Josh Masterson & Justin Comes Split Sunday Sportsman Features At Devil’s Bowl Speedway

Story By: DEVIL’S BOWL SPEEDWAY – WEST HAVEN, VT – They might as well install a turnstile in victory lane at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in 2023.

The Vermont track is experiencing an unprecedented wave of new feature winners, and two incredible streaks continued at the annual Brown’s Quarried Slate/Brown’s Orchard & Farm Stand Night on Sunday, July 30.

The event was postponed by one day after rain on Saturday.

Josh Masterson and Justin Comes split a pair of 30-lap features in the headline Sunoco Sportsman Modified class to bring that division to 13 different winners in 13 races, and Derrick Counter was a first-time winner in the Hoosier Daddy Racing Novice Sportsman ranks, bringing that group to 12 winners in as many events. Other feature winners during the night included Jason Quenneville, Ray Hanson, Jake Barrows, Levi Cram, and George Wanner.

Masterson’s win came in the opening race for the top-level Sunoco Sportsman Modified division, in the held-over Fair Haven/Poultney Auto Supply Night feature postponed by rain on June 25. The Bristol, Vt., veteran finally felt the weight lift off his shoulders with a career-first win on dirt after an entertaining duel with Adam Piper. Masterson ran second to Piper for much of the race before taking over late in the going and running away. Masterson was one of the top drivers on the former asphalt half-mile surface at Devil’s Bowl, winning three championships and 25 features, but had only ever taken a non-winner shootout on dirt in 2021.

Piper – who is also a first-time winner in 2023 – held on for the runner-up finish. Walt Hammond Jr. finished third for his best run of the year, outrunning his son, Walter J. Hammond, and Vince Quenneville stole fifth place from Kevin Chaffee late in the race. Behind sixth-place Chaffee were Justin Comes, Tanner Siemons, Frank Hoard III, and Marty Kelly III.

In the regularly scheduled Brown’s Night race, Comes lived up to his “Highside Hustler” nickname with a memorable drive from 14th place through traffic to steal his first win of the season. Longtime racers Jimmy Ryan and Tim LaDuc were the stars of the show for most of the race, but it was Middlebury-native-turned-Fair Haven-resident Comes who powered around the top to challenge LaDuc for the lead in the final five circuits. Comes made his move on LaDuc coming to the white flag, and then drove off in the final half-mile.

LaDuc settled for second with Ryan third. Hoard had a good night with a fourth-place run ahead of rookie Josh LeClaire. Brian Whittemore was sixth followed by Allan Hammond – brother of Walt Jr. – and then Walter J. Hammond, Chaffee, and Billy Lussier.

In the Hoosier Daddy Racing Novice Sportsman class, Salisbury, Vt.’s Derrick Counter scored a wildly popular first win. Mini Stock graduate Counter – whose nickname “Moneybags” is said tongue-in-cheek – scored one for the underdogs and led the whole way in his 20-lap run. Point leader Tyler Travis ran second but was unable to mount a serious challenge and took the runner-up finish. Nick Austin-Neil was third ahead of Mike Clark and Boomer Patterson, with Adam LaFountain, Randy Edson, Aaron Clark, Pat Miner, and Ed Bell completing the top 10.

The middle-tier O’Reilly Auto Parts Limited Sportsman division reached double digits as Quechee, Vt.’s Jason Quenneville became the 10th different winner in 13 races for that division. “Santa Bob” Kilburn led most of the 25-lapper before Quenneville made up big ground on the outside lane to take the lead late and drive off. Kilburn finished second with Gary English third, Randy Ryan fourth, and Freddie Little fifth. The balance of the top 10 was completed in order by Steve Miller, Kamden Duffy, Scott Towslee, William Lussier Jr., and William Duprey.

Former champion Ray Hanson scored his second win of the season in the 15-lap Friend Construction 500cc Mini Sprint feature. The Orwell, Vt., veteran outdrove Gage Provencher as the runner-up, and Raelin Dunham, who finished third driving as a substitute for number-two point driver John Smith. Kevin Smith finished fourth with defending champion Logan Denis fifth. Chayton Young was next in line, followed by Roger LaDuc, Tommie Kasuba, John Carleton, and Ashleigh Kulzer.

