PHOTO: Leon Gonyo (#4), Vince Quenneville (#78), Todd Stone (outside), and Hunter Bates (#69) are each expected to factor into the race for the Bond Auto Parts Modified championship at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in 2013. (Leif Tillotson photo)
Pool of title contenders grows as Spring Green approaches
WEST HAVEN, VT – The race for the Bond Auto Parts Modified stock car championship at Devil’s Bowl Speedway will be tighter than ever as the season opens on Sunday, May 5 at the 101.5 “The Fox” Spring Green event. The field of ground-pounding, open-wheel NASCAR Whelen All-American Series machines has expanded in 2013 and includes nearly a dozen drivers with a shot at the crown.
Though veteran Ron Proctor has won the championship in each of the last two seasons, the Charlton, NY driver knows that his No. 27 Timco Transportation/Charlton Oil machine is in the crosshairs in 2013. Proctor’s toughest challenger in 2012, Brandon, VT’s Vince Quenneville will debut new sponsorship from Green Mountain Feeds and Black Diamond Builders at the Spring Green, giving him extra motivation to be up front, but Quenneville, too, will have his work cut out for him.
A talented group of young racers is primed and ready for 2013, each driver capable of collecting his first championship. Alex Bell of Cambridge, NY, Hunter Bates of Middlebury, VT, and Olmstedville, NY’s Jessey Mueller – each 21 years old or younger – combined for seven main event victories a year ago. Cody Sargen of Greenfield Center, NY tops the list of drivers looking for their first Devil’s Bowl victory including Jamie Proctor, Jeff Haskins, Andy Smith, Dave Snow, and more.
Rookie of the Year Joey Roberts of Fletcher, VT will try to one-up an outstanding season that saw him collect 12 top-five finishes and a main event win. Thirty-five year racing veteran Leon Gonyo of Chazy, NY returns after a winning campaign, and long-time Middlebury, VT favorite Todd Stone will return to Devil’s Bowl Speedway. Stone, who won the 2008 Devil’s Bowl Speedway championship in the track’s dirt-surface era, won the 100-lap Modified portion of the Vermont 200 Weekend at Devil’s Bowl last September.
The Bond Auto Parts Modifieds are part of a weekend celebration of stock car racing in Rutland County, as Merchants Row in Rutland City 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 includes the Modified, American-Canadian Tour Late Model, Renegade, and Central Vermont Motorcycles Mini Stock divisions from Devil’s Bowl, 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 – a short 20-minute drive from Rutland – 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.