Bell earns win at Devil’s Bowl

IMG_1416Alex Bell topped the winners’ list at Devil’s Bowl Speedway on Friday, May 31.

Bell earned the sixth Bond Auto Parts Modified victory of his career during Whelen Engineering Night presented by Mobil 1 for the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.
Bell, 21, of Cambridge, NY, led every step of the 35-lap feature race, but never had more than a two car-length advantage. Bell ran a consistent line but was unable to shake perennial Modified championship contenders Vince Quenneville, Jr. and Ron Proctor.
On the final lap Bell was able to pull ahead to win by just a car length over Quenneville, with Proctor a tight third.  Whitehall’s Matt Atwood finished 12th.

Hunter Bates saved his best for last in the Late Model division. The 17-year-old began the day by attending his final class at Middlebury Union High School, then led only the final 100 yards of the 30-lap Late Model feature to earn a career-first victory
in the division.
The race was dominated by Chris Bergeron of Claremont, N.H., who was making his first start at Devil’s Bowl, but a restart with just three laps remaining allowed Bates to complete his drive to the front and steal the victory by a fender on the outside lane – officially.045-second at the finish line. Chris Curtis of Rutland, Mass. finished
third driving a new car that he acquired less than eight hours earlier.

The finish of the Late Model race is unofficial pending the further review of possible infractions found in post-race technical inspection. An official ruling will be made in the coming days.
Defending champion Robert Gordon of Milton, Vt. posted his first win of
the season in the Renegade division’s 15-lap feature and Bobby LaVair of Gabriels, N.Y. turned an otherwise sour night for his three-car family team around by winning the 15-lap Central Vermont Motorcycles Mini Stock feature. Jake Noble of Benson, Vt. finished second, and John McCarron of Rensselaer, N.Y. inherited third place in post-race inspection after the car driven by Dan Collins failed to meet the minimum weight requirement.

Brett “Woody” Wood of Georgia, Vt. won the 75-lap Enduro Series event for the second win of his Enduro career at Devil’s Bowl.  

Devil’s Bowl Speedway returns to action on Friday, June 7 with the People’s United Bank 100 – the second round of the four-race Vermont State Late Model Championship Series.  The Bond Auto Parts Modifieds, the Renegades, and the Central Vermont Motorcycles Mini Stocks will be in action, along with the first Spectator Races of the season for street-legal vehicles. Racing is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
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.