Buff[4]; 5. 26-Derrick McGrew[9]; 6. 410-Mike Fowler[1]; 7. 52-Jessica Power[13]; 8. 78-Michael Wright[10]; 9. 89-Dylan Madsen[6]; 10. 29-Tanner Forbes[15]; 11. 99-Jordan Millard[7]; 12. 18-Blayden Arquette[12]; 13. 5C-Ayden Cipriano[5]; 14. 7X-Chuck Miller[14]; 15. 73G-Gordon Hermanson Jr[20]; 16. 47-Walter Cook[21]; 17. 23C-Tommy D’Angelo[19]; 18. 92-Andrew Buff[3]; 19. 49-Chris Jakubiak[17]; 20. 23-Cole Perry[16]; 21. 1R-Ricky Thompson[18]
Heat 1 8 Laps | 00:04:00.000
1. 89-Dylan Madsen[1]; 2. 5C-Ayden Cipriano[2]; 3. 20X-Kevin Ridley[3]; 4. 99-Jordan Millard[6]; 5. 26-Derrick McGrew[4]; 6. 44C-Dave Conant[5]; 7. 52-Jessica Power[8]; 8. 29-Tanner Forbes[9]; 9. 49-Chris Jakubiak[7]; 10. 23C-Tommy D’Angelo[11]; 11. 47-Walter Cook[10]
Heat 2 8 Laps | 00:02:44.000
1. 01-Zachary Buff[1]; 2. 92-Andrew Buff[2]; 3. 410-Mike Fowler[4]; 4. 44-David Rogers[3]; 5. 78-Michael Wright[5]; 6. 18-Blayden Arquette[6]; 7. 7X-Chuck Miller[7]; 8. 23-Cole Perry[8]; 9. 1R-Ricky Thompson[10]; 10. 73G-Gordon Hermanson Jr[9]
Qualifying | 00:06:32.000
1. 89-Dylan Madsen, 00:17.703[16]; 2. 01-Zachary Buff, 00:17.726[11]; 3. 5C-Ayden Cipriano, 00:17.735[18]; 4. 92-Andrew Buff, 00:17.835[17]; 5. 20X-Kevin Ridley, 00:17.846[9]; 6. 44-David Rogers, 00:17.913[2]; 7. 26-Derrick McGrew, 00:17.933[14]; 8. 410-Mike Fowler, 00:17.951[13]; 9. 44C-Dave Conant, 00:17.954[15]; 10. 78-Michael Wright, 00:17.985[3]; 11. 99-Jordan Millard, 00:18.017[12]; 12. 18-Blayden Arquette, 00:18.018[20]; 13. 49-Chris Jakubiak, 00:18.182[4]; 14. 7X-Chuck Miller, 00:18.222[8]; 15. 52-Jessica Power, 00:18.405[7]; 16. 23-Cole Perry, 00:18.445[1]; 17. 29-Tanner Forbes, 00:18.521[5]; 18. 73G-Gordon Hermanson Jr, 00:18.591[6]; 19. 47-Walter Cook, 00:18.714[19]; 20. 1R-Ricky Thompson, 00:18.738[21]; 21. 23C-Tommy D’Angelo,
