4/11/2017
Devil's Bowl Speedway
ACT Spring Green Returns to Open Devil’s Bowl Speedway’s 51st Season
Regional Late Model stars headed to Rutland County for May 7 opener
WEST HAVEN, Vt. – Devil’s Bowl Speedway is ready to roar for its 51st season of stock car racing, and the schedule opens with the return of one of the year’s biggest and most important traditional events: The “Spring Green.” The sleek Late Model cars and the regional stars of the American-Canadian Tour (ACT) join the local favorites of the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series for a pavement-pounding show on Sunday, May 7 at 1:30 p.m.
The Spring Green race has a storied and somewhat quirky history. The event began at the former Catamount Stadium in Milton, Vt., in 1974, running 74 laps in distance. After Catamount closed in 1987, the event bounced between three facilities including the 1/2-mile Asphalt Track at Devil’s Bowl Speedway, which previously hosted the race four times. The Spring Green returns to West Haven, Vt., in 2017 with a 117-lap distance.
The list of past Spring Green winners reads like an all-star lineup. Brothers Beaver and Bobby Dragon, Dave Dion, Jean-Paul Cabana, Stub Fadden, and Robbie Crouch are former winners, along with Vermont NASCAR star Kevin Lepage and Canadian icon Junior Hanley. Modern-era winners include Governor Phil Scott, second-generation star Brent Dragon, and former Devil’s Bowl champs Todd Stone and Jean-Paul Cyr. ACT greats Brian Hoar and Wayne Helliwell Jr. each won the Spring Green twice during its previous Devil’s Bowl run in 2011-2014.
Devil’s Bowl champion Josh Masterson of Bristol, Vt., will try to become the first local to win an ACT event on May 7. Masterson is running the full ACT schedule in 2017 and is certain to be a contender at the Spring Green. Drivers from all six New England states are expected to enter the event including former ACT race winners Scott Payea, Bobby Therrien, Jimmy Hebert, and Scott Dragon of Vermont, Connecticut’s Dillon Moltz, and New Hampshire drivers Kyle Welch and Miles Chipman; several Devil’s Bowl regulars are also expected to race. For more information on the American-Canadian Tour including the full season schedule, visit www.ACTTour.com.
Drivers from the weekly NASCAR Whelen All-American Series ranks will also kick off their season at the Spring Green on May 7. Jason Durgan of Morrisonville, N.Y., will begin defense of his O’Reilly Auto Parts Sportsman Modified division championship and Jim McKiernan of Moriah, N.Y., will do the same in the Rosen & Berger Auto Recyclers Super Stocks. The Portland Glass Mini Stock title race is wide open and has a large crop of rookie drivers.
General admission the Spring Green special event will be $20 for adults, $18 for seniors (62+), just $5 for teenagers (13-17), and free for kids age 12 and under. Camping and parking are always free at Devil’s Bowl Speedway. Green flag racing action begins at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 7.
Devil’s Bowl Speedway is located on Route 22A in West Haven, Vt., four miles north of U.S. Route 4, Exit 2. 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, Instagram, and Snapchat at @DevilsBowlSpeed; follow the action using the #DevilsBowl hashtag.
