News

VDL Dominates Oxford 250 with . . .

“Growing up as a kid in this area, the 250 is THE big race.  I’d be up there to watch and always dream of someday running it.  For us to actually pull one off, I still don’t believe it.”  THE race was the 43rd H.P.  Hood Oxford 250; the track was Oxford Plains Speedway in Oxford, Maine; and that dreamer is Wayne Helliwell Jr.  Bruce Bernhardt, car owner and crew chief, of Bernhardt Automotive in Pelham, NH has been a competitor at Oxford since before Wayne was born; and these two have been together now for almost a decade.  August 28 was the day that all their hopes and dreams collided with a better pit strategy, longer tire management, and smarter driving.  Wayne took the lead with 6 laps to go after a long side by side battle with Travis Benjamin who was looking for his 3rd victory in this prestigious event.  Bruce says, “Several people asked me what our next race is after this.  I said, “There is no next race.  You think about the 250 all year.  Our partners, like VDL, have been working with us all year to get to this point, and having Dan on [...]

September 21, 2016 Read more...

Frisbie is Fast!

Cottage Grove Speedway is a fast 1/4 mile dirt track just south of Eugene, Oregon.  Chris Frisbie and crew are from Vancouver, Washington and showed up on June 11 for the Wallbanger Cup.  How perfectly named!  The IMCA Sport Mod feature was a caution plagued affair; and, despite having to deal with several restarts through the course of the race, the Frisbie Motorsports/ Clark Printing/ Discount Race Car Parts/ Harbor Rail Services Company #17 was the car to beat.  Chris blazed the trail for every single lap to win his first career race at Cottage Grove Speedway!  Maybe it was the VDL graphics on the hood; but, it was definitely the VDL 650 HP carburetor under the hood.  Thanks for the ride, Chris!        

July 7, 2016 Read more...

The First One is Always the Best!

Here are the numbers: 8 – the number of race nights scheduled at Sharon Speedway in Hartford  OH 7 – the number of race nights rained out at Sharon Speedway 600 – the number of BB Modified races run at Sharon Speedway 87 – the number of different winners of the BB Modified feature at Sharon Speedway 6 – the number of years that Chris Haines of Sandy Lake PA has competed in BB Modifieds 4 – the day in June that Chris Haines won his first career BB Modified feature race!   It was a fast track; Chris rode the cushion, and held off some of the region’s best Modified racers that Saturday night in early June for his first career win in the division.  The 45 year old driver from Sandy Lake PA led the final 16 laps of the Hovis Auto & Truck Supply feature for the win, and VDL was there!  Chris had purchased a Holley 850 HP for his Big Block before the season started, and it paid off. Congratulations, Chris.  The first one is always the best.

June 8, 2016 Read more...

5 Time IMCA Stock Car National Champion

Here are the numbers for the 2015 season: 57 starts 39 wins 8 2nd place 50 top 5 5 DNF 3 track championships   Who is that man with the big smile? Let us introduce Mike Nichols, the all-time win leader in IMCA Stock Car and 5-time National Champion!  Racing has always been a family affair, and he started out in go-karts with mom and dad as the crew.  The next step was an outlaw Hobby Stock; and then he took a big leap up to IMCA and won his first national championship in 2002.  Today he holds 24 career IMCA track titles, 374 lifetime wins, and 4 more National Championships.  This year, he missed the National trophy by only 4 points! This humble giant always says:  “I know you’ve heard me say this before.  If you surround yourself with the best people, you will achieve the best results.”  His VDL 4412 carburetor is definitely the best!

November 20, 2015 Read more...

McCoy Wins All

Billy McCoy of Belvidere IL purchased a VDL 4412 this past summer; and his driver, Brett McCoy, started winning races.  Rockford Speedway is a high-banked quarter mile oval in the middle of America and a member of NASCAR All-American Weekly Racing Series.  Brett is now the Rockford Speedway 2015 Sportsman Champion, and he also scooped up the All-American Sportsman Dash Points.

November 18, 2015 Read more...

