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Track Crew Battles Weather to Deliver Another Stellar Night of Racing
Saturday night at Bridgeport Motorsports Park was full of Storylines, despite dismal forecast, Bridgeport races. Cale Ross returning to victory lane after a year-long drought. Two first-time winners also emerged, as Ronnie Solomon claimed the Sportsman feature and Dan Leaper captured the Wingless Sprint Car feature. Pennsylvania Street Stock standout Jasen Geesaman traveled to New Jersey to pick up the win, and the debut of the CT525 engine added even more excitement to the evening.
Spring racing often means battling rain, wind, and cooler temperatures, but Bridgeport managed to get in another event despite tough forecast and conditions. “We’re 4-for-6 this spring, and more importantly, the four events we got in were on seasonably warm days. That makes a huge difference this time of year,” said track owner and promoter Doug Rose.
Despite an unfavorable rainy forecast, Rose and his team stuck to their plan to race. “We knew what we had to deal with and decided we could do it. Our facility drains well, and the new clay doesn’t absorb water badly,” Rose explained. With careful teamwork from John, Leroy, and Eddie, the track crew successfully managed around the showers, getting the surface race-ready.
“One of the biggest challenges is not to get caught with the track open during rain,” Rose added. “If that happens, you are done and you’re in for a real mess to clean up later.”
Thanks to their expertise, the crew dodged the worst of the rain, a brief shower shortly after the drivers’ meeting. Once the shower ended, the team conveyed their plan to Rose and roughly 30 minutes later, cars were on track. “The track crew did an amazing job, and I also really want to thank all the Sportsman teams — they got the dirtiest cars but stuck with us,” Rose noted. Unfortunately, when rain interferes at an event at any speedway, there is always the first division to hit the track, Saturday it was the Sportsman teams. Most didn’t seem to mind the dirty cars, they were happy Bridgeport stuck it out and they were able to race while most tracks in the region had cancelled.
While the night got a little dusty towards the end due to the unusual prep schedule, the surface remained smooth and racy all night. “We got a little dusty towards the end of the night but that’s a product of not being able to do your normal process throughout the day” proclaimed Rose. Many people think, with rain, a track is going to be wet, heavy, and rough, but a lot of times it’s the opposite as you can’t do what you normally do. You must factor in what the track can take for extra water when it rains. It’s an unpredictable balance on days like this. Despite some dust, the track surface was once again impeccable. It was smooth sailing lap after lap once the rain cleared the area.
In Modified action, Kevin Hirthler who made the transition to Bridgeport this season along with his son Jesse who is a young star in the Sportsman division took the early lead and led most of the event, but Cale Ross — hungry after a near-missed win the week before — wasn’t to be denied. Ross began throwing slide jobs at Hirthler late in the race, finally completing the winning pass.
Once in front, Ross drove away from the field, with points leader Dillon Steuer moving into second. Mike Lisowski and Sam Martz Sr. completed the top five. As the laps wound down, it was clear: Cale Ross was boss at Bridgeport once again.
Another major highlight was the debut of the CT525 engine. It was announced in the drivers’ meeting that some testing would be done on Saturday evening in the Danny’s Pizza Pizzazz #51 driven by Ryan Krachun. After multiple test sessions during the night, the feedback was overwhelmingly positive.
“One of my biggest concerns was restarts, but it actually restarted better than our Spec engine,” said Krachun. Engine experts Don Blackshear and CJ Jones assisted with the test, and the team believes they have the right combination for Bridgeport. When Blackshear was asked how did he feel the engine performed on Bridgeport’s unique high banked, high speed track, “The engine performed very well tonight. Every time on track with Modifieds it was always one of the top 3 times amongst drivers on track. We tuned on a few things and think we have the right Control Box mapping in place for Bridgeport”
The CT525 engine offers an affordable alternative for Modified teams — fully dressed, it costs around $20,000, but with some components transfer from existing spec engines, it can be put together for about $9,500. Engines must be purchased through Bridgeport Motorsports Park or New Egypt Speedway as both Speedways want to document every 525 engine as they come into the division to ensure integrity.
