Sculy, Martin, DeGasparre, & Newcomb win the battle. Astle, Vanasse, Martin & Axon win the wars.
MARTIN WINS TRUCKS: HEAT RACE, FEATURE, CHAMPIONSHIP
Westport’s Radical Rick Martin had an evening for himself, Saturday, coming on strong in his number 41 pickup to take it all. He won both heat and feature and made his commanding divisional lead stick for the championship over North Attleboro’s Dylan Estrella. In fact, winning the heat race, in which Estrella finished sixth, gave him enough points to haul down the championship before starting his motor for the feature race.
Into the feature, Martin started fifth on the field and within 5 laps was at the front and stayed there for the remaining 20 laps. Dan Leach, from North Dighton, gave Martin a good chase after Martin took the lead from him, all the way to the checkers, but Martin was not to be denied. Mike Cavallaro pulled a big third on the field, followed by Ed Gannon, Lenny guy and Estrella. Ted Berube, Michael Ronhock, Jariah Roderick and Ronny Cornell rounded out the top ten.
Seekonk’s Billy Clarke led from the pole through the first lap before Leach got underneath and into the lead from his spot low on the second row. Martin gunned through right behind Leach and Clarke was stuck on the outside and a parade was marching by beneath him. Estrella and Cornell got by while Gannon and Cavallaro were door-to-door behind them.
[Photo Gallery] by Nicholas Teto
Quincy’s Michelle Dumas looped on lap four in the fourth turn, bringing out a caution which restarted with Leach on the pole and Martin on his shoulder. Leach was quick at the strip, gaining a nose lead, but Martin battled back and edged ahead, taking the lead to himself coming out of the fourth turn. Another lap and Barry Shaw was around in turn 4 with Bob Andreozzi spinning to avoid.
Martin had the pole with Leach on his shoulder for the restart. Estrella was immediately behind Martin with Fall Riverite Cornell on his shoulder. Gannon (also from Fall River) and Seekonk Cavallaro were row 3. As Martin edged out on the restart, Cavallaro suddenly went around Cornell, putting the second row 3 wide: Cornell was in a sandwich between Estrella on his low side and Cavallaro. Cornell fell back; Cavallaro passed Estrella into third by a nose.
Into lap 10, Martin led Leach, Cavallaro, Estrella, Gannon and Berube. Behind them, Guy and Ronhock were dicing for position. Guy finally made his way clear into seventh. Cavallaro went around to begin battling Leach for second. Behind them, Estrella and Gannon were door-to-door with Cornell in hot pursuit. By lap 20, the race had shaken out to Martin, Leach, Cavallaro, Gannon, Estrella and Cornell.
On the next lap, Cornell began to try around Estrella with Guy bothering him from behind. Martin was walking away with a 6-car lead. Leach, Cavallaro and Gannon followed and Guy was studying Estrella’s rear bumper.
Martin flashed under the checkers 1.293 seconds ahead of Leach, followed by Cavallaro and Gannon. Guy made a dash on the final straight to the strip and nipped Estrella at the line, by .068 of a second.
NEWCOMB WINS FIRST FEATURE, AXON STREET STOCK CHAMPION
Paul Newcomb from Plymouth, MA, grabbed his first Street Stock win in the 25-lap feature. Attleboro driver Steve Axon iced the lead he had taken from Ryan Lineham a week earlier with a fifth place finish, giving him the championship in the division. Scott Serydynski, from West Greenwich, finished a spot ahead of Axon, but could not overcome Axon’s 15 point lead going into the evening. Lineham, from Coventry, was .462 second behind Newcomb, but couldn’t gain enough points over Axon to reclaim the points lead.
Newcomb started behind polesitter Patrick Delaney of Fall River. Delaney jumped out ahead of outside pole Gerard Berthelette of North Smithfield, and Delaney followed him through. Fifth place starter Rey Lovelace of Cranston also went under Berthelette before the latter could settle into the low groove, ahead of Johnston’s Crystal Serydynski.
