Uhrig, Sanchez & Lil Hutch repeat. Alteri & Frissore score also
Seekonk, MA — Providence driver Willy Sanchez Held off Newport’s Curtis Rolando and division leader Nicholas Lascuola of Brockton to come home the winner in Seekonk Speedway’s Youth Racing Association entry-level division, Friday night. The win ended Lascuola two-race victory skein. It wasn’t an easy win for Sanchez, however, as Rolando and Lascuola pestered him most of the distance. Jason Enos and Shelby Donovan filled out the top 5. It was a victory of sorts for Donovan, as she had taken a trip to the pit area by ambulance after an extremely hard hit she suffered during a 3-car crash during her qualifying race. The precautionary checks by EMT’s found no injuries and she and her car returned to the track for the feature race.
Christine Cavallaro took advantage of polesitter David Lougee of Taunton as she leapt from the outside of the front row into the lead, rushing out to a quick, three-car lead on the first lap. But Rolando came from the second row to second place and began to give chase. Lascuola, having drawn the 10th starting position, thanks to his win last week, was moving rapidly through the pack. Sanchez moved quickly into contention from his sixth place starting spot on the outside of the third row.
Lougee spun out on lap four, bringing out the caution flag. The restart saw Cavallaro on the pole with Sanchez right behind her. Branden Dion was on the outside of the front row with Lascuola behind him and Rolando held the pole in the third row. It took two restarts to get the race going again, as Jason Enos looped in turn two on the first go-around out of the caution. But on the second restart, Sanchez went to the lead with Lascuola on his coattails. After five laps completed, Sanchez led Lascuola, Cavallaro, Rolando and Dion. On the next lap, Lascuola went to the outside and passed Sanchez, but Sanchez played underneath and went back into the lead on Lap 8, with a good deal of paint trading.
Rolando was not to be denied, as he went under Lascuola for the second place. Sanchez forged out to a good lead while Rolando and Lascuola wrestled over the runnerup spot.
Tyler Boudreau spun in turn one on the 13th lap to bring out another caution. Sanchez and Rolando made up the first row and Lascuola was low in the second. Enos was on his right shoulder with Cavallaro and Enos paired up in the third. Sanchez and Rolando dueled briefly at the green, but the latter fell back to second just ahead of the charging Lascuola who led Enos, Cavallaro and Donovan, who had been moving steadily up after starting the race in the eighth position.
By lap 17, the field had stretched out to a single line with the three leaders in a group, 8 cars ahead of their pursuers. The race continued as follow-the leader through the final 8 laps, with Sanchez bringing home the checkered flag. Rolando, Lascuola, Enos and Donovan made up the top five finishers.
Cavallaro finished sixth, Dion seventh, Tylar Nailor eighth, Lougee ninth, Chase Belcher tenth and Tyler Boudreau eleventh.
Frank Altieri rebounded from a spin that sent him to the back of the pack and three-quarters of a lap down to win the 15-lap Seekonk Sport Four division at Fast Friday festivities. Four cars showed for the feature race, but that did not diminish the dramatics. The North Easton, Mass. driver looped his Mustang on the second turn of the race and watched the rest of the field pass him by. He put the car back onto the track and began to give chase, but found himself needing help to avoid being lapped. That help came as race leaders, Warwick Rhode Island’s Ken Silva and David Westgate of East Taunton, Mass, got involved in a spin on lap 7.
Westgate had gone to the lead on the restart and Silva gave chase. On the second lap, Silva tried the outside, got loose and nearly spun his car, but managed to straighten it out. By the time he recovered, Westgate had a sizeable lead. By lap 6, Silva was closing in and was only a car behind one lap later.
With Westgate tending to run wide on the turns, Silva tried to work under him. Westgate, trying to hold the lead, came out of turn 4 with his back end drifting, and went sideways in front of Silva. Both cars went into the infield grass in front of the starter’s stand. On the restart, the two accident cars went to the rear. Altieri wound up on the pole for the restart with Cranston’s Robert Henry joining him on the front row.
Altieri quickly went to the lead with Westgate powering in behind him and Silva taking third. By lap 10, the field had become a parade with Silva frequently looking underneath Westgate. On lap 10, Silva finally managed to pass Westgate into second, but on the next circuit, Westgate sailed into Silva’s rear, entering turn 3, sending him spinning and bringing out the caution again. The two accident cars again went to the rear for the restart.
Altieri again powered away on the restart with Silva on his tail and Westgate a close third. Westgate used the backstretch to get up alongside Silva and the pair battled through turns 3 and 4, while Altieri clung to his lead.
As the white flag flew for the final lap, Silva got free of Westgate, but had little time to chase Altieri, who powered home for the win. Silva claimed second and Westgate followed a close third. Henry came in a distant fourth.
