Mueller, Stone Split Carrara “Hometown Heroes” Features at Devil’s Bowl; Bergeron wins Late Models, Whalen uninjured after wild rollover
WEST HAVEN, VT — Stock car drivers Jessey Mueller and Todd Stone won in convincing fashion on Carrara Masonry & Concrete “Hometown Heroes” Night at Devil’s Bowl Speedway on Friday, June 21. The pair split twin 25-lap features for the Bond Auto Parts Modified division during NASCAR Whelen All-American Series action.
Eighteen year-old Mueller of Olmstedville, NY, who graduates from North Warren Central School on Saturday, ran to his first Devil’s Bowl Speedway victory of the season in the first 25-lap race. Mueller worked his way from fifth starting position into the lead then ran away from the field in a dominant showing. Championship point leader Stone, of Middlebury, VT, drove from 12th to beat Charlton, NY’s Ron Proctor by four-thousandths of a second – about three inches – for the runner-up spot. Hunter Bates of Middlebury, VT and Alex Bell of Cambridge, NY completed the top five. Leon Gonyo of Chazy, NY won the bonus-points Sunoco Race Fuels Semi-Feature earlier in the evening.
Stone did one better in the nightcap, taking his third Devil’s Bowl victory in six starts in 2013. Starting 15th on the grid, Stone lead a charge of drivers from outside the top ten at the start to take the lead at lap 12, then withstood two late restarts for the victory. Bates, from 14th, finished second, with Mueller, from 12th, third. Proctor drove from 11th to finish fourth, followed by Joey Roberts of Fletcher, VT, who came from 16th to finish fifth.
Chris Bergeron of Claremont, NH ran to his first Devil’s Bowl win in the 30-lap Late Model feature. Bergeron swapped positions at the front of the field with Kevin Elliott of Rutland, VT, Jim “Boomer” Morris of Barre, VT, and several others for the majority of the race, then used two restarts in the final four laps to help seal his victory. Morris earned a career-best runner-up finish with Elliott third. Chris Curtis of Rutland, MA finished fourth, with rookie Josh Masterson of Bristol, VT fifth.
Robert Gordon of Milton, VT took his second Renegade victory of the season after a tie-breaker in a two-segment feature event. Gordon and Richie Turner of Fairfax, VT each posted finishes of first and second in the two 12-lap segments to earn total scores of three points; Gordon’s better final-segment finish gave him the tie-breaker and the overall victory, the ninth of the defending champion’s Devil’s Bowl career. Fifteen year-old rookie Stephen Donahue of Graniteville, VT finished third overall followed by Jimmy Bushey of Mooers Forks, NY and rookie Brad Bushey of Cambridge, VT.
Rookie Chuck Bradford of Addison, VT was the winner of a wild 15-lap Central Vermont Motorcycles Mini Stock feature. The race was red flagged with five laps complete when a multi-car incident involving five of the top seven drivers sent Mike Whalen, Jr., of Plattsburgh, NY flipping wildly into the Turn 1 wall. After four quick snap-rolls and one nose-stand, Whalen emerged from his car unscathed. When the race resumed, Bradford, in a Subaru, took the lead from Matt Monaghan with five laps remaining and drove to the first victory of his career. John McCarron of Rensselaer, NY took the runner-up spot with Chris LaVair of Gabriels, NY third. Monaghan, of Colchester, VT, slipped to fourth, with Jake Noble of Benson, VT fifth. LaVair received an enthusiastic ovation from the large crowd when he proposed marriage to his longtime girlfriend during his post-race victory lane interview, to which she accepted.
Devil’s Bowl Speedway is back in action on Friday, June 28 with the rescheduled People’s United Bank 100, the second round of the Vermont State Late Model Championship Series, at 7:00pm. The Bond Auto Parts Modifieds and Central Vermont Motorcycles Mini Stocks will also be in action. General admission is $15 for adults, $13 for seniors, and free for children 12 and under.
Devil’s Bowl Speedway is located on Route 22A in West Haven, VT, four miles north of Exit 2 on U.S. Route 4. For more information, visit www.devilsbowlspeedwayvt.com or call (802) 265-3112. Devil’s Bowl Speedway is on Facebook at facebook.com/DevilsBowlSpeedway and on Twitter at @DevilsBowlSpeed.
