KAUNEONGA LAKE, NY — “I have a good wife who lets me do my thing,” said veteran modified driver John Cote of New Milford, CT. For the last 20 years, he has considered Bethel Motor Speedway (BMS) his home track.

For years, Cote’s wife traveled with him to the quarter-mile asphalt oval, but these days, he’s flying solo.

“She got tired of watching me go around in circles,” he said.

He followed his father and uncles into the world of motorsports, and 45 years later, the 63-year-old racecar driver is still smoking the opposition.

Headed for third. Jerry Curry carves a corner in the DIRT modified feature race.

Red zone. Jeff Parker placed second in the DIRT modified feature race, a fraction of a second behind first-place winner Bill Deckelman.

Wheel lift. Ryan Heady of Kingston, NY gets a wheel off the asphalt as he aggressively tackles a turn.

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Cote was this season’s points champion, driving a home-built BMS modified. Posing by #9, Cote said of his low-slung ride, “It’s old, but it’s like a pair of work boots—it fits just fine.”

He got his feet wet at tracks in Plainville, Riverside Park and Danbury before posting his second win at Bethel in April 2009. From then on, it was a race to points leaderships.

His take on Bethel Motor Speedway?

“Here, it’s affordable. You don’t have to have all the latest and greatest... You can win with a 30-year car.”

On Saturday, November 7, Bethel Motor Speedway presented its final series of races in 2020.

Andy Crane, the track’s promoter and race car driver, reflected upon the season.

“We really made chicken salad out of, well you know, this season,” he said. “I’m really proud of all our staff at the speedway, our drivers and teams, and especially our great race fans.

“Because of the craziness of 2020, we had to do some things on the fly. Some worked and some didn’t, but all of it is going to help us be even better in 2021,” he added, noting that full-throttle racing resumes at BMS in April.

Here are the posted results from November 7: ATQMRA feature (1. Ryan Titman, 2. Joey Bailey, 3. Kyle Taraska); BMS Modified feature (1. Brian Rygelski, 2. Skip LaPolt, 3. Steve Conklin); DIRT Modified feature (1. Bill Deckelman, 2. Jeff Parker, 3. Jerry Curry); DIRT Modified non-winner event (1. Matt Curry, 2. Phil Goetschus, 3. John Redner); Legends feature (1. Joey Braun, 2. Eugene Drew, 3. Sean McClearney); Street Stock feature (1. Kyle Welsch, 2. JB Morris, 3. Matt Henry).