On the third lap, Craig Pianka went around between turns one and two and spun into the infield. Newcomb had pushed his nose past Delaney, and was rewarded the pole on the restart with Delaney on the high side. Lovelace and Berthelette were the second row.
Newcomb went to the lead and Lovelace got under Delaney into second as the green fell. Serydynski and Michael Lema followed through. By lap six, Newcomb held the lead over Lovelace and Serydynski had moved into third. Berthelette held fourth with Lema Behind him and Scott Serydynski had moved into sixth. Delaney, experiencing mechanical problems, retired to the pits. However, Lineham, who had started eighth before slipping back to 10th early on, was beginning to march forward and was in sixth.
At lap 10, Newcomb continued to lead Lovelace, Crystal Serydynski, Lema, Scott Serydynski and Lineham. Berthelette, Mike Mitchell and Ken Kohler followed. By lap 15, Newcomb had an 8-car lead over Lovelace, who in turn had Scott Serydynski all over his rear bumper. Lineham, Lema and Crystal Serydynski trailed. Caution followed, with Walter Carpenter’s car dying as he tried to nurse it out the pit exit.
Newcomb had many problems on the lap 15 restart: Lovelace on his shoulder, Serydynski behind him, and Lineham on the outside. Crystal followed her uncle and Lema was behind Lineham. Berthelette was low in the next row, but Axon was beginning to be felt and had the outside. It was a hungry wolf pack that charged out on Newcomb’s heels, and he did well to outrun them. Scott was able to get under Lovelace and into second. Lineham shortly followed to third, leaving Lovelace in fourth
Lap 17 saw Dick Cavallaro’s car die at the stripe, bringing out another caution. He drove it to the pits after getting it started. Now Scott was on Newcomb’s shoulder and Lineham was behind him. Lovelace and Lema were row two and Crystal shared row 3 with Axon. Newcomb had a nose on Scott as they crossed the stripe and Lineham on his bumper. Lema took fourth from Lovelace.
Into lap 20, Newcomb was nursing his lead over Scott, Lineham and Lema. Axon and Mitchell had edged past Lovelace who had Berthelette and Crystal on his bumper. Lineham and Lema squeezed past Scott over the next two laps.
The top 5 finishers had been established by lap 22: Newcomb, Lineham, Lema, Scott Serydynski and Axon. Mitchell, last season’s champion, Lovelace and Crystal followed.
At the end, the top six crossed as above. Crystal Serydynski edged Lovelace for seventh.
Berthelette and Rob Murray rounded out the top 10.
DeGASPARRE WINS LATE MODELS; VANASSE NABS SECOND CONSECUTIVE CHAMPIONSHIP
Pawtucket’s Gerry DeGasparre, Jr., won his third feature of the season, giving the four-time late model champ a lift in an up-and-down season while Ryan Vanasse of Warwick was propelled by his dominant lead in the division to the championship despite a twelfth place finish. That makes it two crowns in a row for Vanasse.
DeGasparre took control with six of the thirty laps remaining, moving up cautiously from his tenth starting position. Four drivers shared the lead, with Bob Pelland III holding the edge at 12 laps. Kevin Folan started at the front and held two laps before Pelland took over, then two laps at the midpoint of the race. Colbey Fournier led 8 laps before he yielded to DeGasparre. Pelland finished behind the winner, followed by Tyler Thompson, Jimmy Rosenfield and Dennis Stange. Fournier finished sixth.
Folan, of Attleboro, led off from the pole with Pelland on his right hand. At the green, Folan nabbed the lead, but two laps in, Robert Hussey from Wellfleet and Bridgewater driver Jimmy Rosenfield got into each other on the back stretch and spun to the infield.
On the restart, Pelland jumped to a lead, but went early and the start was called back. On the next attempt, Pelland grabbed and held on to the lead as Dennis Stange moved outside Folan. The Athol driver got loose and fell back, leaving Folan in second. The field began to string out.
