News Director 
Story By: DEVIL’S BOWL SPEEDWAY – WEST HAVEN, VT – Walter J. Hammond was on his game for one of the year’s biggest events at Devil’s Bowl Speedway, stealing the victory in the Firecracker 50 on Saturday, July 1, before a packed Independence Day grandstand. Hammond led the charge on a busy holiday night that saw eight different drivers visit victory lane.
“Little Walt” became the eighth different winner in as many races to open the 2023 season at the Vermont track, taking the checkered flag in the headline Sunoco Sportsman Modified division. The Canaan, N.H., native is a third-generation driver who races weekly against his father, Walt Hammond Jr., and uncle, Allan Hammond, in the competitive lead class.
Hammond drew the sixth starting position on the 28-car field, but like everyone, he trailed pole sitter Brent Warren for the first 23 laps. Warren held the lead and was looking for an upset win, but former champion Tim LaDuc took over after the race’s second restart. LaDuc was up front for five more restarts after grabbing the lead, but the final one with just three laps left proved to be his undoing.
Hammond started next to LaDuc on the front row for the restart, and he was able to run away with the lead and hold on for the final circuits. Hammond’s win was his first of the year and the third of his career at Devil’s Bowl. LaDuc settled for the runner-up finish – his fourth of the year – and took over the championship point lead from Justin Comes. Kevin Chaffee came from the 16th starting position to complete the podium runners.
Four-time Devil’s Bowl champion Todd Stone made his first start of the season a good one, driving from 19th to finish fourth and earn the Elmo’s Pit Stop $100 “Hard Charger” bonus. Comes finished fifth, ahead of Vince Quenneville, Marty Kelly III, Troy Audet, Billy Lussier, and David Boisclair. Qualifying heat wins went to Michael Wagner-Fitzgerald, Audet, and LaDuc.
While Hammond extended the new winners streak in the Sportsman Modifieds, Orwell, Vt.’s Randy Ryan is doing his best to keep all the accolades to himself in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Limited Sportsman division. Ryan posted his second-straight victory and third of the season in a competitive race that was extended one lap by a green-white-checkered finish to 26 laps.
Ryan started sixth in the race but was a factor early on. John Gosselin led the first two laps before Jason Quenneville took over, and his battle with Ryan was on almost immediately. During a long green flag run, Ryan took the lead at lap 12, only for Quenneville to wrestle it back three circuits later. Ryan was able to get back on top at lap 17, though, and then outlasted Quenneville on three quick restarts at the end of the race for the win.
Quenneville took the runner-up spot ahead of Hunter Nutter, Anthony Ryan, and Steve Miller. Gosselin slipped back to finish sixth, followed by Bob Kilburn, Scott Towslee, Alex Layn, and Freddie Little. Heats were won by Gary English, William Duprey, and Miller.
Another Randy from Orwell – this time Randy Edson – became the eighth different winner in eight races for the Hoosier Daddy Racing Novice Sportsman class, taking a 20-lap feature. As first-year dirt driver and former motorcycle racer Eric Shaw led from the pole position, Edson was in a mess in traffic in the early laps. After a rough start to the race, Edson made his way toward the front and took the lead from Shaw after a restart on lap 11.
Edson, the 1994 champion of the former Late Model division, held on for two more restarts to get the victory, with Shaw posting his best finish in second. Adam LaFountain stayed on a hot streak by driving from 11th to finish third, while Ed Bell and Boomer Patterson also came from deep in the field to round out the top five. Mike Clark was sixth ahead of Nick Austin-Neil, Robert Gauthier, Tyler Travis, and Jeff Haskins. Austin-Neil and Matt Wade won the heat races.
The Friend Construction 500cc Mini Sprint division ran a pair of 15-lap features and saw two drivers earn their first wins of the year. The opening race was a makeup for the Fair Haven/Poultney Auto Supply event rained out one week earlier, and Poultney, Vt.’s John Smith scored the victory. Kevin Smith, Ray Hanson, John Carleton, and Raelin Dunham completed the top five finishers.
In the second race, it was Carleton – a 67-year-old rookie from Chittenden, Vt. – who earned the first win of his career. Chayton Young was the runner-up ahead of Roger LaDuc, Hanson, and Logan Denis.
The Mini Stock division had an overflowing 35 entries, so the field was split into two A-Main feature races. Former champion Craig Kirby made his long haul from St. Albans, Vt., pay off with his first win of the year in the first 15-lap race after starting 12th on the grid. Jakobee Alger finished second, followed by Jake Barrows, Brian Blake, and T.J. Knight.
Whitehall, N.Y.’s Adam Mahoney posted his second win of the year in the nightcap, driving from seventh starting position to beat Jake Mallory, Mark Mahoney, Clemmy Bell, and Cody Dion in a caution-free race.
