Bell and Fisher Win Wild Mid-Season Championship Events at Devil’s Bowl
Championship leaders Proctor, Bushey struggle in double-points races
WEST HAVEN, VT – Alex Bell and Jamie Fisher came out on top after a wild night of stock car racing action in the double-points Mid-Season Championships presented by The Rutland Herald at Devil’s Bowl Speedway on Friday. Bell took his second NASCAR Whelen All-American Series win of the year in the 35-lap Bond Auto Parts Modified event, and Fisher won in his first regular-season start in the 30-lap J&S Steel Late Model race.
Cambridge, NY youngster Bell started eighth in his No. 23 Carmody Ford/Bell Excavating-sponsored Modified and quickly went to work in the outside lane. He reached third place by lap 8, then engaged in a four-car battle with Jamie Proctor, Joe Williams, and Jessey Mueller for the top spot. Bell scooted to the point on lap 12 and led the balance of the race, but was never more than three car lengths ahead of Schuylerville, NY racer Proctor at any given time.
A restart with six laps to go bunched the field and gave Proctor one final chance at the lead, but Bell held on. Proctor, whose family team rebuilt the entire left-front suspension of their car after crashing in qualifying, finished a season-best second. Former track champion Todd Stone of Middlebury, VT drove from 12th starting position to finish third in his first appearance at Devil’s Bowl since the track’s final dirt race in 2009. Williams, of Scotia, NY, finished fourth, and Vince Quenneville, Jr., of Brandon, VT was fifth. The unofficial top ten was completed by Leon Gonyo, point leader Ron Proctor, rookies Joey Roberts and Jeff Haskins, and Mueller, who faded late in the race.
After a rough go in his qualifying heat and a subpar performance in the main event, Ron Proctor of Charlton, NY lost almost all of the championship point lead he had on Quenneville entering the double-points event. Unofficially, Proctor now leads Quenneville by just three points, 571-568.
The gloves were off in the Late Model event, with Fisher surviving to take his first career NASCAR Whelen All-American Series win. The former track champion at Thunder Road Speedbowl used patience in his drive from 11th starting spot, and avoided trouble as the entire complexion of the race – and perhaps the season – changed on lap 19.
First, leaders Matt White and Mark Lamberton made contact on lap 19, sending White spinning out of the lead in Turn 4 and to the rear of the field for the restart along with Lamberton, who was penalized for his involvement. At the restart, new leader Norm Andrews and championship leader Craig Bushey made contact on the backstretch, sending Andrews around and Bushey with him to the tail. Bushey’s car suffered significant suspension damage in the incident, leaving him to finish 12th, one lap off the pace. Shelburne, VT racer Fisher, who was sixth at the start of lap 19, found himself on the front row for the restart, and made his way past Bryan Town to take the lead and cruise to the win.
Former Airborne Speedway champion Lamberton, of Mooers Forks, NY, quickly worked his way back through the field to finish second. Fifteen year-old rookie Joey Laquerre, a fourth-generation racer from East Montpelier, VT, ran a very competitive race and nipped Town by .023 of a second at the finish line for third place. White rebounded for fifth place, followed by Dan Petronis, Doug Hoar, Andrews, Kevin Elliott, and Chad White.
Six-time feature winner Bushey, of Fairfax, VT, entered the race with a comfortable 50-point lead in the championship standings, but now has just 24 points on Matt White (444-420), with Town only 33 markers behind in third place.
Robert Gordon of Milton, VT became the first four-time winner in the Renegade division with his victory. Gordon made the most of a running order inversion at the halfway mark of the 20-lap race and drove to the victory. Ryan Keith of Pittsford, VT finished second after some close-quarters racing with Leicester, VT’s Jeremy Jones, who took third place. Gordon now leads Keith by 20 points, 560-540.
Rookie Josh Masterson of Bristol, VT returned to his winning ways in the Bomber division’s 20-lap feature, taking his sixth checkered flag of the year. Masterson wasted no time, sailing from ninth at the start to take the lead at lap 4, but Bobby LaVair of Gabriels, NY kept Masterson on his toes in the closing laps with a late charge. LaVair settled for second. Tyson Drown, Ray Germain, Jr., and Harold LaVair were next in line. Masterson leads Harold LaVair by 27 points, 564-537.
Devil’s Bowl Speedway is back in action on Friday, July 20 with the first-ever C.J. Richards Memorial 67-lap Modified special presented by Carrara Masonry & Cocnrete. The NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Renegade and Bomber divisions will also be in action, along with a special Daredevil division race featuring some of the legends of Devil’s Bowl Speedway. Regular general admission is $10 for adults, $9 for seniors (62+), and free for kids 12 and under. Gates open at 5:00pm, racing at 7:30pm.
On Saturday and Sunday, Rutland’s Rock Station 101.5 “The Fox” presents the C.J. Richards Memorial Vintage Festival weekend, with a car show on Saturday from 12:00 noon until 6:00pm for vintage race cars and classic street cars of all types, and car show awards and vintage racing on Sunday beginning at 11:00am. Two-day admission is just $10 for spectators and $20 for exhibitors; display space is still available.
