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Gears, Gas And Great Anticipation Drag Racing Is Hot In The Champlain Valley

photo by Margo Grace Julie Grace is ready to take the track at Devil's Bowl.

photo by provided Waiting for practice runs at Devil's Bowl Speedway.

photo by provided Brian Goodro driving a Pontiac Firebird and Gary Payne driving a Plymouth Superbird at the starting line at Devil's Bowl Speedway.

photo by Margo Grace Deathwish Performance.

Friday September 1, 2017

By Cookie Steponaitis

Wednesday nights are often greeted with relief and the beginning of the countdown to the weekend. Not so, the past five Wednesday nights at Devil’s Bowl Speedway on Route 22A in West Haven, Vermont. On a 250 foot drag strip Wednesday nights this summer has been a “Show & Go Drag Racing Series” with all vehicles welcome. With the slogan ‘bring them and we’ll race them’ people have brought cars, trucks, SUV’s, motorcycles and ATV’s to challenge each other, the speed of the track and for the simple love of the sport. The first Wednesday night of the events in May drew eight vehicles. At the final night on August 23rd, over sixty vehicles and a couple of hundred people gathered to see the tires burn, the strategies of each driver and to celebrate resurgence in summertime and in Drag Racing.
    At the heart of the new boom are Brian Goodro and his group Deathwish Performance. Goodro, a drag racer with over thirty-two years of experience started Death Wish Performance in 2015 to offer people who love cars and racing opportunity to get together. Reaching their 100th member on the night of the last Show & Go Drag Racing for the year at Devil’s Bowl, Goodro is both incredibly excited and a bit overwhelmed over how fast his mission to stimulate drag racing has taken off. Death Wish Performance’s simple mission is to encourage legal and safe drag racing and has members between 10 -85 years of age. The testimony to the popularity of the event was demonstrated by the number of cars and vehicles being run and the cast of local people present. With just one glace around this reporter noted Gerald Grant, Mark Delisle, Don Cousino, Mark Sleeper, Mike Grace, Julie Grace, Gary Paine, Brian Moran, Ronnie and Jill Vincent and many more. The air was thick with the smell of gasoline and rubber and the crowd happily narrated each spin of the tires, close calls on the corner and winner down the straightaway.
    While the excitement of Devil’s Bowl is now over for the season, there is still more drag racing to be done.
    Deathwish Performance will be running the ¼ mile at Musclepalooza on September 3rd at Lebanon Valley Dragway. Members of the group will be also present at the Vermont Cup at Napiervlle Dragway on September 23rd in Quebec. “Even if you have never raced, come run with us,” suggested Brian Goodro. Pairing up with Death Wish Performance is Michael Grace of Grace Enterprises. He and daughter Julie Grace ran in several races at Devil’s Bowl and even raced against each other. Julie has been drag racing since she was sixteen and Michael loves the times he spends with his family and friends in Death Wish Performance. At each race the group grows and more people come to share their love of cars, speed and to do it for fun.
    Calling drag racing, ‘¼ mile of therapy’ as the world races by you and becomes a vanishing point, Goodro is full of ideas and looking forward to seeing the drag racing presence grow even more in 2018. “Look around,” grinned Goodro. “What do you see? All of these people are here because they love cars, they love racing and they love working on cars and talking cars with others. It is not about who wins, but the experience.” Julie Grace looks at it this way. “For me drag racing isn’t just a way to have fun in my cars, but it has and continues to be a way for me to bond with my father,” explained the young racer. “It also allows me to grow as an individual and to learn how to take life as it comes. When you are racing you have second to get done what needs to be done and it makes you have to really think and react quickly to situations. It’s also just a ton of fun with some great people.” Echoing those sentiments and definitely in for the long haul and the future of the sport in Vermont, Michael Grace remarks, “I would really encourage anyone who is interested to and try it on a safe friendly environment. Deathwish Performance is dedicated to taking racing off the street and onto the track. Any parent with a new driver who maybe has a lead foot, bring them out with us and we will help them get involved in the sport in a safe environment. They can run anything. The only special equipment they might need is a helmet.”
    Check out the Facebook site for Death Wish Performance or come to any of the remaining races of the year around New England and Canada. You will see a scene as American as the automobile itself with people gathered to celebrate the smell of rubber, the need for speed and the skills of those who tweak and create a one of a kind vehicle. Start your engines because in the Champlain Valley drag racing is alive, well and thriving.

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