Donnelly takes point lead headed into June break
WEST HAVEN, Vt. (May 29, 2023) – Matt Tanner winning at Devil’s Bowl Speedway is becoming almost routine these days. The Stephentown, N.Y., driver once again went to victory lane with the McGee Automotive Group Sprint Cars of New England (SCoNE) tour at the Vermont track on Sunday, May 28 to build on an interesting number scheme for his SCoNE career.
Tanner’s victory was his fifth consecutive win at Devil’s Bowl in his last five starts there since 2021, his sixth at the track since 2018, and the seventh overall SCoNE win of his career, dating back to 2009 when he scored at Bear Ridge Speedway. That “5-6-7” pattern was good enough for a $1,200 payday on Sunday night.
While some of his victories at Devil’s Bowl have appeared to be relatively easy, this one was not. Tanner and Floyd Billington found themselves in tight company all night long, from their qualifying heat race through the end of the feature. In both races, lapped traffic played a role in determining the outcome, as Billington found himself trapped behind slower cars, losing the lead to Tanner both times.
In the 25-lap feature, Billington was the point man with eight circuits complete before Tanner and Chris Donnelly tracked him down in heavy traffic. Tanner was able to sweep around Billington and was forced in the jumble to split a pair of lapped cars three-wide to take control at lap 9. For the next 10 laps, Tanner pulled away in clean air, but the race’s lone caution flag with six laps remaining bunched the field for a restart.
Donnelly had taken the runner-up spot from Billington in the earlier traffic shuffle, but Billington pulled off an outstanding restart at lap 19 to pass Donnelly and hang right on the tail tank of Tanner’s machine. Tanner never gave up the lead through the finish of the race, but Billington was never far behind and finished second.
Donnelly scored third place to retain his early-season point lead entering the June break. Will Hull earned his first top-five finish of the season in fourth place, and young New York racer Chase Moran continued his strong performance with SCoNE in fifth. The balance of the official top 10 was completed by Jake Williams, Lacey Hanson, Kadyn Berry, Nick Comeau, and Troy Comeau.
RACE NOTES:
• A full scoring recheck was done following the completion of the race; an error was made in the restart order at lap 19, and the car of Doug McPhail was placed further ahead in line than it should have been. After consulting the running order of the entire race and remaining consistent with that, the official finish order has been adjusted to show McPhail in 12th place, rather than in 8th place where he was originally shown.
• A field of 16 cars attended the event. The two qualifying heat races were won by Matt Tanner and Chris Donnelly, with each grabbing a $50 bonus from CMD Logging of Barnstead, N.H.
• Rockingham Boat of Hampstead, N.H., presented the Hard Charger Award, with a $50 bonus going to Lacey Hanson, who drove from 14th starting position to finish 7th.
• Mia Koponen made her first appearance of the season with SCoNE at the Devil’s Bowl event.
The Sprint Cars of New England tour has a three-week break before returning to action on Saturday, June 24 at Bear Ridge Speedway in Bradford, Vt.; 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
Devil’s Bowl Speedway – West Haven, Vt.
Sunday, May 28, 2023
A-Main Feature (25 laps)
Pos.-(Start)-Driver-Hometown
(#) - denotes rookie
- (4) Matt Tanner, Stephentown, N.Y.
- (2) Floyd Billington, South Glens Falls, N.Y.
- (3) Chris Donnelly, Piermont, N.H.
- (5) Will Hull, Plainfield, Vt.
- (6) Chase Moran, Fultonville, N.Y.
- (8) Jake Williams, Center Tuftonboro, N.H.
- (14) Lacey Hanson, Orwell, Vt.
- (10) Kadyn Berry, Goffstown, N.H.
- (12) Nick Comeau, Rumney, N.H.
- (9) Troy Comeau, Rumney, N.H.
- (11) # Ron Davis Jr., Moultonborough, N.H.
- (16) Doug McPhail, Tilton, N.H.
- (15) Mia Koponen, Ludlow, Vt.
- (1) Caleb Lamson, Moretown, Vt.
- (7) Clay Dow, Barnstead, N.H.
- (13) Jason Goff, Preston Hollow, N.Y.
Lap Leaders (2 lead changes among 3 drivers): Caleb Lamson, grid; Floyd Billington, 1-8; Matt Tanner, 9-25.
Cautions (1): Lap 19.
Contingency Award Winners:
• CMD Logging Heat Winners: Matt Tanner, Chris Donnelly
• Rockingham Boat Hard Charger Award: Lacey Hanson (+7 positions)
• 802 Print Award: Chris Donnelly (3rd)
• Hull Motorsports Award: Chase Moran (5th)
• Bill McGaffin Photos/Showstopper Photos Award: Jake Williams (6th)
• Waddell Communications & Repairs Award: Lacey Hanson (7th)
• 87Speed Award: Kadyn Berry (8th)
(Photos by Bill McGaffin)
- administrator on May 29, 2023
- Article Date: 5/29/2023 by SCoNE Media