Arts, Dining & Entertainment, Featured

Devil’s Bowl Speedway Fan Festival returns to downtown Rutland

Courtesy of RRCC

Race cars line Center Street in downtown Rutland, as fans get a close-up of their favorite Devil’s Bowl racers.

Saturday, May 9 at 9 a.m. — RUTLAND — The windows will rattle and the ground will shake in downtown Rutland on Saturday, May 9 as the Rutland Region Chamber of Commerce hosts the return of the Devil’s Bowl Speedway Fan Festival. The free-admission race car show will give fans an up-close preview of the racing season and a chance to meet the drivers at Devil’s Bowl Speedway just hours before the season premiere in nearby West Haven.

Cars and drivers from the track’s NASCAR Whelen All-American Series will line Center Street in the heart of the shopping, dining, and entertainment district of the city with gleaming machines from the Bond Auto Parts Modified, Central Vermont Motorcycles Late Model, Brileya’s Chrysler-Jeep Renegade, and Portland Glass Mini Stock divisions. Fans can meet drivers, collect autographs, and enter to win tickets for the opening event at Devil’s Bowl Speedway that evening.

A panel of voters will also tally scores for the “Best Appearing Car” award in all four racing divisions, and the Rutland Region Chamber of Commerce will also award the “Chamber’s Choice” trophy for the overall best appearing race car.

The Devil’s Bowl Speedway Fan Festival will be held from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. on Saturday, May 9, and is just part of the unofficial beginning of summer in Rutland County, as the event coincides with the opening of the Vermont Farmers Market. The Fan Festival will be held on Center Street, directly across the intersection of Merchants Row where the Vermont Farmers Market is located.

“Devil’s Bowl Speedway is a tremendous asset for this region and for Vermont,” said Tom Donahue, CEO of the Rutland Region Chamber of Commerce. “We are thrilled to host the Fan Festival in Downtown Rutland. It’s always exciting to see the race cars up close and meet the drivers, and we encourage Devil’s Bowl fans to shop and dine at the many great establishments in Rutland before heading off to the season opener at the speedway.”

Devil’s Bowl Speedway’s 49th season of stock car racing opens on Saturday, May 9 at 6 p.m. with a 100-lap special for the Modified division, a 50-lap Late Model race, and championship openers for the Renegade and Mini Stock divisions.

Devil’s Bowl Speedway is located on Route 22A in West Haven, Vt., four miles north of Exit 2 on U.S. Route 4. For more information, visit www.DevilsBowlSpeedwayVT.com or call 802-265-3112. Devil’s Bowl Speedway is on Facebook at facebook.com/DevilsBowlSpeedway and on Twitter and Instagram at @DevilsBowlSpeed; follow the action using the #DevilsBowl hashtag.

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