Longtime employee to begin work outside of racing industry
WEST HAVEN, Vt. – Devil’s Bowl Speedway will bid farewell to its director of media and marketing after 10 years, as Justin St. Louis leaves his position to begin a new career. St. Louis will start full-time work outside of the motorsports industry on December 1.
Mike and Alayne Bruno hired St. Louis in October 2011, just prior to their purchase of Devil’s Bowl Speedway, to help transition into the new era of stock car racing at the historic Vermont track. St. Louis had previously worked for the American-Canadian Tour and the Thunder Road, Bear Ridge, Airborne, and Riverside speedways, as well as various radio, print, and digital media outlets.
At Devil’s Bowl Speedway, St. Louis was initially responsible for media communications and building new relationships with competitors for the 2012 season; over time, his duties have expanded to include marketing and sponsorships, event planning, registration, record-keeping, announcing, and other obligations. St. Louis juggled similar positions under the Brunos’ leadership with Airborne Park Speedway, the King of Dirt Racing Series, and the former Northern Modified Challenge Series, and he also assisted with operations of Bruno’s Towing.
“These last 10 years have been incredibly rewarding for me,” St. Louis said. “I didn’t know Mike and Alayne before I started working for them, but I feel that I’m part of their family. I’ve watched their kids grow up, and I even lived at their house for a few months. We stuck together through some hard years, and that only made us stronger as a unit. Devil’s Bowl is thriving right now, and I’m proud to have played a small role in that with the entire Bruno family and the talented people that we have had behind us.”
St. Louis will coordinate the upcoming Banquet of Champions before officially ending his tenure at Devil’s Bowl Speedway. He said that his personal priorities and family responsibilities have changed over the years, and that has made him reevaluate his time commitment and level of involvement in racing.
“I have a different outlook now at 38 years old than I did when I was 28,” St. Louis said. “A 60-hour work week is pretty normal in the summer in this business. We’ve done it for 10 years here, and I had another 12 years working in the sport before that. My family has always supported my passion for racing, and this decision came as a surprise to them, but I realized a while ago that I have missed too many birthdays and vacations, and that it’s time to reprioritize. I will still enjoy racing as a hobby in my spare time, but I’m ready to shift gears.”
Mike and Alayne Bruno both showed appreciation for St. Louis and wished him well in his future endeavors.
“Justin has a young family now, and we all come to a point in our lives where we want to do something different,” Mike Bruno said. “That’s where Justin is at, and he wants a more regular Monday through Friday job, which we totally understand. It has been a great ride the last 10 years having him be a part of what we have accomplished at Devil’s Bowl Speedway. We wish him the best of luck and the door will always be open for his return.”
“Justin has been a huge part of our organization, and we are going to miss him tremendously,” Alayne Bruno said. “We have worked side-by-side since we all began here at Devil’s Bowl, and it will certainly feel different for us in the office and at the track without him.”
St. Louis expressed his appreciation for the Devil’s Bowl Speedway community including its competitors, fans, sponsors, and a team of track officials that has been together for many years.
“I grew up at other tracks, but Devil’s Bowl Speedway is my home,” St. Louis said. “I didn’t know many people in this area when I got here, but everyone welcomed me with open arms and now I have hundreds or even thousands of friends here whom I will love forever. I’m not going to work at another track, because there’s nowhere I’d rather work in racing than Devil’s Bowl.
“My position gave me the opportunity to interact with literally every person who came to the races, and that’s something that I never took for granted,” St. Louis continued. “No other group of people has made me feel like I was one of them as much as the Devil’s Bowl family, and I hope that my work rewarded their trust in me. I’ve had so much fun, and I’m immensely proud to be from Devil’s Bowl Speedway in West Haven, Vermont.”
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.
(Alan Ward photo)