Devil’s Bowl Speedway is located on Route 22A in West Haven, VT, four miles north of Exit 2 on US Route 4. For more information, call (802) 265-3112 or click www.devilsbowlspeedwayvt.com. Devil’s Bowl Speedway is on Facebook at facebook.com/devilsbowlspeedway and Twitter at @DevilsBowlSpeed.
OFFICIAL RESULTS – Rutland Herald Mid-Season Championships – REVISED 7/16/12
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series
Devil’s Bowl Speedway, West Haven, VT
Friday, July 13, 2012
Bond Auto Parts Modified Feature (35 laps)
Pos.-(Start)-Driver-Hometown
(# – denotes rookie)
1. (8) Alex Bell, Cambridge, NY
2. (3) Jamie Proctor, Schuylerville, NY
3. (12) Todd Stone, Middlebury, VT
4. (5) Joe Williams, Scotia, NY
5. (11) Vince Quenneville, Jr., Brandon, VT
6. (9) Leon Gonyo, Chazy, NY
7. (13) Ron Proctor, Charlton, NY
8. (4) # Jeff Haskins, Wells, VT
9. (7) # Joey Roberts, Georgia, VT
10. (10) Jessey Mueller, Olmstedville, NY
11. (2) # Andy Smith, South Glens Falls, NY
12. (6) Cody Sargen, Greenfield Center, NY
13. (14) Jason Bruno, Plattsburgh, NY
14. (15) Hunter Bates, Middlebury, VT
15. (1) Dave Snow, Brandon, VT
Heat Winners: Alex Bell, Todd Stone
J&S Steel Late Models (30 laps)
Pos.-(Start)-Driver-Hometown
1. (11) Jamie Fisher, Shelburne, VT
2. (10) Mark Lamberton, Mooers Forks, NY
3. (6) # Joey Laquerre, East Montpelier, VT
4. (7) Bryan Town, Charlestown, NH
5. (5) Matt White, Northfield, VT
6. (1) Dan Petronis, II, Mechanicville, NY
7. (15) Doug Hoar, Williston, VT
8. (8) Norm Andrews, Northfield, VT
9. (13) Kevin Elliott, Rutland, VT
10. (12) Chad White, Fort Ann, NY
11. (2) # Robert Bryant, Jr., Brooklyn, CT
12. (8) Craig Bushey, Fairfax, VT
13. (4) Scott Carpenter, Waterbury, VT
14. (9) Chris Wilk, Mendon, VT
15. (14) # Tom Eriksen, Jr., West Ferrisburgh, VT
Heat Winners: Mark Lamberton, Norm Andrews
Renegade (20 laps)
Pos.-(Start)-Driver-Hometown
(# – denotes rookie)
1. (4) Robert Gordon, Milton, VT
2. (2) Ryan Keith, Pittsford, VT
3. (1) Jeremy Jones, Leicester, VT
4. (3) Bill Duprey, Hydeville, VT
Heat Winner: Bill Duprey
Bomber (20 laps) – REVISED 7/16/12
Pos.-(Start)-Driver-Hometown
(# – denotes rookie)
1. (9) # Josh Masterson, Bristol, VT
2. (10) Bobby LaVair, Gabriels, NY
3. (6) Tyson Drown, Morrisonville, NY
4. (7) Ray Germain, Jr., Bristol, VT
5. (8) Harold LaVair, Gabriels, NY
6. (5) Chris LaVair, Gabriels, NY
7. (3) Mitchell Dundon, Orwell, VT
8. (1) Garrett Given, Cornwall, VT
9. (4) Dan Collins, Rennselaer, NY
10. (11) Eddie Bruno, Jr., Fair Haven, VT
11. (13) # Kyle Watrous, Bomoseen, VT
12. (15) # Bruce Schwab, Jr., Whitehall, NY
13. (2) # Gerald LaFlam, Hinesburg, VT
14. (14) Matt Monaghan, Colchester, VT
15. (12) Mike Whalen, Jr., Plattsburgh, NY
Heat Winners: Garrett Given, Josh Masterson
Sources: Devil’s Bowl Speedway
PHOTOS:
1. Bond Auto Parts Modified Rutland Herald Mid-Season Champion Alex Bell in victory lane on Friday. (MemorEvents photo)
2. Alex Bell (#23) and Jamie Proctor (#52) battling for the lead in the Modified feature. (MemorEvents photo)
3. Norm Andrews (#2) and Doug Hoar (#07) spin on the backstretch during a wild Late Model feature. (MemorEvents photo)
4. Late Model winner Jamie Fisher in victory lane. (MemorEvents photo)
5. Renegade winner Robert Gordon with the checkered flag. (MemorEvents photo)
6. Bomber winner Josh Masterson and family in victory lane. (MemorEvents photo)
PHOTO: Bond Auto Parts Modified Rutland Herald Mid-Season Champion Alex Bell in victory lane on Friday. (MemorEvents photo)