Ryan Vanasse Picks Up Phil’s Propane 50 Lap Win, while Kid Scully, Radical Rick and Brian Spillane Visit Victory Lane

Astle Flyin’ High after picking up 3rd Pro Stock Title, Gerry D makes it 4 in the Late Models while Sparky and Cavallaro make it three in the Street Stocks and the Sport Trucks

Seekonk, MA — With only eight points separating the top two coming into the final event, Tom Scully Jr knew what he had to do. Go out and win. Anything else that would happen would happen. And that is exactly what he did. After starting in ninth position, he moved into the top five quickly and set his sights toward the leaders. Using the inside and outside lanes, the East Coast Collision Chevy driver was on a mission. A couple of timely cautions helped close in the distance between he and the leaders, as John Dabrowski was setting the pace early on and putting a little cushion on Ken Spencer and crew.

Early on, it was a pair of rookies closing in on the Tire Warehouse Chevy, but a tangle between Jake Vanada and Ryan Vanasse while battling for second sent both to the pits for the night. After the field went green, Scully found himself working the second groove to the lead, and on lap 11, all he had to continue what he was doing. A couple of laps later, Astle found himself following the tire tracks of Scully.

Another caution came out as Tom Scully Sr and Mike Brightman tangled. Both would be sidelined for the remainder of the event as well.

Ken Spencer of Taunton had worked his way up to third, with Dave Darling and Dabrowski rounding out the top five as they went back to green. Scully took off and set the pace, while the Pub 76 Chevy of Spencer started to fight for second. It was over quickly, as the Wood Frame Structures Chevy of Astle got a good bite on the outside and settled into the second position. The field settled in as Tom Scully Jr picked up his fifth win of the season, matching that of Astle. But it wouldn’t be enough to knock Astle off the perch, as Flyin Fred won his third ARC Pro Stock Championship.

The freight train that was Gerry DeGasparre over the last half of the season almost derailed in qualifying. While running deep in the field in the beginning of his heat, several cars tangled in turn 4, which Gerry was a part of. After bouncing off the wall, Gerry returned to the lineup and finished in the top five. Come feature time, the A-1 Custom Auto Body team had the Chevy back on a rail.

Ryan Vanasse jumped out to the early lead in the Phil’s Propane 50 lap main event, and set a blistering pace. Kyle Casper came into the event needing a lot of help to put his Kidd Motorsports Chevy on top of the standings. With the long green flag runs, he was never able to gain on Vanasse and Jeramee Lillie, who was quick into second in his Houle Motorsports Ford. After hunting down Vanasse, they started waging a torrid battle at the top of the field.

Just past the 30 lap mark, Vanasse and Lille, who had put about ¾ of a straightaway between them and Kyle Casper, started to hit heavy lapped traffic. Lillie had a run to the outside at one point, and edged in front of Vanasse as they went side by side for several laps. At one point in the lapped traffic they were running the second and third groove as they raced for the lead. This was when the Patriot Oil Ford of Lillie got loose and lost some momentum, costing him another shot at the win. Bu this time, Casper had caught the top two, but with only a couple of laps left, the Columbus Oil Chevy did not have enough time to climb into the top two.

Ryan Vanasse picked up his first Late Model win in two seasons, besting Lillie, Kyle Casper, DeGasparre, and Kevin Casper.

Sparky Arsenault did not have a pretty night for his championship run, but he didn’t need one. All he had to do was keep Attleboro’s Paul Lallier in his sights. With his thirteenth place finish, Sparky picked up his third Street Stock Title, hanging on to a 38 point differential.

Brian Spillane has been out of Victory Lane for two seasons, and has had to repair damages to his 2^nd Generation Automotive Restorations Camaro a few times this season, but that did not deter him. His win helped him pick up a position to sixth in the final standings. At the end of the race, coming hard was two time winner this season Scott Serydynski. Earlier this season, Scott became the all time win leader in the Street Stocks, and was looking to add to that total. With the long green flag runs, he could not get through the traffic quick enough, and had to settle for second. His runner-up finish was good enough to propel him to fifth in the standings.

Charlie Rose Jr ran second most of the event, falling to Serydynski and settling into third for the final laps. Steve Axon used a fourth place finish to pick up a position in the points. Steve came into the nights activities tied with Paul Newcomb and 15 points behind Tony Oliveira in the battle for third. During practice, Newcomb left the track to witness a miracle, as his wife went into labor. Tony had a disappointing night, finishing tenth in the Kitchen Concepts Malibu, which dropped him two points behind the Southeastern Hardwood Floors Monte Carlo of Axon.

While Brian celebrated in Victory Lane, the McGloshing Construction team of Sparky Arsenault started their third Street Stock Title, beating Paul Lallier when it was over. Paul ran strong early on, but traffic kept him mired deep in the field, settling for a tenth place finish.

It was anything but a Saturday Cruise for Mike Cavallaro. All Mike needed to do was bring his Fire House Motors Chevy into the top twelve at the end to pick up his third consecutive title. At times, it appeared he might end up closer to there than the front, as he used extreme caution to work his way through the traffic. As the field started to spread out, he used the outside lane to pick up position after position. A solid top five finish solidified his title.

The Seekonk Sport Trucks ran a quick race, slowed by a couple of small cautions. One was early, when Zach Tucan and Billy Prisco tangled early on. Both continued on. It was more after the event was completed that things changed. Charlie Rose Jr worked his way through the field, overtaking Ed Gannon III who led for the first 17 laps. Rose appeared to have his fifth win of the season, but did not make it through post race tech inspection.

This handed the win over to Ed Gannon III, who was in a borrowed truck for the night. Ed ran at the front for most of the event, settling into second across the line. After appearing to get the win, his truck failed post race tech also, handing the second win in a row to Radical Rick Martin.

Martin started deep in the pack, and moved his Rick Martin Hobbies & Signs Toyota through the field, and at the end of the 20 laps, was on the tail of Gannon across the stripe. After competing for two seasons in the Seekonk Sport Trucks, he finally picked up his first win a week earlier. This makes two in a row going into the DAV weekend.

Billy Prisco was moving through the field early, but got caught up with a spinning Zach Tucan early on. While he was able to continue, he wasn’t able to recover, settling into an eighth place finish. This was enough to move him past Rose into second in the overall standings. Prisco had two wins in his Phil’s Propane Chevy.

Lenny Guy ran into trouble, and mechanical failures dropped him to thirteenth in the running order. But he was able to keep his Boulanger & Sons Ford in the top five in the final standings, on the wings of his first career win.

One final race stands on the 2008 schedule. The 16^th annual D. Anthony Venditti Memorial Festival of Racing Weekend. The Pro Stocks and True Value Modifieds will be racing in twin 100’s. The Late Models will be running a 50 lap event, with the Street Stocks and Sport Trucks running 25 laps, all in open Competition. The NEMA Midgets and NEMA Lites, Pure Stocks and Seekonk Youth Racing Association will also be part of the weekend festivities. Adult admission is just $25.00, with kids 12 and under just $5.00. Print your tickets online at seekonkspeedway.com. Rules for the open competition are available for the Pro Stocks, Late Models, Street Stocks, Sport Trucks and SYRA divisions.

Sources: Kevin Boucher/Seekonk Speedway PR

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