Two-day event opens with Saturday races and BBQ party
WEST HAVEN, Vt. – The Interstate All Battery Center Vermont 200 Weekend is poised to be the biggest event in Devil’s Bowl Speedway’s 52-year history, and it opens up with a fun night of action – and maybe a little partying – on Saturday, September 15 starting at 4:00 p.m.
The weekly NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Super Stock division will have its biggest night of the season with a 50-lap race paying $1,000 to win. Also on the Saturday program are the Friend Construction 500cc Mini Sprint division, the second annual “Ron Casey Memorial” Sportsman Modified non-winners race, a one-hour open practice session for Sportsman cars, and the speedway’s annual pig roast barbeque and bonfire party.
The Super Stock 50 on Saturday is shaping up to be a highly competitive race. Local favorite Chris Murray of Fair Haven, Vt., is certainly the driver to beat for the $1,000 winner’s purse, with 10 victories in 17 starts. The rest of the division, however, has been catching up lately and staying hot on his heels; Scott FitzGerald, Curtis Condon, Kevin Elliott, and Joey Trudeau have all won races, while Josh Bussino, Lou Gancarz, Matt Mosher, Jim McKiernan, and rookie Andrew FitzGerald have each been knocking on the door.
The Ron Casey Memorial Sportsman race will serve as a competitive test for Sunday’s qualifying and 200-lap feature, and it will likely have an impressive driver lineup. The criteria allows only for drivers who have not won in the 2018 season in a Modified-type car – Sportsman, Limited, Small Block, or Big Block – to enter.
In spite of their past accomplishments, drivers who are winless in 2018 and remain eligible to compete include former Devil’s Bowl champions Vince Quenneville Jr., Bobby Hackel, Ron Proctor, and Ray Hoard, top drivers Jimmy Ryan, Billy Lussier, Hector Stratton, Allan Hammond, and James Fadden, and recently-crowned Central Vermont Motorcycles Challenger Series champion Brian Whittemore, among others.
The Friend Construction 500cc Mini Sprints will run a 20-lap feature race on Saturday as well, and it’s anyone’s guess as to who will end up in victory lane. Defending champion Austin Chaves, 16, has had both the fastest car and the worst luck of late, which has helped 13 year-old Cody O’Brien of Springfield, Vt., retain the point lead. A large crop of new talent has figured things out quickly; 13 year-old twin brothers Shawn and John McPhee have each won races recently along with teenagers Dakota Green and Colby Beinhaur, and rookies Kevin Smith, Samantha Mulready, Joel Belanger, Tye Vaillancourt, and Evan Roberts seem ready to break through at any time.
Sunday’s “Carl Vladyka Memorial 29” will determine the 2018 champion for the King of Dirt Racing Pro Stock Series. Jason Casey of Canaan, Conn., holds a 15-point lead on Chucky Dumblewski and a 20-point edge on Jon Routhier entering the tour’s $1,029-to-win season finale, held in honor of the late Devil’s Bowl Pro Stock great. Casey has two KOD wins this season, Dumblewski has won at two weekly tracks, and Routhier finished second in the inaugural KOD Devil’s Bowl event last year. Rich Crane and Jay Casey are also still in the title hunt.
Portland Glass of Rutland presents the Mini Stock division’s biggest race of the season on Sunday with a 50-lap, $1,000-to-win race. The track championship will likely also be decided on Sunday, as Kaleb Shepard of Vergennes, Vt., enters with a nearly unbeatable 74-point lead. Though it won’t be official until the season finale on September 23, the driver nicknamed “The Snarve” is poised to lock up his first title. Other drivers gunning for the big win include feature winners Shawn Moquin, Mike Preston, Johnny Bruno, Mike Lique, and Jason Porter, as well as leading rookie Craig Kirby.
Racing is slated to begin at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 15, followed by a one-hour open practice session for the Sportsman Modified division. The track’s annual pig roast barbeque and bonfire party – which has become legendary in its own right – begins at 6:30 p.m.
All Sportsman Modified qualifying and racing action for the Vermont 200 main event will be held on Sunday, September 16, starting at 2:00 p.m., which includes three rounds of qualifying, two $500-to-win B-main races for non-qualifiers, and the Interstate All Battery Center Vermont 200, which is worth $10,000 to the winner plus lap leader bonuses.
Two-Day general admission is $30 for adults (age 13+); single-day tickets are available on Saturday for $12 and Sunday for $25; kids age 12 and under are free. Pit passes are $40, good for both days, and camping passes are $25 each, valid Friday at noon to Monday at noon. Saturday barbeque admission is included free with any pit pass or any Saturday or Two-Day general admission ticket, or is $12 for all others who wish to attend.
Sponsorship for the weekend event is courtesy of Interstate All Battery Center of Rutland, with support from Fabian Earth Moving, Portland Glass, Kubricky Construction, and Central Vermont Motorcycles. Lap sponsorships are available for $50 each; email devilsbowlspeedway@gmail.com for more information.
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 Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat at @DevilsBowlSpeed; follow the action using the #DevilsBowl hashtag.
(Photo by Barry Snelling/Devil’s Bowl Speedway, 2017)