PHOTO: Scott Payea, who won the ACT Spring Green in 2009, will be one of the drivers leading the charge to Devil's Bowl Speedway on Sunday, May 7. (T.J. Ingerson/vtmotormag.com photo)
Year
Winner
Hometown
Track
Laps
Division
1974
Beaver Dragon
Milton, VT
Catamount Stadium
74
NASCAR Late Model Sportsman
1975
Bobby Dragon
Milton, VT
Catamount Stadium
75
NASCAR Late Model Sportsman
1976
Dave Dion
Hudson, NH
Catamount Stadium
76
NASCAR Late Model Sportsman
1977
Beaver Dragon
Milton, VT
Catamount Stadium
77
NASCAR Late Model Sportsman
1978
Jean-Paul Cabana
Beloeil, QC
Catamount Stadium
78
NASCAR Late Model Sportsman
1979
Beaver Dragon
Milton, VT
Catamount Stadium
79
NASCAR North Tour
1980
Mike Barry
Bolton, VT
Catamount Stadium
80
NASCAR North Tour
1981
Jean-Paul Cabana
Beloeil, QC
Catamount Stadium
81
NASCAR North Tour
1982
Hector Leclair
Fairfax, VT
Catamount Stadium
82
NASCAR North Tour
1983
Claude Leclerc
Repentigny, QC
Catamount Stadium
83
NASCAR North Tour
1984
Tom Glaser
Shelburne, VT
Catamount Stadium
84
NASCAR North Tour
1985
Joey Kourafas
Sharon, MA
Catamount Stadium
85
NASCAR North Tour
1986
Stub Fadden
North Haverhill, NH
Catamount Stadium
86
ACT Pro Stock Tour
1987
Paul Richardson
Georgetown, MA
Catamount Stadium
87
ACT Pro Stock Tour
1988
Robbie Crouch
Tampa, FL
Sanair Super Speedway
100
ACT Pro Stock Tour
1989
no event held
1990
Claude Leclerc
Repentigny, QC
Airborne Park Speedway
90
ACT Pro Stock Tour
1991
Kevin Lepage
Shelburne, VT
Airborne Park Speedway
91
ACT Pro Stock Tour
1992
Junior Hanley
Oakville, ON
Airborne Park Speedway
92
ACT Pro Stock Tour
1993
Junior Hanley
Oakville, ON
Airborne Park Speedway
93
ACT Pro Stock Tour
1994
Ralph Nason
Unity, ME
Airborne Park Speedway
94
ACT Pro Stock Tour
1995
Brad Leighton
Center Harbor, NH
Airborne Park Speedway
95
ACT Pro Stock Tour
1996
Pete Fecteau
Morrisville, VT
Airborne Park Speedway
96
ACT Late Model Tour
1997
Steve Renaudette
Colchester, VT
Airborne Park Speedway
97
ACT Late Model Tour
1998
Chris Fisher
Shelburne, VT
Airborne Park Speedway
98
ACT Late Model Tour
1999
Brian Hoar
Williston, VT
Airborne Park Speedway
99
ACT Late Model Tour
2000
Phil Scott
Barre, VT
Airborne Park Speedway
100
ACT Late Model Tour
2001
Todd Stone
Middlebury, VT
Airborne Park Speedway
100
ACT Late Model Tour
2002
Jacob McGrath
Killington, VT
Airborne Park Speedway
100
ACT Late Model Tour
2003
Jean-Paul Cyr
Milton, VT
Airborne Park Speedway
100
ACT Late Model Tour
2004
Brent Dragon
Milton, VT
Airborne Park Speedway
66 (rain)
ACT Late Model Tour
2005
Robin Wood
Plattsburgh, NY
Airborne Park Speedway
100
ACT Tiger Tour
2006
Robin Wood
Plattsburgh, NY
Airborne Park Speedway
100
ACT Tiger Tour
2007
Ryan Nolin
Georgia, VT
Airborne Park Speedway
100
ACT Late Model Tour
2008
Jean-Paul Cyr
Milton, VT
Airborne Park Speedway
100
ACT Late Model Tour
2009
Scott Payea
Milton, VT
Airborne Park Speedway
100
ACT Late Model Tour
2010
Brian Hoar
Williston, VT
Airborne Park Speedway
100
ACT Late Model Tour
2011
Brian Hoar
Williston, VT
Devil's Bowl Speedway
111
ACT Late Model Tour
2012
Wayne Helliwell, Jr.
Dover, NH
Devil's Bowl Speedway
112
ACT Late Model Tour
2013
Wayne Helliwell, Jr.
Dover, NH
Devil's Bowl Speedway
113
ACT Late Model Tour
2014
Brian Hoar
Williston, VT
Devil's Bowl Speedway
114
ACT Late Model Tour
2015
Joey Polewarczyk, Jr.
Hudson, NH
Airborne Park Speedway
115
ACT Late Model Tour
2016
Eddie MacDonald
Rowley, MA
Airborne Park Speedway
116
ACT Late Model Tour
2017
???
Devil's Bowl Speedway
117
ACT Late Model Tour