PHOTO: Dave Pembroke returns to Devil’s Bowl Speedway with the Granite State Pro Stock Series on Friday at the Carmody Ford “Slate Valley 100.”
Inaugural Carmody Ford “Slate Valley 100” set for June 14
WEST HAVEN, VT – Devil’s Bowl Speedway will roar with the sounds of high-horsepower Pro Stock racecars for the first time on Friday, June 14, as the Granite State Pro Stock Series debuts in the inaugural Carmody Ford Slate Valley 100. The event will be the first-ever for the series in Vermont.
The Granite State Pro Stock Series utilizes cars that are similar in appearance to the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Late Model division that races weekly at Devil’s Bowl Speedway. The Pro Stock cars, however, are equipped with larger engines, wider tires, and different suspension components that quicken lap times by more than a half-second over the both the Late Model division and the track’s Bond Auto Parts Modified division, for an average speed of over 110 miles per hour on the half-mile oval.
Drivers expected to compete in the Carmody Ford Slate Valley 100 represent a wide sample of northeastern racing, with entries likely to come from all six New England states and New York. Among those who have expressed interest in the event are Vermonters Chris Wilk of Rutland, Dave Pembroke of Middlesex, and Josh King of Vernon, former Oxford 250 winner Larry Gelinas of Scarborough, ME, Massachusetts veterans Mike O’Sullivan and Barry Gray, and part-time NASCAR Nationwide Series competitor Matt Frahm of New Salem, NH, the most recent GSPSS winner at Monadnock Speedway.
Pembroke and Granite State Pro Stock Series founder Mike Parks of Walpole, NH each took part in a test session at Devil’s Bowl Speedway last month. Pembroke won the first Late Model event ever contested at Devil’s Bowl when the track was converted from dirt to asphalt in 2010, and clinched the Vermont State Late Model Championship at the track last September.
“It’s a lot different here with one of these Pro Stock cars. It’s a lot faster,” Pembroke said with a grin after the May test session. “Knowing how well the Late Models race here, I think that the Pro Stocks are really going to be a lot of fun to watch. They’re definitely fun to drive.”
Joining the Granite State Pro Stock Series at the Carmody Ford Slate Valley 100 event will be the Bond Auto Parts Modifieds and Central Vermont Motorcycles Mini Stocks of the weekly NASCAR Whelen All-American Series. General admission is $15 for adults, $13 for seniors, and free for children 12 and under. Racing begins at 7:00pm on Friday, June 14.
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.