Hoard Records Third Win
WEST HAVEN, VT – Ray Hoard took a giant step toward a second straight track championship Sunday night when he outdueled Mike Perrotte to win the 30-lap 358 modified feature at Devil’s Bowl Speedway.
The win was the third of the season for Hoard; no one else has more than one win in the division. And Hoard accomplished the feat despite starting 17th, proving he can win no matter where he starts.
Sunday night’s modified feature will keep fans talking for a long time, because Hoard and Perrotte put on a whale of a show, once things got sorted out.
The feature got off to a sloppy start, with two cautions in the first four laps. The first came out on lap two, when Brian Whittemore blew a motor on the backstretch, and two laps later, Jimmy Ryan pulled up with a flat tire in turn four, and was done for the night.
Hall of Famer Butch Jelley, who had started on the outside pole, had the lead when Ryan blew his tire, but by that time, Perrotte, who had started 10th, was running second, and got the lead for the first time on lap six. But Jelley came right back, and was back in front the next time around.
The third caution of the night came out on lap eight, when Bob Savoie spun in the third turn, collecting C.V. Elms and Don Scarborough, but all three were able to continue.
Perrotte regained the lead following the restart, but by that time, Hoard had worked his way up to second, setting the stage for one heck of a race.
For the last 15 laps, Hoard and Perrotte ran side by side, with Perrotte riding the rim while Hoard hugged the bottom. Hoard got the lead for the first time on lap 19, but Perrotte, getting good bite off the corners, was back in front three laps later.
And that’s the way they stayed, feet apart, until Hoard finally got the lead for good with two to go, beating Perrotte to the finish line by 0.141 seconds.
Perrotte’s second-place finish was his best run at Devil’s Bowl since Aug. 22, 2004, the last time he won a feature at the Vermont track.
Ken Tremont Jr., who had started 20th, got up for third, with Jelley fourth and Todd Stone fifth. Completing the top 10 were Ron Proctor, Scarborough, Frank Hoard Sr., Chris Donnelly, and Chris Vernold.
Scott Duell drove to his sixth win of the season in the 20-lap pro-street stock feature. Jeff Martin came off the front row and set the early pace, but Duell, who had started eighth, was flying from the drop of the green flag and, aided by two cautions, only needed eight laps to get to the front.
Lori Cary, who had started fifth, followed Duell to the front and kept Duell honest, but the Lazzaro Motorsports entry again proved to be too strong, and Cary had to settle for second.
Cale Kneer crossed the finish line third, with Jeff Washburn fourth and Martin fifth.
Bill Duprey returned to victory lane in the Rentway Limited feature, swinging around Tim Shaw on the last lap to notch his third win of the season. Shaw had started on the outside pole and had led every lap until Duprey, who had started seventh, played the role of spoiler, beating Shaw to the finish line by just 0.060 seconds.
The rest of the Rentway Limited finish is now official as noted below.
In the Pro-Built mini-stock feature, Mike Clarke picked up his third victory of the season.
Devil’s Bowl will return to action on Sunday, July 31. All divisions will be in action, and the Rentway Limiteds will be running their annual North-South Border War.
MODIFIEDS: RAY HOARD, Mike Perrotte, Ken Tremont Jr., Butch Jelley, Todd Stone, Ron Proctor, Don Scarborough, Frank Hoard Sr., Chris Donnelly, Chris Vernold, Bob Savoie, Lance Harting, Stan Lemiesz, Marc Johnson, C.V. Elms, Rick Davis, Gardner Stone, Kevin Perry, Tim Laduc, Vince Quenneville Jr., Matt Depew, Gene Munger, Denny Young, Jim Ryan, Brian Whittemore.
PRO-STREET STOCKS: SCOTT DUELL, Lori Cary, Cale Kneer, Jeff Washburn, Jeff Martin, Don Williams, Walt Brownell Jr., Billy Lussier, Danny Eastman, Jon Bates, Scott Fowler, Dan Bernard, Joe Santoro, Robert Langevin, Dave Wood. DQ: Ed Thompson.
RENTWAY LIMITEDS: BILL DUPREY, Tim Shaw, Adam Piper, Joey Trudeau, Tracy Ash, Shannon Donnelly, Kevin Elliot, William Vradenburg, Jared McMahon, Tony Condon, Tim Brunelle, Joe Ladd, Andy Durie, John Sullivan, Ben Ladd. DQ: Richard Stone, Curtis Condon, Pat Cram.
PRO-BUILT MINI-STOCKS: MIKE CLARK, Randy Manhey, Tom Jeffalone, Jason Bishop, John Baldwin, Carl Whittemore, Jamie Gearwar.
Sources: Devil’s Bowl Speedway