Whittemore Scores Popular Upset at Devil’s Bowl Speedway
Veteran earns first win at home track since 1995
WEST HAVEN, Vt. – Everyone in attendance at Devil’s Bowl Speedway on Sunday, July 26 became a Brian Whittemore fan – at least for one night. The veteran underdog driver scored an immensely popular victory in the headline Pepsi Sportsman Modified division, highlighting a roster of winners that included Evan Roberts, Kim Duell, Andrew FitzGerald, Michael Daniels, and Cody O’Brien.
Whittemore started on the pole in the 30-lap main event and broke out to an early lead, but Jack Speshock came calling on the outside lane at the one-third mark. Speshock took the point to lead laps 10 and 11, but he slipped out of the groove and crashed off the track in Turn 1 on lap 12, ending his race. Whittemore reassumed the lead and ran away from that point on with full support from both spectators and competing teams in the pit area.
Eric Lindblad wins the Mike Estrada State Farm 4 Cylinder Enduro
Jason Porter back on top in the Peanuts Auto LLC Four Cylinders
Bear Ridge Speedway
95.3 & 107.1 the Wolf feature winners were: Tanner Siemons in the Sabil & Sons DIRTcar Sportsman Modifieds, Cody Gregoropoulos in the DIRTcar Sportsman Coupes, Will Hull in the USAC DMA Midgets, Jason Porter in the Peanuts Auto Four Cylinders, and Eric Lindblad in the State Farm Mike Estrada 4 Cylinder Enduro.
In the DIRTcar Sabil & Sons Sportsman Modifieds Jason Gray didn’t get the finish he was looking for, with a new face crossing the line ahead of him. Tanner Siemons will be credited for breaking the Grey winning streak as he is the one who took the lead and the checkers for their main event. Coming home in second was Walt Hammond, with Gray filling in the final victory lane spot. Robert Tucker and Walter Hammond (little Walt) completed the top five.
Corliss Puts on Clinic for Third Straight Community Bank N.A. 150 Win
American Canadian Tour
Barre, VT — Hometown racer and defending “King of the Road” Jason Corliss crushed the competition at Barre, VT’s Thunder Road to take the Community Bank N.A. 150 for the American-Canadian Tour (ACT) on Sunday, July 26. Corliss put on a high-banked clinic to lead all but one lap en route to his third straight victory in the event.
A near-perfect day for the 2019 track champion began in qualifying as Corliss earned the pole with a +4 under ACT’s “plus-minus” system. Starting alongside a fellow reigning titlist in 2019 ACT Champion Rich Dubeau of Plainfield, NH, Corliss quickly asserted himself at the front with Fayston, VT’s Brooks Clark moving into the number-two spot.
Dragon Surges Back into Title Hunt with Midseason Championship Victory
Barre, VT — Milton’s Scott Dragon continued his long road back from a tough start to 2020 by capturing the Country Camper Midseason Championships at Barre’s Thunder Road on Friday, July 25. The two-time “King of the Road” took the lead from rookie Matthew Smith of Essex Jct. with time winding down in the 75-lap Maplewood/Irving Oil Late Model feature and then pulled away for the double-point victory.
Dragon started fifth in the main event, entering the night still mired 11th in the overall point standings thanks to a blown engine in late June. While the veteran stayed patient early, the front row of Smith and Barre’s Jim “Boomer” Morris battled tooth-and-nail at the front. Morris led the first five laps off the outside pole before Smith clawed back on the inside. Following the first caution on lap eight for Matt White’s spin, Smith held onto the top spot as Dragon slid into the third position.
The top-three then pulled away as top point drivers Trampas Demers, Marcel J. Gravel, Bobby Therrien, and Jason Corliss tried to fight their way out of the back. As Dragon swung to the outside of Morris on lap 37, Tyler Cahoon spun in turn two to bring out the second and final caution one lap shy of halfway.
ACT Returns to Thunder Road This Sunday for Community Bank N.A. 150
American Canadian Tour
Waterbury, VT — The American-Canadian Tour (ACT) makes its first trip of the year the Barre, VT’s Thunder Road this Sunday, July 26. The Community Bank 150 is the start of a busy stretch in mid-to-late summer where the bulk of the ACT season will be decided.
The combination of the worldwide COVID-19 outbreak and a weather postponement has meant a slow start to the 2020 ACT Late Model Tour season. As the calendar nears the end of July, just two ACT Tour events have been held, leaving many racers antsy to get going. The Community Bank N.A. 150 was originally scheduled for early May and was recently re-slotted on the schedule after a separate postponement at Seekonk Speedway.
Hackel Back on Track with Third Win at Devil’s Bowl Speedway
Warren nabs his second in Limited Sportsman class
WEST HAVEN, Vt. – Bobby Hackel did not let a bump in the road get him down, and instead got right back on the winning track at Devil’s Bowl Speedway on Sunday, July 19. Hackel’s win was the headline moment of the night, which also saw Anthony Warren, Andrew FitzGerald, Willie Rice, and Kamden Duffy visit victory lane.
Hackel lost the championship point lead in the Pepsi Sportsman Modified division during the week due to a scoring recheck on a previous race, but he made up for it with an authoritative drive to his third feature win of the season. The fourth-generation Rensselaer, N.Y., racer survived a rough-and-tumble start to the 30-lapper which saw a spate of caution periods in the early laps, then drove from his 17th starting position into the lead on lap 10 and ran away uncontested.
