Hudon, Casper, Annarummo Share Spotlight In Seekonk DAV Events

Seekonk, MA — A record 232 race cars and trucks converged upon the 1/3-mile Seekonk Speedway for the Bay State facility’s season-ending D. Anthony Venditti Memorial Festival of Racing, an action-packed two-day 11-division extravaganza that featured over 650 laps of green flag racing and in excess of $47,000 in purse money and another $5,700 in lap money bonuses.  Nineteen year-old Pro Stock rookie Matt Hudon of Acushnet, MA outdueled two-time NASCAR Busch North Series champion Dave Dion of Hudson, NH to win the DAV Battle of the Pro Stocks 100.  Hudon, a second year student at Wentworth Institute of Technology, began his career in the speedway’s SYRA Mini-Cup division where he won a championship, and advanced to the top tier division in 2007 after winning Rookie of the Year honors in the Street Stock and Late Model classes.

Thirty-two drivers from as far away as New York and North Carolina attempted to qualify for the 25-car main, which saw Dion and Hudon start in the front row after a random redraw of the top nine qualifiers.  Hudon led the initial go-around before Dion, the 63 year-old Hall of Fame racer, gained the advantage in the top groove.  The lead duo ran nearly side-by-side for much of the early going, with Ray Parent and Fred Astle, Jr. in third and fourth.

Hudon went back on top at a lap 21 restart, five laps before the fifth of 13 cautions waved for a crash that eliminated the cars of Jeff Zuidema and Dave Silvia.  Defending race winner Russ Hersey of Swanzey, NH started 22^nd and steadily worked the outside lane to the front, taking sixth on the 46^th circuit.  Dion, who went back around Hudon on lap 37, ran nose to tail with him at the halfway point with Astle, Parent, Hersey, Rob Murphy, Kenny Spencer, two-time track champ David Darling, and Rick Martin following.  Martin and Darling tangled on lap 57, earning both a trip to the rear of the field.  Dion appeared to spin his tires on the restart, allowing Hudon and Parent to assume first and second.

Spencer, meanwhile, was turning the fastest laps of the race in the outside lane, and climbed alongside Dion to race for third on lap 62.  The pair overpowered Parent on a lap 70 restart and were racing for position when they touched three laps later in turn four.  Spencer drifted high, and was carried into the frontstretch concrete, destroying the front end of his car.  Hudon forged ahead when racing resumed, with Dion and Astle in tow.  Parent locked horns with Murphy while racing for fourth at lap 84, and under the ensuing yellow, Astle broke an axle, ending his bid for the win.

Hersey got stronger as the laps ticked by, coming to third on the 86^th go-around and closing in on Dion, but Hudon’s Chevrolet stretched out its lead in the final green flag run, finishing 1.033 seconds ahead of Dion’s Ford for the victory.  “I can’t believe I’m in Pro Stock Victory Lane,” the winner exclaimed.  “Dave Dion is a legend.  I have so much respect for what he’s accomplished.  It was the first time I raced against him, and he drove me clean the whole time.  Our car was perfect tonight.  I just can’t believe it.”

Dion and Hersey finished second and third, with rookie Glenn Lawton and David Darling comprising the balance of the top five.  John Dabrowski battled back from an early race crash for sixth, followed by Rick Martin, Rob Murphy, Bryon Baker, and Billy Manchester.

Second-generation ace Kyle Casper of Somerset, MA took the lead in the 50-lap Late Model feature when Jeramee Lillie developed a mechanical problem five laps from the finish, and held off three-time track champ Gerry DeGasparre, Jr. to claim a popular win.  Qualifying race winners DeGasparre and Lillie traded paint and the lead several times over the first 17 laps from their front row starting positions.  The pair dented some sheet metal while dicing for the top spot with Ryan Vanasse on the 12^th lap, triggering an accordion effect crash further back in the pack.  Lillie took command on lap 17 while handling issues allowed Casper to slip past DeGasparre.

At the halfway point, Barry Shaw ran fourth, ahead of Vanasse, Kevin Casper, and Denny Stampfl, but contact between Vanasse and Shaw would force both drivers to the tail the next time around.  Rookie Matt Breault came to life in the second half of the race, rocketing to third via the outside line and getting around DeGasparre on lap 32.  His charge would end with a turn one spin soon after, bringing out the fifth of six cautions.

