Mike Ricci Triumphs Over Ken Tremont at Devil’s Bowl Opener
W. HAVEN, VT -- Mike Ricci of Kingston NY entertained the fans at the 31st annual season opener at Devil’s Bowl this Sunday by taking the opener from Ken Tremont. Tremont was running away with the race, lapping the field, when a caution gave Ricci the chance he needed to catch up to last year’s overall champion. With more than 30 cars in the modified and sportsmen divisions, four heats and consolations were run for both classes. Tony Ballestero of Ballston Spa NY was the sportsman winner, finishing just ahead of hard charging rookie Ron Johnson. Modified heat winners were Todd Stone, Don Ronca, Jeff Trombley, and Don Scarborough. A.J. Romano won the consi.
By virtue of the draw, Mike Benson started on the pole, with Ken Tremont in second. An early caution caused when Hector Stratton got out of shape in turn three ended the night for Stratton, Don Ronca, Mike Perrotte and John Harrison. Ronca ended up hanging off the end of the retaining wall w ith a badly damaged race car. Tremont had taken the lead from Benson and began to distance himself from the rest of the field. Meanwhile Mike Ricc i had started the race in 9th place and he found a groove that worked for him after about 10 laps. As Ricci started moving toward the front, Tremo nt was running away with the race, lapping four cars by the halfway mark. A caution on lap 17 spelled doom for Tremont, as Ricci surged to third p lace on the restart and just kept on coming. With 10 to go, Scarborough g ot by Benson to take third place, but never really got close enough to th e leaders to challenge for the second spot. Ricci and Tremont battled sid e by side for several laps, with Ricci running the low groove and finally taking the lead from Tremont on the backstretch with five to go. Tremont stayed close but couldn’t overtake Ricci for the lead.
The sportsman put on one heck of a show in this evenly matched division. Tony Ballestero started on the pole, and was immediately struggling to ke ep the lead from his brother Mike, and rookie Ron Johnson. On lap six, Mi ke Ballestero spun in turn one. Two laps after the restart, Johnson took the lead from Tony Ballestero with a great move, and he held onto the lea d for eight laps, but Tony wasn’t giving up, and when the less experien ced Johnson encountered lapped traffic with two to go, Ballestero used hi s own driving experience wisely, and returned to the front of the pack to take the win over Johnson, with Randy Delaney in third, Joe Budka in fou rth and Ron Proctor fifth. Budka was light at the scales and disqualified by tech inspectors, moving sixth place finisher Frank Hoard Jr. into the fifth spot.
The pro street stocks once again showed their racing skills, with a fine performance by Mike Paquin to get his first win a the bowl, and second of the year on the CVRA. Bill Bryden put up a good fight, but couldn’t find a groove that would work well enough to power him past Paquin. Bryden settled for second, with Pete Kimball in third. In hobby stocks, Ryan Oda sz took the checkers, followed by Chuck Knowlton and Richard Stone.
Don’t miss the Memorial Classic this Sunday with double points on the l ine for all divisions. Race time is 7 p.m.
MODIFIEDS: MIKE RICCI, Ken Tremont, Don Scarborough, Mike Benson, Lee Nutting, Todd Stone, David Towns, Vince Quenneville, A.J. Romano, Jack Cottrell, Don Ackner, Todd Ryan, Bob Savoie, Dan Douville, Randy Hotaling, Mike Ronca, Jeff Trombley, Jim Ryan, Gardner Stone, Ken Morse, Ron Dwyer, Jeff Sheely, John Harrison, Hector Stratton, Don Ronca, Mike Perrotte.
SPORTSMEN TOP 10: TONY BALLESTERO, Ron Johnson, Randy Delaney, Tom Proctor, Frank Hoard Jr., Ron Constantino, Lance Harting, Jeff Betit, Alan Larter.