Bethany Viets wins first NEMA Lites feature; Uhrig, Hutchins, Lascoula and Silva repeat in Fast Friday action
Seekonk, MA — On Friday, June 18, the NEMA Lites returned to Fast Friday action, and it was Manchester, CT Rookie Bethany Viets picking up her first career win. Bethany started on the pole, and jumped out to a quick lead. She had a four length advantage when the first caution came out on lap 2 for Paul Bigelow, who slowed in turn two. The second caution dropped on lap 5 when Eric Cabral spun on the front stretch.
Once back under way, the Manchester rookie was able to open up a commanding lead at times, while Randy Cabral, Ed Moniz, and Ed LeClerc tried to work their way through the field. Moniz started seventh in the 20 car field, and quickly moved up through the field. He moved into second by lap six, but had to chase down Viets. He closed up to less than 4/10 of a second by the time the checkered flew in the 20 lap feature. Kevin Pars ran second for the early part of the event, but fell to ninth at the final checkered. Jim Santamaria moved up from his tenth starting position to third in his best Seekonk finish. Randy Cabral and LeClerc rounded out the top five. Six time Seekonk Speedway Champion Vinnie Annarummo raced the Glen Cabral machine but fell out on lap 5 with mechanical issues.
Nick Uhrig improved on last week’s runner up position by picking up his second win of the 2010 season. It was Randy Moretti jumping out to the early lead, and setting the pace for until lap seven, when the only caution came out for a spinning Chris Lima. This put Uhrig, who had moved up from his sixth row starting position, onto the outside of the front row. On the restart, Uhrig took over, and took off. By the time the checkered flag dropped, Uhrig had opened up a five-plus second advantage.
Moretti had his hands full at the end, as he was not only battling the lapped traffic, but two-time winner Bill Chouinard. Moretti held on for second, tying his best finish of the season. Chouinard moved from his 23rd starting position to finish third, with Jamie Salley and Jamie Burch rounding out the top five.
In the 15 lap Sport4 feature, Warwick RI’s Ken Silva picked up his second win of the season. Ed Gould jumped out front for the early lead, and held until the half-way point, when Silva took over. From there, Gould was able to follow Silva to the checkered. Dave Westgate Jr finished third, with Frank Alteri and Taylor Therrien fourth and fifth.
Dave Hutchins Jr made it a perfect three in a row in the Seekonk Youth Racing Association (SYRA) 750 class. Waterford CT’s Kaitlyn Donovan set the early pace, and led the field around the 1/3 mile oval for a dozen laps, before Dave moved underneath and took the lead away at lap 13. Donovan followed until the end and finished second. Adam Swift, Bob Perry and Nate Bubello rounded out the top five.
Make it two for two for Nick Lascoula in the SYRA 600 class. Curtis Rolando took the lead and held on through the fifth lap, when Lascoula moved past for the lead. Throughout the 25 lap feature, there were five more cautions, giving Rolando another shot at the lead, but he was outdone each time. Lascoula picked up his second consecutive victory, with Rolando second, Willie Sanchez third, Tylar Nailor fourth and Branden Dion fifth.
Fast Friday action continues this Friday, June 25, with the V6 modifieds making their first ever appearance at the Bay State oval. The Pure Stocks, Sport 4’s and SYRA cars return for another great night of action. Action starts at 7pm. General admission is just $5.00 for adults, with kids under 12 FREE. For more information, check us out at seekonkspeedway.com.
Sources: Kevin Boucher/Seekonk Speedway PR