Significant growth expected in Mini Stock fields on both asphalt and dirt
Story By: JUSTIN ST. LOUIS / DEVILS BOWL SPEEDWAY MEDIA
Photos By:DAVE DALESANDRO / RACERSGUIDE.COM
WEST HAVEN, Vt. –April 20, 2016- Portland Glass, a New England-based industry leader, is back for its second season of stock car racing at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in 2016. The company joined Devil’s Bowl last year and returns for all 27 NASCAR Whelen All-American Series (NWAAS) events scheduled for the speedway’s 50th season, with racing beginning on the half-mile Asphalt Track on Saturday, May 21 and on the 3/10-mile Dirt Track on Sunday, May 22.
Portland Glass will again present racing in the Mini Stock division, which anticipates a sharp increase in car count. Designed to be an economical, entry-level class, Mini Stocks are production compact cars with safety modifications only; popular models include the Dodge Neon, Chevrolet Cavalier, Honda Civic, and Ford Focus. Mini Stocks are classified in the NWAAS “Division IV” category, and with Devil’s Bowl’s dual-surface NASCAR sanction in 2016, drivers have more opportunities to collect points while chasing the national championship against drivers from more than 60 tracks throughout North America.
Chris LaVair of Gabriels, N.Y., won the Devil’s Bowl Asphalt Track championship last year and ranked 17th in Div. IV national standings. LaVair says he wants to win the 2016 national title and will run the full schedule on both tracks at Devil’s Bowl. He’ll jump start his point total by traveling to South Carolina to race at NASCAR-sanctioned tracks Greenville-Pickens and Anderson before the local season begins.
LaVair’s father, Harold, has purchased a Subaru that Chuck Bradford drove to the 2014 Devil’s Bowl title, and will be joined on the pavement by veterans Andrew FitzGerald, Brad Bertrand, Kyle Sorensen, and Kyle Watrous. Rookies include former Enduro Series champs Brett Wood and Eric Messier, and Wood’s son, Zach.
On the Dirt Track side, the brothers Bishop enter the new season perched at the top. Brian Bishop of Bridport, Vt., won his first championship a year ago, with older brother Justin Bishop finishing third overall. They’ll face Chris Cardarelli, former two-time Devil’s Bowl champion Mike Clark, and many others.
Founded in 1947, Portland Glass can claim many innovative “firsts” in the business, and has grown to include more than 200 employees with 34 locations in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. The “home” location for Devil’s Bowl Speedway is on South Main Street (Route 7) in Rutland, Vt., which specializes in glass and mirror repair and replacement for every automotive, home, and business application. For more information, call (802) 775-9720 or visit www.PortlandGlass.com/Rutland-VT.
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.
