BINGHAMTON, NY

The new kid on the block in American Indoor Ice Racing, the Bully Dog North American Indoor Ice Racing Series, got off to a successful start for the 2009-10 season with a good crowd and some great racing in Binghamton, New York. It marked the first time since 1979 that the Broome County Arena had hosted a speedway ice race. Two riders in this year's field, Gene Bonsignore and Tuff McBride, actually competed in the event 30 years ago! Professional ATV and flat-track racing were also thrown into the program, and Kold Kutter helped sponsor the event with extra cash prizes.

The first round of speedway competition began with Dave Clark showing good form. He leapt out of the gate and held off a strong challenge from current New York State ice champion Shawn "Mad Dog" McConnell to take the win. McConnell was second, Mikey Buman was third and Josh Carr was fourth.

McBride was a standout in the next heat, as he distanced himself from reigning New York dirt speedway champion Adam "The Missile" Mittl, who took two points for second. Jerry "Buford" Harman was third, and Canada's Aaron Hesmer was last.

Russ "Doctor Dirt" Cornell took the checkered flag in the last heat of the first round, with Bonsignore finishing runner-up, Shawn "Steamboat" Engel in third and Keith "Hawkeye" Hawkins in fourth.

The second round of heats opened up with heartbreak for McBride. He was on fire again and winning quite comfortably after three laps but thought the white flag was the checkered one and pulled over, which allowed Hawkins to sneak by. McBride could not recover and actually got stuck in last place. Hawkins won, with Carr second and Cornell third.

McConnell got revenge on Clark the next time out, as he led from start to finish and took three points. Clark still collected valuable second-place points, while Hesmer took one for third. Harman was at the back.

In a tough match-up, Mittl was able to take a victory over Bonsignore, Buman and Engel, in that order.

The final heat series began with an important race for McBride, who was trying to get back in the hunt. It turned out to be an awesome race, as he and McConnell and Cornell were so tight for two laps that you could have thrown a blanket over them. They swapped the lead several times, but in the end McConnell was the victor and moved Cornell over en route to that win. McBride was third, which was not enough for him. Harman was fourth.

Next up, Mittl stayed hot at this stage with another win. Hesmer was right behind him in second, with Buman third and Hawkins fourth.

To close out the heats, Clark rode well again to hold off Bonsignore for first. Engel was third and Carr was right behind him.

When the points were tallied, McConnell, Mittl and Clark were set for the A final, but there was a tie between Bonsignore and Cornell for the final position. Bonsignore defeated Cornell in a two-lap run-off.

The final order in the C main was Harman, Hawkins, Carr and Engel.

The B main was led by McBride for three laps, but a yellow caution flag from a crash with Buman and Cornell led him to make a mistake, and Hesmer capitalized on it by taking the chance to pass and win. McBride was second, with Buman third.

In the A main, Mittl, Bonsignore, McConnell and Clark were all dicing off the start, but Mittl pushed through to the front, with McConnell in pursuit. Adam Mittl (below, center) rode away with it, though, on his Bully Dog/Polito/Justice Brothers/NGK Jawa. Shawn McConnell (below, left) was second overall. The 61-year-old Gene Bonsignore (below right), making his first appearance on a bike since a serious broken wrist and subsequent surgery back in June, rode his Scott's Headers and Mufflers Jawa to third. Clark had a great night and grabbed a respectable fourth.

Results

A MAIN: 1. Adam Mittl; 2. Shawn McConnell; 3. Gene Bonsignore; 4. Dave Clark.

B MAIN: 1. Aaron Hesmer; 2. Tuff McBride; 3. Mikey Buman; 4. Russ Cornell.

C MAIN: 1. Jerry Harman; 2. Keith Hawkins; 3. Josh Carr; 4. Shawn Engel.

SUP MAIN: 1. Bunk Harris; 2. Don Wheeland.

JR SPDWY: 1. Spencer Portararo; 2. Roger Roberts; 3. Zach Peters; 4. Dakota Crone.

MAD DOG FLAT TRACK: 1. Jake Oakley; 2. Tony Oakley; 3. Jeff Oakley; 4. Mike Williams; 5. Cam Rafferty.