DEVIL'S BOWL SPEEDWAY: Vermont Track Switching to Saturday Nights for 2021

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber 

DEVIL'S BOWL SPEEDWAY: Vermont Track Switching to Saturday Nights for 2021

Devil’s Bowl Speedway Switching to Saturday Nights for 2021

Full $22,000 point fund paid for 2020 season

 

For Immediate Release                                                                                                                                                                                  DBS-123120-1

 

WEST HAVEN, Vt. – Devil’s Bowl Speedway is making a big change for the 2021 season. The historic half-mile Vermont dirt track is switching to Saturday as its primary race night for the new year, setting itself up for a schedule that should be more convenient for fans, competitors, and officials.

Opening night will be Saturday, May 1 – the earliest scheduled opening since 1990. The full 2021 season schedule is still being finalized and should be released in January or early February.

Devil’s Bowl has operated on Sunday nights through much of its 54-year history but racing on Saturdays is not a new idea; a total of 12 seasons have been run on Saturdays, dating as far back as 1974 and as recently as 2017. Four Saturday night races were held in 2020 to serve as indicators of what a full-time move might look like, and the test was met with rave reviews. Informal polls of fans and racers on fall episodes of Devil’s Bowl Speedway’s “Let’s Talk Racing” show on Facebook Live also showed overwhelming support for Saturdays.

Devil’s Bowl promoter Mike Bruno feels that racing on Saturday nights has several added benefits including easier travel for many racers and fans. Sunday also becomes an automatic rain date if needed, and the strong possibility exists for a series of special events or practice sessions on Sundays.

“Many of our fans and racers travel from 90 minutes away or more, and that makes for some tough Monday mornings,” Bruno said. “One of the best parts of short track racing is when fans come into the pits at the end of the night to meet the drivers and see the cars, and that just doesn’t happen on Sundays anymore because people are on the go. Saturday night is not perfect for everyone, but Sunday night is a lot tougher than it used to be.”

While the positives of racing on Saturdays may be obvious, Bruno said that the decision was made only after an extensive look at how the switch might negatively affect teams and neighboring dirt tracks.

“We looked very hard at how many cars we would gain or lose by switching to Saturdays, and whether or not we would hurt any other tracks in the area,” Bruno continued. “I don’t believe that we’ll have a negative impact on any other tracks. If we did, we would stay on Sundays. We know that a small number of our drivers are committed to race at other tracks on Saturdays and may not return to Devil’s Bowl, but we also know that we will gain several others who couldn’t make Sundays work.”

In addition to the schedule announcement, Bruno revealed that the full championship point fund for the 2020 season has been distributed to drivers in all five divisions. In the absence of a proper Banquet of Champions due to restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, more than $22,000 in checks have been mailed to drivers and car owners. Bruno said that an award ceremony to recognize the achievements of 2020’s top drivers is planned for opening night at the speedway on May 1.

Pepsi Sportsman Modified champion Demetrios Drellos received $5,000 for his efforts after a sterling season that saw him win five times including the Interstate All Battery Center Vermont 200. The Queensbury, N.Y., driver earned a season total of $26,826 in prize money aboard his General Motors “602” crate engine Sportsman car in his first full season at Devil’s Bowl in 2020.

Johnny Bruno of Castleton, Vt., pocketed $1,200 for his second consecutive title in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Limited Sportsman division. West Rutland, Vt.’s Andrew FitzGerald took $800 for his first Super Stock crown, Chris Conroy of Newport, N.H., received $500 for his first Mini Stock championship, and Springfield, Vt.’s Cody O’Brien earned $300 for his second Friend Construction 500cc Mini Sprint title.

Devil’s Bowl Speedway is located on Route 22A in West Haven, Vt., four miles north of U.S. Route 4, Exit 2, and just 20 minutes from Rutland, Vt. 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.

Stafford Speedway, Ct. Tentative 2021 Championship Point Fund Payouts

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber 

Stafford Speedway, Ct. Leaving NASCAR Weekly Racing Series in 2021;

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber 

Stafford Speedway Leaving NASCAR Weekly Racing Series in 2021; Track to Race Independently; Modified Tour Events Unaffected

(Stafford Springs, CT)---After a 60-year partnership working with NASCAR as a sanctioned short track, Stafford Speedway will not operate under the NASCAR Weekly Series banner for the 2021 season due to a conflict regarding ownership of streaming and broadcast rights of weekly racing events. 

