PHOTO: Eddie Bruno of Fair Haven, VT will have plenty of company at the front of the Bomber pack at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in 2012. (MemorEvents photo)
Devil’s Bowl Speedway stock car champion Eddie Bruno will have his work cut out for him this summer. The 17 year-old high school student from nearby Fair Haven, VT returns to the Devil’s Bowl half-mile to defend his 2011 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Bomber division championship beginning Sunday, May 6 at the Spring Green 112, but he’ll have some company when he arrives.
Bruno put up an impressive 10-for-10 streak of top-five finishes that included three victories during his title run. This year, though, he’ll have to work a bit harder, as an influx of competitors stands to test the youngster’s No. 22 TDI/Smith’s Auto Parts Honda at the front of the pack.
Leading the charge are Vermonters Jake Noble, Matt Monaghan, and a pair of drivers named Ray Germain. In his first season of racing, Noble, of Benson, posted a win and finished second in points. Colchester racer Monaghan overcame a series of mechanical gremlins to earn a win and finish third overall. The Germains – Ray Sr. and Ray Jr., of Bristol – both plan to run for the title; Ray Jr. posted a win and finished fourth in points in 2011, while Ray Sr. will pilot the car that Kevin Brown drove to a win and a top-five points finish last year.
A strong contingent of New Yorkers will join the party as well. The LaVair family team will make the long haul from Gabriels in the Lake Placid area to compete weekly. Harold was a seven-time winner at Albany-Saratoga Speedway a year ago, while son Chris won four times at Airborne Speedway; son Bobby has victories at several tracks including Devil’s Bowl in 2010. Rennselaer, NY teammates Dan Collins and John McCarron also bring stout rides to Devil’s Bowl; Collins was the 2011 Albany-Saratoga championship runner-up and McCarron won three feature races there.
Four rookies have registered, led by two-time Devil’s Bowl Enduro winner Josh Masterson of Bristol, VT. Former Quarter-Midget and Motocross racer Kyle Watrous, a Niantic, CT native now living in Bomoseen, VT, will join the division, as will Benson’s Shane Doran and Gerald LaFlam of Hinesburg, VT.
The Bombers open their NASCAR Whelen All-American Series championship season at the annual Spring Green 112 on Sunday, May 6. Also on track will be the Bond Auto Parts Modified and Renegade divisions, and the American-Canadian Tour Late Models. General admission is $18 for adults, $15 for seniors (62+), and free for children 12 and under; discount season passes are available.
Devil’s Bowl Speedway is located on Route 22A in West Haven, VT, six miles north of Exit 2 on US Route 4. For more information, call (802) 265-3112 or click www.devilsbowlspeedwayvt.com.