UNOFFICIAL RESULTS – Carrara Masonry & Concrete “Hometown Heroes” Night
NASCAR Whelen All-American Series
Devil’s Bowl Speedway, West Haven, VT
Friday, June 21, 2013
Pos.-(Start)-Driver-Hometown
(# – denotes rookie)
Bond Auto Parts Modified Feature #1 (25 laps)
1. (5) Jessey Mueller, Olmstedville, NY
2. (12) Todd Stone, Middlebury, VT
3. (10) Ron Proctor, Charlton, NY
4. (9) Hunter Bates, Middlebury, VT
5. (14) Alex Bell, Cambridge, NY
6. (15) Joey Roberts, Fletcher, VT
7. (11) Vince Quenneville, Jr., Brandon, VT
8. (2) # Jamie LaFountain, Plattsburgh, NY
9. (8) Jeff Haskins, Wells, VT
10. (6) Andy Smith, South Glens Falls, NY
11. (7) Joe Williams, Scotia, NY
12. (17) Jamie Proctor, Schuylerville, NY
13. (3) Cody Sargen, Greenfield Center, NY
14. (16) Jim Introne, Jr., Hartford, NY
15. (13) Dave Snow, Brandon, VT
16. (1) James Introne, Sr., Hartford, NY
17. (18) # Emily Quinn, Schaghticoke, NY
18. (4) Leon Gonyo, Chazy, NY
Heat Winners: James Introne, Sr., Jessey Mueller, Leon Gonyo
Sunoco Race Fuels Semi-Feature Winner: Leon Gonyo
Bond Auto Parts Modified Feature #2 (25 laps)
1. (15) Todd Stone, Middlebury, VT
2. (14) Hunter Bates, Middlebury, VT
3. (12) Jessey Mueller, Olmstedville, NY
4. (11) Ron Proctor, Charlton, NY
5. (16) Joey Roberts, Fletcher, VT
6. (13) Vince Quenneville, Jr., Brandon, VT
7. (6) Leon Gonyo, Chazy, NY
8. (7) Jeff Haskins, Wells, VT
9. (10) Jamie Proctor, Schuylerville, NY
10. (1) James Introne, Sr., Hartford, NY
11. (2) Dave Snow, Brandon, VT
12. (5) Andy Smith, South Glens Falls, NY
13. (8) Alex Bell, Cambridge, NY
14. (9) Joe Williams, Scotia, NY
15. (3) Cody Sargen, Greenfield Center, NY
16. (17) # Emily Quinn, Schaghticoke, NY
17. (4) Jim Introne, Jr., Hartford, NY
18. (18) # Jamie LaFountain, Plattsburgh, NY
Late Model Feature (30 laps)
1. (8) Chris Bergeron, Claremont, NH
2. (2) Boomer Morris, Barre, VT
3. (6) Kevin Elliott, Rutland, VT
4. (7) Chris Curtis, Rutland, MA
5. (9) # Josh Masterson, Bristol, VT
6. (1) Chad White, Fort Ann, NY
7. (14) # Brandon Atkins, Plattsburgh, NY
8. (4) Robert Bryant, Jr., Brooklyn, CT
9. (10) # Johnny Scarborough, Bomoseen, VT
10. (11) Kevin Boutin, Fairfax, VT
11. (5) Dan Petronis, Mechanicville, NY
12. (17) # Seth Bridge, Mendon, VT
13. (15) # Tommy Eriksen, Jr., Ferrisburgh, VT
14. (12) Jesse Carris, Rutland, VT
15. (18) Hunter Bates, Middlebury, VT
16. (3) Norm Andrews, Northfield, VT
17. (16) Chris Lacey, Burlington, VT
18. (13) # Carol Parker, Fair Haven, VT
Heat Winners: Hunter Bates, Josh Masterson, Chris Bergeron
Renegade Feature (12 laps x 2)
1. (3) Robert Gordon, Milton, VT – 3 points
2. (4) Richie Turner, Fairfax, VT – 3 points
3. (5) # Stephen Donahue, Graniteville, VT – 7 points
4. (7) Jimmy Bushey, Mooers Forks, NY – 9 points
5. (6) # Richard Lowrey, III, Charlotte, VT – 11 points
6. (2) # Brad Bushey, Cambridge, VT – 12 points
7. (1) # Ray Germain, Jr., Bristol, VT – 12 points
8. (8) Ray Benoit, Milton, VT – 16 points
Segment Winners: Richie Turner, Robert Gordon
Central Vermont Motorcycles Mini Stock Feature (15 laps)
1. (12) # Chuck Bradford, Addison, VT
2. (13) John McCarron, Rensselaer, NY
3. (8) Chris LaVair, Gabriels, NY
4. (3) Matt Monaghan, Colchester, VT
5. (6) Jake Noble, Benson, VT
6. (4) # Lacey Hanson, Orwell, VT
7. (2) Kyle Watrous, Bomoseen, VT
8. (7) # Lance Masterson, Lincoln, VT
9. (5) Garry Bashaw, Lincoln, VT
10. (1) Harold LaVair, Jr., Gabriels, NY
11. (11) Mike Whalen, Jr., Morrisonville, NY
12. (9) Bobby LaVair, Gabriels, NY
13. (10) Dan Collins, Rensselaer, NY
Heat Winners: Chris LaVair, Garry Bashaw
Sources: Justin St. Louis/Devil’s Bowl Speedway PR