Chris Rioux adds his name to the list of Seekonk’s Street Stock winners. Astle, Vanasse and Martin return to Victory Lane
Seekonk, MA — On Saturday, July 11, Chris Rioux added his name to the growing list of winners in the Street Stock division at Seekonk Speedway. In the nine events held this year, there have been seven different winners. Crystal Serydynski jumped out to the early lead, as outside pole sitter Bobby Pelland III slid back, allowing Chris Rioux the outside lane. The pair battled side by side for lead for the first few laps, with Rioux taking over on lap three. Former SS champ Elmer Wing III was sitting right behind the duo, and several times tried to make it three wide, but could not get the run he needed. Pelland got his groove back, and moved into second, as he worked the outside lane. The first caution came out on lap seven, when Pat Delaney had the right front suspension break.
Ryan Lineham had worked by Scott Serydynski for fifth just before the caution came out, and moved into fourth once back underway. Pelland slid up the track, and this allowed Wing and Lineham through on the bottom, and fell out of the top five by the halfway point. Serydynski was also able to follow through into fourth. The second caution came out when Paul Newcomb Jr, Chris DeMoura and Brian Spillane got together in turn two. On the restart, Jim Silvia slid out of line, bringing Scott Serydynski with hum, and the Red Wind Shoes Chevy slapped the turn two wall, bringing the field back under yellow.
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Back under green, and it became a three way battle for the lead. Lineham made a three-wide bid, but came up short for the top, but was able to move into second. Scott Bruneau followed through for third. Wing fell back to fifth and Mike Lima also squeezed by. Lineham continued to work the back of the PowerPoint Racing until the yellow came out on lap 21 for Steve Potter, who spun in turn three.
Lineham kept tight with Rioux for the next couple of laps, running the outside lane, but did not have enough for Rioux, as once again, Rioux took command. Mike Lima was able to take third away from Bruneau, but Bruneau battled back down low. As they came off of turn 4 for the checkered, Lineham got caught on the outside, and Bruneau and Lima made it three wide for second, with Lineham hanging on for the two spot. Bruneau, Lima and Wing rounded out the top five.
“I’d like to thank these guys right here, Bob, Linwood, Tommy, Jr, and all the guys that helped me put this thing back together,” an excited Rioux rattled off. “I knew if I kept my groove, they won’t touch me. All I need to do is run my line”
In the 40 lap Pro Stock feature, Flyin’ Freddy evened up with points leader Dave Darling in the win column, picking up his third win of the season. Kyle Casper jumped out front and led lap one, but was overtaken by Steve O’Brien, as Casper fell back to second. The first caution came out on lap three when Ken Spencer spun.
Tom Scully Sr moved into second on the restart, and started to put pressure on Steve O’Brien, with contact being made, sending O’Brien around. Scully would get penalized to the rear for the assist. Mike Brightman lined up on the outside of the front row in the Impact Collision Parts Ford, and quickly asserted himself at the top of the field. Ryan Lineham, pulling double duty in the Houle Motorsports Chevy #8 was battling with tom Ellis, with Astle right behind. The third caution came out for Steve and Dan O’Brien on lap ten, as they got together and spun in turn three.
The field would not have a chance to get going again, as Tom Scully Sr and Jeramee Lillie got together in turn four. At the same time, Ken Spencer and Tom Ellis got together, ending the night for Lillie and Spencer. Another caution dropped on lap twelve, when the Johnson Landscaping Dodge of Darling spun in turn four, when the rear suspension seemed to break. This may have been the result of an incident in qualifying.
Murphy had just passed Casper for second when that yellow came out, and Murphy tried to make the most of it. Once back underway, Brightman and Murphy raced side by side for the lead, swapping the top of the leaderboard several timed over the next ten laps. Murphy led a total of four laps in that ten lap stretch. As Murphy hung on running the second groove, Astle slid underneath, and at lap 23, took over second position. Once clear of the Tom Barboza Excavating Dodge, he set his sights on the second groove. With an open lane, Astle put the Wood Frame Structures Chevy to the outside, and took over the lead on lap 25. Following Astle was Tom Scully Jr in the Wheelock’s NAPA Auto Parts Chevy, who moved into second three laps later. Once out front, Astle set the pace for the remainder of the event without fanfare, and picked up his third win of the season. Scully Jr held on for second, with Brightman, Murphy and Casper rounding out the top five.
