Championships, prestige on the line at year-end asphalt event
WEST HAVEN, VT – Some of the region’s best asphalt stock car drivers are headed to Devil’s Bowl Speedway for the Mekkelsen RV Vermont 200 Championship Weekend on September 12-13. While most will chase the checkered flag, a handful will try to complete their drive to become champions in the finale for the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series presented by Yandow Sales & Service and John Deere.
Ron Proctor and Vince Quenneville Jr. will finally settle their red-hot battle for the Bond Auto Parts Modified division through qualifying events on Saturday, September 12, and a pair of extra-distance, 50-lap feature races on Sunday, September 13. Charlton, NY veteran Proctor, the point leader and a former two-time champion, found success in this event last year by winning one of the Twin 50s.
Quenneville, of Brandon, VT, has four wins in 2015 to Proctor’s two, but Proctor has collected more bonus points during qualifying heats and semi-feature races. The title contenders have finished within one position of each other in seven of the last 10 feature races, and they enter the finale just five points apart.
Top racers Greg Atkins, Leon Gonyo, Codie Aubin, and Jason Durgan, will be in action as well as Jimmy Ryan, Billy Lussier, and the returning Joey Roberts, who was sidelined by a hard crash in July. Others expected include the legendary Kenny Tremont Jr., current Late Model standout and past Modified champion Todd Stone, and – pending the birth of his second child – Airborne Park Speedway champion Nick Heywood.
The Central Vermont Motorcycles Late Model division will run qualifying races and a 100-lap finale on Sunday afternoon, and an impressive field is expected to enter. Thunder Road star Trampas Demers of South Burlington, VT will return to Devil’s Bowl in defense of last year’s victory.
“I’ve had this weekend circled on my calendar all year,” Demers said. “My schedule doesn’t let me race at Devil’s Bowl on Friday nights during the summer, but I read the results after every race. The competition has really stepped up this year and guys like Josh Masterson and Robert Bryant Jr. are going to be tough.”
Devil’s Bowl point leader Masterson, of Bristol, VT, number-two man Bryant from Brooklyn, CT, and Middlebury, VT racer Stone will also be vying for the win against Bobby Therrien, Jamie Aube, Chris Bergeron, Steve Miller, rookie Richard Lowrey III, and breakout stars Walter Hammond and Seth Bridge.
The fields for the Brileya’s Chrysler-Jeep Renegade and Portland Glass Mini Stock divisions are expected to swell; the Renegades will run a 50-lap finale, and the Mini Stocks will race two 15-lap scored segments for their final race of the season. The MFT Sauce & Rub Co. Enduro Series will also run a metal-crunching 50-lap race.
More than $29,000 in total prize money has been posted for the two-day show. Saturday, September 12 features qualifying for the Modified, Renegade, and Mini Stock divisions, and special “Non-Winners Shootout” races for all divisions including the Late Models. The day is capped off by the annual Vermont 200 bonfire and barbeque party – free for all who purchase a race ticket or pit pass. Main events will be run on Sunday, September 13 as the season champions are crowned; racing begins at 1:30 p.m. on both days.
Two-day general admission for the Mekkelsen RV Vermont 200 Championship Weekend is $25. The single Saturday-only ticket is $10, and the single Sunday-only ticket is $20. Kids age 12 and under will be admitted free all weekend. Weekend pit area admission is $40, and camping is free all weekend (no hookups). Pit gates open at 9:00 a.m. both days, grandstands open at 11:00 a.m., and racing is at 1:30 p.m.
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 and Instagram at @DevilsBowlSpeed; follow the action using the #DevilsBowl hashtag.