Tanner paces championship standings
BRADFORD, Vermont (August 18, 2025) – Nick Kruger needed a good night, and he had the best one possible at Bear Ridge Speedway on Saturday, August 16. The sophomore driver on the McGee Automotive Family Sprint Cars of New England Tour (SCoNE) swept victories in his qualifying heat and the 25-lap A-Main feature race to earn his first-ever win on four wheels.
Formerly a successful motocross racer, the Rupert, VT native was essentially perfect at Bear Ridge. He started third in his heat race and made a textbook move around the outside of inaugural SCoNE Tour champion Mark Cole at the halfway point to grab the lead and the win. He then drew the outside pole position for the A-Main and ran away from the field at the drop of the green flag. The race’s only caution period came with five laps remaining, but nobody was able to challenge Kruger at the restart and he sailed off to the first victory of his Sprint Car career.
As easy as it may have looked at Bear Ridge, the win was hard-earned during the season; a hard flip in June nearly destroyed Kruger’s brand-new car, and momentum was hard to come by until recent weeks. While the grandstand crowd certainly appreciated his achievement, Kruger’s win might have been the most popular of the season among his competitors, as virtually all of them offered congratulations. Kruger and his team are regarded as a positive-attitude group who make the best of any situation, and their efforts were not unnoticed by the racers.
Equally as impressive and celebrated was the effort of young Mia Koponen, who had the best run of her career in a full-size Sprint Car. The Ludlow, VT racer had honed her craft on the tough-as-nails Sprint Car scene in Pennsylvania for the past several seasons without much success, but her family team joined SCoNE in July and have been showing major improvement. Koponen raced in second place until the caution flag, and her underpowered 305-cubic-inch engine was somewhat swallowed up by some of the top-running 360s on the restart. Still, Koponen finished sixth for the second race in a row, matching her career-best.
Chasing her for most of the race and able to sneak by for the runner-up finish was Caiden Herbert. Troy Comeau and defending SCoNE champion Matt Hoyt had a thrilling, clean battle in the top five for much of the race, and Comeau was able to come out in third place. Championship leader Matt Tanner steadily fought his way up the outside lane to finish fourth, and Hoyt grabbed fifth.
Behind Koponen, the balance of the top 10 was Kadyn Berry, Tyler Chartrand, Jake Williams, and Will Hull.
RACE NOTES:
• A field of 18 cars attended the Devil’s Bowl Speedway event. One driver, J.P. Vaillancourt, made his first SCoNE appearance of the season.
• Nick Kruger’s victory was the first of his SCoNE career, making him the 54th different driver in SCoNE history to win an A-Main feature.
• The two qualifying heat races were won by Nick Kruger and Jake Williams.
• Chris Downs Motorsports presented the Hard Charger Award, with a $50 bonus going to Matt Tanner, who started eighth and finished fourth to gain a race-high four positions.
• Tyler Chartrand won a $50 bonus from Dave Bowser Motorsports as the top-finishing rookie in eighth place; Mark Reynolds finished 14th and Mac MacDuffie was 17th.
• Darrell Lawler offered a $50 bonus to be drawn at random following the race for drivers finishing outside the top 10, which went to rookie Mac MacDuffie.
• Through the first nine events of the McGee Automotive Family SCoNE Tour schedule, Matt Tanner holds the championship lead with 381 points. Travis Billington is second at 339, Jake Williams is third at 377, Matt Hoyt is fourth at 328, and Caiden Herbert is fifth at 317. Floyd Billington, Tyler Chartrand, and Kadyn Berry are all grouped tightly together, just two points behind Herbert.
• Caiden Herbert leads the Bear Ridge Speedway track championship standings through three of five events. Herbert’s 159 points lead Troy Comeau (138), Matt Tanner (129), Nick Kruger (126), and Jake Williams (122).
The McGee Automotive Family Sprint Cars of New England Tour is off for the Empire Super Sprints “Quebec Swing” this weekend before returning to Bear Ridge Speedway on Saturday, August 30, at their famous “6:00-ish” start time. 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, August 16, 2025
A-Main Feature (25 laps)
Pos.-(Start)-Driver-Hometown
(# – denotes rookie)
- (2) Nick Kruger, Rupert, VT; 2. (3) Caiden Herbert, New Hampton, NH; 3. (4) Troy Comeau, Wentworth, NH; 4. (8) Matt Tanner, Stephentown, NY; 5. (7) Matt Hoyt, Campton, NH; 6. (1) Mia Koponen, Ludlow, VT; 7. (9) Kadyn Berry, Goffstown, NH; 8. (10) # Tyler Chartrand, Johnsonville, NY; 9. (12) Jake Williams, Tuftonboro, NH; 10. (13) Will Hull, Plainfield, VT; 11. (5) Shawn Lawler, Nashua, NH; 12. (11) Travis Billington, South Glens Falls, NY; 13. (15) Floyd Billington, South Glens Falls, NY; 14. (14) # Mark Reynolds, Hudson Falls, NY; 15. (6) Mark Cole, Lebanon, NH; 16. (18) Tunk Berry, North Conway, NH; 17. (17) # Mac MacDuffie, Salisbury, NH; 18. (16) J.P. Vaillancourt, Campton, NH
Lap Leaders (1 lead change among 2 drivers): Mia Koponen, grid; Nick Kruger, 1-25.
Cautions (1): Lap 20.
Contingency Award Winners:
• Heat Winners: Nick Kruger, Jake Williams
• Chris Downs Motorsports “Hard Charger” Award: Matt Tanner (+4 positions)
• Dave Bowser Motorsports Rookie of the Race: Tyler Chartrand (8th)
• Darrell Lawler Draw Bonus: Mac MacDuffie (17th)
Upcoming Events:
• Saturday, August 30 – Bear Ridge Speedway – Bradford, VT
• Saturday, September 13 – Bear Ridge Speedway – Bradford, VT
(Photos by Alan Ward & Don MacIntosh)
- Justin St. Louis on Aug 19, 2025
- Article Date: 8/19/2025