Jon McKennedy wins Connecticut Laborers Union 100 for True Value Mods. Vanasse, Martin and DeMoura win undercard

Seekonk, MA — Jon McKennedy started 18th in the 24 car field on Saturday, and took the lead on lap 85 of the Connecticut Laborers Union 100 to pick up his first win at Seekonk, and second consecutive on the True Value Modified Racing Series. Jon quietly worked his way through the field, entering the top ten at lap 33, and into the top five on lap 41. That was the easy part. Once into the top five, he picked off Bobby Grigas, Dave Berghman, and Les Hinckley using the outside and inside lanes. With 40 laps remaining, he was into second, but a long ways behind leader Vinny Annarummo. A caution on lap 65 would help close in the gap, and give a cleaner look at the lead, and he and Annarummo were both in heavy lapped traffic.

Once back underway, McKennedy worked the 3-time True Value winner on the high and low sides, getting even with Vinnie “Who” at lap 76, but was unable to complete the pass. On lap 78, McKennedy dove to the inside, and the two ran side by side for several laps, finally overtaking Annarummo on lap 85. McKennedy would be able to hold on through two more cautions to pick up his first win at a track that he has run so well at over the past few seasons.

Dwight Jarvis followed a similar approach as McKennedy, starting 19th. But it took much longer for the 2006 True Value Champion to get to the front. Dwight didn’t crack the top five until lap 70, and followed Jon’s lead on the outside into the top three. Jarvis ran third for 18 laps, until Annarummo slipped up off turn two, and Jarvis was able to pass on the outside into second.

Bobby Grigas III started on the pole, and led the first quarter of the event before Annarummo took over on lap 27. once out front, it appeared the crowd would be treated to another Vinnie performance, as the 6-time Seekonk Champion opened up a substantial lead through the center portion of the event. Even a couple of mid-race cautions would not slow up the momentum of the Levesque’s Tree Service machine. The turning point came on lap 69, when the power steering went away. Vinnie was forced to manhandle the car for the remainder of the event, eventually falling to fourth in the order.

Jimmy Kuhn was making his first start of the season with the True Value Modifieds, and picked the perfect night to come back home. Kuhn started 12th, and was not much of a factor for much of the event. As the laps wore down, Kuhn picked up the pace, and around lap 95, found himself running sixth when Rowan Pennick touched Les Hinckley while battling for fourth. This sent both competitors to the rear. With just 3 laps remaining, Kuhn was fourth, and overtook Annarummo for third over the final laps.

Ryan Vanasse picked up his 3rd win of the season in the 30 lap Late Model main. In a race that went green to checkered, the fighting was going on behind the Rocket. Freetown’s Frank Duquette and Somerset’s Tyler Thompson brought the field down for the green, with Duquette jumping out to the early lead. Thompson held on for second in the early laps as Jon Dickerman and Vanasse started closing in. Vanasse was quick to get by Dickerman, then by Thompson and started closing in on Duquette. Dickerman followed Vanasse to the top three.

Behind them, Kyle Casper, Kevin Casper and Gerry DeGasparre had lined themselves up and started working through the field. While they were fighting amongst themselves just outside the top five, Vanasse had closed in on the NAC Security and Sound System Chevy and had the Team V Transport glued to the inside lane, and took over the lead on lap 8.

At the lap ten mark, Kyle Casper was putting pressure on Tyler Thompson for fourth, trying to get a run inside. Having to go to the outside, Casper and Casper moved past Thompson and some sibling rivalry started to heat up. Kevin put the Phil’s Propane Toyota under Kyle’s Somerset Federal Credit Union Chevy and took over the third position. DeGasparre was able to follow Kevin and found himself fifth at the halfway point.

Over the final 15 laps, the only change for position was Kevin Casper moving by the Airgas Toyota of Dickerman for third. The rest of the top five remained the same as Vanasse cruised to victory for the third time, picking up the Phil’s Propane contingency bonus. Duquette had his best ever finish for second, with Kevin Casper, Dickerman and DeGasparre rounding out the top five.

“I have to thank my brother Mike for this,” Ryan said in Victory Lane, “I wasn’t happy with the car after the heat, and he told me to be patient. He was right. This win is dedicated to Nick, our crew member who just had a baby this week.”