Cornwall, Vt.’s Jake Barrows ended a two-year dry spell in the Mini Stock class, winning that division’s 15-lap feature. Barrows led a parade of veteran four-cylinder runners across the finish line, with Jarrod Colburn, Tom Severance, Jake Barrows, and Brian Blake in tow. Rookie Ryan Patch finished sixth ahead of Cody Dion, Craig Kirby, Mark Mahoney, and Austin McKirryher.

The 5 Star Roofing Enduro Series closed the evening with a wild 50-lap race that saw Castleton, Vt.’s George Wanner collect his first win. Wanner had a spirited battle for the lead with Anthony Johnson in the first half of the race before Johnson fell out, and then Wanner blasted away virtually uncontested. Zach Wood finished second as the only other driver on the lead lap. Kevin Pearsall was third after a close fight with Andrew Lopes and Dan Desforges, who completed the top five. The race was stopped twice for big rollovers; no injuries were reported.

Mike’s Fuels of Bridport, Vt., presents the two-day “Prelude to the 200” weekend on August 5-6, with back-to-back nights packed with action. The DIRTcar Xtreme Dirt Midget Association makes its Devil’s Bowl debut on Saturday night and Sunday’s main event is a 67-lap, $5,000-to-win Sportsman Modified blockbuster. Support divisions will race throughout the weekend

Sportsman Modified

A Feature 1 (30 Laps): 1. 11X-Josh Masterson[1]; 2. 66-Adam Piper[2]; 3. 88H-Walter Hammond Jr[3]; 4. 98H-Walter J Hammond[5]; 5. 78-Vince Quenneville[6]; 6. 73-Kevin Chaffee[12]; 7. 51-Justin Comes[17]; 8. 5-Tanner Siemons[21]; 9. 13-Frankie Hoard III[14]; 10. 357-Marty Kelly III[9]; 11. 7-Josh Leclaire[13]; 12. 25-Billy Lussier[23]; 13. 60W-Anthony Warren[16]; 14. 54-Tim LaDuc[15]; 15. 1D-Wayne Stearns[22]; 16. 36-Brian Whittemore[4]; 17. 2-Brent Warren[24]; 18. 514-James Hanson[8]; 19. 36JR-Mike Fisher[7]; 20. 97-Allan Hammond[20]; 21. 60-Jim Ryan[11]; 22. 02-David Boisclair[10]; 23. 50X-Evan Roberts[18]; 24. (DNS) 51A-Austin Comes

A Feature 2 (30 Laps): 1. 51-Justin Comes[14]; 2. 54-Tim LaDuc[5]; 3. 60-Jim Ryan[1]; 4. 13-Frankie Hoard III[9]; 5. 7-Josh Leclaire[6]; 6. 36-Brian Whittemore[2]; 7. 97-Allan Hammond[3]; 8. 98H-Walter J Hammond[11]; 9. 73-Kevin Chaffee[13]; 10. 25-Billy Lussier[10]; 11. 11-Josh Sunn[18]; 12. 78-Vince Quenneville[16]; 13. 5-Tanner Siemons[15]; 14. 514-James Hanson[4]; 15. 88H-Walter Hammond Jr[12]; 16. 11X-Josh Masterson[20]; 17. 357-Marty Kelly III[19]; 18. 60W-Anthony Warren[21]; 19. 36JR-Mike Fisher[17]; 20. 1D-Wayne Stearns[7]; 21. 85P-Mike Palmer[8]; 22. 29-Max Dolliver[24]; 23. 66-Adam Piper[22]; 24. (DNF) 2-Brent Warren[23]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 36-Brian Whittemore[2]; 2. 514-James Hanson[3]; 3. 60-Jim Ryan[1]; 4. 73-Kevin Chaffee[6]; 5. 85P-Mike Palmer[4]; 6. 5-Tanner Siemons[7]; 7. 357-Marty Kelly III[5]; 8. 66-Adam Piper[8]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 54-Tim LaDuc[3]; 2. 13-Frankie Hoard III[4]; 3. 51-Justin Comes[6]; 4. 98H-Walter J Hammond[5]; 5. 11-Josh Sunn[8]; 6. 97-Allan Hammond[2]; 7. 11X-Josh Masterson[7]; 8. 2-Brent Warren[1]

Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 36JR-Mike Fisher[2]; 2. 7-Josh Leclaire[3]; 3. 88H-Walter Hammond Jr[5]; 4. 78-Vince Quenneville[7]; 5. 25-Billy Lussier[4]; 6. 1D-Wayne Stearns[1]; 7. 60W-Anthony Warren[6]; 8. 29-Max Dolliver[8]

Hot Laps 1: 1. 54-Tim LaDuc, 00:18.923[13]; 2. 13-Frankie Hoard III, 00:19.123[11]; 3. 66-Adam Piper, 00:19.226[18]; 4. 97-Allan Hammond, 00:19.323[8]; 5. 60-Jim Ryan, 00:19.334[21]; 6. 02-David Boisclair, 00:19.336[1]; 7. 25-Billy Lussier, 00:19.350[15]; 8. 78-Vince Quenneville, 00:19.455[19]; 9. 36-Brian Whittemore, 00:19.469[26]; 10. 1D-Wayne Stearns, 00:19.504[23]; 11. 357-Marty Kelly III, 00:19.522[12]; 12. 51-Justin Comes, 00:19.547[4]; 13. 11-Josh Sunn, 00:19.615; 14. 60W-Anthony Warren, 00:19.618[24]; 15. 73-Kevin Chaffee, 00:19.641[2]; 16. 11X-Josh Masterson, 00:19.656[16]; 17. 514-James Hanson, 00:19.658[10]; 18. 50X-Evan Roberts, 00:19.730[20]; 19. 88H-Walter Hammond Jr, 00:19.732[7]; 20. 36JR-Mike Fisher, 00:19.732[6]; 21. 98H-Walter J Hammond, 00:19.761[9]; 22. 5-Tanner Siemons, 00:20.041[22]; 23. (DNS) 51A-Austin Comes; 24. (DNS) 29-Max Dolliver; 25. (DNS) 7-Josh Leclaire; 26. (DNS) 85P-Mike Palmer; 27. (DNS) 2-Brent Warren

Limited Sportsman

A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 813-Jason Quenneville[4]; 2. 77J-Bob Kilburn[2]; 3. 53-Gary English[3]; 4. 60-Randy Ryan[11]; 5. 19X-Freddie Little[14]; 6. 00-Steve Miller[5]; 7. 42-Kamden Duffy[7]; 8. 23T-Scott Towslee[8]; 9. 25-William Lussier Jr[1]; 10. 44D-William Duprey[12]; 11. 751-Alex Layn[17]; 12. 07-Hunter Nutter[10]; 13. 12-Katrina Bean[13]; 14. (DNF) 44-Justin Lilly[15]; 15. (DNF) 47-Kyle Kerr[16]; 16. (DNF) 211-Anthony Ryan[9]; 17. (DNF) 75-AJ Munger[6]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 75-AJ Munger[2]; 2. 44D-William Duprey[1]; 3. 813-Jason Quenneville[6]; 4. 42-Kamden Duffy[4]; 5. 60-Randy Ryan[9]; 6. 07-Hunter Nutter[7]; 7. 12-Katrina Bean[3]; 8. 44-Justin Lilly[5]; 9. 751-Alex Layn[8]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 25-William Lussier Jr[1]; 2. 77J-Bob Kilburn[2]; 3. 53-Gary English[3]; 4. 23T-Scott Towslee[4]; 5. 00-Steve Miller[7]; 6. 211-Anthony Ryan[6]; 7. 19X-Freddie Little[5]; 8. 47-Kyle Kerr[8]

Hot Laps 1: 1. 60-Randy Ryan, 00:19.661[16]; 2. 813-Jason Quenneville, 00:19.711[14]; 3. 07-Hunter Nutter, 00:19.769[13]; 4. 53-Gary English, 00:19.817[4]; 5. 23T-Scott Towslee, 00:19.867[17]; 6. 751-Alex Layn, 00:19.945[7]; 7. 75-AJ Munger, 00:19.955[8]; 8. 12-Katrina Bean, 00:19.959[1]; 9. 19X-Freddie Little, 00:19.977[11]; 10. 00-Steve Miller, 00:19.979[9]; 11. 211-Anthony Ryan, 00:20.129[15]; 12. 47-Kyle Kerr, 00:20.210[5]; 13. 77J-Bob Kilburn, 00:20.281[6]; 14. 44-Justin Lilly, 00:20.612[10]; 15. (DNS) 44D-William Duprey; 16. (DNS) 42-Kamden Duffy; 17. (DNS) 25-William Lussier Jr

