WEST HAVEN, VT — Late Model stock car champion Brian Hoar of Williston, VT rolls in to Devil\u2019s Bowl Speedway on Sunday, May 6 looking to defend his title in the historic \u201cSpring Green\u201d event. The 112-lap race marks the grand re-opening for the West Haven half-mile and is the third round of the American-Canadian Tour championship schedule.<\/p>\n
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Hoar took down last year\u2019s Spring Green race, the first-ever ACT event at Devil\u2019s Bowl, before later collecting his record eighth ACT championship. He says winning the inaugural Devil\u2019s Bowl ACT race was a special accomplishment for his No. 37 Goss Dodge-Chrysler\/RPM Racing Engines team.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was really cool winning at Devil\u2019s Bowl last year. I never raced there when it was a dirt track but we got the chance last year and it was a lot of fun,\u201d Hoar said. \u201cI love that there\u2019s another asphalt track in Vermont. The fact that it\u2019s only an hour away from home makes it even more special.\u201d
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\nDespite his r\u00e9sum\u00e9, Hoar\u2019s march to the win wasn\u2019t easy. Action-packed racing produced 11 lead changes, five of which came during a thrilling 40-lap slugfest between Hoar and Craig Bushey.
\n\u201cDevil\u2019s Bowl is a flatter track, and no one really knew what to make of it before we raced there, but ever since last year we can\u2019t wait to get back,\u201d Hoar said. \u201cI love the track layout, and I had a great race with Craig out front. It\u2019s a very racy track, and the side-by-side racing is outstanding.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fairfax resident Bushey enters the Spring Green waving the home track banner; Bushey and his No. 05 Vermont Life Safety\/Miller Auto Group team will race for the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series weekly Late Model championship at Devil\u2019s Bowl. Other locals expected to take on the ACT outsiders include Devil\u2019s Bowl champion Hunter Bates of Middlebury, Albany-Saratoga Speedway champion Dan Petronis of Mechanicville, NY, and 15 year-old top rookie contender Joey Laquerre of East Montpelier.<\/p>\n
ACT stars gunning for Hoar include New Hampshire\u2019s Wayne Helliwell, Jr., and Joey \u201cPole\u201d Polewarczyk, Jr., Maine youngsters Austin Theriault and Ben Ashline, and Jean-Paul Cyr of Milton. Helliwell is the defending NASCAR New Hampshire State Champion, while Polewarczyk owns eight ACT victories. Theriault, 18, is a development driver for NASCAR Sprint Cup racer Brad Keselowski, and Ashline impressed with a driver from 27th to fifth in the Spring Green as a rookie last year. Cyr is a seven-time ACT champion and won the 1990 Pro Stock title on the former Devil\u2019s Bowl Speedway clay.<\/p>\n
The American-Canadian Tour\u2019s historic Spring Green event begins at 1:30pm on Sunday, May 6, along with the NASCAR Bond Auto Parts Modifieds, Renegades, and Bombers. General admission is $18 for adults, $15 for seniors (62+), and free for children 12 and under. Discount season passes are available.<\/p>\n
Devil\u2019s Bowl Speedway is located on Route 22A in West Haven, VT, six miles north of Exit 2 on U.S. Route 4.<\/p>\n