The Duque Wins Dusty Young Memorial Late Model Race. Astle, Cavallaro and Lineham top other divisions
Seekonk, MA — Frank Duquette hung tough against multi-feature winner Ryan Vanasse through the final two laps to forge a come-from-behind win in a 50-lap special late Model feature memorializing Seekonk legend Everett “Dusty” Young. Vanasse, who had held the lead through much of the race, quickly pulled to the start finish line, and stepped from his car to shake hands with and congratulate the winner. Last week’s divisional winner, Matt Breault, surged home for a third place finish, just ahead of three-time champion Gerry DeGasparre, Jr. Kyle Casper, another multi-race winner, finished out the top five.
Duquette had started fifteenth in a 17-car field, and worked his way solidly through a caution-filled race. Vanasse, meanwhile, had started seventh, but quickly moved into fourth spot as pole sitter Robert Hussey jumped off at the start to get away from Kyle Souza, who held the outside pole. Colby Fournier followed from his spot on the low side of the second row and gave chase while Vanasse moved into fourth.
Vanasse ducked under Dennis Stange for third, but Stange battled back into position, then joined Fournier and Hussey in a three-wide tour of the speedway for two laps. With Hussey getting unstable in the middle, Fournier squirted ahead from the outside and Stange followed him from the low edge of the tarmac. Hussey, getting loose, gave way and began to fall back.
[Photo Gallery] by Nicholas Teto
Fournier led with Stange on his tail and the hungry Vanasse right behind them. On the tenth circuit, Fournier, Stange, Vanasse, DeGasparre and Jimmy Rosenfield led the field. On lap 12, Stange, who had been battling for the lead on the outside, forged to the front, only to have a spin in turn 3 bring the cars back to the previous lap for a restart.
Fournier rocketed out to a big lead with Vanasse following him into second place. Stange, stuck on the high side, fell back to battle Rosenfield for third. Breault, holding the bottom of the track, battled DeGasparre on the high side. Fifteen laps in, Fournier continued to lead Vanasse, Rosenfield, Breault and Stange. Randy Burr had moved in front of DeGasparre for sixth.
Vanasse took over and moved under Fournier to take over the lead on lap 17. Rosenfield moved in behind him for second and Breault took over third followed by Burr, Fournier (who seemed to be going backward at this point) and DeGasparre.
The top four remained the same through lap 20, with DeGasparre taking over fifth, while Duquette had moved into seventh and Fournier slipping to eighth. Fournier was finally forced to retire after a good start, finishing 16 laps down.
Mike Cavallaro and Bill Bernard got together in run one, bringing out a caution and restart on lap 25. At the green flag, Vanasse went back to the front and Breault worked under Rosenfield for second. DeGasparre followed and Duquette moved under Rosenfield, who was stuck on the outside, for fourth. The latter settled down in fourth. Breault was giving Vanessa’s rear bumper a good going over.
Through several restarts, Vanasse and Breault dueled for the lead while DeGasparre and Duquette waged war for the third slot. On lap 33, Breault’s car got squirrelly and DeGasparre got under him for second. On lap 34, Mike Cavallaro, Rick Shinn, Jonathan Dickerman and Kyle DeSouza connected in turn one, bringing out the caution.
The restart saw Vanasse still on the pole with DeGasparre on his right. Duquette was low in the second row and Breault held the outside. Vanasse went back to the front and DeGasparre couldn’t shut the door on Duquette, who went underneath into second. DeGasparre went into a solid third with Breault fighting it out with Rosenfield over fourth.
Bill Bernard was forced to retire on lap 47, when his right front tire popped off the rim, bringing a shower of sparks through turn two. Vanasse and Duquette led off the front row, and on the start, Vanasse moved back to the lead, while DeGasparre got under Duquette for second. Breault and Rosenfield continued to battle for position, with Duquette coming out on top. Duquette got back around DeGasparre, but Rosenfield spun on the 45th circuit. He moved alongside Bob Pelland III during the caution laps and engaged in a heated conversation before moving to the rear of the pack for the restart with five to go.
Vanasse again jumped in front, but Duquette was resolute and stayed to do battle with DeGasparre on his rear bumper. Another restart following a lap 47 caution saw Vanasse go back into the lead with Duquette battling on his outside. Duquette pulled a fender in front on the backstretch in the 48th circuit, but Vanasse moved back in front as they flew under the white flag to begin the final lap. Coming out of turn two onto the backstretch, Duquette found a sudden surge of power and put ¾ of his car past Vanasse going into turn 3. He managed to hold his nose in front through the turn and down the frontstretch to pass under the checkered flag just .107 seconds ahead of Vanasse.
