Crashing The Party: Dennis Perry Surprises The Podium At Bullring Bash 100 At Lee

Dennis Perry in front of his car after a third place finish in Sunday’s Bullring Bash 100 at Lee USA Speedway

LEE, N.H. – Those looking at Dennis Perry’s No. 21 Modified after Sunday’s Bullring Bash 100 Open Modified event at Lee USA Speedway in Lee, N.H. could have easily figured it must have been a forgettable day for the Pawcatuck driver.

How about unforgettable?

Perry, a regular in the SK Modified division at Thompson Speedway, had the biggest payday of his Modified racing career with a third place finish behind winner Matt Hirschman and second place Ryan Preece.

Perry gave much of the credit after the race to his cousin Norm Perry, from Ashaway Performance Engines.

“That motor is brand new,” Perry said. “… He freaking rocks man. Everything you see here we build except for that Troyer Chassis. To sit right here where we’re sitting, it’s the biggest payday we’ve ever had. I’ve sure got some bent stuff to fix for Thursday at Thompson.”

Perry recovered from a heat race wreck to qualifying for the event through the consolation.

“We came through the [consolation heat] and started in the back and I said ‘I’m going to do what Matt Hirschman does.’”, Perry said. “And I rode with Matt Hirschman for a while and we put the tire on and it was time to rip and we let it go.”

Perry’s car came home with some serious battle scars, including a mangled front end thanks to his involvement in a feisty battle for third in the final lap. Perry went from fifth to third in the final corner. Steve Masse, who had been running third, saw fourth place Todd Annarummo’s car fly over his after a bump from Perry.

“I couldn’t avoid it,” Perry said. “I gave Todd a pretty good punt. It happened. I was right on him. I tried to dig underneath for last turn and I gave him that shot. … It was nothing intentional, it was a racing deal, but I feel terrible about it.”

Sunday’s event marked the first for the Tri-Track Open Modified Series, which will pay a points purse to competitors competing in the event at Lee, the Open Modified show at Star Speedway in Epping, N.H. on June 14 and the Open Modified show at Seekonk (Mass.) Speedway on July 23.

Perry said he’s ready to support all three events this year.

“Norm wanted to support these guys,” Perry said. “They do so much to support the local racing series’. We’re the small guy. We’re the guy they’re looking for to help make this show work. Get in the back and fill those fields. And we’re going to do whatever we can to support these guys. They went out of their way here. These guys deserve all the credit in the world and we will support them at every race this year.”