Devil\u2019s Bowl Speedway celebrates the Green Mountain State on Friday as the Vermont State Championship Series for Late Model stock cars invades the West Haven half-mile oval for a 100-lap event. The home-track heroes of the weekly NASCAR Whelen All-American Series J&S Steel Late Model division will square off against invaders from Barre\u2019s Thunder Road and around the northeast.<\/p>\n
While the 100-lap Vermont State Late Model Championship Series race will be the focal point for many, Devil\u2019s Bowl Speedway is calling on the community to help its own during a fundraiser to benefit the \u201cI Am Vermont Strong\u201d initiative. I Am Vermont Strong is a non-profit organization that raises relief funds for Vermonters affected by flood damage in storms in 2011 including Tropical Storm Irene.
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Devil\u2019s Bowl Speedway will promote the I Am Vermont Strong organization by naming Friday\u2019s race the \u201cI Am Vermont Strong 100\u201d and encouraging fans to donate to the cause. Fans will be able to interact with race drivers during a \u201chelmet pass\u201d in the grandstands to help raise money for the fund. <\/p>\n
\u201cVermonters are incredibly strong and we\u2019re proud to be a part of this state, but we also realize that there\u2019s still so much work to be done to get back to where we were before Irene,\u201d Devil\u2019s Bowl promoter Alayne Bruno said. \u201cDevil\u2019s Bowl is right in Rutland County, which was hit the hardest by the storms last fall. It\u2019s almost impossible not to know someone who lost their car, their home, their business, or even more last year, including many of our racers and fans. We need to keep coming together as a community to help those folks recover.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nick Sweet won the opening round of the Vermont State Championship at Thunder Road two weeks ago and finished third in last Friday\u2019s 30-lap Carrara Masonry & Concrete event at Devil\u2019s Bowl. Sweet lives in Barre, a city hammered by flooding in the spring of 2011, and says he\u2019s reminded of the devastation every time he comes to Devil\u2019s Bowl Speedway.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love racing at Devil\u2019s Bowl \u2013 it\u2019s a beautiful facility and it\u2019s a fun track to drive,\u201d Sweet said, \u201cbut the one thing I don\u2019t like about it is that we drive through towns and neighborhoods that were almost wiped off the map whenever we go to the track. It\u2019s sad to see, but hopefully we can help the victims a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Drivers expected to attempt to qualify for the I Am Vermont Strong 100 include Devil\u2019s Bowl stars Kevin Elliott, Chris Wilk, Craig Bushey, and Matt White, Thunder Road stars Sweet, Dave Pembroke, Cris Michaud, and Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott, New Yorker Dan Petronis, New Hampshire\u2019s Bryan Town and Aaron Fellows, Maine veteran Ricky Rolfe, and eight-time American-Canadian Tour champion Brian Hoar of Williston, VT, who beat Sweet and Bushey to win last Friday\u2019s Carrara Masonry & Concrete race.<\/p>\n
Joining the Late Models on the I Am Vermont Strong 100 card will the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Bond Auto Parts Modifieds, Renegades, and Bombers. Gates open at 5:30pm, with green flag racing set for an early 7:00pm start. General admission is $15 for adults, $13 for seniors (62+), and free for children 12 and under.<\/p>\n
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