“If it wasn’t for a dead shock, it might be more than two in a row,” a jubilant Astle asserted. “Brightman and Murphy did their best and raced each other clean, but they just weren’t as quick as I was. I want to thank the fans for sticking around and supporting the speedway. I hope everyone enjoyed the show tonight.”
Ryan Vanasse is showing the way this season in the Late Models, as he picked up his fifth win of the season in a caution filled main event. Jake Vanada got the jump on the start and set the pace until the caution came out on lap two for Bob Hussey, who spun in turn two. Colby Fournier spun his mount on lap three, bringing out the second caution.
Jon Dickerman lined up to the outside of Vanada, and once back up to speed, overtook Vanada for the lead. Another caution at lap 5 slowed the field for the third time when Frank Duquette spun in turn two. Bill Bernard overtook Vanada for second on the restart, as the caution came out again for debris on the track. Defending LM Champ Gerry DeGasparre Jr moved into third at lap 8, just behind Dickerman and Bernard. Contact between Matt Breault and Vanasse brought out the fifth caution on lap 8, as they were battling for fifth. Another caution on the restart for Tyler Thompson slowed the field up for the sixth time.
On the restart, DeGasparre got the run under Bernard, and overtook second. DeGasparre put the Achin’s Garage Chevy to the top of the leaderboard on lap ten, just before Mike Cavallaro and Jake Vanada got together to bring out the caution. Kevin Casper moved his Phil’s Propane Toyota into third and overtook the Airgas machine of Dickerman for second on the restart. Just past the halfway point, Vanasse squeezed under Casper for second, and the chase was on. He would line up next to Gerry on a lap 17 restart, when Duquette cut down a tire and spun.
Vanasse proved once more that he has the machine to beat, as he put the Team V Transport Chevy ahead for good on the restart. The race would finish with no further incident with Vanasse winning by a second over DeGasparre. Casper, Bernard and Dickerman rounded out the top five.
“This feels awesome, man,” a tired Rocket quipped. “I thought we had a car that was capable of winning, and I threw it in hard on that last restart and hoped that it would stick. We are donating all of the funds from tonight to the Providence Ronald McDonald House. Happy Birthday to Dick Houle, and come celebrate with us in Victory Lane.”
Rick Martin led a total of 25 feet of the Seekonk Sports Truck Feature, but it was the most important 25 feet, beating New Bedford’s Lenny Guy by .009. Guy brought the field down, and jumped out to the early lead. Mike Ronhock moved into second in a three wide move under Brian Murray and John Paiva. Murray started to slide back, with Jody Tripp moving into third right away behind the Falmouth Sheet Metal Chevy. Paiva and Rick Martin ran in the top five at the lap five mark.
Tripp started to push off the corners, opening up the bottom. Paiva took advantage and moved into third at the lap ten mark with Martin in tow. At the halfway point, Martin moved into third with Tripp and Paiva battling side by side for fourth. Martin moved to the outside lane, and put the Richie’s Auto Radio Toyota into second on lap 18, but sat half a straightaway behind the LH Boulanger & Sons Ford. That distance disappeared on lap 19. Martin lined up aside Guy, and tried to keep pace with the leader with Tripp on their tail. The three trucks raced side by side, with Guy running at the top. Martin slid back and raced with Tripp for second. The second caution came out on lap 23, when Brian Murray spun in turn two.
One last shot, and Guy and Martin raced wheel to wheel in a green-white-checkered finish. As they came off turn four, the Ford and Toyota drag raced across the stripe, with Martin edging out Guy by one of the closest finishes. Guy came up .009 short, with Tripp, Paiva and Barry Shaw rounding out the top five.
“Man, this thing did not want to shift,” Martin described. “I kept going back and forth, and blew the shift on the last restart. Guy and Tripp raced me clean and raced hard. We blew up the Chevy last week and had to break out the Toyota, and its back in Victory Lane.”
The speedway also kicked off the 7th annual bike run for the Providence Ronald McDonald House in memory of Ed Holewiak III. Over 30 of the competitors were racing for the house, in which a portion of their winnings were going to the house, including all winners. In the six years that the run has been active, the Seekonk Speedway family has raised almost $200,000. It was also the kickoff for the 100 foot drags, with fans competing on the track with their everyday drivers.
ARC Racing returns on Saturday, July 18, with the Mid Season Championship for all of the Saturday divisions. The Pure Stocks have been added to the program as well, as the Fast Friday Series takes a break from the action. Admission is only $12.00 for adults, with kids 12 and under FREE. For more information, check out the all new website at seekonkspeedway.com.
Sources: Kevin Boucher/Seekonk Speedway PR