McPhail nearly steals the show with breakout performance
WEST HAVEN, Vt. (July 8, 2023) – Caleb Lamson made himself some new fans at Devil’s Bowl Speedway on Saturday, July 8, driving a perfectly executed race to win the McGee Automotive Family Sprint Cars of New England (SCoNE) feature in thrilling fashion. Lamson’s win not only served as a breakthrough for him, but it also ended a dominant streak by Matt Tanner – just barely.
Moretown, Vt.’s Lamson ended up being the star of the 25-lap A-Main, but only after another breakthrough performance by underdog racer Doug McPhail, who led the opening 20 circuits and threatened a major upset victory. The Tilton, N.H., driver opened up a big lead during a long green-flag run, but he was forced to back his pace down more than once in heavy lapped traffic, at one point splitting a pair of backmarkers three-wide.
In the meantime, Lamson – who ran in second place for most of the race – tracked McPhail down to make a bid for the lead. McPhail held Lamson off for two laps, but Lamson made a brave move entering Turn 3 to throw a mini-slide job on McPhail and take control. As Lamson pulled ahead, McPhail once again found himself in trouble in lapped traffic, and finally spun off the track on lap 22 to bring out the race’s only caution flag.
At the Delaware-style restart, Lamson found himself in his own row ahead of two of the Northeast’s top Sprint Car drivers in Chris Donnelly and Matt Tanner, who had sliced through traffic from their 11th and 12th starting positions, respectively, to line up second and third. Lamson was on his game at the drop of the green flag and pulled ahead, and Tanner was able to clear Donnelly and go on the attack.
Stephentown, N.Y.’s Tanner, who was seeking his sixth consecutive SCoNE win in Devil’s Bowl events, pulled up on Lamson on the final lap and looked like he might keep his streak alive, but Lamson won the drag race off the final corner to beat Tanner by just over a car length with an official margin of victory of just 0.380 seconds.
Seven-time and defending SCoNE champion Donnelly finished third to retain his lead in the point standings. Floyd Billington finished fourth, and Jake Williams was a strong fifth for his first top-five finish on the Devil’s Bowl half-mile in three years. Kadyn Berry finished sixth, with the balance of the top 10 filled by Will Hull, Lacey Hanson, Troy Comeau, and Travis Billington.
RACE NOTES:
• Devil’s Bowl Speedway’s track preparation crew made a fast, tacky surface, and despite a double-feature program that saw 13 feature races, lap times were still fully two seconds (roughly 13 miles per hour) faster than the previous two SCoNE events in 2023. Matt Tanner turned the season’s fastest lap in the first qualifying heat, running around the half-mile at 16.223 seconds and 110.954 miles per hour.
• A field of 17 cars attended the event. The two qualifying heat races were won by rookie Jason Goff and veteran Lacey Hanson, with each grabbing a $50 bonus from CMD Logging of Barnstead, N.H. Goff also collected a $50 bonus from Dave Bowser Motorsports as the top-finishing rookie in the feature event.
• Caleb Lamson’s victory was the third of his SCoNE career and his first since the 2022 season finale at Legion Speedway. Lamson was the 2020 SCoNE Rookie of the Year.
• Rockingham Boat of Hampstead, N.H., presented the Hard Charger Award, with a $50 bonus going to Matt Tanner, who drove from the 12th starting position to finish second.
• Doug McPhail, who led 20 laps before spinning out of third place late in the race, was awarded the Panther Frameworx “Hard Luck” Award.
The McGee Automotive Family Sprint Cars of New England tour has a quick turnaround leading into its biggest race of the season: The “Friday Night Dirt Duels” at The Flat Track at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS) on Friday, July 14, as part of the NASCAR Cup Series “Crayon 301” weekend. The win is worth $3,000 and the race is expected to draw a large field of entries including NASCAR Cup Series driver Chase Briscoe. For tickets and information, visit www.nhms.com.
For more information on the McGee Automotive Family Sprint Cars of New England, visit www.nesprintcars.com or find the “SCoNE – Sprint Cars of New England” page on Facebook.
OFFICIAL RESULTS – McGee Automotive Family Sprint Cars of New England
Devil’s Bowl Speedway – West Haven, Vt.
Saturday, July 8, 2023
A-Main Feature (25 laps)
Pos.-(Start)-Driver-Hometown
(#) - denotes rookie
- (4) Caleb Lamson, Moretown, Vt.
- (12) Matt Tanner, Stephentown, N.Y.
- (11) Chris Donnelly, Piermont, N.H.
- (8) Floyd Billington, South Glens Falls, N.Y.
- (5) Jake Williams, Center Tuftonboro, N.H.
- (7) Kadyn Berry, Goffstown, N.H.
- (9) Will Hull, Plainfield, Vt.
- (3) Lacey Hanson, Orwell, Vt.
- (6) Troy Comeau, Rumney, N.H.
- (10) Travis Billington, South Glens Falls, N.Y.
- (1) # Jason Goff, Preston Hollow, N.Y.
- (17) Jim Lowrey Jr., Tilton, N.H.
- (13) Nick Comeau, Hebron, N.H.
- (16) # Ron Davis Jr., Moultonborough, N.H.
- (14) Dylan Menditto, Brooklyn, Conn.
- (15) # Mia Koponen, Ludlow, Vt.
- (2) Doug McPhail, Tilton, N.H.
Lap Leaders (2 lead changes among 3 drivers): Jason Goff, grid; Doug McPhail, 1-20; Caleb Lamson, 21-25.
Cautions (1): Lap 22.
Contingency Award Winners:
• CMD Logging Heat Winners: Jason Goff, Lacey Hanson
• Rockingham Boat “Hard Charger” Award: Matt Tanner (+10 positions)
• Panther Frameworx “Hard Luck” Award: Doug McPhail
• 802 Print Award: Chris Donnelly (3rd)
• Hull Motorsports Award: Jake Williams (5th)
• Bill McGaffin Photos/Showstopper Photos Award: Kadyn Berry (6th)
• Waddell Communications & Repairs Award: Will Hull (7th)
• 87Speed Award: Lacey Hanson (8th)
• Uncommon Deeds Podcast Award: Troy Comeau (9th)
Upcoming Events:
• Friday, July 14 – The Flat Track at New Hampshire Motor Speedway – Loudon, N.H.
• Saturday, July 22 – Bear Ridge Speedway – Bradford, Vt.
• Saturday, August 26 – Bear Ridge Speedway – Bradford, Vt.