Lap 7 saw Pelland leading Folan, Stange, Fournier, Somerset driver Kyle Casper and Mat Breault of Acushnet. DeGasparre was seventh and coming forward with Vanasse on his bumper. Rosenfield got together with Hussey in lap 9, setting a lap 4 spin and bringing out the caution.
Pelland and Folan led it off with Stange and Fournier at their backs. They ran door-to-door with Pelland taking the lead in turn 4. Stange got under Folan into second. Fournier suddenly lost speed and in the scramble, Rosenfield and DeGasparre got together up toward the turn 3 wall. Rosenfield pulled away, but DeGasparre was stuck in the turn.
This brought up a lap 10 restart. Stange, from the outside pole, nosed ahead of Pelland, winding it up on the outside, but Pelland put on a surge to get the lead back in turn 4. The start was disallowed, and called back for another restart. This time, the leaders staged a door-to-door battle with Pelland taking an edge at the stripe, then closing the door in turn four of lap 12. At midlap, Fall River’s John Paiva looped but was able to keep going without caution.
Pelland was holding a 1-car lead over Stange when he got sideways in turn 4. Stange bounced off his driver’s side and then Breault, Vanasse, and Casper piled in. Casper came out the worst with his nose crumpled back. Vanasse had a tire down and both went to the pits for emergency repair. Stange, Breault, Pelland and Mike Cavallaro, returning from the pits for an unrelated problem, lined up at the tail end. Vanasse and Casper remained in the pits.
Folan was on the pole again, with Fournier outside. Tyler Thompson was low in the second row and DeGasparre, having moved back to the front, was on the high side. Hussey and Rosenfield made up the third row.
Folan nabbed the lead at the green and Fournier settled in behind him. Thompson and DeGasparre diced it up for third position with Hussey in fifth, followed by Rosenfield. But Folan got sideways but a tap from Fournier, passing under, straightened the car out while Fournier went to the lead. Caution came out again on lap 19, as Rosenfield went around at the stripe.
Fournier had Thompson on his outside with DeGasparre and Hussey behind him. Breault and Folan followed. The start was called back as Thompson was quick on the trigger. The lined up a second time and again it was called back for a bad start. Officials sent Thompson to the rear for jumping the restart twice, which began a loud protest, including a crewmember climbing the fence behind the starter’s stand to argue with the starters.
Now DeGasparre was starting alongside Fournier and he edged ahead on the green, but Folan spun in turn four, again negating the lap. On the fourth restart, Fournier and DeGasparre went at it, door-to-door, but Kyle DeSouza went around bringing out a 5th restart on the lap.
Fournier nosed ahead of DeGasparre, and Hussey went in underneath at the same time Breault tried around the outside, creating a 3-wide. DeGasparre split the trio, going into second, leaving Hussey to Battle Breault.
DeGasparre began to hunt Fournier down and on lap 23; the latter drifted up the track and had to hold on. DeGasparre went into the lead, with Hussey, Breault and Pelland following. Fournier settled into fifth but couldn’t settle into the groove and Rosenfield and Thompson went underneath.
By the 27th circuit, DeGasparre was leading Hussey, Breault, Pelland and Rosenfield. Breault tapped Hussey, and Hussey looped, sending him to the rear and officials determined that Breault should join him for the assist.
Three laps remaining, and it became a parade to the finish, with DeGasparre taking a 2.97 second lead over Pelland, Thompson, Rosenfield and Stange. Rounding out the top 10 were Stange, Fournier, DeSouza, Folan, Paiva and Hussey. Vanasse finished two laps down, due to repair in the pits after the lap 12 accident. Still, it was not enough to deny his second championship in as many seasons.
