Laduc Wins Finale at Devil’s Bowl
WEST HAVEN, VT – Tim Laduc had to go down to the final weekend of the season to keep his streak alive.
Laduc came off the front row and led every lap but the first one Sunday night to capture the final 358-modified feature of the season on Championship Weekend at Devil’s Bowl.
Laduc became the ninth different winner in the premier division at the Bowl this season, and as a bonus, he kept a personal streak alive, as he has now won at least one feature at the Bowl in seven straight seasons.
While Laduc got the victory, Todd Stone wrapped up his first track championship ever with a third-place finish. Stone, who picked up his only win of the year on June 1 in the second race of the season, was the model of consistency down the stretch, securing the title with four straight top-five finishes (one second, two thirds, one fifth).
Like Laduc, Seth Howe also saved his best for last, coming away with his first win of the season in the budget sportsman feature. Howe led flag-to-flag, and hit the finish line nearly a full second ahead of Don Miller. Frank Hoard III finished third, and secured the CVRA budget sportsman championship.
Two cagey veterans, Carl Vladyka and Fred Little, duked it out in the pro-street stock feature, with Vladyka picking up his fifth win of the campaign, holding off Little, who was just 0.368 seconds back when the checkered flag flew. The win also allowed Vladyka to lock up the track championship.
Bill Duprey drove to his sixth victory of the campaign in the limited division. A late caution allowed Curtis Condon to pull up on Duprey’s back bumper, but he held his line during the closing laps to get the victory. Although Joey Trudeau struggled in the final two weeks of the regular season, he held on to win the limited division track championship.
Ken Hollenbeck won the mini-stock feature, and Andy Smith took the checkered flag in the Duke stock feature.
MODIFIEDS: TIM LADUC, Kris Vernold, Todd Stone, Marc Johnson, Mike Perrotte, Don Ackner, Vince Quenneville Jr., Rob Langevin, Frank Hoard Sr., Ray Hoard, Gardner Stone, Ron Proctor, Brian Whittemore, No. 88, Stan Lemiesz, Gene Munger, Jimmy Ryan, Don Mattison.
BUDGET SPORTSMAN: SETH HOWE, Don Miller, Frank Hoard III, Cullen Howe, Mike Visconti, Pete Carlotto, Frank Hoard Jr., Jason Harrington, Ron Ayotte, Jared McMahon, Chris Thorpe, Jack Swinton, Stephen Williams Sr., D.J. Brundige, Tom Lilly, Ken Towne, Ralph Denison, Jon Bates, Jason Sanville, Jeremy Dygert, Tim Anagnos, Jim Mattison, No. 33, Jamie Introne.
PRO-STREET STOCKS: CARL VLADYKA, Fred Little, Walt Brownell, Lori Langevin, Mike Paquin, Mike Bussino, Josh Joseph, Garret Given, Dave Wood, Jeff Washburn, Patrick McLaughlin, Chuck Towslee, Ed Thompson.
LIMITEDS: BILL DUPREY, Curtin Condon, Bill Vradenburg, Bill Decker, Bill Burlingame, Paul Braymer, C.J. Vitagliano, Rob Ketchum, Francis Clark Jr., Joey Trudeau, Russ Farr, Darren Williams, Kevin Elliott, Jeremy Jones.
Sources: Devil’s Bowl Speedway