 

“Unfortunately we were unable to come to an agreement regarding the media rights of our weekly racing program,” explained Stafford Speedway CEO Mark Arute.  “In the existing format NASCAR owns the rights to any NASCAR sanctioned race produced by Stafford Speedway Productions.  With the success of Stafford Speedway TV we no longer see this as a partnership we want to continue.”

 

Launched for the 2020 season, Stafford Speedway TV is the live broadcast home for weekly racing at Stafford Speedway. Teams competing at Stafford Speedway shared in the success of Stafford Speedway TV in the 2020 season with 25% of each pay-per-view sale going back to the race teams.

 

“StaffordSpeedway.tv has become a great asset to Stafford Speedway and all the race teams that compete at Stafford weekly,” continued Arute.  “We see opportunities to grow this platform and currently are handcuffed on what we are able to accomplish for our race teams. Through the weekly racing sanction, NASCAR continues to own all rights to our weekly production, which is something we are no longer comfortable with.”

 

Stafford Speedway officials have also announced that they will, at a minimum, match the NASCAR Track and State point fund that was paid to 4 of Stafford’s 5 weekly divisions. Additionally this does not affect NASCAR Modified Tour events for the 2021 season with 3 currently on the Stafford Speedway schedule. 

 

“It’s really too bad. We hoped it would not come to this but we’ve really been given no option.  We now look to the future and the opportunities in front of us.  For starters, we will match the NASCAR Track and State point funds and will expand it to the Street Stock division, which currently does not receive a point fund under the NASCAR banner.  Like we have done for decades we will continue to explore options to showcase the talented drivers that race at Stafford Speedway every Friday night.”

“The weekly racing at Stafford Speedway is some of the best racing we’ve ever seen,” continued Stafford Speedway CEO Mark Arute.  “We are doing a disservice to the race teams by giving away ownership of the weekly program media rights. Our goal is always to grow short track racing and put our competitors in front of more eyes.  In the current structure, operating as a NASCAR sanctioned weekly track limits the opportunities that we can go after.”

 

The 2021 racing schedule was released last month and features a slate of 24 events across 7 months. View the full 2021 schedule here. Source: Scott Running Stafford Speedway Media Press Release 

Hudson Speedway 2021 Tentative Schedule

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber 

Lot of fan friendly improvements here race fans !

Seekonk Speedway Mass. announces the 2021 Racing Schedule

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber 

Boston Louie NEMA returns to Seekonk Speedway in 2021

 Posted by Wayne G. Barber 

The Northeastern Midget Association has announced today that the annual Boston Louie Memorial will return to Seekonk Speedway on Wednesday, June 9, 2021.  The International Super Modified Association will join the NEMA Midgets and NEMA Lites on the card in what will be a spectacular Open Wheel Show.  NASCAR star Ken Schrader has also announced his return to the racing card at Seekonk.

The race, one of the most coveted of the NEMA season, is in memory of legendary car owner Louie Seymour.  Seymour, a Marlboro, Mass., native, died in 1996. He began in racing in the Midwestern-based USAC Silver Crown division, earning the nickname “Boston Louie” from fans and competitors who connected him with the capital of his home state. As a car owner, Seymour had more than 50 drivers in his equipment, including NASCAR star, Ken Schrader. Known as the “man who traveled a million miles,” many legends of Silver Crown racing drove for Seymour, including Rich Volger, Gary Bettenhausen, Sheldon Kinser and Joe Saldana

“If you have any open cockpit [racing] history, you understand just where ‘Boston’ Louie Seymour stands,” said six time champion Randy Cabral. “To win a race with that name on it is very, very special and to have won it multiple times is even more special,” said Cabral..

Making the race even more special, is the continued tradition and partnership with Seekonk Speedway.  The first officially sanctioned NEMA race took place at the famed Seekonk, on May 30, 1953.  Sixty eight years later, the midgets now storm around the banked, round oval in the low 11 second range.

“Seekonk Speedway is excited to continue the tradition of the Boston Louie on a midweek race. NEMA always brings great talent and puts on an exciting race that brings out all the great aspects of Midget racing.  The Speedway has has a long running great partnership with NEMA and looks forward to being as part of their racing program for years to come. The return of the ISMA Super Modified''s on this new event just adds to the excitement,” said Ed St. Germain, Director of Business Development at Seekonk.

“We are very excited to continue our partnership with Seekonk,” said NEMA President, Tim Bertrand.  “Seekonk is and always has been the ideal track for the midgets – fast, wide, and combines handling with driver skill more than anything else,” said Bertrand.  “We’re excited to be back, and thank Ed and the entire Seekonk family for having us.” Source: Seekonk Speedway Media Press Release and Photo