Long-time competitor is first to win on dirt and asphalt tracks in same weekend
WEST HAVEN, Vt. – Vince Quenneville Jr. made some stock car racing history at Devil’s Bowl Speedway on Sunday, August 27. After winning the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series feature race on the 3/10-mile Dirt Track at Devil’s Bowl on Sunday evening and one of two races on the 1/2-mile Asphalt Track on Saturday night, the Brandon, Vt., racer became the first driver to ever win on both surfaces in the same weekend. Other winners during the Sunday event included Bill Duprey, Chris Conroy, Aaron Mulready, and Evan Roberts.
Quenneville, a veteran of 30 years behind the steering wheel at Devil’s Bowl, turned a miserable month of dirt track results around with a dominant win in the 35-lap feature race for the Central Vermont Motorcycles Sportsman Modified division. Three tough races gave Quenneville a low handicap and the pole starting position for the race, but a quick car and Quenneville’s trademark flashy driving style in the corners did the rest of the work.
A spate of seven cautions in the first half of the race gave the field plenty of opportunities to take the lead away from Quenneville, but he withstood every challenge and cruised to his first dirt win of the season. It is possible that Quenneville’s new two-surface weekend record may never be broken, as there is only one event left in the history of the Asphalt Track before it is covered with new clay for the 2018 season.
Brian Whittemore drove his best race of the year to finish second, holding off a strong and persistent charge from Kenny Tremont Jr. virtually the whole race. Tremont took third place, while Tim LaDuc came from the back of the pack twice to finish fourth. Jimmy Ryan completed the top five, followed by Billy Lussier, James Fadden, Justin Comes, Tanner Siemons, and Trevor Rocke.
Unofficially, Tremont will enter The Stove Depot 100 championship finale next Sunday, September 3, with a narrow five-point lead on LaDuc (663-658). Tremont also holds the unofficial lead on Quenneville for the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Vermont State Championship title.
Bill Duprey of Hydeville, Vt., claimed his 49th career Devil’s Bowl win in the 20-lap feature for the Rosen & Berger Auto Recyclers Super Stock division. Duprey started last on the field and was forced to pit to repair a flat tire during an early yellow flag caution period, then charged from the back take the lead after a brief but physical battle with Chris Murray with eight laps remaining.
Duprey was the sixth driver to lead the ultra-competitive race, and beat Murray for his fifth win of the season. Curtis Condon finished third, followed by Cassidy Wilson and Garrett Given. Murray enters the final event of the year with an unofficial lead of 15 points over Duprey (594-579).
Chris Conroy of Newport, N.H., beat recent mechanical gremlins to take his second win of the year in the 15-lap Portland Glass Mini Stock race. Conroy blasted from sixth starting position into the lead by the second lap and never looked back. Jason Porter came from 14th to place second, and Andrew FitzGerald drove from last place on the 21-car field to take third. P.J. Bleau and Roo Forrest completed the top five, with Sean Perron sixth.
The race was the third and final qualifying round of the “Portland Glass Mini Stock Sweepstakes” leading up to the open competition $750-to-win season finale on September 17. FitzGerald and Forrest were the top two finishers from the “Home Track” group and earned guaranteed starting positions in the finale, and Perron locked himself into the race with the “At Large” provisional.
Aaron Mulready of Buskirk, N.Y., continued his dominance of the Catamount Mini Sprint club, taking his fourth win in the last five races in a 15-lap romp. Robert Griffin finished second ahead of Colby Beinhaur and his father Sean Beinhaur, and Josh Griffin, Robert’s son.
Point leader Austin Chaves had mechanical trouble and finished 12th, allowing Robert Griffin and Colby Beinhaur to tighten up the championship battle. Unofficially, Chaves has only 21 points on Griffin and 22 points on Beinhaur heading into the finale.
Evan Roberts of Fletcher, Vt., made his own bit of history on Sunday evening, winning the first-ever dirt race for Devil’s Bowl Speedway’s Bandit Youth Mini Stock division. Eleven year-old Roberts took the lead from Jesse Dunham on the second lap and then inched away from the field to take the win. Nick Austin-Neil finished a strong second, followed by Dunham, Parker Piper, and Harley Rogers.
Devil’s Bowl Speedway will crown its 2017 Dirt Track champions on Sunday, September 3, with a huge five-division card presented by The Stove Depot. The Sportsman Modifieds will race 100 laps and the Sprint Cars of New England will return for their third race of the season. Super Stocks, Mini Stocks, and Catamount Mini Sprints will all be in action as well. Racing will start at 6:00 p.m.
Devil’s Bowl Speedway is located on Route 22A in West Haven, Vt., four miles north of U.S. Route 4, Exit 2. For more information, visit www.DevilsBowlSpeedwayVT.com or call (802) 265-3112. Devil’s Bowl Speedway is on Facebook at @DevilsBowlSpeedway and on Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat at @DevilsBowlSpeed; follow the action using the hashtag #DevilsBowl.
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS – Back To School Night
Devil’s Bowl Speedway Dirt Track – West Haven, Vt.
