Story By: DEVIL’S BOWL SPEEDWAY – WEST HAVEN, VT – A more than action-packed show is set for this Saturday, July 8th at New England’s Fastest Dirt Track. Thirteen feature events line the card of racing action with every regular division going features-only and running twice.
The lightning-fast Sprint Cars of New England will be in the house as well with a standard heats and features format.
At the Devil’s Bowl rules meeting over the Winter, drivers opted for double features on this night instead of the old format for Mid-Season Championship night: one feature paying double points.
But the pressure remains. Two features with no heats means more points can still be won and lost, but the additional race gives drivers an opportunity to balance out a bad race on the other side of the night, instead of having their season crumble in an instant.
Orwell, V.t.’s Tim LaDuc seized the Modified points lead from Justin Comes last Saturday with a 2nd place finish to Walter J. Hammond in the Firecracker 50. The 2021 Sunoco Modified high point men are separated by just three markers while Bradford, V.t.’s Kevin Chaffee capitalized on Tanner Siemons misfortune early in the 50-lap race and now sits 3rd in the standings. The top 10 drivers in the modified ranks are separated by just 84 points, so the twin 25-lap contests slated for Saturday night could produce some major changes in the standings with half the season still to come.
Randy Ryan holds a 37-point lead over Hunter Nutter in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Limited Modifieds, and in the Novice division Tyler Travis is clinging to a slim, three-point lead over new 2nd place challenger Adam LaFountain of Starksboro, V.t.
In the 500cc Mini Sprints, Logan Denis remains in command of his title defense, but recent winner John Smith and the ever-consistent Ray Hanson are lurking behind Denis and have been chipping away at his lead.
In the fender cars, the program-opening Crown Vic feature, a make-up race from June 24th, is expected to see the division’s biggest car count so far with seven cars slated to take the green in the budding stock class. Rob Steele leads Norman Morrill in the standings by four points.
Craig Kirby stayed hot with another Mini Stock win last week in the first of two split features for the huge field of competitors. His lead is 33 points over Austin McKirryher.
Intermission will feature the annual driver autograph session at the spectator fence. Drivers will have photos and other things to sign and give to fans. Additionally, thanks to the folks at the Rutland Herald, autograph booklets with the top drivers in each class will be available for signing.
Racing begins at 7:00 p.m. this Saturday, July 8thth. The pit gates will open at 4:00 p.m. and the grandstands at 5:30. The Drivers’ Meeting is scheduled for 5:30 with practice to follow at 6:00 p.m. Infield parking will close at 6:45 p.m. sharp.
General admission is just $15 and Infield Drive-In parking is available for $20. Kids 12 and under are free. Pit pass fees are $28 for members and $38 for non-members.