Darling Earns Sixth Win, Extends Point Lead

Seekonk, MA — Rehoboth, MA’s David Darling inherited the lead when Todd Annarummo and Fred Astle, Jr. crashed while battling for the win on the white flag lap and held off David Hutchins in a green-white-checker finish to post his sixth victory of the season in the 40-lap Pro Stock feature at Seekonk Speedway Saturday night.

Scott Fournier led the initial go-around before rookie Matt Hudon rocketed into the top spot. Hudon opened a healthy lead over Fournier, Hutchins, Glenn Lawton, John Dabrowski and Annarummo in the initial laps before the second of four cautions waved after contact with another car sent Mike Brightman into the outside wall on lap 10. Dabrowski pitted under the caution, and Annarummo made quick work of Fournier when racing resumed, settling up a lengthy side-by-side battle between Annarummo and Hutchins for second that stretched into the second half of the event.

At the halfway point, Hudon held a commanding advantage over Annarummo and Hutchins with Fournier, Lawton, Scott Dion, Rob Murphy, Astle, Tom Scully, Jr., and 13th place starter David Darling, who was mired back in traffic for the first 30 laps. Dion and Astle passed Murphy on lap 24, after which Astle quickly advanced to fourth. A minor spin on lap 32 allowed Annarummo to restart alongside Hudon and Todd made the most of the opportunity, outgunning the early race leader via the outside. Fournier spun with five to go, necessitating another caution, after which Astle shot to the front in the second groove. Astle took second on lap 36 while Darling, who restarted fifth, closed to third.

Astle reeled in the leader coming to the white flag and dove to the inside of Annarummo heading into turn three. The pair traded paint and sparks through turns three and four and all the way into turns one and two when they spun and crashed. Darling became the race leader, and held off a final charge from Hutchins to win by 0.363 seconds, furthering his bid for a second consecutive track championship. “We didn’t have the fastest car,” Darling admitted after taking his 25th career victory lap. “We hit the wall earlier in the night, and the car just wasn’t the same. We threw everything including the kitchen sink at it all night long. It was tough to pass in traffic, and I must have had a smile from ear to ear when I saw (the accident) in front of me. My only thought was, ‘Don’t crash me!’”

After falling to fourth with 5 laps to go, Hutchins was pleased to finish second. “We were O.K., but the car was still too tight to do anything with (Darling) tonight,” he confessed. Hudon was all smiles after coming home a season best-third. “As the race went on, I needed to use more brake in the center of the turns,” the 19 year-old rookie explained. “I didn’t want to see that second to last caution. But, we led 31 laps and made it to the scales (a mandatory post-race technical inspection for top five finishers) for the first time this season, and it feels pretty good.”

Scott Dion was a solid fourth, followed by four-time division champ Rick Martin, who pitted several times to make minor adjustments and roared back to claim fifth. Dabrowski, Steve O’Brien, Rob Murphy, and Scott Fournier were sixth through ninth with Todd Henshaw claiming his first top 10 of the season.

In the 25-lap Late Model feature Kyle Casper of Somerset, MA survived a three-wide battle for the lead that saw Mike Becker tangle with Gerry DeGasparre en route to his first victory of the campaign. Becker started on the pole and led the initial six laps while DeGasparre and Casper closed in. Casper ran the bottom groove while the two-time track champ attempted to pass Becker via the high line. Coming through turn four on lap 7, Casper dove under the duo in a bid for the lead. Coming through turn one, the back end came out from under Becker, collecting DeGasparre’s mount in the process.

After initially sending all three cars to the rear, officials reviewing a video replay reinstated Casper to first, much to the approval of the crowd. Casper had to withstand two additional restarts with two-time winner Jeramee Lillie alongside, the final one being a green-white-checker finish, but each time, the former Sport Truck champ was able to motor away.

Older brother Kevin Casper took second on the final lap, but the night belonged to Kyle, who brought the Kidd Motorsports team their first career victory. Lillie was third, followed by Matt Breault, Robin Berghman, Becker, DeGasparre, Jonathan Dickerman, Bill Bernard, and Marc Hudson.

In the Kraze’s Speed Equipment-sponsored 30-lap Sport Truck feature, Charlie Rose, Jr. passed veteran Billy Clarke on the fifth go-around and survived a handful of cautions to earn his third win of the season and second in the past three weeks. A pair of alteractions slowed the initial circuits before Rose, Clarke, Hugh Bowser, David Haywood, and Chad Hancock began to put some laps up on the scorebaord.

By the halfway point, Rose led Bowser, five-time winner Mike Cavallaro, defending race winner Zach Tucan, Rick Martin, Ted Berube, and Andy Jeffery. Cavallaro took second with ten to go and closed in on Rose as the leader encountered heavy lapped traffic. Three more yellows, including one which waved for Bowser after he was spun out of a top five spot, gave Cavallaro multiple opportunities to start alongside Rose. In each instance, however, Rose was able to hold off his fellow 20-year racing veteran. Martin took third from Tucan with two laps to go while Cavallaro made one final bid to the outside of Rose, falling short by 0.189 seconds.

