PHOTO: Ron Proctor sits atop the NASCAR Modified point standings at Devil’s Bowl Speedway. The West Haven track deemed its season final on Monday. (Justin St. Louis/VMM photo)
WEST HAVEN — The 2011 Devil’s Bowl Speedway season came to an abrupt end on Monday, as a notice on the West Haven, Vt., track’s website notified competitors that the CVRA.com 100, halted on Sunday by rain, would not be rescheduled.
Sunday was the track’s fourth consecutive cancellation; only 10 of the 17 scheduled events were held. It was announced on August 22 that Devil’s Bowl Speedway and Albany-Saratoga Speedway in Malta, N.Y. — both of which are owned and operated by the Champlain Valley Racing Association and under sanction from the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series — are for sale.
The most recent event at Devil’s Bowl was on August 7, which was interrupted by rain before the Bomber Warrior feature was completed. The heat race held that night for the division, won by Jake Noble of Benson, will be counted as the feature event according to the message on the track’s website. CVRA has invited Bomber Warrior drivers from Devil’s Bowl to compete at the Albany-Saratoga finale on Friday at no cost.
The notice reads: “We have decided to end the season as-is at Devil’s Bowl after four rain-outs in a row. The Bomber Warrior heat race from 8/7 will stand as the feature as far as points and payoff are concerned. We will be mailing payoff checks this week for the bombers (sic) and anyone else who has not picked up payoff from Devil’s Bowl. As a courtesy we would like to invite any of the Bomber Warriors who ran in the heat/feature race at the Bowl, to come to Malta this Friday night and run with the Bombers there. If you want to haul down, we will let the driver and one crew member in the pits for free.
“Final NASCAR point standings for Devil’s Bowl will be posted this week also, as they may differ slightly from our points, which were only used for handicapping. More to come later on when/where NASCAR point funds will be distributed. We will post here with details after the last race at Albany-Saratoga this Friday.”
According to the point standings listed on speednet.com through the Devil’s Bowl Speedway website, Ron Proctor of Charlton, N.Y., is the point leader in the headline NASCAR Modified division. Proctor has 472 points, followed by Jessey Mueller (432), Hunter Bates (411), Mike Bruno (360), and Mike Bush (343).
The NASCAR Home Tracks website lists Proctor as the leader of the Vermont state championshipstandings; as Devil’s Bowl is the only NASCAR-sanctioned track in Vermont, the track and state standings coincide. Proctor leads NASCAR standings with 210 points over Mueller (161), Bates (143), Bobby Hackel (143), and Bruno (136).
Devil’s Bowl points list Hydeville’s Bill Duprey as the leader of the Renegade division with a six-point edge over Frank Monroe (478-472). Eddie Bruno of Fair Haven is the point leader in the Bomber Warrior class over Noble (432-307). Bates, of Pittsford, leads the Pro Late Model division over Chris Wilk; that division’s season was deemed final last week. NASCAR’s website does not list standings for the Pro Late Model, Renegade, or Bomber Warrior classes.
Attempts to reach Devil’s Bowl Speedway promoter Jerry Richards were unsuccessful on Monday afternoon.
