Tremont Picks Up Third Win at Devil’s Bowl
WEST HAVEN, VT – Ken Tremont Jr. took a giant step toward regaining his crown at Devil’s Bowl Speedway Sunday night by recording his third win of the season in the 30-lap Mid-Season Championships.
Tremont, who relinquished the title to Todd Stone last season, only needed 10 laps to get to the front, after starting 12th, and pulled away from Tim Laduc to register his 61st career victory at the Vermont track.
The Mid-Season Championships capped a huge weekend of racing, which included one of the biggest Independence Day fireworks displays in the history of the speedway.
Kris Vernold set the early pace in the modified feature Sunday night before giving way to Ray Hoard on lap eight, but by then, Tremont had already worked his way to fourth and in the span of two laps, rocketed around Vince Quenneville Jr., Vernold and Hoard to take over the lead.
The field closed up when Hoard brought out the caution flag with five laps left, but Laduc had nothing left for Tremont, who was campaigning a new Bicknell chassis, after bending up his old car the previous week at the Bowl.
Laduc had to settle for second, with Ron Proctor third. Frank Hoard Sr. and Vernold completed the top five.
Frank Hoard III drove to his second win of the year in the caution-plagued budget sportsman feature. Three early cautions helped Hoard move up from his ninth starting position to get the lead on lap 10, and five other yellows prevented the leaders from getting into any kind of rhythm. When the checkered flag dropped, Hoard was nearly two seconds ahead of Anthony Marro, who had his best career finish. They were followed by Pete Carlotto, Tim Hartman Jr., and Marc Hughes.
Cale Kneer also made his way to victory lane for the second time this season, winning the 20-lap pro-street stock feature, and Jon Miller did a great job to come away with his first win of the season in the 20-lap limited feature.
The mini-stock feature was won by Kayla Bryant, and George Foster took the checkered flag in the Duke stock feature.
The big holiday weekend spectacular began on Saturday, July 4, with a card highlighted by sprint cars. Dylan Swiernik outran Jeff VanSteenburg and Jeremy Quick to win the 25-lap CRSA Sprint feature, and Don Harvey was first under the checkered flag in the 20-lap Empire Lightning Sprints feature.
The budget sportsman ran another leg of the Ridge Runner Series, drawing competitors from the CVRA, Glen Right Motorsports Park, and Bear Ridge Speedway, but when it was over, Devil’s Bowl regular Cullen Howe was sitting in victory lane with his second win of the 2009 campaign.
Howe, who started seventh, was far enough ahead to avoid a rash of wrecks early in the feature, and took the lead on lap 13. Tim Hartman Jr., who had been out front before being passed by Howe, never fell more than two car lengths behind for the rest of the 30-lapper, but had to settle for second. D.J. Brundige, Wayne Stearns, and Frank Hoard III completed the top five.
Because of the large number of cars at the speedway, the budgets ran both a Gold and a Silver feature, with Anthony Warren winning the 20-lap companion event.
Ron Ketcham won his first limited feature on Saturday night, and Kayla Bryant (mini-stocks) and George Foster (Duke stocks) were also victorious.
MODIFIEDS (July 5): KEN TREMONT JR., Tim Laduc, Ron Proctor, Frank Hoard Sr., Kris Vernold, Jimmy Ryan, Brian Whittemore, Vince Quenneville Jr., Todd Stone, Gardner Stone, Jon Proctor, Pat O’Hanlon, Alex Bell, Cass Bennett, Ray Hoard, Don Ackner, Dave Manny, Rob Langevin, Darren Keyser, Scott Duell.
BUDGET SPORTSMAN (July 5): FRANK HOARD III, Anthony Marro, Pete Carlotto, Tim Hartman Jr., Marc Hughes, Derrick McGrew, Andrew Durie, Hunter Bates, Ron Wanamaker, C.V. Elms, Frank Hoard Jr., D.J. Bruidige, Shannon Donnelly, Nick Lussier, Kevin Elliot, Jon Bates, Anthony Warren, Ken Towne, Cullen Howe, Willy Knight, Cody Sargent, Paul Dunham Jr., Jared McMahon, Dennis Pennock, Jack Swinton.
PRO-STREET STOCKS (July 5): CALE KNEER, Mike Paquin, Carl Vladyka, Chuck Towslee, Walt Brownell, Lori Langevin, Fred Little, Justin Perry, Pat McLaughlin, Jake Losaw, Chris Fifield, Mike Jeske, Jeff Washburn, Mike Bussino, Roger Siliski, Adam Forbes.
LIMITEDS: (July 5): JON MILLER, Bill Duprey, Brandon Emigh, Russ Farr, Dave Emigh, Mike Clark, Paul Bramyer, Joe Ladd, Nathan Dahoda, Rob Ketcham, Frank Monroe, Erwin Smith Jr., Garret Given, Ben Ladd, Lou Gancarz.
BUDGET SPORTSMAN GOLD (July 4): CULLEN HOWE, Tim Hartman Jr., D.J. Brundige, Wayne Stearns, Frank Hoard III, Jack Gentile, Jared McMahon, Marc Hughes, Angela Hanson, Derrick McGrew, Frank Hoard Jr., Bob Gray, Dave Herrick, Anthony Warren, Dennis Pennock, Ron Casey, Paul Dunham Jr., Ricky Quick, Anthony Marro, Bob Bublak, Kory Wilder, Justin Comes, Chris Thorpe, Seth Howe, Hunter Bates, Ralph Denison.
BUDGET SPORTSMAN SILVER (July 4): ANTHONY WARREN, Bob Gray, Justin Boehler, Joshua Joseph, Chuck Dickinson, Tom Lilly, Shannon Donnelly, Andrew Durie, Jack Swinton, Jason Vadnais, Jon Bates.
LIMITEDS (July 4): ROB KETCHAM, Bill Duprey, Mike Clark, Joe Ladd, Paul Braymer, Ben Ladd, Lou Gancarz, Curtis Condon, Bill Vradenburg, Garret Given, Frank Monroe, Bill Barrett, Russ Farr.
CRSA SPRINTS: (July 4): DYLAN SWIERNIK, Jeff VanSteenburg, Jeremy Quick, Brett Jaycox, Matt Tanner, Anthony Brennan, Jim McCaffrey, John Matrafallo, Mike Bosco, John Cunningham, Chuck Alessi, Warrne Alexson, Craig rochelle, Bruce Evans, Billy Jaycox, John Leombruno, Chad King, Mike Zemcik, Curtias Bradshaw.
EMPIRE LIGHTNING SPRINGS (July 4): DON HARVEY, Mike Kiser, Justin Phillips, Fred Hoffman, Simon Couture, Joe Szczapa, Mathew Bourgoin, Jerry Sehn, No. 77H, Matt Norrie, John Casazza, Dennis Lamke, Gary Reyer, Scott Goodrich, Ralph Utter Jr., Shaun Gosselin, Doug Norrie, Tim Durland, Dan Nappi, Steve Lapine, Jamie Kiser, No. 12X.
Sources: Devil’s Bowl Speedway