Seven events for winged 360 Sprint Cars highlight schedule at Vermont track
WEST HAVEN, Vt. – Sprint Cars have a new home in the northeast: The Dirt Track at Devil’s Bowl Speedway. The lightning-fast, wild-looking cars are powered by alcohol-burning, 360 cubic-inch engines that produce 600 horsepower, with aerodynamic wings mounted above both the driver and the front axle. Sprint Cars will compete in seven events on the 3/10-mile, paperclip-shaped Vermont track and – for the first time in Devil’s Bowl history – will vie for a season-long championship title.
As part of Devil’s Bowl Speedway’s 50th season, The Dirt Track will host the Sprint Cars of New England (SCoNE) tour six times, with each race counting toward the track title. SCoNE will run on Sunday nights including a Memorial Day Weekend special on May 29, the Independence Day Weekend Triple Crown finale on July 3, and a Labor Day Weekend event on September 4. Other SCoNE races will be held on June 19, July 10, and August 14.
The seventh and final race will be the second annual $3,000-to-win, open-competition Green Mountain Sprint Car Nationals event on Saturday, September 24. The regular SCoNE and Devil’s Bowl teams will again face off against Lucas Oil Empire Super Sprints (ESS) racers from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Eastern Canada; teams from seven U.S. states and two Canadian provinces made up the field for last year’s inaugural race.
Four Sprint Car races have been held since the 3/10-mile Dirt Track was constructed in the fall of 2014, with SCoNE top guns “Professor” Chris Donnelly and Danny “The Show” Douville each winning twice. Donnelly, of Piermont, N.H., won the first race in 2014, then backed it up at the WhistlePig Whiskey Independence Day Special last July. Bridgewater, N.H., racer Douville won in August, and then stunned the high-profile ESS teams by winning the Fabian Earthmoving Green Mountain Sprint Car Nationals.
Donnelly and Douville may be the early favorites for the inaugural Devil’s Bowl track title, but they’ll likely face stout competition during the year from Vermonters Kevin Chaffee, Will Hull, and local favorites Lacey and James Hanson, New Hampshire’s Clay Dow and Jake Williams, former Devil’s Bowl ESS winner Scott Holcomb of Connecticut, and at least a dozen others.
“We’ve been thrilled with our Sprint Car shows so far,” Devil’s Bowl promoter Mike Bruno said. “The cars are extremely fast, and their crashes and flips are just as exciting to watch as the racing. We’re really looking forward to crowning the first Devil’s Bowl Speedway Sprint Car champion this year.”
Devil’s Bowl Speedway’s 50th season of racing includes a full slate of action for both its asphalt half-mile and dirt 3/10-mile tracks, totaling 27 scheduled events. Opening weekend is scheduled for May 21-22.
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.
Devil’s Bowl Speedway – West Haven, Vt.
2016 Sprint Car Division – Schedule of Events
THE DIRT TRACK AT DEVIL’S BOWL SPEEDWAY (schedule subject to change)
No. – Day/Date – Time – Notes
1. Sun., May 29 – 6:00 p.m. – Sprint Car Season Opener
2. Sun., June 19 – 6:00 p.m.
3. Sun., July 3 – 6:00 p.m. – WhistlePig Whiskey Independence Day Special/SCoNE Triple Crown Weekend Finale
4. Sun., July 10 – 6:00 p.m. – Double-Points Mid-Season Championships
5. Sun., Aug. 14 – 6:00 p.m.
6. Sun., Sept. 4 – 5:00 p.m. – Labor Day Special
7. Sat., Sept. 24 – 5:00 p.m. – 2nd Annual Green Mountain Sprint Car Nationals