PHOTO: Restored vintage stock cars from the New England Antique Racers (NEAR) club will join the Vermont 200 Championship Weekend at Devil’s Bowl Speedway on September 14-15. (MemorEvents photo)
Restored racecars bring past to present at track’s season finale
WEST HAVEN, VT – Devil’s Bowl Speedway will look a bit like the days of old at its Vermont 200 Championship Weekend on September 14-15, as the New England Antique Racers (NEAR) club roars around the half-mile oval for the first time. A vibrant group of restored and revitalized racecars are expected for the two-day event for display both on and off the track.
Open-wheel Modified and Coupe racers from across the barnstorming northeastern racing days of the 1960s and ‘70s will run in practice and race events during the Vermont 200 Weekend. Many of the NEAR cars attending the event will be identical in construction to those that competed at Devil’s Bowl Speedway on both asphalt and dirt surfaces several decades ago.
The Vermont 200 Championship Weekend will be the first Devil’s Bowl Speedway experience for many NEAR members. Several were in attendance during a weekend show honoring late track founder C.J. Richards in July 2012, however, and have since sung praises of the facility to their fellow retro-racers.
“The group of us who were at Devil’s Bowl last year had a wonderful time and we can’t wait to be back there in September,” said long-time NEAR member Lloyd Hutchins, Jr., of Barre, VT. “It’s a beautiful place and a fun, fast race track for our cars. We are really looking forward to it.”
Vermont 200 Championship Weekend is the final event of the 2013 season at Devil’s Bowl Speedway. The weekly Bond Auto Parts Modified, Late Model, Renegade, and Central Vermont Motorcycles Mini Stock divisions of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series will be on hand to crown their champions, as well as the Devil’s Bowl Speedway Enduro Series. The event is the final race for the Vermont State Late Model Championship Series, and is the fourth of five events for the Northern Modified Challenge Series. Late Models will run a 100-lap feature race while Modifieds run twin 50-lap features.
First-round qualifying and special non-winner’s “Shootout” races will begin at 1:30pm on Saturday, September 14, followed by a party with a pig roast barbeque and music at 6:00pm. Championship main events are on Sunday, September 15 beginning at 1:30pm. Two-day general admission is $25 for adults, with one-day passes available for $10 on Saturday and $20 on Sunday; Saturday and two-day admission tickets also include entrance to the pig roast and party. Children age 12 and under will be admitted free both days. Free camping is open Friday, Sept. 13 at 12:00 noon through Monday, Sept. 16.
Devil’s Bowl Speedway is located on Route 22A in West Haven, VT, four miles north of Exit 2 on U.S. Route 4. For more information, visit www.devilsbowlspeedwayvt.com or call (802) 265-3112. Devil’s Bowl Speedway is on Facebook at facebook.com/DevilsBowlSpeedway and on Twitter at @DevilsBowlSpeed.