David Hutchins, Jr. won’t give up on a good thing and that is dominating Seekonk’s Youth Racing Association’s 750 division. The young driver from Somerset has finished at the front of all three races this season and leads the division. The winningest driver in the entry-level 600 series last year, he continues to find his way to the front. This doesn’t make life easier for the young driver: after each win, the rules force him to start the next race on the back row. This evening was no different. He began as the fifth car on a six-car field.
Ashley Kuhn started on the pole and went right to the front, dueling with Adam Swift. But Bob Perry went around in the third turn of lap one, bringing the field back to restart the race. Kuhn went right back to the lead on the restart, but Swift worked underneath while Hutchins nabbed third place and Nate Bubello pulled into fourth. Swift gained the lead, with Kuhn getting stuck outside as Hutchins passed her into second, Bubello claimed third, Perry fourth and Kuhn rounding out the top 5.
By lap 4, Hutchins had taken the lead. He led Perry, Swift, Bubello and Kuhn in that order. On lap 8, Kuhn was able to duck under Bubello to claim fourth and on lap 11; Kaitlyn Donovan edged him back into fifth spot.
The race became a parade of cars chasing Hutchins to no avail. The order remained essentially the same except for Kuhn and Donovan. On lap 17, Donovan moved in behind Kuhn to challenge for fourth place. On the following lap, Donovan challenged Kuhn on the outside, but was held off. Into lap 20, Hutchins led Perry, Swift, Kuhn, Donovan and Bubello in that order.
Into lap 21, Donovan tried working underneath Kuhn and got position to take the lead on the backstretch in the 22nd circuit.
At the finish, Hutchins collected another win over Perry, Swift, Donovan, Kuhn and Bubello in that order.
Putting Warwick’s Nick Uhrig at the back of the field after his win last week did not change the outcome: Uhrig fought his way to the front and held off all comers to take his second win in as many weeks in Seekonk’s competitive Pure Stock division. He moved steadily forward through the 24 car field to take the lead with three laps remaining in the 25 lap feature race.
Melissa Charette started the race on the pole with John Frias directly behind her. On the first turn, Frias went underneath and into the lead and Charette began to fall back along the outside. On lap 4, she spun coming out of turn 4, and Vinny Pangelinan had to spin his car to the infield in front of the starter to avoid a crash. Both were able to continue, but Howard Pratt lost power on the backstretch and came to rest along the outside wall, bringing out a caution. Pratt was unable to continue and limped into the pits.
Frias led off the restart, but Jamie Salley forged past him into the lead with Amy Arsenault in third, followed by Mark Miranda and Jamie Burch. By lap 10, Salley had a significant lead over the field, but Bill Chouinard was not in third and giving chase. Burch and Arsenault were following. Uhrig had already closed to 9th from his 24th place starting position.
Caution came out on the fifteenth lap, when Frias stalled on the frontstretch and Salley had to start with Chouinard on his outside. They battled door-to-door as the green fell, but Salley managed to pull to the front. Burch got under Chouinard for second. Uhrig was chasing John Robidoux for sixth. On lap 17, he was ahead of Robidoux and working on Earl Curtin for fourth, and on the twentieth go-around he was into third with his sights on Chouinard in second. He made the pass on the backstretch that same lap.
With 5 remaining, he set his sights on Salley and managed to get underneath and into the lead down the backstretch on lap 23. He led Salley, Chouinard, Curtin and Robidoux under the checkered flag for the win, making it two in a row.
Shrewsbury, Mass driver Anthony Frissore took over midway through the 20-lap feature for the V-6 Mini Modifieds and did not relinquish the lead. Frissore had started sixth on the 8-car field.
Chris Kubler leapt off his pole position at the green flag, chased out of the box by New Bedford’s Eric Vilandre, who had started fourth, but Will Wallace of Orleans and Keith Caruso of Millbury got together in the second turn, bringing out the caution. Both cars were taken to the pits. Caruso, the 2009 champ and current points leader was able to return for the restart. Wallace, a former Pure Stock driver making his first divisional start at his home track, was unable to return until midway through the 20-lap feature.
Kubler got a great jump on the restart, while Vilandre got under Louie Maher for second. Dick Dubois went into third with Caruso fourth, Frissore fifth and Walter Boucher sixth. Frissore and Caruso had made their way to third and fourth, respectively by lap 5, chased by Kuebler.
On lap 11, Caruso and Frissore got under Dubois into second and third. The top 5 of Kuebler, Caruso, Frissore, Dubious and Kuebler. Were tight together through lap 12, when the leaders began to encounter lapped traffic. Frissori then got underneath Kuebler and into the lead with Dubois in second. On lap 15, the field read Frissori, Dubois, Vilandre, Caruso and Kuebler.
The leaders were biting at each others’ heels for the final 5 laps. With 2 to go, Caruso was able to get around Vilandre into third.
At the stripe, Frissore flew under the checkers, followed by Dubois, Caruso, Vilandre, Kuebler, Boucher, Maher and Wallace.
Sources: Kevin Boucher/Seekonk Speedway PR