PHOTO: Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s #88 National Guard Chevrolet will be on display at the 101.5 “The Fox” Spring Green at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in West Haven, VT on Sunday. (Photo courtesy JR Motorsports)
Vermont Army National Guard to be part of Spring Green festivities
WEST HAVEN, VT – Devil’s Bowl Speedway’s opening stock car event will have an added special attraction, as the #88 National Guard Chevrolet SS car of 10-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Most Popular Driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr. will be on display at the 101.5 “The Fox” Spring Green on Sunday, May 5. The car is part of a community involvement initiative at the event by the Vermont Army National Guard.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has amassed 19 victories and 11 poles in 478 starts in NASCAR’s top series and is also a two-time champion of the NASCAR Nationwide Series. He is currently third in Sprint Cup Series standings through nine races in 2013, with runner-up finishes in the Daytona 500 and the Auto Club 400. Earnhardt will be in action at the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway this weekend.
Vermont Army National Guard soldiers will be on hand at the Spring Green, representing the B-Battery 1/101 Field Artillery Battalion 86th IBCT (Mtn.), the HHC Brigade Special Troops Battalion, and the Recruiting and Retention Battalion. Race fans will not only get the chance to see Earnhardt’s car up close, they’ll be able to try their tire changing skills on a National guard-themed pit stop display. The Vermont Army National Guard will also conduct a firing demonstration with a 105mm Howitzer cannon.
“We are so proud to have the Vermont Army National Guard joining us at Devil’s Bowl Speedway,” promoter Mike Bruno said. “We wouldn’t be able to enjoy our freedoms and run stock car races without our American armed forces, and this is a great chance for our fans and racers to get to see them and thank them in person. It will be pretty neat to have Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s National Guard car on display, too.”
The 101.5 “The Fox” Spring Green features a 113-lap special event for the American-Canadian Tour Late Model championship series as well as championship openers for the Bond Auto Parts Modifieds, Renegades, and Central Vermont Motorcycles Mini Stocks of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.
Rutland, VT hosts the second annual “Devil’s Bowl Downtown Fan Festival” on Saturday, May 4 from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon. The Fan Festival, held on Merchants Row in the heart of Rutland City, includes cars from all divisions as well as a Pit Stop Contest and Best Appearing Car awards.
The 39th annual Spring Green begins at 1:30pm on Sunday, May 5. General admission is $20 for adults, $18 for seniors (62+), and free for children 12 and under. 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, call (802) 265-3112 or visit www.devilsbowlspeedwayvt.com. Devil’s Bowl Speedway is on Facebook at facebook.com/DevilsBowlSpeedway and on Twitter at @DevilsBowlSpeed.