by | Jul 19, 2012 | Bear Ridge, Vermont
BRADFORD, VT – Dirt track stock cardrivers at Bradford, VT’s Bear Ridge Speedway are beginning to see the light atthe end of the tunnel, now that the 21-week season has passed the halfwaypoint. Several drivers from the 99ROCKWeekly Racing Series are beginning to make serious rallies toward the front oftheir divisions in hopes to play the roles of championship spoilers.
Entering Saturday’s Dennis PrestonBuilders-sponsored event, the best average finish in the headline Bond AutoParts DIRTcar Sportsman Modified division belongs to former three-time championGary Siemons of Orford, NH. With a 5.0average, Siemons is the only full-time driver to have posted a top-ten finishin all of his starts in 2012. He dug ahole for himself on opening night in May by not making the call for the event’sfeature race, and trails leaders Adam Pierson, Kevin Chaffee, and Derek Grahamas a result, but Siemons won on Jiffy Mart of Bradford Night in June, has threeadditional podium finishes, and remains the most consistent driver in theModified division.
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by | Jul 17, 2012 | Devils Bowl, Vermont
WEST HAVEN, VT – Some of Devil’sBowl Speedway’s most accomplished stock car racing champions will climb behindthe wheel again at Friday’s C.J. Richards Memorial event presented by Carrara Masonry& Concrete. All-star drivers fromthe West Haven, VT half-mile will strap into cars from the track’s Daredevilclass for a special showdown as part of the event that features a 67-lap racefor the headline NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Bond Auto Parts Modifieddivision.
Among the entrants in theDaredevil event is Butch Jelley of Andover, VT. Jelley raced at Devil’s Bowl Speedway when Richards opened the track in1967. Jelley’s highlights include sixconsecutive Modified wins in 1969 and the 1975 track championship. He’ll be joined by past Modified and LateModel standouts Tim LaDuc, Jimmy Ryan, Ray Hoard, Lee Nutting, Fred Little,Charlie Brown, Ralph Bruno, and Don Mattison. Together, the group accounts for over 150 feature victories and 10 trackchampionships. The drivers will competein track-owned Daredevil cars – virtually street-legal race cars with only safetymodifications – which offer fans, sponsors, and members of the community theopportunity to race.
“This showdown is somethingfun and exciting that will really bring C.J. Richards’ legacy to theforefront. These drivers are the onesthat built Devil’s Bowl into what it was under C.J.’s watch,” Devil’s Bowl Speedwayowner/promoter Mike Bruno said. Brunoexplained that the event will be run in three parts: A pair of five-car heatraces will each qualify two drivers to the final round. “The cars may not be 600-horsepower Modifieds,”Bruno chuckled, “but I’m sure these guys will drive them like they are.”
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by | Jul 17, 2012 | Maine, Oxford Plains Speedway, Vermont
RPMMotorsports Looks To Add To Late Model Legacy At OPS
. GEORGIA, Vt– Before you can evenrun through all of the team’s accomplishments over the years, RPMMotorsports owner Rick Paya stops you short.
“But we’ve never won this one,”said Paya, owner and crew chief of the No. 37 GossCars.com DodgeCharger driven by Brian Hoar.
The ‘one’ is this weekend’s 39thannual TD Bank Oxford 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway in Oxford, Maine.Practice takes place on Saturday and Sunday, with qualifying and themain event slated for Sunday afternoon and evening, respectively.Hoar’s best finish in the event was a runner-up effort in the 2010 TDBank 250.
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by Jay | Jul 17, 2012 | New England, Thunder Road, Vermont
Historic Winnings Posted for Marquee Race
Thunder Road officials have announced that the 50th Annual People’s United Bank Milk Bowl on Sunday, September 30th, will boast winnings exceeding $100,000 for competitors at “The Nation’s Site of Excitement.” It is the highest purse ever posted for the event deemed the “Toughest Short Track Race in America”.
The season-ending event for Barre’s Thunder Road has long been a marquee for Northeast Auto Racing, but the 50th anniversary will be even more special. The weekend will include a “Reserve Milk Bowl” for up to thirty competitors who do not qualify for the 50th People’s United Bank Milk Bowl. It will be comprised of a two-segment feature event, as well as a $20,000 purse of its own, with $3,000 going to the winner.
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by Jay | Jul 17, 2012 | Canaan, New England, New Hampshire, Vermont
Late Model ROY Leader At Canaan Ready For Busy Second Half
Once the helmet is on and the seat belts are buckled up, nobody notices that the driver of the No. 9x Chevrolet is a teenaged girl. What they do notice is that this rising star on the New England Late Model scene can wheel a race car.
Emily Packard of East Montpelier, Vt., is just 15 years old – but already she’s been waiting for years for her chance to prove she belongs.
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by Jay | Jul 15, 2012 | Devils Bowl, New England, Vermont
Championship leaders Proctor, Bushey struggle in double-points races
Alex Bell and Jamie Fisher came out on top after a wild night of stock car racing action in the double-points Mid-Season Championships presented by The Rutland Herald at Devil’s Bowl Speedway on Friday. Bell took his second NASCAR Whelen All-American Series win of the year in the 35-lap Bond Auto Parts Modified event, and Fisher won in his first regular-season start in the 30-lap J&S Steel Late Model race.
Cambridge, NY youngster Bell started eighth in his No. 23 Carmody Ford/Bell Excavating-sponsored Modified and quickly went to work in the outside lane. He reached third place by lap 8, then engaged in a four-car battle with Jamie Proctor, Joe Williams, and Jessey Mueller for the top spot. Bell scooted to the point on lap 12 and led the balance of the race, but was never more than three car lengths ahead of Schuylerville, NY racer Proctor at any given time.
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