In the 25 lap Seekonk Sport Truck feature, Rick Martin inched closer to the all time feature win record with his fourth consecutive win of the season. Mike Ronhock and Kyle DeSouza sat on the front row, and it was the Mashpee native Ronhock taking the lead on the opening laps. As DeSouza started to back slide, Lenny Guy and John Paiva made it three wide for second, with Paiva Taking the second spot away. Guy fell in for third before the Hobbies & things Chevy spun to bring out the first caution.

Ronhock and Paiva sat on the front row with Guy and Jody Tripp third and fourth. Martin, who re-started fifth tried to go three wide under Guy and Tripp, but the caution came out for the second time for Russ Borges who spun. Ronhock got loose on the restart, allowing the Shear Genius Chevy of Paiva to take over the lead with Tripp in tow. Martin was up to third with Ronhock and Guy rounding out the top five.

Tripp used his experience and put the Silver Key Inc. Chevy to the outside and raced with Paiva for three laps before overtaking him for the lead. Martin followed Tripp and dropped Paiva back to third. A Spin by Billy Clark brought out the caution again, this time with three laps complete.

Tripp, Paiva and Martin were the top three on the restart as Tripp jumped back out front with Martin in tow. With another restart, Tripp and Martin raced side by side for the lead. Over the next several laps, Martin and Tripp swapped the lead back and forth almost a dozen times, with only a couple of thousandths between them for the lead. Just past the halfway point, Martin was able to close the door on Tripp and take command of the race.

Tripp would continue to put pressure on Martin for the next several laps, but would not be able to make a serious challenge. Lenny Guy was able to work his way back up to third, with Paiva and Jason Heroux rounding out the top five.

“Jody made me work for it today,” a tired Martin exclaimed. “I drove my heart out there. That’s good racing when it is like that. The truck is running real well. I don’t do anything to the truck except tire pressures here at the track.”

With 4 different winners in four events, it’s no wonder why the Street Stocks are one of the most exciting divisions going. North Dighton’s Chris DeMoura made sure that the streak was kept alive, as he became the 5th different winner in as many races in 2009. Swansea’s Patrick Delaney led the field down for the green with DeMoura lined up outside. Chris quickly put the Bristol County Chopper Oldsmobile at the top of the leaderboard. 2002 Street Champ Elmer Wing III followed Chris into the top two and put pressure on the leader early. They would turn one-two until the first caution came out on lap 3 for Ryan Lineham.

Side by side DeMoura and Wing battled on the restart, with Wing strong on the outside. He would lead a lap before DeMoura would take the lead back, and just in time, and Manny Dias cut down a tire and brought out the second caution at lap 4. Another caution on lap 6 for Bobby Pelland III who spun in turn 4 and DeMoura and Wing would try it again.

The Dunkin Donuts of Lakeville machine for Wing led the next two circuits before DeMoura would get back to the front on lap 8. After a lap 10 restart, the ARC officials decided to go to a single file restart. Once back underway, Scott Serydynski was using up the outside lane in his quest for his first win of the season, but fell off the pace at lap 17 with mechanical issues. By the time the field rolled under the half-way mark, Mark Henshaw Jr had moved into the second position, with Tony Oliviera third. Serydynski and Paul Lallier rounded out the top five.

Without any additional slow ups, DeMoura was able to hang on and win the 25 lap feature. Henshaw held on for second, with Oliviera, Lallier and Wing rounding out the top five.

“It feels good to be back in Victory Lane,” and excited DeMoura mentioned. “I need to thank some of my sponsors that I forgot last time: Reese’s Auto Sales, Bristol county Choppers, and Bristol County Collision. I need to thank my father, and my crew. It’s been a frustrating year so far, but this makes it all worth it.

Saturday night racing returns on June 20th, with the second 75 lap main event for the ARC Pro Stocks. With $2,000 up for grabs for the winner, and a guaranteed starting spot in the Cirelli Marketplace PASS 150 on August 15, the action is sure to be tough. Dave Darling won the first qualifier, and one more name will be added to the list this Saturday. The Late Models, Seekonk Sport Trucks and Street Stocks will all be on the schedule. Adult admission is just $12.00, kids 12 and under FREE. For more information, check out our website at seekonkspeedway.com.

Sources: Kevin Boucher/Seekonk Speedway PR

Connecticut Laborers Union 100
True Value Modifieds

Street Stocks

Late Models

Seekonk Sports Trucks

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