The 5 Star Roofing Enduro Series ran its 50-lap race green-to-checker without a single red flag. Whiting, Vt.’s Eric Leno outlasted the field for his second win of the year. Eric Messier was the runner-up ahead of Zach Wood, Sportsman Modified driver Tim LaDuc, and Anthony Johnson.
The Community College of Vermont presents Mid Season Championships on Saturday, July 8 at 7:00 p.m., as the Sprint Cars of New England return for their third appearance of the season. All weekly divisions will be in action and run double features including the 9th State Cannabis Crown Vic class. Grandstand general admission is $15 for adults and free for children aged 12 and under. Infield drive-in parking is $20 for adults and free for kids.
Sportsman Modified
A Feature 1 (50 Laps): 1. 98H-Walter J Hammond[6]; 2. 54-Tim LaDuc[5]; 3. 73-Kevin Chaffee[16]; 4. 1X-Todd Stone[19]; 5. 51-Justin Comes[8]; 6. 78-Vince Quenneville[4]; 7. 357-Marty Kelly III[12]; 8. 13A-Troy Audet[3]; 9. 25-Billy Lussier[20]; 10. 02-David Boisclair[9]; 11. 50X-Evan Roberts[15]; 12. 7-Josh Leclaire[25]; 13. 13-Frankie Hoard III[18]; 14. 88H-Walter Hammond Jr[2]; 15. 60W-Anthony Warren[11]; 16. 60-Jim Ryan[17]; 17. 66-Adam Piper[23]; 18. 19-Floyd Billington[13]; 19. 514-James Hanson[26]; 20. 1D-Wayne Stearns[22]; 21. 88M-Michael Wagner Fitzgerald[10]; 22. 36-Brian Whittemore[27]; 23. 2-Brent Warren[1]; 24. 5-Tanner Siemons[21]; 25. 11X-Josh Masterson[14]; 26. 77M-Mike Fisher[24]; 27. 97-Allan Hammond[7]; 28. (DNS) 22J-Bubba McPhee
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 88M-Michael Wagner Fitzgerald[2]; 2. 88H-Walter Hammond Jr[1]; 3. 78-Vince Quenneville[4]; 4. 02-David Boisclair[3]; 5. 19-Floyd Billington[7]; 6. 73-Kevin Chaffee[6]; 7. 1X-Todd Stone[8]; 8. 1D-Wayne Stearns[5]; 9. 7-Josh Leclaire[9]; 10. (DNS) 22J-Bubba McPhee
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 13A-Troy Audet[2]; 2. 2-Brent Warren[1]; 3. 97-Allan Hammond[4]; 4. 98H-Walter J Hammond[6]; 5. 11X-Josh Masterson[3]; 6. 60-Jim Ryan[8]; 7. 25-Billy Lussier[5]; 8. 66-Adam Piper[7]; 9. 514-James Hanson[9]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 54-Tim LaDuc[2]; 2. 51-Justin Comes[4]; 3. 357-Marty Kelly III[3]; 4. 60W-Anthony Warren[5]; 5. 50X-Evan Roberts[1]; 6. 13-Frankie Hoard III[7]; 7. 5-Tanner Siemons[6]; 8. 77M-Mike Fisher[8]; 9. 36-Brian Whittemore[9]
Limited Sportsman
A Feature 1 (25 Laps): 1. 60-Randy Ryan[6]; 2. 813-Jason Quenneville[4]; 3. 07-Hunter Nutter[5]; 4. 211-Anthony Ryan[11]; 5. 00-Steve Miller[7]; 6. 65-John Gosselin[2]; 7. 77J-Bob Kilburn[16]; 8. 23T-Scott Towslee[13]; 9. 751-Alex Layn[18]; 10. 19X-Freddie Little[10]; 11. 42-Kamden Duffy[14]; 12. 75-AJ Munger[3]; 13. 12-Katrina Bean[8]; 14. 44D-William Duprey[1]; 15. 18-Daryl Gebo[17]; 16. 53-Gary English[9]; 17. 47-Kyle Kerr[15]; 18. 44-Justin Lilly[12]; 19. 25-William Lussier Jr[20]; 20. (DNS) 615-Holden Bass
