Big Night for the Hoard Family at Devil’s Bowl
WEST HAVEN, VT – Sunday was officially CDL Night at Devil’s Bowl Speedway, but the theme could have been “All in the Family.”
Frank Hoard Sr. went flag-to-flag to win the 30-lap 358 modified feature and his grandson, Frank Hoard III, drove to victory in the budget sportsman division for a historic first at the Vermont track.
Frank Hoard Sr., the patriarch of the racing Hoard family, made his way to victory lane for the sixth time in his career at Devil’s Bowl. He also ran the fastest lap of the feature, being the only car to break the 18-second barrier on his way to the popular win.
Don Ackner, who started fifth, used a restart midway through the feature to take over the No. 2 position, but all that gave him was a good view of Hoard’s rear bumper for the remainder of the feature.
Ackner had his hands full late in the race when Rob Langevin came up to challenge for second. Langevin, who had started 13th, got his nose in front of Ackner on lap 28, but Ackner regained the advantage the next time around, and when Hoard took the checkered flag, Ackner held his ground and edged Langevin for second.
Hoard became the fifth different winner in as many 358-modified races at the Bowl this season..
Ron Proctor hit the finish line fourth, with Matt Depew, who had started on the outside pole, fifth.
Points leader Tim Laduc was seventh, and even extended his lead, as Todd Stone, who came into the night second in points, was involved in a wreck on lap 14 and finished last in the 19-car field.
Frank Hoard III picked up his second win of the year in the budget sportsman feature. Seth Howe set the pace for the first five laps before giving up the lead to yet another member of the racing Hoard family, Frank Hoard Jr.
Frank Hoard III, who had started 10th, moved into second on lap six and after playing a game of cat-and-mouse, finally rocketed into the lead with five to go in the 20-lap feature.
At the finish line, Frank Hoard III had a comfortable two-second margin of victory over his father, with Cullen Howe third.
Carl Vladyka picked up his third win of the season in the 20-lap pro-street stock feature. He jumped into the lead following an early restart, and easily held off Lori Langevin to get the win. Fred Little, Chuck Towslee, and Mike Paquin completed the top five.
Bill Duprey came away with his second win of the year in the limited division, Justin Comes took the checkered flag in the mini-stock feature and George Foster won the main event in the Duke stock division.
Devil’s Bowl will be in action twice over the 4th of July Weekend. The track will be hosting the CJ 101 and all other divisions on Friday, July 4 sponsored by Garry Bowen Excavating, and will also be running on Saturday, July 5, with a 76-lap feature for budget sportsman sponsored by WOKO. The track’s annual fireworks display will also be held on July 5. Check the CVRA Web site at www.cvra.com for more details.
MODIFIEDS: FRANK HOARD SR., Don Ackner, Rob Langevin, Ron Proctor, Matt Depew, Joe Williams, Tim Laduc, Ray Hoard, Robert King, Ken Tremont Jr., Dustin Delaney, Gardner Stone, Jimmy Ryan, Kris Vernold, Stan Lemiesz, Vince Quenneville Jr., Robert Allen, Don Mattison, Todd Stone.
BUDGET SPORTSMAN: FRANK HOARD III, Frank Hoard Jr., Cullen Howe, Billy Lussier, Jon Bates, Tom Lilly, Chris Schaffer, Seth Howe, Jared McMahon, Don Miller. DQ: D.J. Brundige, Ken Towne, Chris Allen.
PRO-STREET STOCKS: CARL VLADYKA, Lori Langevin, Fred Little, Chuck Towslee, Mike Paquin, Ed Thompson, Chris Fitzgerald, Josh Joseph, Justin Perry, Jeff Washburn.
LIMITEDS: BILL DUPREY, Bill Decker, Rob Ketchum, Bill Vradenburg, Joe Ladd, Kevin Elliott, Joey Trudeau.
Sources: Devil’s Bowl Speedway