WEST HAVEN — Veteran stock car driver Leon Gonyo visited victory lane in nostalgic and appropriate fashion at Devil’s Bowl Speedway in West Haven on Friday, Aug. 7, winning the fourth annual “C.J. Richards Memorial” presented by Carrara Masonry & Concrete.
Other winners on the night included Chad White, Robert Gordon, Chuck Bradford, and Cory Gray in action for the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series presented by Yandow Sales & Service and John Deere.
Chazy, N.Y., racer Gonyo, 63, was a frequent winner in the mid-1980s under the former Champlain Valley Racing Association headed by the late C.J. Richards, who founded Devil’s Bowl Speedway in 1967. On Friday night, Gonyo strung together a three-segment low total score of eight points to take the overall victory in the race bearing Richards’ name.
Gonyo won the opening 22-lap segment for the Bond Auto Parts Modified division to score one point in the cumulative tally. Vince Quenneville Jr. of Brandon finished second to score two points, followed by two-time Modified champion Todd Stone of Middlebury, who was making his first Modified start of the season. Ron Proctor was fourth with Brandon’s Dave Snow fifth.
Greg Atkins of Clintonville, N.Y., won the middle 22-lap round over Proctor and Jimmy Ryan of Whiting; Quenneville finished fourth with Gonyo fifth. Entering the final 23-lap segment, Gonyo, Quenneville and Proctor found themselves locked in a three-way tie for the overall lead with six segment points apiece.
Stone dominated the final leg, while Gonyo held off a surging Quenneville for the runner-up spot; Atkins and Proctor filled out the top five in the segment. Gonyo’s total of eight points was enough to beat Quenneville by a single marker for the overall victory. With 11 points each, Stone beat Proctor in a tiebreaker for third place overall by virtue of his final-segment win. Proctor took fourth with Atkins fifth.
Chad White of Fort Ann, N.Y., was a first-time winner in the 30-lap Central Vermont Motorcycles Late Model feature and became the division’s eighth different winner in as many races in 2015. Seth Bridge did his best to rebound from a crash in the previous week by leading twice during the race, but White was strong enough on the outside lane to get back in front.
White led the final 19 laps and pulled away from double-duty racer Stone and point leader Josh Masterson of Bristol. Stone was the runner-up ahead of Masterson. Robert Bryant Jr. finished fourth with Matt White, the winner’s brother, fifth in his first start of the season.
Robert Gordon won the two-segment Brileya’s Chrysler-Jeep Renegade feature for the second week in a row. Gordon finished second in the opening 15-lap round behind Scott FitzGerald, then won the final leg for a low total score of three points. Jimmy Bushey of Mooers Forks, N.Y., finished fourth and second (in the two segments) for six points and took the overall runner-up finish, with FitzGerald (first, fifth) third overall with six points.
Defending Portland Glass Mini Stock champion Chuck Bradford of Addison made it back-to-back wins in an entertaining 15-lap race, defeating point leader Chris LaVair. Bradford’s teammate, rookie Brad Bertrand of Ferrisburgh, led the first 12 laps until Bradford and LaVair scooted past; Bertrand held on for third place.
Cory Gray of Rutland took his second win of the season in the 50-lap MFT Sauce & Rub Co. Enduro Series feature. Zach Wood closed in on Gray in the final laps but was not able to mount a serious challenge. Brett Wood, Zach’s father, finished third.
The Devils’ Bowl winners and local finishers this past Friday were:
Bond Auto Parts Modified Feature (67 laps): 1. Leon Gonyo, Chazy, N.Y.; 2. Vince Quenneville Jr., Brandon; 3. Todd Stone, Middlebury; 7. Dave Snow, Brandon; 8. Jimmy Ryan, Whiting.
Central Vermont Motorcycles Late Model Feature (30 laps): 1. Chad White, Fort Ann, N.Y.; 2. Todd Stone; 3. Josh Masterson, Bristol; 7. Jamie Aube, North Ferrisburgh.
Brileya’s Chrysler-Jeep Renegade Feature (15 laps x 2): 1. Robert Gordon, Milton.
Portland Glass Mini Stock Feature (15 laps): 1. Chuck Bradford, Addison; 3. Bradley Bertrand, Ferrisburgh (rookie); 11. Mike Clark, Salisbury.