Beaulieu & Tripp win, Darling leading as rains came

Seekonk, MA — The rains came earlier than hoped, but later than expected, and put a halt to the 75 lap qualifier for the Pro Stocks. The winner of the event will become a guaranteed started in the Cerelli Marketplace PASS 150 on August 15, in addition to the $2,000 share of the purse. Dave Darling was the leader when the third caution came out.

Tom Scully Sr got the jump at the start and took control of the race. Mike Brightman hang tough on the outside, and as they came across the stripe on lap two, the two touched, with Scully spinning the East Coast Collision Chevy into turn one. Jim Rosenfield was involved as well. Ken Spencer lined up next to Brightman, and the two raced side by side for the lead, with Spencer jumping out front after two laps. Jeramee Lillie was running third and moved to the inside of Brightman for second, while they were racing three-wide for positions four through seven. Fred

Astle and Dave Darling split Ryan Vanasse for position, putting Astle into fourth.

Astle moved under Brightman for third while the Houle Motorsports Chevy of Lillie took a look to the outside of Spencer for the lead. Dave Darling was moving up, and got by Astle for third, and moved under Lille for second right before the second caution came out on lap 16 for a spin by Rob Murphy.

Spencer and Darling worked the outside lane for a couple of laps, but the Hadrose Well Drilling Chevy continued to set the pace. Darling settled in behind Spencer while Lillie and Astle fought for third. Ryan Vanasse spun in turn one, bringing out the third caution of the event. Spencer, Darling, Lillie, Astle and Brightman were the top five.

Darling went from the top to the bottom on the restart and got a run under Spencer while Astle looked to the outside. The Johnson Landscaping Dodge took over the lead with Astle following through into second. Rick Martin was doing double duty and moved the Wayne Nunes Chevy into the top five by lap 25. Dan O’Brien spun on lap 28 to bring out the fourth caution of the event, and it was at that time the rain started to come down. ARC officials conferred, and the remainder of this event will be completed this Saturday, June 27th.

Chris Beaulieu picked up his first win at Seekonk Speedway in a hotly contested 25 lap feature. Roland Wheeler jumped out front early, and set the pace. The outside lane was trying to hang on, as Beaulieu jumped into second from his third starting position. Elmer wing III jumped in right behind him.

Lap after lap, Beaulieu continued to hound Wheeler, while Wing had his hands full with Brian Spillane, who was moving up from his seventh starting position. The Attleboro native was working the inside lane to his advantage, but once into the top four, he started using the outside lane.

Beaulieu put his CJ Racing Chevy to the outside, and started to close in on Wheeler, and the two battled side by side for a few laps, before Beaulieu moved into the lead on lap 9. Wheeler battled back, and on lap 10, the Boudreau Motorsports Monte Carlo took back the lead on lap 10. It looked like that might be the only shot that Beaulieu had for the win, as he started to back slide on the outside as Spillane, who had just overtaken Wing for third, put the 2nd Generation Automotive Restoration Chevy underneath Beaulieu and took over 2nd. With Wing trying to battle back on the inside, contact was made, and Spillane and Wheeler got together and both cars went around just at the halfway point. Elmer Wing was also involved, moving Beaulieu back into the lead. Jay Steely, Chris Rioux, Jeff Amaral and Sparky Arsenault were the top five on the restart.

After a couple of laps of side by side racing, Rioux got a good run on the inside, and Steely started to slide back as Rioux and Amaral got a run underneath. Three wide racing in the middle of the pack brought out the second yellow, when Ron Barboza Jr spun in heavy action. The Tito’s Cantina Monte Carlo of Amaral was trying to get a run underneath Rioux on the restart and held on right behind Beaulieu for a couple of laps before Arsenault moved ahead for a lap. Sparky fell back a couple of spots as Rioux started to slide a little, bringing back the outside lane. As Rioux tried to move down, he and Bobby Pelland III got together, bringing out the caution. Jay Steely was involved as well. Amaral was second after the incident, with Arsenault, Paul Lallier and Mike Mitchell the top five.

Once back underway, Beaulieu took over once again, with Amaral sliding back as Arsenault slid into second. Lallier followed through for third and Arsenault put heavy pressure on the leader. One try to the outside is all the reigning champion had, and as they came down for the checkered, Beaulieu held on for the win. Arsenault was second, with Lallier, Mark Henshaw Jr and Amaral rounding out the top five.

Jody Tripp became the sixth leader of the 25 lap Seekonk Sport Truck feature, and went on to earn his second victory of the season. Tiverton RI’s Brian Murray jumped out and led the first several laps, as Mike Ronhock moving into second before the first caution came out when Lenny Guy cut down a left rear tire on lap 2 and spun in turn 3. On the restart, Ronhock had some grip, as he picked up the lead for the next two laps. John Paiva was glued to the rear bumper of Murray, and on lap five, Murray re-took the lead with Paiva moving into second. Rick Martin was also using the inside lane to his advantage, and moved into third by lap six. Ronhock fell back to fourth.

The top three truck started to pull away from the field before Paiva got loose and went around on lap 9, bringing out the second caution. Murray had the Hobbies & Things Chevy running strong, as he held off Martin on the restart, and continued to lead as Jariah Roderick spun, bringing out another caution. Once back underway, Guy, who cut a tire down earlier, was moving through the field, and was coming through. As he was coming up, Martin was having trouble hanging on, on the outside, as he slid back to seventh after several laps. Guy used another restart to his advantage, and found an inside lane under Murray and Ronhock and used a three-wide move to take the lead. Jody Tripp continued his march to the front, following Guy under Murray and Ronhock.

Martin started his march to the front, and started using the inside and outside lanes to make his way up. Jody Tripp moved to the outside lane, and on lap 19, put the Silver Key Inc. Chevy to the top of the leaderboard. Guy took the lead back on lap 20, but Tripp took back over on lap 21. Martin was back up on the outside and took over second with two laps remaining.

As Tripp took the checkered flag for his second win of the season, Martin and Guy made contact, with both trucks going around, giving the second position to John Paiva. Jason Heroux came home third, with Brian Murray and Kyle DeSouza rounding out the top five.

The Late Model 30 lap feature will be made up on a date yet to be determined.

Racing resumes on Saturday, June 27th, with the Phil’s Propane 50 lap main for the Late Models. The remainder of the Pro Stock 75 will continue, with the Street Stocks and Seekonk Sport Trucks on the card. Adult admission is just $12.00, kids 12 and under FREE. For more information, check out the all new website at seekonkspeedway.com.

Sources: Kevin Boucher/Seekonk Speedway PR

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