O’Reilly Auto Parts to Sponsor New Limited Sportsman Division at Devil’s Bowl Speedway
Exciting Roster of Drivers Building for New Modified Training Ground
WEST HAVEN, Vt. – Devil’s Bowl Speedway has seen many changes for its all-new half-mile dirt track in 2018, and one of the most popular moves has been the creation of the new Limited Sportsman division. An exciting driver roster is building, and the division has recently gained sponsorship from O’Reilly Auto Parts, through its local Vermont stores on Route 4A in Castleton and on Strongs Avenue in Downtown Rutland.
The O’Reilly Auto Parts Limited Sportsman division uses the same open-wheel cars and rulebook as the headline Sportsman Modifieds, but restricts eligibility to drivers with little or no prior experience in dirt track Modified-type racing. The class is “Division II” in the weekly NASCAR Whelen All-American Series, with races paying $250 to win and the track champion earning $1,000.
Several drivers with stout credentials have entered the division including Leicester, Vt., native Adam Piper, who previously raced at Devil’s Bowl in full-bodied stock cars. Piper hasn’t driven a racecar since winning a championship in 2006 and has never raced a Modified, but says he is looking forward to the challenge with a PMC chassis sponsored by Burnham Builders and Vermont Shade & Blind.
Joey “Fireball” Roberts, of Fletcher, Vt., won six Modified races on asphalt at Devil’s Bowl, but has only raced once on dirt – in an Enduro event at Bear Ridge Speedway well over a decade ago. Roberts and the Friend Construction/DuPont Auto Body team have two cars ready for Limited Sportsman action.
Kyle Hoard, of North Granville, N.Y., represents the third-generation of his family to race at Devil’s Bowl and was the Rookie of the Year in the Pro Stock division at Glen Ridge Motorsports Park last summer.
Seventeen-year-old Tanner Forbes, of Jay, N.Y., has teamed up with car owner Brian Fagan to make his debut in a full-size racecar after 50 wins and six championships in go-karts.
Many others are expected to test the O’Reilly Auto Parts Limited Sportsman waters during the year including 500cc Mini Sprint graduates Aaron Mulready and Brent Warren, asphalt Super Stock winner R.J. Germain, Lebanon Valley Speedway Rookie of the Year Dan Lyle, former Devil’s Bowl racer Jeremy Bishop, and former go-kart racer and demolition derby star Ralph Reynolds Jr.
Devil’s Bowl Speedway’s new era of dirt track racing begins on Sunday night, May 27, as the King of Dirt Racing Series Sportsman Modifieds and the winged Sprint Cars of New England join the weekly NASCAR divisions for the Grand Opening of the new half-mile clay surface.
Devil’s Bowl Speedway is located on Route 22A in West Haven, Vt., four miles north of Exit 2 off of U.S. Route 4 and just 20 minutes from Rutland, Vt. 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; follow the action using the #DevilsBowl hashtag.
Sources: Justin St. Louis/Devil’s Bowl Speedway PR
Barry Snelling/Devil’s Bowl Speedway photo