August 8, 2004

Ryan ends long drought

WEST HAVEN, VT –  The moon must have been in the seventh house, and Jupiter must have been aligned with Mars Sunday night.

Jimmy Ryan, who hadn’t won a race in three years at Devil’s Bowl, got faster as the night went on and then survived a last-lap shootout with C.V. Elms to notch his first win of the season in the 30-lap 358 modified feature at Devil’s Bowl Speedway.

There must be something about the first weekend of August that brings the best out of Ryan, as his last win at the Bowl came on Aug. 5, 2001. Of Ryan’s six career modified victories at Devil’s Bowl, four have come in the month of August.

Sixes were definitely wild at the Bowl on Sunday night. Lance Harting, driving the No. 66, came off the pole and set the pace for the first lap, but Elms, who campaigns in the No. 6, grabbed the lead on lap two and stayed on the point while Ryan, who had started eighth, and defending track champion Vince Quenneville Jr., who hasn’t had a win since the 2002 season, jumped up to join the battle for the lead.

Four cars were done for the night after an incident on lap six involving Harting, Frank Hoard Sr., Brian Whittemore and Pete Kimball. Ryan, driving the No 60, rocketed past Quenneville on lap eight to move into second and took off after Elms. A restart on lap16 put Ryan even with Elms, and after a couple laps of no-holds barred racing, Ryan moved into the lead on lap 19.

All eyes were now on Ken Tremont Jr., who had come from his 12th starting position to put himself in a spot to make a difference. By lap 20, Tremont was up to third and reeling in Elms. Ryan, whose car seemed to get better as the night went on, continued to tow Elms and Tremont around the track, until a final caution came out on the last lap for Don Ackner. But Elms could only watch Ryan’s rear bumper as they went across the finish line, giving Ryan his sixth career win at the Bowl.

Ryan turned his fastest lap of the night on lap 27, stopping the clocks in 17.806 seconds, one of just three drivers to break the 18-second barrier. Elms finished second, the best finish of his career at Devil’s Bowl, while Tremont was third. Quenneville came across the finish line fourth, with Ray Hoard fifth.

Cale Kneer reached a milestone in his career Sunday night, recording his first Amsoil pro street stock victory in the20-lap feature. Kneer, who started on the pole, took command on lap two and ran a steady race, beating Scott Duell to the finish line by 1.260 seconds. Robert Langevin was third, with Chris Lussier fourth and Jeff Martin fifth.

A first-time winner also emerged in the Rentway Limited division, as Bill Duprey used a couple of late cautions to overhaul Jared McMahon and win the 15-lap feature. McMahon came off the pole and survived a number of early cautions to maintain the lead, but with each yellow, Duprey was getting a better read on the line that the leader was using and with two to go, Duprey finally made the pass that gave him the victory.

Jamie Buzzell also got past McMahon with two to go to finish second, with McMahon holding on for third. Billy Lussier was fourth and Mike Pfau, making his first appearance of the season at Devil’s Bowl, came across the finish line fifth.

There’s just no stopping Elmer Montville Jr. in the Pro Built mini-stock division, as he chalked up his sixth consecutive victory. Between Devil’s Bowl and Albany-Saratoga, Montville has 11 wins this season. Montville took the lead away Amanda Clemens on lap seven and never looked back. Clemens hung tough for the rest of the feature, finishing just 0.548 seconds behind Montville, with Matt Thomas third.

Adam Piper was first under the checkered flag in the Duke stock feature. The night finished with a 50-lap enduro, with Willy Rice of Poultney, VT, getting the win. Ron Alger was second and Rich Langley was third.

Devil’s Bowl Speedway will return to action Sunday night, with racing starting at 7 p.m. The Pro Built Mini Stocks are scheduled to run a 30-lap feature.

MODIFIEDS: JIM RYAN, C.V. Elms, Ken Tremont Jr., Vince Quenneville Jr., Ray Hoard, Don Scarborough, Gene Munger, Tim Laduc, Chad Miller, Ron Proctor, Chris Donnelly, Denny Young, Stan Lemiesz, Chris Garrity, Kris Vernold, Ken Anatriello, Mike Perrotte, Frank Hoard Sr., Lance Harting, Brian Whittemore, Pete Kimball.

AMSOIL PRO-STREET STOCKS: CALE KNEER, Scott Duell, Robert Langevin, Chris Lussier, Jeff Martin, Don Piper, Carl Vladyka, Jeff Washburn, Dave Wood, Ed Thompson, Lori Cary, Jim Gronki.

RENTWAY LIMITEDS: BILL DUPREY, Jamie Buzzell, Jared McMahon, Billy Lussier, Mike Pfau, Scott Fowler, John Sullivan, Tim Brunell, Joey Trudeau, Curtis Condon, Steve Holcomb, Benny Ladd, Bill Vradenburgh, Pat Cram, Arnie Trudeau, Adam Forbes, Russ Farr, Bill Burlingame, Shannon Donnelly.

PRO-BUILT MINI-STOCKS: ELMER MONTVILLE JR., Amanda Clemens, Matt Thomas, Matt Depew, John Baldwin, Heather Combs, Jason Bishop, Brett Osgood, Bobbi Jo Bean, Brittany Ladd, Chris Cary Jr., Mike Pope, Charles Burns.