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 53-Gary English[2]; 2. 65-John Gosselin[1]; 3. 44-Justin Lilly[3]; 4. 75-AJ Munger[6]; 5. 23T-Scott Towslee[5]; 6. 77J-Bob Kilburn[7]; 7. 615-Holden Bass[4]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 44D-William Duprey[2]; 2. 12-Katrina Bean[1]; 3. 07-Hunter Nutter[3]; 4. 19X-Freddie Little[6]; 5. 42-Kamden Duffy[5]; 6. 25-William Lussier Jr[7]; 7. (DQ) 751-Alex Layn[4]
Heat 3 (8 Laps): 1. 00-Steve Miller[2]; 2. 813-Jason Quenneville[4]; 3. 60-Randy Ryan[3]; 4. 211-Anthony Ryan[5]; 5. 47-Kyle Kerr[1]; 6. 18-Daryl Gebo[6]
Novice Sportsman
A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 12-Randy Edson[6]; 2. 77-Eric Shaw[2]; 3. 52X-Adam Lafountain[11]; 4. 40-Ed Bell[13]; 5. 4X-Joshua Patterson[15]; 6. 2X-Michael Clark Jr[9]; 7. 5-Nick Austin Neil[7]; 8. 34X-Robert Gauthier[8]; 9. 9-Tyler Travis[10]; 10. 95-Jeff Haskins[12]; 11. 78-Don Williams[5]; 12. 55-Kolton Weiler[17]; 13. 8-Jason Kerr[18]; 14. 99-Russell Farr III[1]; 15. 75-Derrick Counter[14]; 16. 00-Patrick Miner[4]; 17. 510-Matthew Wade[3]; 18. 28X-Bobbi Hults[16]
Heat 1 (8 Laps): 1. 5-Nick Austin Neil[3]; 2. 99-Russell Farr III[1]; 3. 77-Eric Shaw[2]; 4. 34X-Robert Gauthier[5]; 5. 78-Don Williams[6]; 6. 9-Tyler Travis[9]; 7. 40-Ed Bell[7]; 8. 4X-Joshua Patterson[8]; 9. 55-Kolton Weiler[10]; 10. 8-Jason Kerr[4]
Heat 2 (8 Laps): 1. 510-Matthew Wade[2]; 2. 2X-Michael Clark Jr[6]; 3. 52X-Adam Lafountain[7]; 4. 12-Randy Edson[8]; 5. 95-Jeff Haskins[9]; 6. 00-Patrick Miner[5]; 7. (DNF) 75-Derrick Counter[3]; 8. (DNF) 28X-Bobbi Hults[4]; 9. (DNS) 49-Allen Hewitt
500cc Mini Sprints
A Feature 1 (15 Laps): 1. 10-John Smith; 2. 67-Kevin Smith; 3. 68-Raymond Hanson; 4. 5-John Carleton; 5. 76-Raelin Dunham; 6. 24-Logan Denis; 7. 48-Chayton Young; 8. 54-Roger Laduc; 9. 4-Tommy Kasuba; 10. 9Q-Quinn Quenneville; 11. 11A-Gage Provencher
A Feature 2 (15 Laps): 1. 5-John Carleton[5]; 2. 48-Chayton Young[7]; 3. 54-Roger Laduc[3]; 4. 68-Raymond Hanson[9]; 5. 24-Logan Denis[10]; 6. 76-Raelin Dunham[11]; 7. 11A-Gage Provencher[8]; 8. 10-John Smith[12]; 9. 67-Kevin Smith[4]; 10. 4-Tommy Kasuba[1]; 11. 9Q-Quinn Quenneville[2]; 12. 12-Aiden Benoure[6]
Mini Stocks
A Feature 1 (20 Laps): 1. 44-Craig Kirby[12]; 2. 54JR-Jakobee Alger[7]; 3. 18X-Jake Barrows[9]; 4. 27X-Brian Blake[14]; 5. 11-TJ Knight[2]; 6. 54X-Ron Alger[8]; 7. 10-Griff Mahoney[5]; 8. 9-Tyler Bell[6]; 9. 4-Chase Allen[11]; 10. 39-Ryan Patch[4]; 11. 58S-Brandon Lauzon[18]; 12. X9-Levi Cram[13]; 13. 57-Carl Lapoint[3]; 14. 51-Jacob Demgard[16]; 15. 254-Derek Lachapelle[17]; 16. 03-Alton Mccoy[1]; 17. 4D-Donald Olden[10]; 18. 70X-Niclaus Clark[15]
A Feature 2 (20 Laps): 1. 27-Adam Mahoney[7]; 2. 47-Jacob Mallory[6]; 3. 83-Mark Mahoney[8]; 4. 18B-Clement Bell Jr[9]; 5. 143-Cody Dion[13]; 6. 88-Nicholas Melotti[4]; 7. 1X-Austin McKirryher[11]; 8. 29-Tom Severance[5]; 9. 95D-Justin Cook[3]; 10. 72-Freddy Burch[16]; 11. 25-Damian Olden[2]; 12. 99-Darren Williams[15]; 13. 426-Andrea Noble[14]; 14. F30-Royal Harrison Jr[17]; 15. 15-Tim Robinson[1]; 16. 3-Jarrod Colburn[12]; 17. (DNS) 18-Luke Fellows
