Solid car count expected for Devil’s Bowl Speedway event on May 13
WEST HAVEN, Vt. (May 8, 2023) – The Sprint Cars of New England (SCoNE) tour is ready to lift the lid on its landmark 20th season, and the club is swelling with optimism. A strong field of winged, wild, and wicked fast racecars is expected to chase a $1,000 payday at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in West Haven, Vt., on Saturday, May 13, at 6:00 p.m.
The SCoNE tour’s 10-race season begins with qualifying heats and a 25-lap A-Main at the series’ biggest and fastest track. Located on the western border of New England, Devil’s Bowl Speedway has become a melting pot for Sprint Cars and routinely draws invaders from New York State and beyond.
Two-time SCoNE champion Will Hull owns three Devil’s Bowl wins including last July’s event. The Plainfield, Vt., speedster has a remarkable record of consistency there, finishing sixth or better in all 15 of his starts at the track. Stephentown, N.Y.’s Matt Tanner leads all drivers in SCoNE victories at Devil’s Bowl since its current half-mile layout opened in 2018; the Empire Super Sprints (ESS) regular won twice at the track in 2022 and has four wins overall.
Floyd Billington, of South Glens Falls, N.Y., and two-time SCoNE tour champion Clay Dow of Barnstead, N.H., each have seven top-five finishes with SCoNE at Devil’s Bowl. Billington has raced there since the early 1990s and was a SCoNE winner in 2019. His son, Travis, scored two runner-up finishes on the SCoNE tour last year and is a past winner in Limited Sportsman competition at Devil’s Bowl. Dow was the 2021 Devil’s Bowl Sprint Car track champion.
Canadian star Jordan Poirier has announced that he plans to make his first SCoNE appearance on Saturday night; the Saint-Mathieu-de-Beloeil, Que., driver has won races on five different tours in the U.S. and Canada. Home track favorite Lacey Hanson, of nearby Orwell, Vt., won a championship at Devil’s Bowl’s former infield short track, and she has won on the half-mile in a variety of divisions including a SCoNE race in 2019.
SCoNE regulars ready to defend their home tour include 2009 champion Tunk Berry and his 15-year-old nephew, Kadyn Berry, the 2022 SCoNE Rookie of the Year. New Hampshire veterans Jake Williams, Jim Lowrey, Troy Comeau, and Doug McPhail will each be on the hunt for a win, along with Vermont youngster Caleb Lamson. Incoming rookies in 2023 include former asphalt racer Ron Davis Jr., from Meredith, N.H., and former Devil’s Bowl 500cc Mini Sprint winner Lane Saville of Warrensburg, N.Y.
Devil’s Bowl Speedway is located on Route 22A in West Haven, Vt., and racing on Saturday, May 13, is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Grandstand general admission is $15 for adults and free for kids 12 and under. Infield drive-in parking is $20 for adults and free for kids. Pit passes are $28 for Devil’s Bowl members and $38 for non-members; the minimum age in the pit area is 10 years old, per Vermont state law.
For more information, visit www.nesprintcars.com or find the “SCoNE – Sprint Cars of New England” page on Facebook.
(Alan Ward photo)