Perrotte Ends Drought at Devil’s Bowl
WEST HAVEN, VT – Two years of frustration ended Sunday night when veteran Mike Perrotte outran Mike Bruno to win the 30-lap 358-modified feature at Devil’s Bowl Speedway.
Perrotte, who dedicates most of his time these days to being a promoter, hadn’t won a race at the Bowl since Aug. 22, 2004. In fact, he hadn’t even finished in the top five since Aug. 7, 2005. But he still knew his way to victory lane after taking the checkered flag for just the seventh time in his career at the Champlain Valley Racing Association’s flagship track.
Perrotte started fifth and was running strong from the drop of the green flag Sunday night. An early yellow on lap two put a little hiccup into the feature, but when racing went back to green, Perrotte took control.
He charged past Matt Depew into the lead on lap seven, and stayed out in front the rest of the way, while Bruno and Ken Tremont Jr. kept the fans entertained as they sliced through traffic.
Perrotte began lapping cars midway through the feature, creating a little cushion between himself, Depew, and the rest of the challengers. Bruno finally got past Depew on lap 20, moving into the No. 2 slot, and by the time Tremont cleared all the traffic, there were just five laps left in the feature.
Vince Quenneville Jr. got checked up on lap 27, bringing out the final caution of the night and letting Bruno and Tremont draw a bead on Perrotte, but the veteran from Plattsburgh wasn’t going to let this one get away, and left Bruno and Tremont to battle for second. Bruno won that battle by less than a car length as they crossed the flagstand side by side after Perrotte went under the checkered flag for the win.
Tim Laduc finished fourth, with Ray Hoard fifth. Completing the top 10 were Jim Ryan, Depew, Quenneville, Gene Munger, and Don Scarborough.
Carl Cram held off Carl Vladyka to pick up the win in the 20-lap pro-street stock feature. The win was Cram’s second of the season, as he also won on opening day.
Fred Little came off the front row and set the pace for the first nine laps before pulling into the pits with a broken drivetrain, giving the lead to Cram, who had started seventh and who had moved into second just one lap before Little pulled off.
Vladyka and Rob Langevin teamed up to make Cram’s life miserable in the closing laps of the feature, but Cram held on for the win, hitting the finish line 0.412 seconds ahead of Vladyka, with Langevin breathing down their necks for third. Cale Kneer finished fourth, with Dan Eastman fifth.
Randy Alger recorded his second win of the year in the limited division, rocketing into the lead on lap five and pulling away from Joey Trudeau and Bill Duprey.
Tim Anagnos finally ended Mike Duclos’ winning streak in the mini-stock division, nosing out Duclos for his second victory of the season. Duclos came into the night with four straight wins, but had to settle for second, just 0.186 seconds behind the leader.
Only two weeks remain in the regular season at Devil’s Bowl. All divisions will be in action on Sunday, Aug. 27, which will also be Banner Night at the speedway. Racing will begin at 7 p.m.
Devil’s Bowl racing resumes on Sunday, Sept. 3, when the modifieds will run a 100-lap feature. An enduro and kiddie rides are also on the revised schedule. In the event of rain, the event will be held on Monday, Sept. 4.
MODIFIEDS: MIKE PERROTTE, Mike Bruno, Ken Tremont Jr., Tim Laduc, Ray Hoard, Jim Ryan, Matt Depew, Vince Quenneville Jr., Gene Munger, Don Scarborough, Todd Stone, C.V. Elms, Dustin Delaney, Frank Hoard Sr., Ron Proctor, Ed Pienazek Jr., Rick Davis, John Proctor, Brian Whittemore, Don Mattison, Rich Stromberg, Chris Vernold, Don Ackner.
PRO-STREET STOCKS: CARL CRAM, Carl Vladyka, Rob Langevin, Cale Kneer, Dan Eastman, Jon Bates, Mike Lussier, Jeff Washburn, Jeremie Younger, Walt Brownell Jr., Jeremy Pitts, Fred Little, Garrett Given, Charlie Towslee, Justin Perry.
LIMITEDS: RANDY ALGER, Joey Trudeau, Bill Duprey, Kevin Elliott, Jared McMahon, Adam Piper, D.J. Brundige, Merv Blackwell, Adam Forbes, Shannon Donnelly, Joe Ladd, Mark Wallett, Jeremy Jones, Keitan Millington, Bill Decker.
MINI-STOCKS: TIM ANAGNOS (6), Mike Duclos (6), Ron Zagata (6), Shane Marks (4), Cliff White (6), Carl Whittemore (6), Bruce Taylor Jr. (4), Jeff Smith, Tim Brooks, C.J. Vitigliano, Justin Parker.
Sources: Devil’s Bowl Speedway