RPW Exclusive: Jack Speshock and DCI Racing Impress In Vermont 200 At Devil’s Bowl

Column By: DYLAN FRIEBEL / RPW – WEST HAVEN, VT – Sometimes you can lose the battle but win the war. We’ve all heard that, right? Well that’s exactly what Jack Speshock and DCI Racing did Sunday at Devils Bowl Speedway at the Vermont 200.

There were some heavy hitters at the Bowl on Sunday like weekly competitors Tim Laduc, Joey Scarborough, and Kenny Tremont along with invaders such as David Schilling, Rocky Warner and Brett Hearn. However one driver that wasn’t on a lot of people’s radars was the 08 of Jack Speshock. Speshock, who hung up his helmet a few weeks early in exchange for school books, has been in Alabama as he goes to college at Auburn University.

Devil’s Bowl officials presented some tricky track conditions for time trials and heats Sunday afternoon and it showed to be that way as most everyone was searching for grip, even the 08. Speshock struggled and it was uphill sledding from that point on. He needed to move forward in his heat and that he did, using a few timely cautions to move his way up to second.

That helped him secure the 11th starting spot for the historic feature event.

Early in the 200-lap main, it looked as if Jack was applying the ‘pick your spots’ methodically and move your way around when you can. By the halfway point of the event, when the 15-minute mandatory pit stop was to happen, he was sitting close to the top 5.

The young driver from Malta, NY was happy with the car, and his crew went to work putting fuel, new rear tires, and even ground the car’s front tires to give him better traction. However he, like all drivers, were caked in a fine wet dust and all complaining of not being able to see without enough tearoffs.

“The car has been good so far,” Speshock said at the break. “We were forced to run the top early and I was surprised the car stuck up there. We had to run that line on a restart and we pulled a couple cars coming off of two and I just kept sticking with it. However there’s still a lot left to happen. 100 (laps) more is a long time and we have to continue to keep our nose clean, but overall, I’m happy with it and ready for more.”

As the race resumed, Jack kept the Donnelly Construction Bicknell on top and looked to take over the fifth position as the race settled into a medium length green-flag run. That was until lap 144 when a pile up off of a restart shrunk the field considerably.

On the ensuing restart, it appeared as if the tires cooling down for that accident’s 30-minute red flag wasn’t a good thing as Speshock began to fall back, taking the wind out of the sails of everyone in the DCI camp. However, with 20 laps remaining, Jack began to pick off cars that had just passed him and he was able to work his way back to a respectable 10th place finish. He may not have won the battle by sitting in victory lane, but for his team, he won the war by just surviving a 200-lap event.

“I just couldn’t see after that red flag,” he said. “I kept trying to find a clean spot on my gloves to wipe my visor. It wasn’t the tires going away. I just couldn’t see and ran out of tear offs.”

Speshock was very happy with his run and gave all the credit to his team.

“My crew gave me a great car,” he said. “From my crew chief, John Russo, my dedicated crew, the Buff’s to everyone who came to support me today. Tenth isn’t where we wanted to finish, but the car is in one piece and we are happy with it, especially with the field that was here to tonight. This event was awesome and thanks to Mike (Bruno) and his whole staff for putting it on. We always seem to run really well here and will continue to come back, but man, 200 laps is a long race. I’m glad it’s over and we survived.”

While the team may not have won the battle, they won the war. It’s a feat in and of itself to finish even a 100-lap race on dirt let alone 200. Just ask any driver at Super DIRT Week or Eastern States.

For about 95% of the field on Saturday, maybe the longest they’ve run has been 75-100 laps, so it was a testament to the drivers to see if they had the patience and stamina for an event like this. Looks like they did.

What Jack did is nothing to scoff at. Due to college, he hasn’t been in a car in over a month. He went out and competed with the best for a lot of money and did very well. It’s hard to take time off while focusing on other things and come right back, hop in your racecar and be one of best in a 200-lap event.

The first Vermont 200 was historic and the buzz after it was over was ‘Boy, I hope they do it again next year.’ Oh, and by the way, some guy named Hearn won the event. Can’t forget that.