Order of finish: 1. Frank Duquette, 2. Ryan Vanasse, 3. Matt Breault, 4. Gerry DeGasparre, Jr., 5. Kyle Casper, 6. Dennis Stange, 7. Robert Pelland III, 8. Jonathan Dickerman, 9. Tyler Thompson, 10. Jimmy Rosenfield, 11 Robert Hussey, 12 Rick Shinn, 13. Mike Cavallaro, 14. Kyle DeSouza, 15 Bill Bernard, 16. Colby Fournier, 17. Randy Burr
Three-time division champion Mike Cavallaro returned to the Seekonk Sport Trucks after a long hiatus to notch a big feature win. He started in the middle of the pack of 16 vehicles, behind most of the top runners, but came out of a lap 10 restart battling for the lead with Lenny Guy, nabbing the front on the backstretch in lap 12.
Ron Cornell jumped off the pole at the outset, leaving Ted Berube on the outside and Michael Ronhock following him into second. Guy and Ed Gannon began dueling for third. John Paiva’s 3-wide ride through turns three and four led to a frontstretch spin, taking Brian Murray with him. Ronhock restarted on the pole with Cornell outside and went into the lead, but they got together in turn 4, spinning and tearing up enough body metal to send them to the pits for repair. The lap 2 restart had Guy on the pole with Berube on his outside. Guy leveraged a quick lead and Cavallaro and Gannon fought for third. Rick Martin pulled into fifth.
A John Paiva spin on lap 6 brought another restart with Guy going back to the lead and Cavallaro moving into second. The chase was on, with Cavallaro finally taking the advantage on the backstretch of lap 12. By lap 15, he had a small lead over Guy. Dylan Estrella had moved into third ahead of Gannon. Martin was holding fifth, just ahead of Paiva. Ronhock and Berube followed.
Martin moved past Estrella and went to work on Cavallaro. Entering the 20th go-around, Michelle Dumas spun in the third turn. On the restart, Martin battled on the outside of the front row, managing to leave by .006 seconds on the 20th lap, but coming over the start-finish on lap 21, Cavallaro had taken the lead back and began working Martin wide through the turns. This forced Martin back and meanwhile Estrella went underneath for second place.
It was Cavallaro over the stripe first at the finish, while Estrella edged Martin for second and Paiva came across fourth, all in a tight group. Guy crossed fifth, followed by Gannon.
ORDER OF FINISH: 1. Michael Cavallaro, 2. Dylan Estrella, 3. Rick Martin, 4. John Paiva, 5. Lenny Guy, 6. Ed Gannon, 7. Ted Berube, 8. Michael Ronhock, 9. Dane Saritelli, 10. Ronny Cornell, 11. Dan Leach, 12. Michelle Dumas, 13. Brian Murray, 14. Jim Hawkins, 15. Russ Borges, 16. Billy Clarke.
Defending Pro Stock Champ Fred Astle hauled down a hard-fought win over Jake Vanada in an accident-marred contest at Seekonk Speedway. Astle started seventh on the field and edged steadily forward, finally moving into the lead on lap 15.
Philip Meany started off on the pole with Kyle Casper on his shoulder. At the green, he took the lead, battling with Casper. Dave Hutchins followed closely in third, looking for an opportunity, which he found on lap 3. He moved underneath with Jake Vanada following him through and Astle settling into third behind them.
Kevin Casper and Tom Scully, Jr. got crossed up in turn 3, bringing out the first caution on lap 6. Hutch led off the restart, but Ken Spencer went around on the backstretch, sending him, Mike Medeiros, Rob Murphy and Kevin Casper to the pits for repairs. The trio returned, but Murphy had lost his entire nose, making him look like a modified.
On the restart, Hutchins took the lead, but Astle moved into second under Vanada, who was chased by Dave Darling and Mike Brightman. Meany and Rick Martin followed. Hutchins led Astle, Vanada, Darling and Brightman to lap 15. With the field stringing out, Martin’s car did a pirouette in turn four. Martin retired to the pits and was out of the race.
