Spencer Claims Pro Stock Win, Darling Clinches Second Seekonk Championship

By admin September 16, 2007 Seekonk

Seekonk, MA — Former Late Model champion and Pro Stock Rookie of the Year Kenny Spencer ended a season-long dry spell, going green to checker to post his first win of the campaign in the 40-lap Pro Stock feature at the 1/3-mile Seekonk Speedway oval on Saturday night. Spencer started on the outside pole after winning his heat race, dueling in the opening laps with fellow qualifying event winner Dean Pettey at the top of the field.

The first of three cautions was displayed for a multi-car crash on the second go-around which involved Billy Manchester and Joe Cerullo and eliminated previous race winner Fred Astle, Jr. Spencer and Pettey continued their battle for supremancy until a minor spin brought out the second caution at lap 8. When racing resumed, third place runner David Hutchins made contact with Pettey, seconding the second place car around, and triggering another multi-car pileup that eliminated Pettey and rookie Glenn Lawton and damaged the car of six-time winner and defending track champion David Darling.

Steve O’Brien inherited second when racing resumed, but was soon overtaken by U.S. Army combat veteran Scott Dion, who turned in his finest showing of the year on the track’s Armed Forces Appreciation Day. At the halfway point, Spencer and Dion ran first and second with Rob Murphy and Steve O’Brien locked in a heated struggle for third. Tom Scully, Jr. sat fifth, followed by Mike Brightman, John Dabrowski, Cerullo, Wayne Newman, and Darling. Cerullo and Darling climbed the ladder in the waning laps of the race while Scully began to pressure O’Brien.

At the front of the field, however, it was all Spencer, as the 43 year-old veteran secured his 22nd career Seekonk win and 10th overall in the top tier class. “It’s been a long season for us,” the driver of the Lawrence Air Systems-Hadrose Well Drilling #03 Chevrolet remarked. “We had to put a new front snout on the car after opening night. We’ve won a race every year for 12 years, and I thank God we were able to do it tonight.” Spencer offered his thanks to the team’s sponsors, crew, and their respective families for their dedication, patience, and support.

Dion finished a season-best second, notching his third straight top-five finish. Murphy was third, followed by O’Brien, who wound up a solid fourth. Tom Scully, Jr. was fifth, ahead of Brightman, who bounced back from an early race incident to post sixth. Rehoboth, MA’s David Darling finished seventh and clinched his second consecutive championship in the Pro Stock class. “It’s nice to have some breathing room going into the final week of the year,” admitted Darling, whose wife Christine is secheduled to deliver the couple’s second child this week. “It’s also a good feeling to have finished in the top ten in all 16 races. I can’t thank my crew chief, Ronnie Pond, our car owner, Gary Johnson, and the crew enough for all they’ve done.”

David Hutchins placed eighth with two-time track champ Joe Cerullo coming home ninth in his first feature race start in some 10 years. John Dabrowski was tenth.

In the 25-lap Late Model feature, West Warwick, RI’s Jeramee “The Hammer” Lillie earned his third trip to Victory Lane this seaon, bypassing early race leader John Dumas on the ninth go-around and holding off a hard-charging Kyle Casper by 0.233 seconds to claim his 10th Seekonk win. Lillie started sixth and quickly rose to third, using the outside lane to his advantage. Lillie took second from Randy Clark on the third lap and moved inside Dumas to take command five circuits later.

Mike Taschereau, Kevin Casper, and Mike Becker were involved in a multi-car incident while battling for fourth and fifth just past the halfway point, triggering the first of three cautions. Casper and Bill Bernard incurred further damage on lap 17 after James Lawrence and Matt Breault locked horns while racing for sixth.

Defending track champ Gerry DeGasparre, Jr. of Pawtucket, RI steered clear of the carnage and found himself third on the restart behind Lillie and Clark. DeGasparre took the spot when racing resumed while Taschereau charged back inside the top seven with five laps to go. A minor late-race spin set up a final restart which allowed Kyle Casper, who had been lurking back in fourth, and Mike Becker, to overtake DeGasparre. Casper moved to second with two laps to go and pulled in on Lillie’s rear bumper, but couldn’t shake the leader as they crossed under the checkers nose to tail. Becker came from the back of the pack to finish third, followed by DeGasparre, who posted his 17th consecutive top ten finish and 14th top five to clinch his third track title in five years. Clark was fifth, followed by Taschereau, Bernard, Breault, Dumas, and Lawrence.

