AMANTEA DOMINATES USAC EAST COAST BRIDGEPORT SPRINTS

Winner Joey Amantea. (Steve Koletar Photo)

By: Kurt Bettler.

Swedesboro, New Jersey (July 19, 2025)………After weeks of weather delays, Joey Amantea finally got the green light to unleash the JPA Masonry #88J on the United States Auto Club (USAC) IMT East Coast Sprintcars Presented by Baer Den Farms tour — and he made every lap count on Saturday night at Swedesboro, New Jersey’s Bridgeport Motorsports Park.

With 21 cars signed in, anticipation was high. Two heat races kicked off the night with victories going to David Swanson and Amantea — both making their season debuts with the series in impressive fashion.

The feature redraw placed Ed Aikin (Lincoln University) and The Boyertown Bullet Ronald Helmick on the front row for the 25-lap main event. As the green flag waved over the 4/10-mile high-banked oval, Aikin jumped to the early lead, but it didn’t take long for fourth starting Amantea to go to work.

By lap six, Amantea powered to the front, executing a decisive move past Aikin. Once in clean air, he never looked back.

While Amantea checked out from the field, the battle for second became the highlight of the race. Aikin, Helmick, 10th starting Bobby Butler, point leader Steven Drevicki and Chris Allen Jr. engaged in a thrilling, high-speed chess match, trading slide jobs and positions in spectacular fashion.

With six laps to go, Amantea encountered heavy lapped traffic. Despite a few close calls that had fans holding their breath, the young Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania native maintained control and built an impressive, and unknown to him, six-second lead.

The feature went caution-free, and Amantea flashed under the checkered flag for his first USAC East Coast Sprint victory of the season. Drevicki charged from sixth to finish second, while Butler earned hard charger honors with a run from 10th to third. Aikin held strong for fourth and Chris Allen Jr. (Old Bridge, New Jersey) rounded out the top-five.

Amantea’s performance was nothing short of dominant, proving once again why he’s called The Big Show.

USAC IMT EAST COAST SPRINTCARS PRESENTED BY BAER DEN FARMS RACE RESULTS: July 19, 2025 – Bridgeport Motorsports Park – Swedesboro, New Jersey

BDB GRAPHICS FIRST HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. David Swanson (#117 Swanson), 2. Thomas Radivoy (#1Q Radivoy), 3. Ronald Helmick (#22R Helmick), 4. Bruce Buckwalter Jr. (#83 Buckwalter), 5. Mick D’Agostino (#91D D’Agostino), 6. Richy Carnathan (#64 Carnathan), 7. Dirk Rimrott (#27 Rimrott), 8. Jason Cherry (#67 Cherry), 9. Gary Huston (#44 Huston), 10. Brendan Hires (#2 Hires).

E. SCHNEIDER & SONS SECOND HEAT: (10 laps, all transfer to the feature) 1. Joey Amantea (#88J JPA), 2. Ed Aikin (#7 Aikin), 3. Chris Allen Jr. (#71 Allen), 4. Steven Drevicki (#19 DeGre), 5. Bobby Butler (#5B Butler), 6. Jonathan Swanson (#17 Swanson), 7. Brett Rose (#45R Rose), 8. Mike Haggenbottom (#51 Kelly), 9. Heidi Hedin (#3H Hedin), 10. Greg Shepsis (#75 Shepsis).

ALSO AT THE TRACK: Patrick Chilmonik (#1 Chilmonik)

GENE FRANCKOWIAK FEATURE: (25 laps) 1. Joey Amantea (4), 2. Steven Drevicki (6), 3. Bobby Butler (10), 4. Ed Aikin (1), 5. Chris Allen Jr. (8), 6. Ronald Helmick (1), 7. Thomas Radivoy (7), 8. David Swanson (5), 9. Bruce Buckwalter Jr. (3), 10. Mick D’Agostino (9), 11. Richy Carnathan (11), 12. Brett Rose (14), 13. Mike Haggenbottom (16), 14. Jason Cherry (15), 15. Heidi Hedin (18), 16. Gary Huston (17), 17. Jonathan Swanson (12), 18. Dirk Rimrott (13), 19. Greg Shepsis (20). NT

FEATURE LAP LEADERS: Laps 1-5 Ed Aikin, Laps 6-25 Joey Amantea.

NEXT USAC IMT EAST COAST SPRINTCARS PRESENTED BY BAER DEN FARMS RACE: July 26, 2025 –  Selinsgrove Speedway – Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania

CONTINGENCY AWARDS:

JW Home Improvements Highest Crate or 305: Mick D’Agostino (10th)

C & C Landscaping Hard Charger: Bobby Butler (10th to 3rd)

JPA Racing Products Hard Luck Award: Brendan Hires

Hoosier Tire Poker Chip Winner: Brett Rose (12)

Bitner Automotive Fast Time of the Night: Joey Amantea (15.607)