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Tuesday April 28, 2015 Edition
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Jim Ryan Will Be Flyin Again This Summer At Devil’s Bowl

Above: Jim Ryan finishes up the body and paint work on a beautifully prepared Mustang at his auto body shop on the Whiting/Shoreham road.  Jim will be trading his shop clothes for his fire suit when he buckles up in the #60 car for the 2015 racing season at Devils Bowl Speedway in West Haven Vt. On May 9th..  Jim and his crew look forward to joining the fray on both dirt and asphalt after a five year hiatus from the sport.
photo by Mike Cameron
Above: Jim Ryan finishes up the body and paint work on a beautifully prepared Mustang at his auto body shop on the Whiting/Shoreham road. Jim will be trading his shop clothes for his fire suit when he buckles up in the #60 car for the 2015 racing season at Devils Bowl Speedway in West Haven Vt. On May 9th.. Jim and his crew look forward to joining the fray on both dirt and asphalt after a five year hiatus from the sport.

Tuesday April 28, 2015

By Mike Cameron

It's been 5 years since #60 has fired-up with Flyin' Jim Ryan behind the wheel.  Well wait no more Ryan fans, Jim is back, with a new car, a new crate engine, and plenty of experience and cautious enthusiasm.  Jim will be racing on clay and asphalt during the summer stock car season at Devils Bowl Speedway on Route 22A in West Haven Vermont.  
    The news of Ryan's re-commitment to racing will spread fast here in the Champlain Valley which is home to dozens of Vermont's rabid race fans especially those who love to watch their favorite drivers on their dirt.  This year the legendary track will feature two tier racing and that was too much for one of Vermont's most popular open wheel competitors and his crew to resist after being away for half a decade.  “There are a lot of dirt racing fans around here.  They love the dirt and the drivers who drive on dirt.” Jim quips.  
    The Bruno Family headed by one of the most successful drivers ever to race in Vermont will now feature both clay and asphalt dates this year at Devils Bowl.
    Jim is quietly ecstatic.  “Mike Bruno and his family and staff have done a great job with the speedway, he's been around a long time,” Jim explained to The Voice during a recent interview at his auto body shop on the Whiting/Shoreham road.  It's easy to see that Jim is chomping at the bit; but why the lay-off?
    “Business was going well, everyone was busy and we began to find less and less time to race competitively,” Jim explained further. Recently he was able to put together a solid season sponsorship package bolstered by Foster Motors of Middlebury and his father Clayton, one of the best racing mechanics around.  Clayton is also a Go! with the plan.  Brothers Terry, Randy, Rob and Dan will also be on hand to help out.  The car is coming together, day by day as the Ryan's look towards a May 9th, 100 lap feature at “D.B.”
    You see with the Ryans, racing is and always has been, a family affair.  “We all missed the fans, we all missed the excitement,” one of the state's most respected dirt modified, open wheel drivers says with an almost shy, understated, expatiation.  It's entirely possible that even after 5 years away, the old Ryan fans will return, along with many new ones to grab some of that Flyin' Ryan Magic.
    Ryan has always been popular with stock car fans at the Bowl, Bear Ridge in New Hampshire where he was a two time track champion.   But he admits, “I could turn on the ignition during the first practice lap and say to myself; 'what the heck have I gotten myself into',”  We won't bet against this always competitive and analytical driver.  Veteran dirt and pavement track observers bet the 60-car will be in the thick of it and soon.
    Ryan, remains true to his sport.  He has a respectful and keen interest in racing history here in the Champlain Valley and understands the contributions made to stock car racing by the drivers he grew up with.  Names like Jack Johnson, Will Cagle, Ed Foley, Win Slavin and Vince Quinville Sr. who also had the word Flying in his handle.  Everyone loved “The Flying Frenchman.”  These guys had race fans on the edge of their seats, every weekend, all summer long.  
    In his 5 years away, the racing game has evolved with more technology and more rules but the desire to compete and win has not.  Jim was number two at the Bowl in 2000 on dirt and 4th on asphalt and was usually in the thick of it, just about every year he's decided to suit up and compete.     
    Just since 2010, technology, crate engines, lighter running gear and a pack of fresh young talented drivers have joined the mix.  Competition is very, very keen.  “I never got in a race car till I was 25 years old,” Jim remembers and is well aware that some of today’s younger drivers started with go-carts when they were still in grammar school.  No matter; 52 year old Flynn' Jim Ryan in Modified # 60 will be ready.  Asphalt or clay, Jim's on his way.


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