“This engine will compete well with our Specs,” Krachun added. “We’re planning to race it at the next Bridgeport modified event.”
New Winners “Shine” in Support Divisions. Ronnie Solomon, age 17 found success Saturday night racing the Donna Solomon & Forge Gate Towing (his Grand Parents) #22 Sportsman Modified. Solomon picked up his first Bridgeport win, adding to his early career accomplishments. Solomon was a winner his rookie year at Grandview Speedway.
Dan Leaper was one of several drivers that transitioned to the Victory Fuel Wingless Sprint division in the last 2 years as this division has gained strength and popularity at The Kingdom of Speed. Saturday night Leaper picked up his first Wingless Sprint Car win in the family owned 24L. The Leaper family who are a key figures of weekly operations at the speedway, all celebrated an emotional victory in Champion Brands Victory Lane.
Jasen Geesaman put together what he calls an 8″ wheel car to run several Bridgeport events in 2025. Geesaman made the trek for the first time this season to Bridgeport. Also making his season debut was former Bridgeport Street Stock Champion Tom Wills Jr. Geesaman and Wills Jr. put on a fierce battle with Geesaman parking it in Champion Brands victory lane followed by Wills, Mike Hughes, and Jimmy Combs.
In the Rookie Sportsman division, Mike Hughes captured the victory over a hard charging PJ Bozowski and John Gladmon picked up the Vintage Modified win.
Up next at Bridgeport, the Lifted-N-Lowered Truck Show will take place this weekend (March 2–3). Two weeks later, the first-ever Pull-Off Productions Tractor & Truck Pull will happen Saturday, May 10, followed by a full day of racing on Sunday, May 11, featuring winged and wingless Sprint Cars and Sportsman Modifieds.
Danny’s Pizza Pizzazz Modifieds
1. Cale Ross 2. Dillon Steuer 3. Kevin Hirthler 4. Mike Lisowski 5. Sam Martz Sr. 6. Billy Pauch Jr. 7. Brandon Grosso 8. Mike Franz 9. Cole Stangle 10. Colby Frye 11. Neal Williams 12. Rick Laubach 13. Justin Grosso 14. Stan Frankenfield 15. Billy Osmun 16. Roger Manning 17. Kris Thompson 18. Sammy Martz Jr. 19. Ryan Krachun 20. Matt Stangle 21. Frank Cozze 22. HJ Bunting
Ice Less Sportsman
1. Ronnie Solomon 2. Matt Peck 3. Joe Toth 4. Travis Hill 5. Jax Yohn 6. Jesse Hirthler 7. Howie Finch 8. Dylan Swinehart 9. Brad Roberts 10. Luke Bunting 11. Billy Chester 12. Ryan Higgs 13. Thomas Prychka 14. Nick VanWickle 15. David Jenkins 16. Robert Tete 17. Mike Hughes 18. Wayne Weaver 19. Dave Damiano 20. Brian Rogers 21. Ethan Young 22. Craig Pellegrini 23. PJ Bozowski 24. Pete Serra 25. Jim Wyers
Victory Fuel Wingless Sprint Cars
1. Dan Leaper 2. JR Fulper 3. Stan Ploski 4. Brian Spencer 5. Thomas Radivoy 6. David Swanson 7. Jonathon Swanson 8. Heidi Hedin 9. Kurt Sodano 10. Wayne Scott 11. Michael Beckett
Insta Signs Street Stocks
1. Jasen Geesaman 2. Tom Wills Jr 3. Mike Hughes 4. Jimmy Combs 5. Nick Sandone III 6. Gary Klimeczak 7. Terry Chaney 8. Spider Ensinger Sr. 9. Gary Bozowski 10. Joe Edwards 11. Spider Ensinger Jr.
DA’s Auto Body Rookie Sportsman
1. Mike Hughes 2. PJ Bozowski 3. Austin Myers 4. Jacob Masker 5. Charlie Cossaboone 6. Randy Whitaker
Vintage Modifieds – John Gladmon