DeGasparre battled back to first on lap 36, but Lillie charged ahead in the outside lane and took over again at lap 40.  Casper took second from DeGasparre on lap 44 and claimed the lead the next time around when Lillie slowed dramatically.  In the end, Kyle prevailed by 0.712 seconds over DeGasparre for his third career Late Model win.  Older brother Kevin Casper was third, followed by Stampfl, Shaw, Mark Anzalone, Lillie, Jonathan Dickerman, Bill Bernard, and Bob Hussey.

Six-time Seekonk champion Vinnie Annarummo of Swansea, MA continued his dominance in the True Value Modified Racing Series events at his home track, coming from the back to the front to score his 45^th career Cement Palace win.  Annarummo started third and immediately closed to second behind Andy Seuss, but got into the leader on lap 3, sending him around and forcing the 58 year-old veteran to restart from the rear.  Tom Abele, Jr. and Dale Evonsion led the next 8 laps before West Swanzey, NH’s Kirk Alexander rocketed into the lead.  Alexander led the next 70 laps, while Annarummo steadily worked his way through the pack.  By lap 20, he was tenth.  At lap 40, he sat sixth.  At the crossed flag signal, he ran fourth, trailing Alexander, Chris Pasteryak, who took second from Evonsion on lap 30, and Dave Berghman, who had claimed third on lap 35.  Evonsion, Rob Goodenough, 35 year-veteran Dick Houlihan, and Jimmy Dolan ran fifth through eighth.  Eight cautions slowed the race, with separate incidents eliminating previous race winner Les Hinckley, Evonsion, and Dolan.

Berghman took second from Pasteryak on a lap 57 restart while Houlihan began to flex some muscle, using the outside lane to snatch third four circuits later.  Annarummo claimed third on lap 70 and marched past Houlihan at the three-quarter mark.  With his car notably stronger on longer runs, Annarummo drove past Alexander on lap 81 to take over the lead, but saw Alexander drive past him on a lap 83 restart.  Annarummo gradually reeled in the leader, however, and went ahead for good on lap 96, crossing the stripe 0.629 seconds ahead of Alexander, who finished second and clinched his third tour championship in the past four years.  “This is my house,” Annarummo good-naturedly told friend Alexander as the two shared congratulatory handshakes after the event.  The winner also took the opportunity to apologize to Seuss for the early race incident that sent both cars to the rear.  “That was all my fault.  I should have waited for the tires to come in, we touched, he got spun, and I’m sorry it happened.”

Houlihan, of Bridgewater, MA, finished third in his final Seekonk Modified appearance, announcing his retirement from open wheel competition to the crowd at the completion of the race.  Pasteryak was fourth, ahead of Goodenough, Berghman, Richard Savary and Peter Jarvis, who recovered from a mid-race incident to finish inside the top eight.  Jimmy Kuhn and Mike Holdridge rounded out the top ten.

In the 25-lap Northeastern Midget Association feature, Fairlawn, NJ’s Joey Payne tightened the race for the 2007 NEMA title, besting rookie Jeremy Frankowski on a lap lap 19 restart en route to Victory Lane.  Frankowski and Payne ran first and second through much of the race with Aaron Wall, Erica Santos, and Randy Cabral within striking distance.  With 10 laps to go, Frankowski had amassed a sizeable lead over Payne, Wall, Santos, Cabral, championship point leader Ben Seitz, Ted Christopher, and Greg Stoehr.  Payne withstood a challenge from Wall just before the caution flag waved for a minor spin, setting up the final lead change.  Cabral and Wall tangled while battling for third on lap 22, setting up a single file restart.  Seitz took third from Santos in the final mile, but couldn’t mount a challenge to either Payne or Frankowski, who finished first and second.  Santos, Greg Stoehr, Ted Christopher, Drew Fornoro, John Zych, Jeff Horn, and Nokie Fornoro finished in positions four through ten.