Aston, PA’s “Liquid” Lou Cicconi passed rookie John Zych on a lap 2 restart and survived two additional yellows to post his second Seekonk win in three weeks at the Cement Palace in the 25-lap Northeastern Midget Association feature. Cicconi turned the fastest laps recorded at the track this season, averaging 11.1 seconds or 107 MPH en route to victory. New Yorker Adam Cantor came from ninth to second in the first three laps and would hold the spot all the way to the finish. Greg Stoehr, a multi-race NEMA winner at Seekonk, ran third until series point leader Ben Seitz overtook him for the spot just before the halfway signal.

Joey Payne climbed to fifth at the midway point, but the top four remained unchanged as they navigated their way through lapped traffic all the way to the finish. At the stripe, it was Cicconi, Cantor and Seitz earning the podium positions with Stoeher and Payne fourth and fifth in the 26-car field. Mike Horn, Randy Cabral, John Zych, Nokie Fornoro, and Shane Hammond rounded out the top ten finishers.

For the seventh time this season, Rochester, MA’s Adam Murphy reigned in the Sport Truck class, passing rookie Ted Berube for the top spot on a lap 7 restart and running unchallenged through the remainder of the 20-lap affair. Seventy-five year old Billy Clarke led the first thre laps with Caitlin Alferes and Lenny Guy in tow. After a handful of caution flag-inducing incidents, Berube, Murphy and Charlie Rose comprised the top three as the field completed the fifth circuit.

When the final caution waved two laps later, Murphy took advantage of the side-by-side restart with Berube to rocket past, and was soon joined at the top of the heap by three-time winner Rose. Hugh Bowser ran fourth through much of the race until being overtaken by five-time winner and defending champ Mike Cavallaro on lap 16.

In the end, Murphy won the war once again, besting Rose and Berube at the line for the 11th win of his career. Cavallaro finished fourth, his 17th top-five finish in 18 starts, sewing up the ’07 title in the process. Bowser was fifth, followed by Andy Jeffery, Lenny Guy, Billy Clarke, Darryl Church, who earned his first top ten of the campaign, and Brian Murray.

Attleboro, MA’s Paul Lallier inherited the lead in the 20-lap Street Stock feature when Doug Rioux spun on the 12th go-around and held off 25 year-veteran George Rego in a green-white-checker finish to post his sixth career victory. Rioux led the first 11 laps, with rookie Randy Arruda, Tony Oliveira, and Scott Bruneau battling inside the top four in his wake. Rioux got loose coming through turn two, spinning onto the apron and giving the lead to Lallier, who had just overtaken Arruda for second.

A multi-car pileup on lap 18 took Arruda, Bruneau, and Oliveira out of contention and gave Rego, who had started 19th, the opportunity to start alongside Lallier. Lallier drove off when the green was unfurled, leaving Rego to contend with a fast-approaching Rey Lovelace, who finished third to Rego by 46 one-thousandths of a second. Rookie point leader Dan Lineham was fourth, followed by three-time winner Mike Lema, second place points man Sparky Arsenault, two-time winner Ryan Lineham, John Hanafin, Steve Axon, who holds a razor-thin advantage atop the standings with one event remaining, and Patrick Delaney.

In the Fast Friday Series, Attleboro, MA’s Jason Arsenault checkered the 25-lap Pure Stock feature while Bridgewater, MA’s Brian Mondeau, 14, and 12 year-old Derryck Anderson, Jr. of Warwick, RI captured the respective Seekonk Youth Racing Association 750 and 600-restrictor plate 25-lap mains.

Saturday night racing concludes at the 1/3-mile Bay State oval on September 22 with the annual crowning of the champions events, beginning at 6 PM. Seekonk’s Pro Stocks, Late Models, Street Stocks, and Sport Trucks will all be in action for their final points races of the campaign, hoping to secure the top spots in the overall championship standings. General admission tickets are priced at $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. #03-Kenny Spencer, Taunton, MA
  2. #4-Scott Dion, Taunton, MA
  3. #80-Rob Murphy, Rochester, MA
  4. #95-Steve O’Brien, Scituate, MA
  5. #2-Tom Scully, Jr., Cranston, RI
  6. #27-Mike Brightman, Acushnet, MA
  7. #52-David Darling, Rehoboth, MA
  8. #96-Dave Hutchins, Somerset, MA
  9. #43-Joe Cerullo, Warwick, RI
  10. #00-John Dabrowski, West Bridgewater, MA