Novice Sportsman

A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 75-Derrick Counter[2]; 2. 9-Tyler Travis[4]; 3. 5-Nick Austin Neil[10]; 4. 2X-Michael Clark Jr[6]; 5. 4X-Joshua Patterson[8]; 6. 52X-Adam Lafountain[7]; 7. 12-Randy Edson[9]; 8. 10X-Aaron Clark[15]; 9. 00-Patrick Miner[12]; 10. 40-Ed Bell[5]; 11. 510-Matthew Wade[1]; 12. 78-Don Williams[11]; 13. 28X-Bobbi Hults[17]; 14. 99-Russell Farr III[13]; 15. 95-Jeff Haskins[16]; 16. 8-Jason Kerr[18]; 17. 77-Eric Shaw[3]; 18. 49-Allen Hewitt[14]

Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 40-Ed Bell[1]; 2. 12-Randy Edson[5]; 3. 52X-Adam Lafountain[3]; 4. 78-Don Williams[9]; 5. 77-Eric Shaw[6]; 6. 4X-Joshua Patterson[4]; 7. 99-Russell Farr III[2]; 8. 10X-Aaron Clark[7]; 9. 28X-Bobbi Hults[8]

Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 510-Matthew Wade[2]; 2. 2X-Michael Clark Jr[1]; 3. 5-Nick Austin Neil[5]; 4. 75-Derrick Counter[4]; 5. 00-Patrick Miner[6]; 6. 9-Tyler Travis[7]; 7. 49-Allen Hewitt[3]; 8. 95-Jeff Haskins[8]; 9. (DNS) 8-Jason Kerr

Hot Laps 1: 1. 10X-Aaron Clark, 00:20.165[4]; 2. 00-Patrick Miner, 00:20.187[13]; 3. 12-Randy Edson, 00:20.222[6]; 4. 75-Derrick Counter, 00:20.327[5]; 5. 77-Eric Shaw, 00:20.352[15]; 6. 5-Nick Austin Neil, 00:20.359[1]; 7. 49-Allen Hewitt, 00:20.401[9]; 8. 52X-Adam Lafountain, 00:20.513[12]; 9. 78-Don Williams, 00:20.573; 10. 9-Tyler Travis, 00:20.633[16]; 11. 510-Matthew Wade, 00:20.689; 12. 40-Ed Bell, 00:20.726[2]; 13. 4X-Joshua Patterson, 00:20.799[14]; 14. 95-Jeff Haskins, 00:21.087[8]; 15. (DNS) 2X-Michael Clark Jr; 16. (DNS) 99-Russell Farr III; 17. (DNS) 28X-Bobbi Hults; 18. (DNS) 8-Jason Kerr

500cc Mini Sprints

A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 68-Raymond Hanson[4]; 2. 11A-Gage Provencher[6]; 3. 10-John Smith[8]; 4. 67-Kevin Smith[2]; 5. 24-Logan Denis[9]; 6. 48-Chayton Young[3]; 7. 54-Roger Laduc[7]; 8. 4-Tommy Kasuba[1]; 9. 5-John Carleton[5]; 10. 743-Ashleigh Kulzer[10]; 11. 9Q-Quinn Quenneville[11]; 12. (DNS) 12-Aiden Benoure

Heat 1 (6 Laps): 1. 67-Kevin Smith[2]; 2. 10-John Smith[4]; 3. 5-John Carleton[3]; 4. 4-Tommy Kasuba[1]; 5. 24-Logan Denis[5]; 6. (DNS) 12-Aiden Benoure

Heat 2 (6 Laps): 1. 68-Raymond Hanson[3]; 2. 48-Chayton Young[1]; 3. 11A-Gage Provencher[4]; 4. 54-Roger Laduc[5]; 5. 743-Ashleigh Kulzer[6]; 6. 9Q-Quinn Quenneville[2]

