New Devil's Bowl Speedway owners Alayne and Mike Bruno at a press conference at the Holiday Inn-Rutland on Tuesday, Nov. 8. (T.J. Ingerson/Vermont Motorsports Magazine photo)
WEST HAVEN, VT — A new era has begun for Vermont sports: Devil’s Bowl Speedway has new leadership. Vermont business owners Mike and Alayne Bruno have purchased the 75-acre facility and plan to host a full season of stock car racing in 2012.
Devil’s Bowl Speedway is a NASCAR-sanctioned, half-mile paved stock car track located in West Haven, VT, 15 minutes from Rutland, the state’s second-largest city.
The co-owner and president of Rutland-based Bruno’s Towing, 40 year-old Mike Bruno is a champion stock car driver with well over 50 victories. He began racing at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in 1988, following in the footsteps of his late father, John, a multi-time track champion.
“Today is a major milestone for me personally. I’ve traveled all over the country to race, but my roots have been firmly planted at Devil’s Bowl Speedway since I was young,” Mike Bruno said. “My family has a deep connection with the area, and having the chance to guide our home track into the future means a great deal to us. Beyond our personal history, though, we feel that we have a great opportunity to have a positive impact on local motorsports and the greater community as a whole.”
Mike and Alayne Bruno purchased the speedway from founder C.J. Richards. Devil’s Bowl Speedway opened as a dirt track in 1967 and was paved in 2010. The track adopted sanction from the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series under the Richards family’s leadership last year. Bruno, who led a successful open-discussion “town meeting” with competitors two weeks ago, said the asphalt surface will remain, as will the track’s relationship with NASCAR.
“I’ve met with NASCAR officials in Florida, and our management team met with local competitors two weeks ago and made great progress,” Bruno said. “We are confident that this transition will go smoothly for everyone, and we are very excited to bring our new ideas to the table.”
Bruno said that plans include the rebirth of Devil’s Bowl Speedway’s open-wheel, dirt-style 358-Modified division and integrating the class with the current crate-engine Sportsman Modifieds, as well as growing the American-Canadian Tour-legal Late Model division and the Renegade and Bomber support classes. Bruno’s target is an 18-event championship race schedule in 2012. Other plans include upgrades to the physical plant, the possible addition of go-kart racing, and non-racing community events.
Information will be forthcoming including a full schedule of events, competitor rulebooks, licensing information, and other programs. For more information, call (802) 773-0146, email devilsbowlspeedway@gmail.com, or visit www.devilsbowlspeedwayvt.com.