Late Model Feature (25 laps)

  1. #3-Jeramee Lillie, West Warwick, RI
  2. #7-Kyle Casper, Somerset, MA
  3. #00-Mike Becker, Avon, MA
  4. #71-Gerry DeGasparre, Jr., Pawtucket, RI
  5. #93-Randy Clark, East Harwich, MA
  6. #33-Mike Taschereau, West Warwick, RI
  7. #47-Bill Bernard, Holliston, MA
  8. #20-Matt Breault, Acushnet, MA
  9. #40-John Dumas, Brockton, MA
  10. #28-James Lawrence, Somerset, MA

Northeastern Midget Association Feature (25 laps)

  1. #47b-Lou Cicconi, Aston, PA
  2. #7NY-Adam Cantor, Dix Hills, NY
  3. #17-Ben Seitz, Pocasset, MA
  4. #26-Greg Stoehr, Bridgewater, MA
  5. #45-Joey Payne, Fairlawn, NJ
  6. #30P-Mike Horn, Ashland, MA
  7. #47-Randy Cabral, Plymouth, MA
  8. #9-John Zych, Jr., Mendon, MA
  9. #4-Nokie Fornoro, Stroudsburg, PA
  10. #36-Shane Hammond, Halifax, MA

Sport Truck Feature (20 laps)

  1. #81-Adam Murphy, Rochester, MA
  2. #41-Charlie Rose, Jr., Tiverton, RI
  3. #91-Teddy Berube, Somerset, MA
  4. #80-Mike Cavallaro, Seekonk, MA
  5. #22-Hugh Bowser, Taunton, MA
  6. #2-Andy Jeffery, Middleboro, MA
  7. #77-Lenny Guy, New Bedford, MA
  8. #1-Billy Clarke, Seekonk, MA
  9. #4-Darryl Church, Brockton, MA
  10. #13-Brian Murray, Tiverton, RI

Street Stock Feature (20 laps)

  1. #77-Paul Lallier, Pawtucket, RI
  2. #1-George Rego, North Dartmouth, MA
  3. #14-Rey Lovelace, North Providence, RI
  4. #91-Daniel Lineham, Coventry, RI
  5. #39-Mike Lema, Taunton, MA
  6. #96-Sparky Arsenault, Attleboro, MA
  7. #19-Ryan Lineham, Coventry, RI
  8. #76-John Hanafin, Quincy, MA
  9. #04-Steve Axon, Attleboro, MA
  10. #71-Patrick Delaney, Swansea, MA

Pure Stock Feature (25 laps)

  1. #9-Jason Arsenault, Attleboro, MA
  2. #01-Scott Cestodio, Swansea, MA
  3. #13-Bob Hinckley, Acushnet, MA
  4. #8-Bill Chouinard, Swansea, MA
  5. #77-Carlos Silva, Swansea, MA
  6. #0-Tom Blackwell, Taunton, MA
  7. #47-Mark Boisvert, Uxbridge, MA
  8. #91-Tom Melnick-Holland, Coventry, RI
  9. #53-Vinnie Pangelinan, West Warwick, RI
  10. #5-Randy Moretti, West Warwick, RI

SYRA-750 Feature (25 laps)

  1. #22-Brian Mondeau, Bridgewater, MA
  2. #55-Matthew Burke, Plymouth, MA
  3. #0-Kyle Kuchta, Niantic, CT
  4. #46-Dylan Estrella, North Attleboro, MA
  5. #28-Jariah Roderick, East Taunton, MA

SYRA-600 Feature (25 laps)

  1. #65-Derryck Anderson, Jr., Warwick, RI
  2. #75-Adam Swift, Fairhaven, MA
  3. #96-David Hutchins, Jr., Somerset, MA
  4. #8-Chris Igo, North Easton, MA
  5. #10-Ethan Souza, Acushnet, MA
  6. #38-Nick Ladyga, Voluntown, CT
  7. #95-Kaitlyn Donovan, Waterford, CT
  8. #6-Jake Spillers, Ashburnham, MA
  9. #5-Casey Sanchez, Providence, RI
  10. #58-Jake Howes, Carver, MA

Sources: Todd Baptista/Seekonk Speedway PR

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