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One For the Thumb: Tanner Takes Fifth SCoNE Win at Devil’s Bowl Speedway

New York racer opens Sprint Cars of New England season with dominant victory

WEST HAVEN, Vt. (May 14, 2023) – Matt Tanner did it again. The Sprint Cars of New England (SCoNE) tour opened its 2023 racing season at Devil’s Bowl Speedway on Saturday, May 13, and the Stephentown, N.Y., driver raised his victory total at the track to five with a dominant performance.

Young gun Travis Billington started on the pole position and led the opening circuit of the 25-lap feature race, which was presented by Mike Rivers Automotive of Franklin, New Hampshire. Tanner was aided in his starting position by the invert pill draw, giving him the third-place starting slot, and he was able to quickly reach Billington; although Tanner officially took command on lap 2, they battled side-by-side for a couple of entertaining laps before Tanner scooted away.

The race’s lone caution flag waved with five laps complete, after Troy Comeau spun off the top of Turn 3; Comeau’s car was pulled out of the weeds, and he rejoined the field for the restart. From there, it was all Tanner. Chase Moran was impressive in qualifying and the feature, and he made a brief mid-race charge at Tanner’s lead, but Tanner pulled away. The victory was Tanner’s fourth in his last four Devil’s Bowl starts, dating back to May 2021.

Canadian invader Jordan Poirier made his first appearance in Vermont a good one. The Beloeil, Que., driver – the defending Empire Super Sprints (ESS) champion – hit the wall in his qualifying heat and suffered damage, leaving him to start 14th for the feature, but he sliced his way through traffic to reach Moran late in the race. Poirier took over the runner-up position with four laps left and finished there with Moran in third.

Defending SCoNE champion Chris Donnelly drove forward from ninth place to run as high as third before losing a spot to Poirier near the halfway mark and finishing fourth. Billington was a podium contender for the first half of the race before settling for fifth place. The top 10 finishers were completed in order by Caleb Lamson, Will Hull, Kadyn Berry, Jim Lowrey, and Comeau.

RACE NOTES:
• Just prior to the start of qualifying, Mike Rivers Automotive of Franklin, N.H., made a surprise sponsorship contribution to the Sprint Cars of New England club for the event.
• A field of 18 cars attended the event. The two qualifying heat races were won by Chris Donnelly and Will Hull, with each grabbing a $50 bonus from CMD Logging of Barnstead, N.H.
• Tunk Berry, Doug McPhail, and Floyd Billington were each unable to start the feature due to engine problems.
• Chase Moran, who failed to qualify for the ESS event at Utica-Rome Speedway on Friday, had the driving performance of his young career at Devil’s Bowl, starting seventh and posting his first-ever podium finish in third place.
• The main event was highlighted by the reintroduction of SCoNE’s iconic “reverse” wave-off lap just before the race began, with the starting field turning around the track clockwise in the opposite direction. The reverse lap gives fans and drivers a clear view of each other for the traditional pre-race salute, but it had not been used by SCoNE in more than a decade and had never been seen at Devil’s Bowl. The big crowd on hand and was taken by surprise and immediately rose to its feet to cheer.

The Sprint Cars of New England tour returns to action with a Memorial Day weekend doubleheader on May 27-28. The weekend kicks off at Bear Ridge Speedway in Bradford, Vt., on Saturday night before returning to Devil’s Bowl Speedway in West Haven, Vt., on Sunday. Event details will be released soon.
For more information, visit www.nesprintcars.com or find the “SCoNE – Sprint Cars of New England” page on Facebook.

OFFICIAL RESULTS – Sprint Cars of New England
Presented by Mike Rivers Automotive
Devil’s Bowl Speedway – West Haven, Vt.
Saturday, May 13, 2023

A-Main Feature (25 laps)
Pos.-(Start)-Driver-Hometown
(#) - denotes rookie

1. (3) Matt Tanner, Stephentown, N.Y.
2. (14) Jordan Poirier, St-Mathieu-de-Beloeil, Que.
3. (7) Chase Moran, Fultonville, N.Y.
4. (9) Chris Donnelly, Piermont, N.H.
5. (1) Travis Billington, South Glens Falls, N.Y.
6. (4) Caleb Lamson, Moretown, Vt.
7. (8) Will Hull, Plainfield, Vt.
8. (11) Kadyn Berry, Goffstown, N.H.
9. (2) Jim Lowrey Jr., Tilton, N.H.
10. (12) Troy Comeau, Rumney, N.H.
11. (10) # Ron Davis Jr., Meredith, N.H.
12. (13) Clay Dow, Barnstead, N.H.
13. (15) # Lane Saville, Warrensburg, N.Y.
14. (6) Lacey Hanson, Orwell, Vt.
15. (5) Jake Williams, Center Tuftonboro, N.H.
    Did Not Start: Tunk Berry, Center Tuftonboro, N.H.; Doug McPhail, Tilton, N.H.; Floyd Billington, South Glens Falls, N.Y.
    Lap Leaders (1 lead change among 2 drivers): Travis Billington, 1; Matt Tanner, 2-25.
    Cautions (1): Lap 5.

Contingency Award Winners:
• CMD Logging Heat Winners: Chris Donnelly, Will Hull
• 802 Print Award: Chase Moran
• Hull Motorsports Award: Travis Billington
• Bill McGaffin Photos/Showstopper Photos Award: Caleb Lamson
• 87Speed Award: Kadyn Berry

(PHOTOS BY BILL MCGAFFIN)

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