Great North American Pancake Eating Championship gears up for Saturday
WEST HAVEN, Vt. – Devil’s Bowl Speedway has a weekend full of stock car racing action locked and loaded for August 27-28. The NASCAR Whelen All-American Series runs on both nights, racing on Devil’s Bowl’s half-mile Asphalt Track on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m., and on the 3/10-mile Dirt Track runs on Sunday night at 6:00 p.m.
The rustic Sugar & Spice Restaurant of Mendon, Vt., presents the action on Saturday night with the annual “Double Stack Night” including double main events for all four weekly racing divisions. With time running out in the season, the championship battles are very tight. Bad luck last week for Bond Auto Parts Sportsman Modified point leader Jason Durgan means that he now holds a slim three-point edge on Vince Quenneville Jr. in the top class. Josh Masterson leads Robert Bryant Jr. by 17 points in the Central Vermont Motorcycles Late Models and Scott FitzGerald has a tiny one-point lead on Jim McKiernan in the Rosen & Berger Renegades. Portland Glass Mini Stock rookie Eric Messier holds the largest lead in any division at just 18 points over Brad Bertrand.
The biggest highlight of the Sugar & Spice event, of course, is the fifth annual “Great North American Pancake Eating Championship” at intermission. Contestants have five minutes to eat as many Sugar & Spice pancakes with Vermont maple syrup as possible. The all-time record of 12.5 pancakes was set in 2013 by Malcolm Woodward, who has a three-year win streak on the line. Allen Jones – winner of the inaugural contest in 2012 – will try to retake the title this year; Jones downed 10 pancakes last year but “upped” a few as well, becoming the event’s first contestant to ever be disqualified due to the dreaded “reversal of fortune.”
Regular general admission on Saturday, August 27 is $12.00 for adults, $10.00 for seniors (62+), $5.00 for teens (13-17), and free for kids age 12 and under. Gates open at 5:00 p.m., and racing begins at 7:00 p.m.
On Sunday night, the Dirt Track remembers one of its icons with the “Ol’ Reliable 54” event honoring late pioneer racer Charlie LaDuc of Orwell, Vt. The race is part of Devil’s Bowl Speedway’s 50th season “Tribute Series” in 2016 and is a nod to LaDuc, who embodied the spirit of the low-buck, shade-tree mechanic competitor. The Sportsman Modified division will race 54 laps in an extra-distance salute to LaDuc’s car number, and his son Tim LaDuc will be among the drivers looking for the win. The Renegade and Mini Stock divisions will also be in action.
Special general admission on Sunday, August 28 is $15.00 for adults, $13.00 for seniors (62+), $5.00 for teens (13-17), and free for kids age 12 and under. Gates open at 4:00 p.m., and racing begins at 6:00 p.m.
Devil’s Bowl Speedway is located on Route 22A in West Haven, Vt., four miles north of Exit 2 off of U.S. Route 4 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 Twitter and Instagram at @DevilsBowlSpeed; follow the action using the #DevilsBowl hashtag.
