Hoard Gives Himself a Present at Devil’s Bowl
WEST HAVEN, VT – Frank Hoard Sr. probably got all the usual Father’s Day presents Sunday morning, but then he went out Sunday night and picked up something special for himself.
Hoard, the patriarch of the racing family that has produced three generations of drivers on the Champlain Valley Racing Association, led from flag-to-flag to win the Father’s Day 358-modified feature at Devil’s Bowl Speedway.
The popular victory, which had the crowd on its feet in the closing laps, was the fifth win of Hoard’s career at the Bowl. The last time he sat in Victory Lane was June 29, 2003.
Hoard showed the younger generation how to get it done on Sunday night, first setting the pace while sportsman driver Dustin Delaney, who is young enough to be Hoard’s grandson, held down the No. 2 position.
When the first caution of the night came out at the midpoint of the race, Hoard had a new contender – Don Scarborough. Scarborough, who had started 11th, was up to third when the caution came out and he was all over Delaney in the battle for second.
Another yellow, with five laps left, gave Scarborough the break he needed and he quickly jumped into second following the restart. But if Scarborough had any ideas of catching Hoard, they quickly vanished, as Hoard was humming, and pulled away for a 1.494-second margin of victory in the last five laps to become the fourth different 358-modified winner at the Bowl this season.
Scarborough had to settle for second while Tim Laduc, who was looking for his second straight win, got up for third. Matt Depew finished fourth and Don Ackner cracked the top five for the first time this season.
Richard Glode used a good starting position to record the first win of his career in the 20-lap pro-street stock feature. Glode came out of the second row and needed just three laps to get the lead. Three restarts bunched the field, each time putting Carl Vladyka right on Glode’s rear bumper. But each time, Glode pulled away and was nearly two seconds ahead when the checkered flag fell. Vladyka hit the stripe second, with Lori Cary, who went into the night with a three-race winning streak, third.
Randy Alger came away with his first win of the season in the 15-lap limited feature. Alger, who started third, got the lead on lap four, but then had his hands full with Kevin Elliot, who was making a bid for his second win of the campaign. A caution on lap 12 created a three-lap shootout between the two leaders, but Alger held his ground and beat Elliot by just over a car-length, with Jeremy Jones coming across the finish line third.
The only repeat winner of the night came in the mini-stock feature, where Shane Marks nailed down his second win of the year, easily outdistancing Rich Zagata and Tim Anagnos.
Devil’s Bowl will return to action on Sunday, June 24 with Kids’ Night, which will feature kiddie rides and giveaways. The 358-modifieds will be taking part in the Twin State Series, while the budget sportsman will be back at the speedway, where Frank Hoard III will be looking for his second straight win. Racing will begin at 7 p.m.
MODIFIEDS: FRANK HOARD SR., Don Scarborough, Tim Laduc, Matt Depew, Don Ackner, Vince Quenneville Jr., Ken Tremont Jr., Dustin Delaney, Ray Hoard, Gardner Stone, Ron Proctor, Brian Whittemore, Tyler Curtis, Jim Ryan, Stan Lemiesz, Kris Vernold, Todd Stone, Gene Munger, Rob Langevin.
PRO-STREET STOCKS: RICHARD GLODE, Carl Vladyka, Lori Cary, Freddie Little, Cale Kneer, Ed Thompson, William Hull, Chuck Towslee, Jon Bates, Walt Brownell, Jeff Washburn, John Turco, Jeremie Younger, Justin Perry, Mike Bussino, Dan Eastman.
LIMITEDS: RANDY ALGER, Kevin Elliot, Jeremy Jones, D.J. Brundige, Tim Brunelle, Bill Decker, Jeff Donnelly, Joey Trudeau, Nicholas Byrne, Joe Ladd, C.J. Vitagliano, Bill Vradenburg, Shannon Donnelly, Dennis Sullinger, Bill Duprey.
MINI-STOCKS: SHANE MARKS (4), Ron Zagata (6), Tim Anagnos (6), R.J. Edwards (6), Cliff White (4), Chris Murray (4), Jim Anagnos (6), Russ Farr Jr. (Duke), Naomi Gould (Duke), Jeremy Hayes (Duke).
Sources: Devil’s Bowl Speedway