News Director 
Column By: DYLAN FRIEBEL / RPW – WEST HAVEN, VT – With both the King Of Dirt Sportsman and Pro Stock seasons in full swing already, it is time for the Small Block Modified Tour to get started.
The first stop is at the unique Devil’s Bowl Speedway in West Haven, VT this Tuesday evening. The speedway, which boasts a half-mile asphalt track and a 3/10 mile dirt track on the inside of it, makes it the only track in the country that has this configuration. While KOD Series promoter Rob Hazer has already made a stop to Devil’s Bowl this year with his Sportsman tour, this will be the first Small Block Modified Tour event.
I had the chance to catch up with Hazer and a few drivers who have said they will be following the entire Small Block tour. While the King Of Dirt Series has exploded, Hazer attributes that to all the track promoters he works with.
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“For our series to grow so fast is amazing,” he said. “It’s all due to the amazing track promoters we work with and people that help out. I knew in my heart there we’re people that want to do great things for our sport. All I did was get the ball rolling and surround myself with those folks and boom, King Of Dirt exploded.”
Hazer continued that his vision for the KOD is right on coarse.
“I had a five year plan,” he said. “Start with a Sportsman series, add Pro Stocks, and by year five add some sort of Modified division. Well, we added Pro Stocks right off the bat to accompany the Sportsman and the response from drivers was extremely positive. Then, the Mod guys started asking for a series. I thought, well we’re ahead of schedule but if the iron is hot, let’s strike. I’ve always been a big 358-Modified fan. So I spoke with Lyle (Devore), Bill (Shea), Mike (Bruno) and others and they were all for making it happen. Support like that is humbling and quite frankly awesome.”
About the Drivers…
While little was known about Marc Johnson just a few years ago, “The White Knight” has risen in popularity and notoriety over the past few years. He completed a David vs Goliath task last season at Albany-Saratoga by edging out multi-time track champion Brett Hearn by a mere one point for the Modified title in 2016. He looks to add a King Of Dirt Small Block Championship to his resume this year.
“I raced there once when the dirt was on the half-mile and once when it asphalt, but we have never been to the dirt track as it is now,” the driver of the #3 Johnson Racing, Electric City Taxi machine said. “We have no idea what to expect. We hope to get out of there with a win. With nobody really having been there, we don’t know what gear to run, what stagger to run. We don’t know anything. We’re going in with no notes, but hope that will help propel us to have a good year on the King Of Dirt Small Block Modified Tour.”
Multi-time Fonda Speedway Modified track champion and fan favorite Ronnie Johnson will be making the haul up to the Green Mountain State. While his father, Jack, paved the way for the Johnson name to be synonyms for racing in Montgomery County, Ronnie looks to solidify his name in King Of Dirt history.
“We are excited to run the whole (King Of Dirt) Small Block Modified tour,” he said. “Hazer has done a good job with it and he told me it can only get better. All of the tracks he has on the schedule I know and I’m comfortable with. In regards to going to a track green, with the field that’s gonna be there on Tuesday, any of those guys can adapt to any racing condition. If you’re up front, you’re gonna win. We have a car ready for the KOD tour and we tested it at Malta a few weeks ago. We’ve got just a few things left to do before Tuesday.”
2007 Fonda Speedway Track Champion Matt Delorenzo is expected to be following the King Of Dirt Small Block Modified Tour this year. He is a crowd favorite at Albany-Saratoga on Friday nights and a heavy favorite to take home the King Of Dirt crown.
“I’m looking forward to getting back to Devil’s Bowl,” Delorenzo said. I had some good runs on the big track. Hazer is doing an awesome job promoting the series and looks like there will be great car counts at the opener.”
While competing in the Small Block Modified division at the Valley of Speed in New Lebanon, NY, Brett Haas hopes to gain more experience and get consistent finished this year on the tour.
“We are very excited to run the full King Of Dirt Small Block tour,” the driver of the #55 Mildred Elley said. “We are going to try to run every event. Rob has a great series he’s running and we expect a lot of cars and good competition…especially on Tuesday with the caliber of drivers that are planning to show up.”
Small Block driver Frank Hoard III, who hails out of Manchester City, VT is one of a handful of drivers that has been to Devil’s Bowl before in a Small Block Modified. He is looking to follow the entire tour this year.
“The night we went up there in 2014 it had rained a lot before the race,” he said. “I’m just one of a handful who went up that night that’s going Tuesday. I believe mostly everyone will be on an even page. However, the clay at Devil’s Bowl might throw some people off compared to clay everywhere else. we raced a lot on the old track and it’s the same clay as the old track…just in a different shape. That’s natural clay and some of the best in the world. Our goal is to finish top 10 in points this season, but we’ll take it one race at a time and see how it goes.”
Up and coming Modified talent Demetrios Drellos is excited to follow the King Of Dirt Small Block Tour in 2017.
“We expect some good short track racing on Tuesday,” he told me. “I believe Rob will be able to keep it under control and it should be good with the caliber of names going. We’ve never been there before but neither has most of the field so we believe it will be a pretty even playing field. We just want consistency this season. We’ve been getting better every week and even had a good finish at Albany-Saratoga on Friday.”
Joining the stout field Tuesday in Fair Haven are five-time Super DIRTcar Series Champion Matt Sheppard, and Edwards, NY pilot Tim Fuller. Sheppard will wheel the CG Morey owned number 14, while Fuller will bring the Slack family-owned 3RS powered by a W16 Spec engine. Both drivers are Super Dirt Week champions which adds to the talent-rich field assembling for the Elmo’s Speed Supply King Of Dirt Small Block Modified Series first-ever event taking place at Devil’s Bowl.
Tuesday’s King Of Dirt Small Block Modified Kick Off at Devil’s Bowl Speedway is $15 to get in for Adults, $13 for Seniors, $5 for Teens, Kids 12 & Under get in for free!
Hot laps start at 6:15pm, Heat races roll off at 7pm.
Come join Vermont’s Fastest Family Fun on Tuesday June, 13th!
