Janczuk Perfect in $15,811 Vermont 200 Victory at Devil’s Bowl Speedway

Talbot inherits runner-up finish to place Utica-Rome stars 1-2 against 80-car field

WEST HAVEN, Vt. – There may never be a more perfect victory at Devil’s Bowl Speedway than the one that Matt Janczuk earned on Sunday, September 3. The Oneida, N.Y., driver led every lap in a dominant run to scoop up a record payday in the sixth annual Fabian Earth Moving Vermont 200.

The purse started at $10,000 for the Vermont 200 winner and offered up to $5,811 in lap leader bonuses, which Janczuk claimed in their entirety to earn the richest winner’s prize in the history of not only Devil’s Bowl Speedway, but also in Vermont motorsports history and the whole of the Northeast-style General Motors “602” crate engine-powered, dirt Sportsman Modified division.

Janczuk, who is Chief of Police in Hamilton, N.Y., and owns 10 victories at his home track at Utica-Rome Speedway in 2023, struck first on Sunday by winning his qualifying heat race, and he then drew the pole position to start first in the 200-lap feature. A hard, smooth, and slick surface made for some exciting racing and lots of passing while also being somewhat easy on equipment.

Janczuk broke free from the get-go, turning his fastest lap of the race on the opening circuit. A relatively calm race was slowed by 13 cautions – though none for serious wreckage – and Janczuk passed the test at every restart. Still, he had plenty of stout company up front, and a long green-flag run in the final quarter of the race gave him substantial lapped traffic to wade through, but the lead was never in question.

At different points in the race, Dom Roselli, Demetrios Drellos, Jack Lehner, and Brian Krummel each took turns in second place, with Payton Talbot, Walter J. Hammond, Brian Calabrese, Gary Edwards III, Frankie Hoard III, and several others strongly in contention. Krummel appeared to be the one who would challenge Janczuk for the win as the race wound down, but a mechanical failure with a dozen laps remaining knocked him out of the race. Lehner and Talbot then put on an entertaining show with Lehner crossing the finish line in second place and Talbot third.

The engines from the cars of Janczuk, Lehner, and Talbot were impounded following the race and an extensive and thorough inspection was performed at Hunt’s Machine in Schenectady, N.Y., on Wednesday morning. All three engines were fully compliant with Devil’s Bowl Speedway and DIRTcar rules, except for Lehner’s carburetor spacer.

As such, Lehner was disqualified, giving Talbot the runner-up finish officially. Talbot has been the only driver other than Janczuk to win at Utica-Rome in 2023, scoring three wins there and six more at Fonda Speedway on his way to that track’s championship.

The disqualification moved Edwards up to third place officially, with former Vermont 200 winner Zach Sobotka fourth and Canadian driver Cody McPherson – who won the Northeast Crate Nationals 100 at Devil’s Bowl in May – fifth. The top 10 was completed in order by Drellos, Tyler Willard, Devil’s Bowl regulars Tim LaDuc and Kevin Chaffee, and Drew Boniface.

An impressive field of 80 drivers representing no less than 18 tracks and series in the U.S. and Canada attempted to qualify for the 36-car starting grid. Gavin Eisele won the $200 Bill McGaffin Photos/Showstopper Photos Fast Time Award in time trials. Heat races were won Drellos, Richard Murtaugh, Eisele, Janczuk, Lehner, and Talbot. Consolation race wins went to Travis Green, Tyler Corcoran, and Boniface, and the two B-Main winners were McPherson and Ryan Dolbear.

The McGee Automotive Family Sprint Cars of New England (SCoNE) tour made its fourth and final appearance of the 2023 season at Devil’s Bowl, and Stephentown, N.Y.’s Matt Tanner won the 25-lap A-Main for the seventh time at Devil’s Bowl since 2020. But Tanner’s win was no cakewalk, as he drove from the 11^th starting position to the lead 10 laps in, but then battled with Will Hull in heavy lapped traffic at the end of the race.

Hull nosed ahead to lead lap 24 in a three-wide move, but Tanner was able to get by him on the backstretch in the final lap to take the win. Chase Moran came from 10^th place to pass SCoNE point leader Chris Donnelly late in the running and secure the final podium spot.

Donnelly, who started 15^th, survived a mid-race crash that sent him airborne and Sam Comeau flipping to hold onto fourth; Comeau was uninjured. Floyd Billington rebounded from an early spin to drive from 22^nd place at a lap-2 restart to finish fifth. Jake Williams was sixth, followed by Cory Sparks, Mike Thompson, Joe Kata, and rookie Jason Goff. Heat winners were Williams, Billington, and Tanner.