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series
Sunday, August 27, 2017
Central Vermont Motorcycles Sportsman Modified Feature (35 laps)
Pos.-(Start)-Driver-Hometown
# – denotes rookie
1. (1) Vince Quenneville Jr., Brandon, Vt.
2. (2) Brian Whittemore, Pittsford, Vt.
3. (12) Kenny Tremont Jr., West Sand Lake, N.Y.
4. (11) Tim LaDuc, Orwell, Vt.
5. (6) Jimmy Ryan, Whiting, Vt.
6. (4) Billy Lussier, Fair Haven, Vt.
7. (10) # James Fadden, Plainfield, N.H.
8. (8) Justin Comes, Middlebury, Vt.
9. (9) # Tanner Siemons, Orford, N.H.
10. (14) Trevor Rocke, Canaan, N.H.
11. (15) Marty Hutchins, Poultney, Vt.
12. (13) # Mike Fisher, Castleton, Vt.
13. (3) # Tomas Kimball, White River Junction, Vt.
14. (16) # Mike Ryan, Chelsea, Vt.
15. (17) # Timmy Aldrighetti, Bethel, Vt.
16. (7) Randy Howe, Lebanon, N.H.
17. (5) Chris Clark, Vershire, Vt.
Heat Winners: Vince Quenneville Jr., Randy Howe
Shiley Fabrication Hard Charger Award: Kenny Tremont Jr.
Shiley Fabrication Hard Luck Award: Randy Howe
Rosen & Berger Auto Recyclers Super Stock Feature (20 laps)
Pos.-(Start)-Driver-Hometown
# – denotes rookie
1. (11) Bill Duprey, Hydeville, Vt.
2. (10) Chris Murray, Fair Haven, Vt.
3. (7) Curtis Condon, Queensbury, N.Y.
4. (4) Cassidy Wilson, West Rupert, Vt.
5. (6) # Garrett Given, Cornwall, Vt.
6. (3) Lou Gancarz, North Adams, Mass.
7. (8) Scott FitzGerald, West Rutland, Vt.
8. (2) Larry Bristol, Rutland, Vt.
9. (9) Matt Mosher, Queensbury, N.Y.
10. (1) Ronnie Alger, Orwell, Vt.
11. (5) Josh Bussino, Mouth Holly, Vt.
Heat Winner: Lou Gancarz, North Adams, Mass.
Portland Glass Mini Stock Feature (15 laps – Sweepstakes Qualifier)
Pos.-(Start)-Driver-Hometown
# – denotes rookie
1. (6) Chris Conroy, Newport, N.H.
2. (14) Jason Porter, Freeport, Maine
3. (21) Andrew FitzGerald, West Rutland, Vt.
4. (16) P.J. Bleau, Cohoes, N.Y.
5. (9) Roo Forrest, West Rutland, Vt.
6. (10) Sean Perron, Sharon, Vt.
7. (13) Chris Charbonneau, Rutland, Vt.
8. (12) # Dakota Desabrais, Brandon, Vt.
9. (11) # Johnny Bruno, Castleton, Vt.
10. (2) # Kyle Rogers, Fair Haven, Vt.
11. (4) Joe Malzac, Middlebury, Vt.
12. (18) Robert Garney, Fort Edward, N.Y.
13. (1) Erika Lilly, Castleton, Vt.
14. (8) # Jake Barrows, Monkton, Vt.
15. (20) Tim Simonds, Clarendon, Vt.
16. (7) # Willie Rice, Poultney, Vt.
17. (5) Cameron Kennedy, Rochester, Vt.
18. (15) Chris Guyette, North Clarendon, Vt.
19. (19) Damon Anderson, Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
20. (17) Kaleb Shepard, New Haven, Vt.
21. (3) # Tré McCoy, Rutland, Vt.
Heat Winners: Chris Conroy, Roo Forrest
Catamount Mini Sprint Feature (15 laps)
Pos.-(Start)-Driver-Hometown
1. (6) Aaron Mulready, Buskirk, N.Y.
2. (7) Robert Griffin, Sunapee, N.H.
3. (2) Colby Beinhaur, Shoreham, Vt.
4. (8) Sean Beinhaur, Shoreham, Vt.
5. (1) Josh Griffin, Sunapee, N.H.
6. (9) Josh Mulready, Buskirk, N.Y.
7. (11) Cody O’Brien, Springfield, Vt.
8. (12) Brent Warren, Salisbury, Vt.
9. (10) Tarin Prior, White River Junction, Vt.
10. (3) Erick Mulready, Buskirk, N.Y.
11. (4) Nadine Coates, Newport, N.H.
12. (5) Austin Chaves, Chester, Vt.
Heat Winner: Robert Griffin
Bandit Youth Mini Stock Feature (8 laps)
Pos.-(Start)-Driver-Hometown
1. (3) Evan Roberts, Fletcher, Vt.
2. (5) Nick Austin-Neil, Salisbury, Vt.
3. (1) Jesse Dunham, Fairlee, Vt.
4. (4) Parker Piper, Fairlee, Vt.
5. (2) Harley Rogers, Castleton, Vt.
Did Not Start: Connor Watrous, Bomoseen, Vt.
(Photos by Devil’s Bowl Speedway Staff – Barry Snelling & Justin St. Louis)