George Rego led all 30 laps of the Street Stock feature but was disqualified in the post-race technical inspection, moving Quincy, MA’s John Hanafin to the top of the field for the third straight year in the season-ending contest.  Plenty of three-wide action and entertainment filled the 27-car event with Jim Silvia, Steve Axon, Paul Lallier, and Sparky Arsenault all taking turns vying for the lead positions.  Hanafin took second from Axon on lap 21, which turned out to be the winning move of the race after Rego’s disqualification.  Silvia got into Axon, sending him spinning to bring out the sixth and final yellow on lap 24 and earning Silvia an early exit from the contest.  Division champ Arsenault took second when racing resumed and finished there, ahead of Kevin Folan, Dan Lineham Patrick Delaney, Chris Rioux, George Bruneau, Rick Lineham, Clay Petschke, and Frank Duquette,

After successfully correcting a fuel pickup problem, two-time Sport Truck champion Mike Cavallaro of Seekonk, MA led all 30 laps of the division’s feature, pocketing a cool $1,000 in posted awards and lap money along the way.  Cavallaro won his qualifier, started on the pole, and held four-time Pro Stock champion Rick Martin at bay throughout the caution-free affair while dodging heavy lapped traffic.  Three-time winner and likely Rookie of the Year award recipient Zach Tucan took third on the second lap and stayed close to the lead duo until mechanical woes forced him pitside with 8 laps remaining.  Martin made a final assault for the lead inside the last mile, but fell short by 0.647 seconds.  Charlie Rose came from the back to the front, crossing the line third but was disqualified in the post-race tech inspection, moving last year’s winner, Manny Dias, to fourth.  Ed Gannon III was fifth, besting Lenny Guy, Steve Dumas, Rick Albernaz, Billy Prisco, and Mike Ronhock.

North Brookfield, MA’s Jeff Zuidema continued his dominance in the touring Pro Four Modified Series, besting teammate Norm Wrenn by 51 one-thousandths of a season to prevail for the seventh time this season in the 37-lap feature event.  George Sherman, Brian Vincent, and Rob Richardi all led laps early in the contest before Zuidema, who started last in the 18-car main, blasted by on the 11^th go-around.  Wrenn,a four-time winner in 2007, took second soon after, hounding the leader all the way to the checkers through a steady stream of lapped traffic.  In the end, Zuidema prevailed for the third time at Seekonk to successfully defend his 2006 DAV title.  Wrenn was second, followed by Kevin Iannarelli and Matt Sagar, who bounced back from early race crashes to post third and fourth, ahead of Rob Richardi, Jr.

Second-generation racer Amy Arsenault of Attleboro, MA was declared the winner of the 25-lap Pure Stock feature after the first and second place finishing cars of Jon Porter and John Robidoux failed the post-race technical inspection.  Following the three-time winner across the line were Carlos Silva, Scott Cestodio, who led the initial eight circuits, division champion Bill Chouinard, and rookie Nick Uhrig.

In the Seekonk Youth Racing Association 25-lap features, Holbrook, MA’s Frank Perry, 15, bested Jariah Roderick and Kyle Kuchta in the 750-restrictor plate class while 10 year-old Nick Ladyga of Voluntown, CT held off Jake Spillers and early race leader Chris Igo, Jr. to win the 600-plate main.  Former two-time Seekonk Youth Racing Association champion Nick Ribbe of Kingston, MA passed Shaun Gosselin just before the halfway point and held on to capture the 25-lap Ford Focus Series feature, finishing ahead of Gosselin and Jake Stergios.

Pro Stock Feature (100 laps)

1. #22-Matt Hudon, Acushnet, MA
2. #29-Dave Dion, Hudson, NH
3. #88-Russ Hersey, Swanzey, NH
4. #70-Glenn Lawton, Acushnet, MA
5. #52-David Darling, Rehoboth, MA
6. #00-John Dabrowski, West Bridgewater, MA
7. #14-Rick Martin, Westport, MA
8. #80-Rob Murphy, Rochester, MA
9. #11-Bryon Baker, Claremont, NH
10. #9-Billy Manchester, Huntersville, NC

Late Model Feature (50 laps)

1. #7-Kyle Casper, Somerset, MA
2. #71-Gerry DeGasparre, Jr., Pawtucket, RI
3. #88-Kevin Casper, Somerset, MA
4. #82-Denny Stampfl, Norwood, MA
5. #85-Barry Shaw, Jr., Holbrook, MA
6. #1-Mark Anzalone, Jr., Malden, MA
7. #3-Jeramee Lillie, West Warwick, RI
8. #13-Jon Dickerman, Weymouth, MA
9. #47-Bill Bernard, Holliston, MA
10. #80-Bob Hussey, Wellfleet, MA

True Value Modified Racing Series Feature (100 laps)

