Pierson Leaves Little Doubt with Dominant Devil’s Bowl Win

By admin November 3, 2014 Devil's Bowl

Champion Donnelly tops SCoNE Sprint Cars

IMG_0188

WEST HAVEN, VT – Adam Pierson made it look easy at Devil’s Bowl Speedway as he drove to a dominant victory in the Autosaver Ford/Springfield Buick-GMC “Vermont Freedom & Unity 100” on Saturday, November 1. The Bradford, VT driver braved a cold wind to nail down the Sportsman Modified finale for the inaugural “Battle at the Bowl” dirt track series, netting the series championship in the process.

Pierson entered the race trailing Vince Quenneville, Jr. by eight points – the equivalent of four positions on the track – for the title. Pierson wasted little time, moving into the lead by lap 9 and stretching out to as much as a half-lap lead. Quenneville made a steady march into the top five in the middle stages of the race and appeared to have kept Pierson close enough to have sealed the championship, but his car made hard contact with the backstretch barrier at lap 66 that knocked him out of the race.

After fending off a determined Jack Gentile, Pierson sped away to the $2,000 win and the championship, collecting a trophy presented by Vermont Lieutenant Governor Phil Scott. Derek Graham of Woodsville, NH had a solid drive to take the runner-up spot, while Gentile, of Cohoes, NY, wound up third. Leon Gonyo and Johnny Scarborough completed the top five, followed by Kenny Tremont, Jr., Richie Simmons, Trevor Rocke, Allan Hammond, and Tim Hodge.

Chris Donnelly of Piermont, NH put a hurting on the Sprint Cars of New England field in the tour’s first-ever appearance at Devil’s Bowl. “Professor” Donnelly benefitted from a broken driveline under the car of race leader Will Hull in the early laps to inherit the lead, but drove away for an uncontested victory to wrap up his fourth series championship in five years. Clay Dow and Danny Douville had an intense fight for the runner-up position in the second half of the 30-lap race, which eventually went to Dow. Douville, James Hanson, and Lee Ladouceur completed the top five finishers.

The Sportsman Coupe division – which became famous at Bear Ridge Speedway in Bradford, VT – ran a special 25-lap, $1,000-to-win event that went to Enfield, NH’s Earl Maxham, Jr. Maxham passed Thomas Placey for the lead with six laps left, then held off Michael Danforth. Danforth took the runner-up finish with teammate Gene Pierson, Jr. third. Jason Horniak and Josh Harrington were next in line.

Mark “Rowdy” Burch of Fort Edward, NY celebrated a hard-fought win the 25-lap Renegade division feature, after holding off asphalt specialist Jamy Begor for nearly half of the race. Bill Duprey of Hydeville, VT finished a close third to nip Begor for the “Battle at the Bowl” championship in the class. Chase Aussicker and Darrell Older ran 4-5 in the race.

Steven Bresette of Plattsburgh, NY made a late move to steal the lead from Jake Noble and win the 15-lap Mini Stock race. Dave Durkee and Noble completed the podium finishers in the race, and a scoring recheck following the event showed that Rob Gioia of East Thetford, VT clinched the division’s championship over Bresette by just two points with a fourth-place finish. Matt Monaghan finished fifth.

The Autosaver Ford/Springfield Buick-GMC event put a wrap on the 2014 stock car racing season at Devil’s Bowl Speedway. Information regarding the post-season awards banquet and rulebook meetings will be release in the coming weeks and months.

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 and Instagram at @DevilsBowlSpeed.

UNOFFICIAL RESULTS – Autosaver Ford/Springfield Buick-GMC “Vermont Freedom & Unity 100”
“Battle at the Bowl” Dirt Track Series
Devil’s Bowl Speedway, West Haven, VT
Saturday, November 1, 2014

