WEST HAVEN, Vt. – The popular Sprint Cars of New England (SCoNE) tour will open their 2023 campaign this Saturday night, May 13th at Devil’s Bowl Speedway just in time for Mother’s Day. Joining the 360-cubic inch winged beasts on the schedule card will be all three regular Modified divisions, Mini Stocks and 500cc Mini Sprints all lining up under a random draw format for the second week in a row. Also on tap is the first of two scheduled spectator race nights of the 2023 season.
A healthy field of sprint cars are expected to fill the pit area on Saturday for their maiden voyage of 2023 under new President, Justin St. Louis. Past champions Will Hull, Chris Donnelly and Clay Dow will be challenged by Devil’s Bowl locals Lacey Hanson and Floyd and Travis Billington, along with fierce challengers from farther away, like Stephentown, NY’s Matt Tanner and Quebec, Canada’s Jordan Porier. Up-and-comers Kadyn Berry and Lane Saville, a graduate of Devil’s Bowl’s 500cc Mini Sprint division, will look to carry the torch of New England Sprint Car racing and shock the veterans of the winged world.
Another special event Saturday is the return of the highly-anticipated spectator races, which are slated to commence twice this season. Racers must purchase a pit pass, wear a seatbelt, helmet and may have one passenger. The last few spectator races have produced more than their fair share of action as race fans try their luck against the commonly slick corners bookending straightaways that provide plenty of speed.
The Sunoco Modifieds will be led into the second night of the year by acting point leader, Tim LaDuc. The “Orwell Express” finished 2nd to Johnny Bruno on opening night, but Bruno has returned to the University of Central Florida for the summer and does not have any other races scheduled in 2023 as of now. Chasing LaDuc will be Justin Comes, Tanner Siemons, Billy Lussier, Wayne Stearns and the rest of the hard-charging, open-wheel jousters, with rookies Evan Roberts and Josh LeClaire looking for their shot at the weekly $1,200 winner’s share and $5,000 season championship prize.
O’reilly Auto Parts Limited Sportsman and Hoosier Daddy Racing Novice Sportsman will also be in action as respective winners Randy Ryan and Robert Gauthier look to go back-to-back in the opening weeks, but they’ll each have to fend off rising future stars of the Sunoco Modified division to do it.
More than 35 mini stocks came through the gate on opening night and they’ll be ready for more this Saturday. More than 40 drivers are registered for the 2023 season for a championship fight that should prove to be wide open with big winners of the last few seasons moving up and 2022 champion Chris Sumner not running a full season in 2023. Levi Cram won the opening night A-main while Damian Olden captured the B.
A growing class of Friend Construction 500cc Mini Sprints are headed by opening night winner Logan Denis. The Whiting, VT youngster was both Rookie of the Year and Champion in 2022 and will look to defend his title, but the gap between the top and bottom of this division becomes smaller all the time. Roger LaDuc, Ray Hanson and Chayton Young are just a few of the many drivers expected to contend for wins all year long.
The 9th State Crown Vic division is off this week. Opening night saw four cars enter and Rob Steele go to victory lane. Essex, VT’s James Norton won the Speedway’s raffle for a near race-ready Crown Vic that was drawn on Wednesday night’s “Let’s Talk Racin’” Facebook live program. The exciting, new division returns Memorial Day Weekend, May 27th.
Full points standings for all divisions have been entered in and can be found in their entirety on the MyRacePass app.
Grandstand general admission is $15 for adults and free for children aged 12 and under. Infield drive-in parking is also available for $20 for adults and free for kids. Pit area passes are $28 for members and $38 for non-members; the minimum age in the pit area is 10 years old, per Vermont state law. Racing on Saturday will start at 6pm!
Devil’s Bowl Speedway is located on Route 22A in West Haven, Vt., four miles north of U.S. Route 4, Exit 2, 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 Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat at @DevilsBowlSpeed; follow the action using the #DevilsBowl hashtag.