Gravco Janitorial to Present Twin State Modified Series

Series reborn at Bear Ridge, Big Daddy's, Canaan

BRADFORD -- The Twin State Modified Series is back for 2010 at Bradford's Bear Ridge Speedway, Canaan Dirt Speedway in Canaan, N.H., and the new Big Daddy's Speedbowl in Rumney, N.H. Gravco Janitorial Services of Barre, Vt., will sponsor the series for the Sportsman Modified division, newly aligned at the three dirt tracks by an alliance between promoters C.V. Elms, Dick Therrien, and Mike Rivers.

Each track will host a pair of 40-lap events, with a $400 bonus for the Twin State Series champion. The runner-up will receive $250, third place $150, fourth place $125, and fifth place $100.

"This was a great series a few years ago, one that the race teams looked forward to," said Bear Ridge promoter Elms. "This new opportunity will allow teams to experience the excitement of racing at all three tracks for the series championship."

"This Series always provided top notch racing," said Brent Graves of Gravco Janitorial Services. "With this economy, the extra money in purses and the solid point fund will be very attractive to many race teams."

Dates for the six Gravco Janitorial Services Twin State Modified Series events will be announced soon.

Dirt Track Promoters Unite in Vermont, New Hampshire

Bear Ridge, Canaan, Big Daddy's adopt universal Sportsman Modified rules

RUTLAND -- A Sunday meeting between the promoters of Northern New England's most prominent dirt tracks will be a boon for racers throughout the region in 2010. The summit bewteen C.V. Elms of Bradford's Bear Ridge Speedway, Canaan (N.H.) Dirt Speedway promoter Dick Therrien, and Mike Rivers of the new Big Daddy's Speedbowl in Rumney, N.H., produced a rulebook that will allow cars in the tracks' headline divisions -- the Sportsman Modifieds -- to compete under a rulebook that includes a universal tire, and common crate and non-crate engine packages.

"We all made concessions in best interest of the sport and especially the race teams," Therrien said in a press release on the Canaan Dirt Speedway website. "We have been working so hard to put this package together. I am proud of all of us that have been involved. We have really done something great for the sport, for our fans, and our racers." Therrien, a Lyndonville native who has worked at White Mountain Motorsports Park and Riverside Speedway, is in his first year operating both the dirt and asphalt tracks at the Canaan Fairgrounds.

"It took a lot of work, but I can proudly say that I walked away from the table feeling pretty good about what we accomplished," said Elms, a third-generation racer and promoter.

"My goal from the start was to have all three tracks working in unison," said first-time promoter Rivers, who renamed and redesigned the track recently known as Rattlesnake Motordrome and Legion Speedway following the 2009 season. "This rules package will certainly go a long way towards making this work. I’m very proud to be a part of this group. Now, we have to keep the communication lines open, and if that happens, it will be a great season."

The common rulebook gives teams the option to race Friday nights at Canaan, Saturdays at Bear Ridge, and Sundays at Big Daddy's.

LaDuc Named Devil's Bowl Speedway Driver of the Year

Vermont Motorsports Magazine Driver of the Year Awards presented by Subway

Veteran stock car driver Tim LaDuc has won the Vermont Motorsports Magazine Devil's Bowl Speedway Driver of the Year Award presented by Subway, as voted by readers of Vermont Motorsports Magazine, an online news website. The popular Orwell driver finished third in 2009 championship standings in the headline 358-Modified division at Devil's Bowl Speedway in Fair Haven; LaDuc won the opening day event in May and was in the thick of the title hunt the entire year, finishing just 13 points behind Track Champion Kenny Tremont, Jr. of West Sand Lake, N.Y., a dozen points behind runner-up Todd Stone of Middlebury.

LaDuc won the VMM/Subway Devil's Bowl Speedway Driver of the Year Award by earning 39% of the votes registered at Vermont Motorsports Magazine during a one-week open poll. Tremont finished second in the balloting with 19% of the vote, while Stone was third with 15%. Two-time Budget Sportsman winner C.V. Elms, III of North Haverhill, N.H. ranked high among the 14 drivers on the ballot, as Six-Cylinder Mini Stock champion Kayla Bryant of Rutland and Pro Street Stock champion Cale Kneer of Troy, N.Y.

Voting for the Vermont Motorsports Magazine Thunder Road Int'l Speedbowl Driver of the Year Award presented by Subway is now open through 11:59pm on Sunday, November 22. Nominees on the 15-driver Thunder Road ballot include Late Model Track Champion Jean-Paul Cyr, Tiger Sportsman Champion Jimmy Hebert, and Street Stock Rookie of the Year Tucker Williams.

Driver of the Year polls will be held at the Vermont Motorsports Magazine website throughout the month of November; to vote, visit http://vtmotormag.blogspot.com/. The VMM Driver of the Year Awards are presented by Subway of Barre, Montpelier, Waterbury, and Northfield. For more information on Subway, visit http://www.subway.com/.

(PHOTO: VMM/Subway Devil's Bowl Speedway Driver of the Year Tim LaDuc. Photo by Dave D'Alessandro/CVRA)

Elms Takes Upset Win at Devil's Bowl

From CVRA Press Release

FAIR HAVEN -- Add C.V. "Butch" Elms, III to the list of surprise winners in 2009. On a night when the headlining 358 Modifieds were off the card at Devil's Bowl Speedway to make room for the Budget Sportsman division's 50-lap Ridge Runner Series event, it was Elms taking center stage for his first career Devil's Bowl victory.

Elms, of North Haverhill, N.H., a seven-time Bear Ridge Speedway champion and now the owner and promoter of the Bradford track, shocked the Devil's Bowl crowd on Sunday night with his first win there, beating out Dorset's Willy Knight and Jared McMahon of Hydeville for the win. Three-time Albany-Saratoga winner Jack Gentile of Ballston Lake, N.Y. and Thetford's Wayne Stearns, who won at Bear Ridge on Saturday night, completed the top five finishers.

Prior to Sunday's feature, Elms' best finish of the year was sixth in three starts, and he, Knight, and McMahon all ranked outside the top-30 in point standings. Elms steadily worked his way from the ninth-place starting position to take the lead from Knight on lap 46 following the early departure of defending track champion Cullen Howe on lap 35, who was pressuring Knight for the lead.

The Ridge Runner Series is a special event mini-series open for Budget Sportsman and Modified drivers from the Champlain Valley Racing Association's Devil's Bowl and Albany-Saratoga Speedways, New York's Glen Ridge Motorsports Park, and Bear Ridge.

Cale Kneer of Troy, N.Y. passed veteran Carl Vladyka of Fair Haven on the final circuit to steal the 20-lap Pro Street Stock victory. Jeff Washburn of Benson finished third over Salisbury's Fred Little and Lori Langevin of Londonderry.

Bill Durpey of Hydeville picked up his second Limited win of the year over Brandon's Mike Clark and Lou Gancarz of North Adams, Mass. Kayla Bryant of Rutland won the Mini Stock feature with Fair Haven's Chris Murray taking top Duke Stock honors.