Regional Late Model stars headed to Rutland County for May 7 opener
Story By: JUSTIN ST. LOUIS / DEVILS BOWL SPEEDWAY MEDIA
Photos By: DAVE DALESANDRO / RACERSGUIDE.COM
WEST HAVEN, Vt. –April 12, 2017- Devil’s Bowl Speedway is ready to roar for its 51st season of stock car racing, and the schedule opens with the return of one of the year’s biggest and most important traditional events: The “Spring Green.” The sleek Late Model cars and the regional stars of the American-Canadian Tour (ACT) join the local favorites of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series for a pavement-pounding show on Sunday, May 7 at 1:30 p.m.
The Spring Green race has a storied and somewhat quirky history. The event began at the former Catamount Stadium in Milton, Vt., in 1974, running 74 laps in distance. After Catamount closed in 1987, the event bounced between three facilities including the 1/2-mile Asphalt Track at Devil’s Bowl Speedway, which previously hosted the race four times. The Spring Green returns to West Haven, Vt., in 2017 with a 117-lap distance.
The list of past Spring Green winners reads like an all-star lineup. Brothers Beaver and Bobby Dragon, Dave Dion, Jean-Paul Cabana, Stub Fadden, and Robbie Crouch are former winners, along with Vermont NASCAR star Kevin Lepage and Canadian icon Junior Hanley. Modern-era winners include Governor Phil Scott, second-generation star Brent Dragon, and former Devil’s Bowl champs Todd Stone and Jean-Paul Cyr. ACT greats Brian Hoar and Wayne Helliwell Jr. each won the Spring Green twice during its previous Devil’s Bowl run in 2011-2014.
Devil’s Bowl champion Josh Masterson of Bristol, Vt., will try to become the first local to win an ACT event on May 7. Masterson is running the full ACT schedule in 2017 and is certain to be a contender at the Spring Green. Drivers from all six New England states are expected to enter the event including former ACT race winners Scott Payea, Bobby Therrien, Jimmy Hebert, and Scott Dragon of Vermont, Connecticut’s Dillon Moltz, and New Hampshire drivers Kyle Welch and Miles Chipman; several Devil’s Bowl regulars are also expected to race. For more information on the American-Canadian Tour including the full season schedule, visit www.ACTTour.com.
Drivers from the weekly NASCAR Whelen All-American Series ranks will also kick off their season at the Spring Green on May 7. Jason Durgan of Morrisonville, N.Y., will begin defense of his O’Reilly Auto Parts Sportsman Modified division championship and Jim McKiernan of Moriah, N.Y., will do the same in the Rosen & Berger Auto Recyclers Super Stocks. The Portland Glass Mini Stock title race is wide open and has a large crop of rookie drivers.
General admission the Spring Green special event will be $20 for adults, $18 for seniors (62+), just $5 for teenagers (13-17), and free for kids age 12 and under. Camping and parking are always free at Devil’s Bowl Speedway. Green flag racing action begins at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 7.
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 facebook.com/DevilsBowlSpeedway and on Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat at @DevilsBowlSpeed; f
