WEST HAVEN, Vt. – Frank Hoard III earned his first victory in two years by leading every lap of the 30-lap Sportsman Modified feature Saturday night at Devil’s Bowl Speedway.
Marty Kelly III closely trailed Hoard in lapped traffic until the lone caution flag on lap 21. Hoard pulled away after the restart for the win.
Hoard was involved in a major accident on opening night, May 1 and has been rehabbing a back injury since. He drove his team’s backup car to the win.
Multi-time Bear Ridge Speedway champion Melvin Pierson won at Devil’s Bowl Speedway for the first time in his long career and in just his fourth limited sportsman race. Pierson held off freshman driver Troy Audet’s strong challenge in the final laps.
Andrew FitzGerald outdueled Chris Murray in a thrilling two-lap sprint to the finish, which happened following a restart on lap 18. Josh LeClaire was in an intense battle with Murray for much of the race, but spun into the backstretch wall and flipped his car with two laps left. He was uninjured. FitzGerald’s win is unofficial, pending the results of an engine inspection.
Chris Sumner made it two-straight wins after a wildly entertaining race that saw one multi-car pileup and another rollover – both crashes involving Freddy Burch, who was uninjured in each case. Sumner fought hard for the lead with Simonds and Conroy in a well-driven battle.
Ray Hanson made an incredible four-wide move for the lead in traffic with two laps remaining for his third win in four races. Eleven-year-old rookie Gage Provencher and 12-year-old Kamden Duffy had a tight battle for the lead when Hanson – running third at the time – saw the opening in turn one as the leaders navigated a lapped car.