The restart saw Astle challenging on the outside. Although Hutchins took a half car lead on the green, Astle began edging up. He was past on lap 17 but couldn’t quite close the door. At the strip on 18, he was clear and running at the front. The 20th cycle saw Astle leading Hutchins, followed by Vanada, Brightman, Meany and Darling. Steve O’Brien looped in the second turn, bringing another caution. On the restart, Astle led Hutchins out of turn 2, but Vanada passed underneath to pull into second behind Astle. Darling set his sights on Hutchins for third with Brightman holding down the fifth spot.
Lap 34 saw Darling get wide and brush the wall, costing him four spots, as Spencer, Brightman, Kevin Casper and Tom Scully, Jr. rushed by him.
Astle was cruising and led by a 5-car margin with 2 circuits remaining. Vanada got by Hutchins on an outside move for second. Spencer was fourth and Brightman fifth.
ORDER OF FINISH: 1. Fred Astle, 2. Jake Vanada, 3. Dave Hutchins, 4. Ken Spencer, 5. Mike Brightman, 6. Kevin Casper, 7. Tom Scully, Jr., 8. Dave Darling, 9. Jeramee Lillie, 10. Philip Meany, 11. Steve O’Brien, 12. Rob Murphy, 13. Michael Medeiros, 14. Kyle Casper, 15. Rick Martin, 16. Joe Cerullo, 17. Ryan Vanasse, 18. John Dabrowski.
Flyin’ Ryan Lineham celebrated his 27th birthday weekend with a big win in Street Stock action at Seekonk Speedway. The aggressive hot shoe, who specializes in outside passes and riding three-wide to the front, took his usual tactics to the limit, bringing home a trophy to go with the birthday cake from his Friday anniversary celebration. “This one’s for the fans,” he said afterward. “The car’s been good all year, we’ve had some bad luck, but we came back.”
Lineham came from midpoint on a starting grid of 26 cars. John Geremia III powered off the outside of the front row to lead pole sitter Tyler Jarvenpaa down the backstretch. Lineham launched his 3-wide move from the outset, and coming around in the third lap got a piece of Jarvenpaa, who went wide on the backstretch, bringing out the caution and collecting Rey Lovelace and 3 other cars.
Geremia and Craig Pianka restarted on the front row with Crystal Serydynski and Lineham behind them. Geremia went to the lead with Pianka hanging on the outside while Lineham went three wide again to pass. However, Tim Eaton went around in turn two and the restart came back.
Again, Geremia went to the lead on Pianka, who got loose and fell back. Lineham went around him and was after Geremia. A side-by-side battle saw Lineham edge forward and into the lead by lap 6. At lap 16, he was nursing a 6-car lead when another caution set the stage for a restart.
The field remained the same, except that Scott Serydynski had moved into fifth place behind Henshaw. On the green, Lineham went back to the lead, while Geremia went under Pianka to second and Serydynski followed into third. On lap 18, Serydynski passed Geremia for second and began to reel in Lineham.
By lap 20, it was apparent that there wouldn’t be enough time, save a caution bringing the field back together. However, the field stayed green to the finish and Lineham finished with a 4-car, 1.002-second lead over Serydynski.
ORDER OF FINISH: 1. Ryan Lineham, 2. Scott Serydynski, 3. John Geremia III, 4. Michael Lema, 5. Greg Perry, Jr., 6. Mark Henshaw, 7. Ronald Lum, 8. Craig Pianka, 9. Scott Bruneau, 10. Chris Beaulieu, 11. Chris Rioux, 12. Rey Lovelace, 13. Gerard Berthelette, 14. Joseph Fernandez, 15. Chris DeMoura, 16. Patrick Delaney, 17. Crystal Serydynski, 18 Tony Oliviera, 19. Ray Negley, 20. Justin Travis, 21. Tyler Jarvenpaa, 22. Tim Eaton, 23. Sparky Arsenault, 24. Michael Mitchell, 25. Charlie Rose, Jr., 26. Steve Axon.
TRIKE RACES DOMINATE OVAL
Hottest action on the evening was more of a silent spectacular, as the human powered vehicles in the kids’ trike race took to the track.
It was 100 yards of high-octane leg-pumping as boys and girls in the 4 to 5-year-old category and then the 6 to-8 year-olds set their HPV’s down 100 yards from the finish line.
In the 3 to-5-year-olds, Caleb from Plainville came off the line a bit slow on his big wheel, but put on a big burst of speed in the final 60 yards to win going away.
The 6-to-8-year-olds saw a photo finish. Richard Murray of Tiverton out-dueled his rival by mere inches at the line.
Sources: Kevin Boucher/Seekonk Speedway PR