Historic $10,000-to-win Sportsman Modified “Vermont 200” headlines 19-race calendar
WEST HAVEN, Vt. – Vermont’s Devil’s Bowl Speedway has unveiled its highly anticipated 2018 stock car racing schedule, sparkling with a mix of 19 exciting weekly and special events. The Rutland County track, in its 52nd season, will return to full-time dirt racing on a half-mile surface for the first time since 2009, and competition will again be sanctioned by the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.
The biggest event in Devil’s Bowl Speedway history will be held on the weekend of September 15-16, with a race format never attempted before at any track: The “Vermont 200” for Sportsman Modifieds. The race, which will be open to any driver, is for Northeast-style Sportsman Modifieds with the “602 crate” engine package and will pay a minimum of $10,000 to the winner. At 200 laps in distance and with a record total purse estimated at $35,000, the race will be the longest, richest event ever held for the division at any track.
All of Devil’s Bowl Speedway’s divisions will be in action at the event, along with the track’s annual Saturday night year-end bonfire and barbeque party. Additional details surrounding the Vermont 200 Weekend event will be announced in the coming weeks, including the weekend schedule, rules, entries, and purses.
The Vermont 200 is far from the only major event; the weekly Sunday night racing season opens with a Memorial Day special on the evening of Sunday, May 27, to kick off the new half-mile dirt track era. The winged Sprint Cars of New England (SCoNE) tour will make its first of four appearances for the season at the opener, and the King of Dirt Racing Series (KOD) organization will have its first stop of the year as well, with a Sportsman Modified race that drew 42 entries last year.
The SCoNE Sprint Cars will also be in action at the Coca-Cola Independence Day Firecracker, with a special mid-week date on Tuesday, July 3; at a rare Twin 20 double-feature event on Sunday, August 12; and at the Labor Day Special on Sunday, September 2.
All three KOD tours will each make stops at Devil’s Bowl as well. The Sportsman opener on May 27 kicks off the season, and the ground-pounding KOD Small Block 358 Modifieds will have a special mid-week event on Wednesday, June 6. The KOD 358s will also headline the “C.J. Richards Memorial 67” on Sunday, July 29, and the KOD Pro Stocks will run their “Carl Vladyka Memorial 29” during the Vermont 200 Weekend in September.
Devil’s Bowl Speedway will also hold two independent special events for 358 Modifieds: Twin 20-lap feature races on Sunday, July 15, and a 30-lap feature on Sunday, September 2.
The weekly Sunday night schedule is highlighted with special extra-distance races for all of Devil’s Bowl Speedway’s regular Sportsman Modified, Limited Sportsman, Super Stock, Mini Stock, and 500cc Mini Sprint divisions, as well as special promotions for fans at nearly every event.
Following the Vermont 200 Weekend on September 15-16, the season wraps up on Sunday, September 23, with the re-created “Mountain Man 200” Enduro event. The survival-of-the-fittest race will feature bone stock, nearly-street-legal vehicles with amateur drivers racing for 200 laps and $2,000 to win. The race is green-flag only, with the red flag only displayed in emergencies. Full Enduro rules and entries will be announced in the future.
The full season schedule is available online at www.DevilsBowlSpeedwayVT.com (or see below). The Banquet of Champions, which will officially bring the 2017 season to a close, will be held on Saturday, January 27,at the Holiday Inn Rutland-Killington in Rutland, Vermont.
Devil’s Bowl Speedway is located on Route 22A in West Haven, Vt., four miles north of Exit 2 off of U.S. Route 4 and just 20 minutes from Rutland, Vt. 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 and Instagram at @DevilsBowlSpeed; follow the action using the #DevilsBowl hashtag.
Devil’s Bowl Speedway 2018 Schedule of Events
Division Key:
NWAAS = All Weekly NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Divisions; KOD = King of Dirt Racing Series; SCoNE = Sprint Cars of New England
358 = Small Block 358 Modifieds; Bandits = Bandit Youth Mini Stocks; Ladies = Ladies Mini Stocks
1. Sunday, May 27 – 5:00 p.m. – 52nd Season Opener – Memorial Day Special (rain date Mon., May 28)
NWAAS Divisions+ KOD Sportsman Modifieds + SCoNE Sprint Cars
2. Sunday, June 3 – 5:00 p.m. – Mini Stock Special Event
NWAAS Divisions
3. Wednesday, June 6 – 7:00 p.m. – King of Dirt Small Block 358 Modifieds (rain date Wed., June 20)
NWAAS Divisions + KOD 358 Modifieds (Sportsman Mod and 500cc Mini Sprints OFF)
4. Sunday, June 10 – 5:00 p.m. – Weekly Event
NWAAS Divisions + Bandits
5. Sunday, June 17 – 5:00 p.m. – Father’s Day Special – Topless/Wingless Night
NWAAS Divisions
6. Sunday, June 24 – 6:00 p.m. – Nostalgia Night
NWAAS Divisions + Bandits + Mohawk Valley Vintage Dirt Modifieds (500cc Mini Sprints OFF)
7. Tuesday, July 3 – 6:00 p.m. – Coca-Cola Firecracker Special – FIREWORKS! (rain date Wed., July 4)
NWAAS Divisions + SCoNE Sprint Cars
8. Sunday, July 8 – 6:00 p.m. – Super Stock Special Event
NWAAS Divisions + Ladies
9. Sunday, July 15 – 6:00 p.m. – Vince Quenneville Sr. Memorial Mid-Season Championships & 358 Modified Twin 20s
NWAAS Divisions + 358 Modifieds (500cc Mini Sprints OFF)
10. Sunday, July 22 – 6:00 p.m. – 500cc Mini Sprint Special Event
NWAAS Divisions + Bandits
11. Sunday, July 29 – 6:00 p.m. – C.J. Richards Memorial 67 – KOD Small Block 358 Modifieds
NWAAS Divisions + KOD 358 Modifieds (Sportsman Mod and 500cc Mini Sprints OFF)
12. Sunday, August 5 – 6:00 p.m. – Limited Sportsman Special Event
NWAAS Divisions + Bandits
13. Sunday, August 12 – 6:00 p.m. – Sprint Cars of New England Twin 20s
NWAAS Divisions + SCoNE Sprint Cars + Ladies (500cc Mini Sprints OFF)
14. Sunday, August 19 – 6:00 p.m. – Charlie LaDuc Memorial Sportsman 54
NWAAS Divisions + Bandits
15. Sunday, August 26 – 5:00 p.m. – “Double Stack Night” – Double Features All Divisions
NWAAS Divisions
16. Sunday, Sept. 2 – 5:00 p.m. – FIREWORKS! – SCoNE & 358 Modifieds (rain date Mon., Sept. 3)
NWAAS Divisions + SCoNE Sprint Cars + 358 Modifieds + Bandits
17. Sunday, Sept. 9 – 5:00 p.m. – Leon Gonyo Memorial Sportsman 50
NWAAS Divisions + Ladies
18. Sat./Sun., Sept. 15/16 – VERMONT 200 WEEKEND – $10,000 TO WIN 602 CRATE SPORTSMAN MODIFIED RACE
NWAAS Divisions + KOD Pro Stocks + Bandits (full details to be announced)
19. Sunday, Sept. 23 – Mountain Man 200 Enduro
Enduro 200 (full details to be announced)