Sportsman Modified Feature (100 laps)
Pos.-(Start)-Driver-Hometown
1. (5) Adam Pierson, Bradford, VT
2. (11) Derek Graham, Woodsville, NH
3. (8) Jack Gentile, Cohoes, NY
4. (6) Leon Gonyo, Chazy, NY
5. (14) Johnny Scarborough, Bomoseen, VT
6. (13) Kenny Tremont, Jr., West Sand Lake, NY
7. (4) Richie Simmons, Bradford, VT
8. (10) Trevor Rocke, Canaan, NH
9. (1) Allan Hammond, Canaan, NH
10. (7) Tim Hodge, Woodstock, VT
11. (2) Robbie LaCroix, Canaan, NH
12. (9) Brian Whittemore, Pittsford, VT
13. (19) Darryl Mitchell, Akwesasne, NY
14. (20) Cody Hunt, Hoosick Falls, NY
15. (21) Cass Bennett, Buskirk, NY
16. (12) Vince Quenneville, Jr., Brandon, VT
17. (15) Jack Swinton, Hudson Falls, NY
18. (16) Billy Lussier, Fair Haven, VT
19. (3) Floyd Billington, South Glens Falls, NY
20. (17) Robert Tucker, East Corinth, VT
21. (18) Leonard Drown, Morrisonville, NY
Did Not Start: Ron Casey, Manchester Center, VT
Lap Leaders: Robbie LaCroix, 1-8; Adam Pierson, 9-100.
Fast Time: Adam Pierson (17.483 sec.)
Heat Winners: Adam Pierson, Floyd Billington, Vince Quenneville, Jr.

Renegade Feature (25 laps)
Pos.-(Start)-Driver-Hometown
1. (2) Mark Burch, Fort Edward, NY
2. (8) Jamy Begor, Mooers Forks, NY
3. (1) Bill Duprey, Hydeville, VT
4. (3) Chase Aussicker, Ballston Spa, NY
5. (4) Darrell Older, Ballston Spa, NY
6. (5) Lou Gancarz, North Adams, MA
7. (9) Jeff Meltz, Hudson, NY
8. (7) Eric Sprega, Ballston Spa, NY
9. (6) Matt Mosher, Fort Edward, NY
Lap Leaders: Mark Burch, 1-14; Jamy Begor, 15; Burch, 16-25.
Heat Winner: Bill Duprey

Mini Stock Feature (15 laps)
Pos.-(Start)-Driver-Hometown
1. (2) Steven Bresette, Keeseville, NY
2. (4) Dave Durkee, White River Junction, VT
3. (1) Jake Noble, Benson, VT
4. (6) Rob Gioia, East Thetford, VT
5. (3) Matt Monaghan, Colchester, VT
6. (7) Michael Wahl, East Islip, NY
7. (8) Scott Corbosiero, Adams, MA
8. (6) Steve Armstrong, White River Junction, VT
Did Not Start: Jason Porter, St. Albans, VT
Lap Leaders: Jake Noble, 1-13; Steven Bresette, 14-15.
Heat Winner: Jake Noble

Sprint Cars of New England Feature (30 laps)
Pos.-(Start)-Driver-Hometown
1. (6) Chris Donnelly, Piermont, NH
2. (5) Clay Dow, Barnstead, NH
3. (7) Danny Douville, Bristol, NH
4. (11) James Hanson, Orwell, VT
5. (10) Lee Ladouceur, Alexandria, ON
6. (3) Jake Williams, Center Tuftonboro, NH
7. (1) Lacey Hanson, Orwell, VT
8. (8) Danny Varin, Johnstown, NY
9. (4) Will Hull, East Montpelier, VT
10. (2) Tyler Austin, West Fairlee, VT
11. (9) Cory Sparks, Edinburg, NY
12. (12) Tim Martin, White River Junction, VT
Did Not Start: Luke Greenwood, Hudson, NH
Lap Leaders: Lacey Hanson, 1-4; Will Hull, 5-9; Chris Donnelly, 10-30.
Heat Winners: Clay Dow, Chris Donnelly

Sportsman Coupe Feature (25 laps)
Pos.-(Start)-Driver-Hometown
1. (1) Earl Maxham, Jr., Enfield, NH
2. (5) Michael Danforth, Corinth, VT
3. (6) Gene Pierson, Jr., East Corinth, VT
4. (8) Jason Horniak, Bradford, VT
5. (4) Josh Harrington, Topsham, VT
6. (2) Thomas Placey, Bradford, VT
7. (3) Jeff Robbins, Jr., Bradford, VT
8. (10) Brian Chaffee, Bradford, VT
9. (9) Teddy Salomaa, Bradford, VT
10. (11) Richie Simmons, Bradford, VT
11. (7) Jeremy Beckley, Bath, NH
Lap Leaders: Thomas Placey, 1-19; Earl Maxham, Jr, 20-25.
Heat Winners: Thomas Placey, Josh Harrington

***

Sources: Devil’s Bowl Speedway

PHOTO: Adam Pierson is all smiles after winning the Autosaver Ford/Springfield Buick-GMC “Vermont Freedom & Unity 100” and the “Battle at the Bowl” dirt track series championship at Devil’s Bowl Speedway on Saturday. (MemorEvents photo)