Mini Stocks

A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 18X-Jake Barrows[6]; 2. 3-Jarrod Colburn[5]; 3. 29-Tom Severance[3]; 4. 47-Jacob Mallory[4]; 5. 27X-Brian Blake[15]; 6. 39-Ryan Patch[10]; 7. 143-Cody Dion[9]; 8. 44-Craig Kirby[11]; 9. 83-Mark Mahoney[19]; 10. 1X-Austin McKirryher[16]; 11. 54X-Ron Alger[13]; 12. 18-Luke Fellows[17]; 13. 99-Willie Rice[21]; 14. 54JR-Jakobee Alger[7]; 15. 10-Griff Mahoney[14]; 16. 4D-Donald Olden[2]; 17. 15-Tim Robinson[1]; 18. (DNF) 11-TJ Knight[12]; 19. (DNF) 4-Chase Allen[18]; 20. (DNF) 27-Adam Mahoney[20]; 21. (DNF) 88-Nicholas Melotti[8]

B Feature 1 (8 Laps): 1. X9-Levi Cram[7]; 2. 25-Damian Olden[2]; 3. 73-Kaiden Rice[4]; 4. F30-Royal Harrison Jr[1]; 5. 426-Andrea Noble[3]; 6. (DNS) 70X-Niclaus Clark; 7. (DNS) 51-Jacob Demgard

Heat 1 (6 Laps): 1. 4-Chase Allen[8]; 2. 54X-Ron Alger[6]; 3. 27X-Brian Blake[7]; 4. 47-Jacob Mallory[3]; 5. 88-Nicholas Melotti[4]; 6. 39-Ryan Patch[5]; 7. 15-Tim Robinson[1]; 8. F30-Royal Harrison Jr[9]; 9. 73-Kaiden Rice[10]; 10. X9-Levi Cram[2]

Heat 2 (6 Laps): 1. 4D-Donald Olden[1]; 2. 3-Jarrod Colburn[3]; 3. 83-Mark Mahoney[8]; 4. 29-Tom Severance[2]; 5. 44-Craig Kirby[5]; 6. 143-Cody Dion[4]; 7. 1X-Austin McKirryher[7]; 8. 25-Damian Olden[6]; 9. (DNS) 70X-Niclaus Clark

Heat 3 (6 Laps): 1. 54JR-Jakobee Alger[2]; 2. 27-Adam Mahoney[4]; 3. 18X-Jake Barrows[3]; 4. 10-Griff Mahoney[6]; 5. 11-TJ Knight[5]; 6. 18-Luke Fellows[7]; 7. 99-Willie Rice[9]; 8. 426-Andrea Noble[8]; 9. 51-Jacob Demgard[1]

Hot Laps 1: 1. 54JR-Jakobee Alger, 00:23.084[1]; 2. X9-Levi Cram, 00:23.819[8]; 3. 83-Mark Mahoney, 00:23.899[17]; 4. 18-Luke Fellows, 00:24.244[11]; 5. 25-Damian Olden, 00:24.265[22]; 6. 51-Jacob Demgard, 00:24.341[9]; 7. 39-Ryan Patch, 00:24.596[24]; 8. 99-Willie Rice, 00:25.264[26]; 9. 4D-Donald Olden, 00:25.428[23]; 10. F30-Royal Harrison Jr, 00:25.486[12]; 11. 73-Kaiden Rice, 00:27.356[25]; 12. (DNS) 54X-Ron Alger; 13. (DNS) 4-Chase Allen; 14. (DNS) 18X-Jake Barrows; 15. (DNS) 27X-Brian Blake; 16. (DNS) 70X-Niclaus Clark; 17. (DNS) 3-Jarrod Colburn; 18. (DNS) 143-Cody Dion; 19. (DNS) 44-Craig Kirby; 20. (DNS) 11-TJ Knight; 21. (DNS) 27-Adam Mahoney; 22. (DNS) 10-Griff Mahoney; 23. (DNS) 47-Jacob Mallory; 24. (DNS) 1X-Austin McKirryher; 25. (DNS) 88-Nicholas Melotti; 26. (DNS) 426-Andrea Noble; 27. (DNS) 15-Tim Robinson; 28. (DNS) 29-Tom Severance