11/17/2017
Devil's Bowl Speedway
DRIVER PROFILE: Tim LaDuc
Driver: Tim LaDuc
Nickname: The Orwell Express
Hometown: Orwell, VT
Date of Birth: 1/08/73
Family: Girlfriend – Lisa
Favorite Food: Steak
Hobbies: Racing and Tractor Pulling
Started Racing: 1989
Accomplishments: 50 career wins at Devil’s Bowl Speedway; Devil’s Bowl 358 Modified Champion & Rookie of the Year (Dirt ½-Mile – 2000); Devil’s Bowl Sportsman Modified Champion (Dirt ½-Mile – 1999), CVRA Overall Late Model Champion (1995)
Division: Sportsman Modified
Car No.: 54
Car: Teo
Team Members: Lisa, Roger, Rob, Vern, Don
Sponsors: LaDuc’s Home Care, Hulbert Supply, Spitzner Electric, Shoreham Inn, Roger & Eileen LaDuc
Tim LaDuc in victory lane at Devil’s Bowl Speedway on August 20, 2017. (Barry Snelling/DBS Media photo)How did you get your start in racing?
“I started helping Jimmy Ryan and Carl Murray on their Pro Stocks when I was 14 years old, and then I started racing a couple years later in the four-cylinders.”
Did you have a favorite driver before you started racing?
“Growing up I followed my dad, Charlie, but I also really liked to watch Wes Moody and Brett Hearn. Brett actually ended up helping me out quite a lot when I started with the Modifieds.”
What is your favorite moment of your racing career?
“Winning the run-what-you-brung show at Devil’s Bowl this past fall was the most fun I’ve ever had driving a racecar. I put a Sprint Car wing on the roof years ago for an open show, but it was nothing compared to the sail panel we had this year – what a blast. The faster I drove the better it got, and it was also our 50th win at Devil’s Bowl. Other than that, I’m pretty proud of winning the Hard Charger Award on the mile at Syracuse back in 2001 with the 358 car.”
What is your most embarrassing moment?
“Getting spun out by the push truck. It was at Devil’s Bowl a long time ago. I was driving around when we were going out for warm-ups, and all of a sudden I got looped coming out of Turn 4. I couldn’t figure out what happened and then I saw the push truck there. It caved the whole quarter-panel in on the car and tore all kinds of stuff up. It was a big scene, and the guy driving the truck got thrown out. I mean, I didn’t do anything wrong, but I kinda wanted to crawl in a hole and die right about then.”
Who is your biggest rival, past or present?
“As far as a crash rival goes, it’s definitely Vince Quenneville. He said the same thing I will – away from the track we’re good, but we’re both hard racers and when we put the helmets on it’s different. We had a good year this past year, though. I don’t think we really ever touched at all. As far as a racing rival goes, it’s probably Kenny Tremont. We’ve always have raced hard, but in a different way. It’s a lot of fun out there with him.”
If you couldn’t drive your car, who would you want to be your substitute?
“I think Brett Hearn is obviously a pretty good choice, but I also think a lot of Scott Duell and Tim Hartman.”
Tim LaDuc after sweeping victories in all three Altered Farm Tractor pulling classes at Devil’s Bowl Speedway on June 10, 2017. (Barry Snelling/DBS Media photo)Tell us about your tractor pulling career.
“I’ve been at it since 2011 and we’ve had 47 wins so far. This year we pulled at Devil’s Bowl, both the Addison County Field Days and the Benefit Pull, the Barton Fair, Argyle, N.Y., Greenwich, N.Y., the fairgrounds in Rutland, Hopkinton, N.H., and we’ve gone as far as Ohio to the get motor on the dyno. This year we had 23 hooks with 19 wins, three seconds, and one third. It was just untouchable this year.”
Are you looking forward to the new ½-mile dirt track at Devil’s Bowl?
“Yeah, a lot. I think it’s going to be a lot better racing, and hopefully not as much banging as the little track. I think we’re all looking forward to running in a few different lanes and trying new stuff.”
What are your racing goals for 2018?
“I’d really like to win another championship. It’s been since 2000 that we won one, and we’ve had way too many second-place finishes since then. I think it’s been five seconds and three or four thirds, so that’s getting old. We were close this year.”