Monkton, Vt.’s Pat Miner wrapped up an undefeated weekend in the Hoosier Daddy Racing Novice Sportsman division by winning a 25-lap feature. Miner swept his heat and feature races at Albany-Saratoga Speedway on Friday night, and then scored a rare Triple Crown at Devil’s Bowl by winning his heat and the bonus Tom’s Auto Reconditioning “Dash for Cash” on Saturday and the feature on Sunday.

Donald Williams finished behind Miner as the runner-up, with Matt Wade, Bobbi Jo Hults, and championship point leader Tyler Travis in tow. The top 10 was rounded out by Boomer Patterson, Randy Edson, Eric Shaw, Aaron Clark, and Ed Bell.

Whiting, Vt.’s Logan Denis won the three-segment event for the Friend Construction 500cc Mini Sprint division, which was broken up over the two-day weekend. Denis was the class of the field, finishing second in the opening segment on Saturday and posting a win and a fourth in Sunday’s two legs. His total low score of 7 points (2, 1, 4) gave him a runaway victory over John Smith’s 13 points (5, 5, 3), Roger LaDuc (14 points), Ray Hanson (14 points), and Gage Provencher (17 points). Hanson won the Saturday segment and Provencher won the final leg.

Devil’s Bowl Speedway returns to action on Saturday, September 9 at 6:00 p.m., as Heritage Family Credit Union presents the annual “Member Night.” All HFCU members will receive free grandstand general admission with proof of current, valid membership. All weekly divisions (except Crown Vics) will be on the card along with the annual Kids Bicycle Races at intermission. Grandstand general admission is $15 for adults and free for children aged 12 and under.

Devil’s Bowl Speedway is located on Route 22A in West Haven, Vt., four miles north of U.S. Route 4, Exit 2, 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 Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat at @DevilsBowlSpeed; follow the action using the #DevilsBowl hashtag.

OFFICIAL RESULTS – Fabian Earth Moving Vermont 200

Devil’s Bowl Speedway – West Haven, Vt.

Sunday, September 3, 2023

Sunoco Sportsman Modified Feature (200 laps)

Pos.-(Start)-Driver-Hometown

# – denotes rookie

(1) Matt Janczuk, Oneida, N.Y.
(7) Payton Talbot, South New Berlin, N.Y.
(27) Gary Edwards III, Chelsea, Vt.
(10) Zach Sobotka, Parish, N.Y.
(28) Cody McPherson, St. Catharines, Ont.
(11) Demetrios Drellos, Queensbury, Vt.
(5) Tyler Willard, St. Catharines, Ont.
(15) Tim LaDuc, Orwell, Vt.
(18) Kevin Chaffee, Bradford, Vt.
(21) Drew Boniface, Middletown, N.Y.
(20) Tyler Corcoran, Central Square, N.Y.
(19) Travis Green, Wallkill, N.Y.
(26) Vince Quenneville, Brandon, Vt.
(12) Brian Calabrese, Johnstown, N.Y.
(13) David Boisclair, Watervliet, N.Y.
(17) Justin Comes, Fair Haven, Vt.
(31) Josh Sunn, White River Junction, Vt.
(33) Jim Nagle, Scotia, N.Y.
(25) Jason Gray, East Thetford, Vt.
(9) Frank Hoard III, Manchester Center, Vt.
(8) Gavin Eisele, LaFargeville, N.Y.
(14) Nick Root, Geneva, N.Y.
(34) # Evan Roberts, Fletcher, Vt.
(28) Pat Reiser, Barryville, N.Y.
(4) Richard Murtaugh, Fulton, N.Y.
(16) # Josh LeClaire, Plattsburgh, N.Y.
(24) Brian Krummel, Middletown, N.Y.
(22) Neil Stratton, North Bennington, Vt.
(36) Scott Towslee, Manchester, Vt.
(29) Ryan Dolbear, Fulton, N.Y.
(32) James Friesen, St. Catharines, Ont.
(3) Dom Roselli, Lockport, N.Y.
(35) Adam Piper, Leicester, Vt.
(2) Walter J. Hammond, Canaan, N.H.
(23) Alex Bell, Cambridge, N.Y.

Disqualified: (6) Jack Lehner, Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (carburetor spacer)

Did Not Qualify (44 drivers): Troy Audet, Travis Billington, Jason Bruno, Travis Bruno, Dave Camara Jr., Cory Castell, Jimmy Davis, David Dickey, Scott Duell, Kamden Duffy, William Duprey, Gary English, Allan Hammond, Walt Hammond Jr., James Hanson, Pat Jones, Marty Kelly III, Alex Layn, Katrina LeClaire, Fred Little, Billy Lussier, William Lussier Jr., Josh Masterson, Steve Miller, Darryl Mitchell, Chris Murray, Hunter Nutter, Mike Palmer, Alex Palmer-Sawyer, Ron Proctor, Jason Quenneville, Anthony Ryan, Jimmy Ryan, Tanner Siemons, Gordon Smith, Rusty Smith, Wayne Stearns, Tyler Stevenson, Ryan Stortini, Fire Swamp, Tanner Warner, Anthony Warren, Brent Warren, Brian Whittemore.