1. #12-Vinnie Annarummo, Swansea, MA
2. #43-Kirk Alexander, West Swanzey, NH
3. #46-Dick Houlihan, Bridgewater, MA
4. #15-Chris Pasteryak, Lisbon, CT
5. #6-Rob Goodenough, Swanzey, NH
6. #82-Dave Berghman, Seekonk, MA
7. #38-Richard Savary, Canton, MA
8. #9NH-Peter Jarvis, Ascutney, VT
9. #72-Jimmy Kuhn, Jr., Bridgewater, MA
10. #0-Mike Holdridge, Madison, CT

Northeastern Midget Association Feature (25 laps)

1. #45-Joey Payne, Fairlawn, NJ
2. #99-Jeremy Frankowski, Newark Valley, NY
3. #17-Ben Seitz, Pocasset, MA
4. #44-Erica Santos, Franklin, MA
5. #26-Greg Stoehr, Bridgewater, MA
6. #98-Ted Christopher, Plainville, CT
7. #63-Drew Fornoro, Newton, NJ
8. #9-John Zych, Jr., Mendon, MA
9. #A1-Jeff Horn, Ashland, MA
10. #4-Nokie Fornoro, Stroudsburg, PA

Street Stock Feature (30 laps)

1. #76-John Hanafin, Quincy, MA
2. #96-Sparky Arsenault, Attleboro, MA
3. #84-Kevin Folan, Attleboro, MA
4. #91-Daniel Lineham, Coventry, RI
5. #71-Patrick Delaney, Swansea, MA
6. #3-Chris Rioux, Pawtucket, RI
7. #74-George Bruneau, Tiverton, RI
8. #9-Rick Lineham, Coventry, RI
9. #13-Clay Petschke, Coventry, RI
10. #03-Frank Duquette, East Freetown, MA

Pro Four Modified Series Feature (37 laps)

1. #37-Jeff Zuidema, North Brookfield, MA
2. #1M-Norm Wrenn, Brimfield, MA
3. #27-Kevin Iannarelli, Maynard, MA
4. #29-Matt Sagar, Seekonk, MA
5. #12-Rob Richardi, Jr., North Easton, MA
6. #10-Brian Vincent, West Warwick, RI
7. #11A-Dan Meservey, W. Chatham, MA
8. #13-George Sherman, Framingham, MA
9. #83-Richard Savary, Canton, MA
10. #75-Dick Dubois, Charlton, MA

Sport Truck Feature (30 laps)

1. #80-Mike Cavallaro, Seekonk, MA
2. #14-Rick Martin, Westport, MA
3. #124-Manny Dias, Pawtucket, RI
4. #91-Ed Gannon III, Fall River, MA
5. #77-Lenny Guy, New Bedford, MA
6. #04-Steve Dumas, Quincy, MA
7. #28-Rick Albernaz, Paxton, MA
8. #88-Bill Prisco, Cranston, RI
9. #5-Michael Ronhock, Mashpee, MA
10. #4-Darryl Church, Brockton, MA

Pure Stock Feature (25 laps)

1. #9-Amy Arsenault, Attleboro, MA
2. #77-Carlos Silva, Swansea, MA
3. #01-Scott Cestodio, Swansea, MA
4. #8-Bill Chouinard, Swansea, MA
5. #11-Nick Uhrig, Warwick, RI
6. #13-Bob Hinckley, Acushnet, MA
7. #47-Mark Boisvert, Uxbridge, MA
8. #53-Vinnie Pangelinan, West Warwick, RI
9. #36-John Frias, Fairhaven, MA
10. #91-Tom Melnick-Holland, Coventry, RI

SYRA-750 Feature (25 laps)

1. #83-Frank Perry, Holbrook, MA
2. #28-Jariah Roderick, East Taunton, MA
3. #0-Kyle Kuchta, Niantic, CT
4. #65x-Chris Robinson, West Warwick, RI
5. #56-Jacob Swift, Fairhaven, MA

SYRA-600 Feature (25 laps)

1. #38-Nick Ladyga, Voluntown, CT
2. #6-Jake Spillers, Ashburnham, MA
3. #8-Chris Igo, North Easton, MA
4. #75-Adam Swift, Fairhaven, MA
5. #50-Carl Medeiros, Westport, MA

Ford Focus Series Feature (25 laps)

1. #85-Nick Ribbe, Kingston, MA
2. #26-Shaun Gosselin, Oswego, NY
3. #7-Jake Stergios, Candia, NH
4. #57-P. J. Stergios, Candia, NH
5. #28-Paul Luggelle, Holbrook, MA

Sources: Todd Baptista/Seekonk Speedway PR

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