Cavallaro, Martin, Tucan, and Jeffery rounded out the top five, with Ted Berube, Lenny Guy, Adam Murphy, Russ Borges, and Manny Dias, who rebounded from a first lap crash, comprising the remainder of the top ten.

Mike Lema of Taunton, MA became the only three-time winner in the Street Stocks this season, caputing the 20-lap main event after a spirited battle with Walpole, MA’s Brian Spillane. Tony Oliveira led the initial laps while front-runners Dan Lineham, Frank Duquette, and John Hanafin all suffered varying degrees of crash damage in a series of early race incidents.

Oliveira gave up the lead to Spillane on lap 8 and subsequently tangled with Billy Brady while battling for second on lap 10, forcing both drivers to restart from the tail. Lema, who had come from 11th to fourth, inherited second and drove under Spillane to take away the lead on lap 12. After a Bob Bettencourt crash on lap 13, officials called for a single file restart. Spillane challenged Lema through the closing laps, but fell short by a half-second. Point leader Steve Axon came from 13th to third at final tally with two-time winner Mike Mitchell, Scott Bruneau, and Mark Henshaw, Jr. comprising the balance of the top six. Jim Silvia started 17th and finished seventh, ahead of Sparky Arsenault, Dick Cavallaro, and Rey Lovelace.

Saturday night racing continues at the 1/3-mile Bay State oval through September 22, beginning each week at 6 PM. Seekonk’s Pro Stocks, Late Models, Street Stocks, and Sport Trucks will be in action, vying for the top spots in the overall championship standings. Saturday general admission tickets are $12 for adults and $4 for Juniors 13 to 15 years of age. All children 12 and under are admitted free. Pit admission is $20 for ARC Pit Membership Card holders and $30 for non-card holders. Senior citizen discounts are also available on general admission tickets for all Saturday night races. All guests 55 years of age and older will receive a $2 discount. Guests must present photo identification for proof of eligibility if requested. For more information, contact the speedway office at (508)-336-9959 or visit online at www.seekonkspeedway.com.

Pro Stock Feature (40 laps)

1. #52-David Darling, Rehoboth, MA
2. #96-Dave Hutchins, Somerset, MA
3. #22-Matt Hudon, Acushnet, MA
4. #4-Scott Dion, Taunton, MA
5. #14-Rick Martin, Westport, MA
6. #00-John Dabrowski, West Bridgewater, MA
7. #95-Steve O’Brien, Scituate, MA
8. #80-Rob Murphy, Rochester, MA
9. #47-Scott Fournier, Berkley, MA
10. #20-Todd Henshaw, Raynham, MA

Unofficial-Late Model Feature (25 laps)

1. #7-Kyle Casper, Somerset, MA
2. #88-Kevin Casper, Somerset, MA
3. #3-Jeramee Lillie, West Warwick, RI
4. #20-Matt Breault, Acushnet, MA
5. #81-Robin Berghman, East Providence, RI
6. #00-Mike Becker, Avon, MA
7. #71-Gerry DeGasparre, Jr., Pawtucket, RI
8. #13-Jon Dickerman, Weymouth, MA
9. #47-Bill Bernard, Holliston, MA
10. #02-Mark Hudson, Norton, MA

Kraze’s Speed Equipment Sport Truck Feature (30 laps)

1. #41-Charlie Rose, Jr., Tiverton, RI
2. #80-Mike Cavallaro, Seekonk, MA
3. #14-Rick Martin, Westport, MA
4. #3-Zach Tucan, Taunton, MA
5. #2-Andy Jeffery, Middleboro, MA
6. #91-Teddy Berube, Somerset, MA
7. #77-Lenny Guy, New Bedford, MA
8. #81-Adam Murphy, Rochester, MA
9. #9-Russ Borges, Fall River, MA
10. #124-Manny Dias, Pawtucket, RI

Street Stock Feature (20 laps)

1. #39-Mike Lema, Taunton, MA
2. #22-Brian Spillane, Walpole, MA
3. #04-Steve Axon, Attleboro, MA
4. #40-Michael Mitchell, Manville, RI
5. #74-Scott Bruneau, Tiverton, RI
6. #17-Mark Henshaw, Jr., Raynham, MA
7. #116-Jim Silvia, Middletown, RI
8. #96-Sparky Arsenault, Attleboro, MA
9. #6-Dick Cavallaro, Seekonk, MA
10. #14-Rey Lovelace, North Providence, RI

Sources: Todd Baptista/Seekonk Speedway PR

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