Lap Leaders: Matt Janczuk, 1-200 (0 lead changes among 1 driver).

Cautions: Laps 0; 11-13; 28-30; 46-48; 58-60; 73-75; 101 [red-competition break]; 116-118; 125-127; 133-135; 144-145; 188; 192 (13 cautions for 29 laps).

Fast Time Award: Gavin Eisele

Heat Winners: Demetrios Drellos, Richard Murtaugh, Gavin Eisele, Matt Janczuk, Jack Lehner, Payton Talbot

Consi Winners: Travis Green, Tyler Corcoran, Drew Boniface

B-Main Winners: Cody McPherson, Ryan Dolbear

Sprint Cars of New England Feature (25 laps)

Pos.-(Start)-Driver-Hometown

# – denotes rookie

(11) Matt Tanner, Stephentown, N.Y.
(8) Will Hull, Plainfield, Vt.
(10) Chase Moran, Fultonville, N.Y.
(15) Chris Donnelly, Piermont, N.H.
(5) Floyd Billington, South Glens Falls, N.Y.
(7) Jake Williams, Center Tuftonboro, N.H.
(13) Cory Sparks, Edinburgh, N.Y.
(19) Mike Thompson, Newtown, Pa.
(12) Joe Kata, Goshen, N.Y.
(2) # Jason Goff, Preston Hollow, N.Y.
(16) Kadyn Berry, Goffstown, N.H.
(6) Troy Comeau, Wentworth, N.H.
(1) Dylan Menditto, Brooklyn, Conn.
(3) Nick Comeau, Hebron, N.H.
(14) Emily VanInwegen, Sparrow Bush, N.Y.
(4) Lacey Hanson, Orwell, Vt.
(9) Caleb Lamson, Moretown, Vt.
(20) Fred Proctor, Clifton Park, N.Y.
(22) # Caiden Herbert, New Hampton, N.H.
(21) Matt Collins, Orange, Vt.
(18) # Ron Davis Jr., Moultonborough, N.H.
(17) # Sam Comeau, Hebron, N.H.

Did Not Start: # J.P. Vaillancourt, Campton, N.H.

Heat Winners: Jake Williams, Floyd Billington, Matt Tanner

Hoosier Daddy Racing Novice Sportsman Feature (25 laps)

Pos.-(Start)-Driver-Hometown

(4) Pat Miner, Monkton, Vt.
(8) Donald Williams, Ripton, Vt.
(14) Matt Wade, Fair Haven, Vt.
(2) Bobbi Jo Hults, Benson, Vt.
(3) Tyler Travis, Hartland, Vt.
(10) Boomer Patterson, Milton, Vt.
(7) Randy Edson, Orwell, Vt.
(9) Eric Shaw, Wells, Vt.
(13) Aaron Clark, Bristol, Vt.
(12) Ed Bell, Queensbury, N.Y.
(11) Adam LaFountain, Starksboro, Vt.
(5) Derrick Counter, Salisbury, Vt.
(1) Russ Farr, Middle Granville, N.Y.
(6) Allen Hewitt, Rutland, Vt.
(15) Nick Austin-Neil, Salisbury, Vt.

Heat Winners: Pat Miner, Derrick Counter

Tom’s Auto Reconditioning Dash for Cash Winner: Pat Miner

Friend Construction 500cc Mini Sprint Feature (3 x 10 laps)

Pos.-(Start)-Driver-Hometown-Point Total

# – denotes rookie

(8) Logan Denis, Whiting, Vt. – 7 pts.
(6) John Smith, Poultney, Vt. – 13 pts.
(7) Roger LaDuc, Castleton, Vt. – 14 pts.
(9) Ray Hanson, Orwell, Vt. – 14 pts.
(5) Gage Provencher, Bridport, Vt. – 17 pts.
(3) # Quinn Quenneville, Brandon, Vt. – 18 pts.
(2) Tommie Kasuba, Castleton, Vt. – 20 pts.
(4) # John Carleton, Chittenden, Vt. – 21 pts.
(10) Kevin Smith, Brandon, Vt. – 22 pts.
(12) Ashleigh Kulzer, Johnstown, N.Y. – 29 pts.
(1) Aiden Benoure, Salisbury, Vt. – 29 pts.
(11) Lane Saville, Warrensburg, N.Y. – 30 pts.

Segment Winners: Ray Hanson, Logan Denis, Gage Provencher

Heat Winners: Ray Hanson, John Carleton

Sources: Devil’s Bowl Speedway