Fastest on Dirt

‘Smooth as silk and violent as a volcano’ is the only way to describe a Modified on the dirt.  Will Thomas kept it smooth all season to win the 2015 Modified Track Championship at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio.  His engine builder, Jason Ore of 955 Automotive in Erie PA, is a firm believer in VDL; and his carburetor of choice for Will was our Holley 80528-1.450.  This carburetor has the smooth throttle response of a 750, and yet offers the ground-shaking power of a 950. Congratulations, Team 9!

November 18, 2015 Read more...

You Guys Rock!

First night out with new carb, hit rev limiter in hot laps, we had never done that before!  Then wins his heat race.  Starts inside 2nd row in the 20 lap feature, leads the race for a few laps, gets passed and beats the bumper off the leader until 2 laps to go, takes the lead back and gets passed on the last lap in the last corner for a 2nd place finish.  Very happy with the new carb.  My boy had a new stock car chassis built for this year and it has been working very well, hoping this new carb is that little bit we have been missing.  Looks like it might be! Thank you from Harlan Pundt, my boy Jeremy, and our 52J racing fans! IMCA Stock Car, Iowa ————————————————————————————————————————— Thanks VDL.  This is my second carb from you guys.  The first was a 2 barrel a few years ago.  It has been awesome and still on my open motor.  Looking forward to this one on the Crate.  You guys rock! Thanks, Chris Frisbie #17 Modified Sunset Speedway Park, Oregon ————————————————————————————————————————— Hi, my name is JR Flores.  I recently purchased a 650 HP from VDL because of last minute tinkering on racer.  I stripped the squirter [...]

November 18, 2015 Read more...

2014 was a great year!

  Congratulations to all the VDL champions of 2014!  We are proud of your hard work and are thankful to have been a part of each winning team. We also celebrate all the second places, all the first wins, all the efforts of those who dared to be great . . . . Theodore Roosevelt said “the credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds . .”  Here’s to the new year and the new season to strive again!   This is Austin “Bullitt” Blais from Seekonk Speedway in Massachuesetts.  His Street Stock team racked up 6 wins, took second in the final points, and missed the championship by 50 points.   Driver Scotty Kay and car owner Dennis Walker celebrated their first win November 1 at Hendry County Motorsports Park in Florida:  “We finished the car Friday night, went Saturday to the local race, shook down the car, won the heat and feature against 18 cars and 5 of the best local [...]

January 5, 2015 Read more...

Dear VDL,

Hi, my name is Chris Marek and I race at Elko Speedway in Minnesota where I have raced and won a good amount of races and championships in the Hornet cars, Power Stock, and Sportsman.  In the past two seasons, I have been running in the Big 8 class where I have also found success.  This last season my team and I won the championship at Elko Speedway along with 8 feature wins for the season.  We entered the Big 8 race at Elko as the series made its stop here and again found success setting fast time and winning the main event.  With one more race left for the year, we went to LaCrosse Speedway in Wisconsin for the Octoberfest weekend.  That is weekend is one I will never forget.  We timed in second fast out of 60 cars and won the Big 8 feature Saturday night.  On Sunday, we entered the OJ Mac 63 race, a 3 twenty-one lap segment race.  I won two of the three and took second in the third, winning the overall. With that said, I just wanted to write to your company and say thanks for providing me with what I think to [...]

June 20, 2014 Read more...

You Can Be a Champion, Too, in 2014 with VDL!

   Picture this:  Last race of the season (and it’s a big one!), 50 teams from 9 states, 46 of them attempting to qualify, then 75 laps on the tight 3/8 mile Bullring at Las Vegas Motor Speedway against 25 other ready-to-win Modifieds; and you’ve got the Lucas Oil West Coast Short Track Championship Race.  It was Matt Hicks’ night to brag, and VDL is proud to be a part of his team.  “It’s an awesome carburetor,” said Matt as he took the Budweiser Fast Time Award, then took the race lead at lap 11, and never looked back. The VDL 80528 / 750 HP carburetor is a bolt on, ready to win carburetor that can get your team to the front of the pack, too.  Get ready for 2014 with more horsepower and better drivablility.  Congratulations to Matt Hicks and all the VDL Champions!    

January 3, 2014 Read more...