“Wild Bill” Fountain Wins Devil’s Bowl Vermonster 150 Enduro
Father-son team 2nd and 3rd; Grant takes second Spectator Race of 2012
WEST HAVEN, VT – “Wild Bill” Fountain survived a wild race and narrowly avoided catastrophe to win the “Vermonster 150” Enduro stock car race at Devil’s Bowl Speedway on Saturday. The Altona, NY driver, a veteran of Late Model and Modified racing since 1977 who has recently taken up Enduro racing, led nearly every step of the 150-lap grind for the victory.
Fountain’s virtually stock 1999 Nissan Maxima was running nearly three laps ahead of the field when he quickly approached the lapped car of Kevin Sorel, who was running inside the top five with just 20 laps remaining. Fountain swerved to avoid Sorel’s slowing car, but made heavy contact and badly damaged the right-rear corner of his machine. Fountain pressed on, limping his car at half-speed as second-place driver Brett “Woody” Wood of Georgia, VT clicked off the laps, and was able to hang on to take the win.
Wood, who lived up to the track’s “Splash and Crash” billing after recent heavy rains flooded parts of the facility, survived a muddy off-track excursion with his 2002 Mitsubishi Eclipse at mid-race to finish in second place, one lap behind Fountain.
Wood’s son, Zach “Beaner” Wood, used an entertaining “drifting” method, sliding the back of his 1996 Subaru Impreza in nearly every corner, to finish third on his 17th birthday, nine laps behind the winner. Cory Gray of Rutland, VT finished fourth, unofficially, with 138 laps complete, and Richie Turner of Fairfax, VT finished fifth, one lap behind Gray.
Gary Grant of Addison, VT took his second Spectator Race win of the season with his 2008 Ford Mustang. Grant defeated Leicester, VT’s Dan New, who drove a 2001 Honda Civic; New defeated a Mustang driven by Jeff Breslen of Castleton, VT in the preliminary round.
The Vermonster 150 Enduro drew the 2012 Devil’s Bowl Speedway racing season to a close. The track’s top drivers from the weekly NASCAR Whelen All-American Series program will be honored at the Banquet of Champions on Saturday, February 2 at the Holiday Inn Rutland-Killington in Rutland, VT. Further details will be announced soon.
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.
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS – Vermonster 150 Enduro
Devil’s Bowl Speedway, West Haven, VT
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Vermonster 150 Enduro (150 laps)
Pos.-Car No.-Driver-Hometown-Laps Completed
1. 77 Bill Fountain, Altona, NY – 150 laps
2. 802 Brett Wood, Georgia, VT – 149 laps
3. 20 Zach Wood, Georgia, VT – 141 laps
4. 17 Cory Gray, Rutland, VT – 138 laps
5. 173 Richie Turner, Fairfax, VT – 137 laps
6. 86 Tyler Rhoades, Milton, VT – 136 laps
7. 32 Arnie Naparty, Schenectady, NY – 136 laps
8. 34 Joe Hallenbeck, Rensselaer, NY – 128 laps
9. 56 Bret Williams, Sudbury, VT – 122 laps
10. 666 Andy Botala, Grand Isle, VT – 121 laps
11. 68 Kevin Sorel, Plattsburgh, NY – 116 laps
12. 269 Mike Hance, Westport, NY – 111 laps
13. 3 Andy Rogstad, East Wallingford, VT – 97 laps
14. 35 Jeff Murray, Georgia, VT – 95 laps
15. 100 Jay Vezina, Milton, VT – 88 laps
16. 21x Aaron Desabrais, Vergennes, VT – 81 laps
17. 91 Hunter Murray, Cambridge, VT – 78 laps
18. 8 Todd Goldstein, East Greenbush, NY – 78 laps
19. 88x Eric Messier, Hinesburg, VT – 72 laps
20. 59 Mike Forsey, Westford, VT – 57 laps
21. 55 Eric Douglas, Sudbury, VT – 55 laps
22. 13 Ryan Monroe, Granville, NY – 42 laps
23. 14 Chris Mattos, Milton, VT – 41 laps
24. 12 David Emigh, Ballston Spa, NY – 40 laps
25. 31 Kevin Gecha, East Dorset, VT – 29 laps
26. 50 Kevin Tarbell, Pawlet, VT – 27 laps
27. 7 Shawn Fountain, Altona, NY – 26 laps
28. 24 Geoffrey Grant, Addison, VT – 21 laps
No Score: 9 Charles Roy, New Haven, VT; 19 Kevin Hoisington, Springfield, VT
Did Not Start: 1x James Carmichael, Whiting, VT; 57 J.T. Roner, Ballston Spa, NY
Spectator Races
Gary Grant, Addison, VT def. Dan New, Leicester, VT
PHOTO: A pack of wild Enduro racers including Arnie Naparty (#32), Ryan Monroe (#13), and Aaron Desabrais (#21x) hammers through Turn 2 in the Vermonster 150 Enduro. (MemorEvents photo)
PHOTO: A group of young race fans entered the Halloween costume contest; the top three finishers were voted on by crowd applause and won tickets to Devil’s Bowl Speedway for the 2013 season. (MemorEvents photo)
PHOTO: Gary Grant of Addison, VT was the overall winner of the Spectator Races prior to the Vermonster 150 Enduro at Devil’s Bowl Speedway.
PHOTO: Vermonster 150 Enduro winner “Wild Bill” Fountain and team celebrate their victory at Devil’s Bowl Speedway. (MemorEvents photo)
PHOTO: Brett Wood (right) of Georgia, VT, and his son Zach finished 2-3 in the Vermonster 150 Enduro at Devil’s Bowl Speedway; the race was held on Zach Wood’s 17th birthday. (MemorEvents photo)
PHOTO: “Wild Bill” Fountain of Altona, NY survived a late crash to win the Vermonster 150 Enduro at Devil’s Bowl Speedway. (MemorEvents photo)
Sources: Devil’s Bowl Speedway