ASTLE CAPTURES FIFTH CHAMPIONSHIP AS SCULLY WINS FIRST FEATURE IN PRO STOCKS
Tom Scully, Jr. won his first feature of the season in a tight duel with Rick Martin to end the Pro Stock division’s championship season. Meanwhile, Fred Astle started at the rear of the 23 car field after failing the ride height inspection after finishing fourth in his heat race. His fourth place finish right behind his closest competitor, David Darling, insured his fifth championship, tying him with perennial champ, Vinny Annarummo. It also gave him 3 in a row, which ties him for consecutive titles with Norm Holden.
Scully started fifth on the field, with Martin seventh. They worked their way through the field for 13 laps, while Kevin Casper, then Dick Houlihan led the race, and broke into first and second together on lap 14. Martin tailed Scully, looking for an opportunity to be the first driver in Seekonk history to win two features on the same night (he had already won the Sport Trucks division on the evening and claimed the division championship there.) But the wily Scully was not about to let his opportunity for a win on the season slip from his grasp. Darling, Astle and Houlihan finished out the top five.
Kevin Casper of Somerset led off at the pole with Gardner hot shoe Phil Meany on the outside. Jeramee Lillie and Houlihan made up the second row; Rob Murphy and Scully were row 3. They came away from the green flag in that order, with Martin chasing Scully. By lap five, Scully was past Murphy. On the next lap, Meany went around entering turn 2 and Lillie went to the pits. Ray Parent, back with a newly purchased car, had picked up Mike Brightman’s left front fender under his rear axle and couldn’t get it dislodged. He retired to the pits for assistance.
The lap 6 restart had Casper and Houly facing off with Scully and Murphy now on the second row. Martin was behind Scully, and Darling had come up to start sixth from his original slot in tenth place.
Houlihan edged up on Casper at the start, and then the two went door-to-door. Scully went underneath to make the front grid a 3-wide. Casper got crossed up and fell back while Houlihan went to the front, towing Scully along with Murphy and Martin in pursuit.
Mike Parks, visiting from Monadnock Speedway, and Ryan Vanasse got together out of turn 2 and went up to the backstretch wall for a hard hit. After an extended period, both went off on the hooks of wreckers. Lowell’s Bill Antonellis, another visitor readying himself for the Venditti Memorial Race in October was off on the eighth lap. At this point, Darling, in pursuit of the championship, had moved up to seventh. Astle, driving very aggressively, had forged his way to tenth, three cars back.
Houlihan was on the pole for the lap 8 restart, with Scully on his shoulder. Casper and Martin were behind them with Murphy and Jake Vanada in the third grid. As the field queued up for the restart, smoke began to issue from under Antonellis’ hood and he stopped at the pit entrance for firemen to extinguish a small fire under the hood. He then retired to the pits.
On the restart, Lillie spun in turn two, bringing the field back for another go at the green. The second try got the field moving and Houly and Scully went at it door-to-door. Houlihan took an edge in turn 3 and Scully got loose. Houlihan took the lead with Scully and Martin on his tail.
Scully got his nose underneath and the two were again side-by-side. In the pack, Astle was dueling with Dean Pettey, who was back at The Konk after a long absence. Scully was into the lead on lap 14. At the same time, Darling was working around Casper into fifth. Astle claimed 8th spot on lap 16. Into lap 20, Scully led Martin, followed by Houlihan, Darling, Casper and Vanada. Mike Brightman was on the move up from a 16th place start and into seventh behind Vanada. Behind him, Astle was dueling Pettey for position.
Petty dived under Brightman and Astle went high, to make a 3-wide. Pettey backed out behind Brightman while Astle went forward into sixth behind Vanada. Into lap 26, the field behind Scully was Rick Martin, Darling, Houlihan, Vanada and Astle. On the 32nd circuit, Astle went to the outside on Vanada and had the lead by the time they hit the stripe. Going into lap 35, Pettey spun on the backstretch, bringing out the caution.
Scully edged out on Martin on the restart, and Darling dived underneath to try to take second. Astle was working underneath Houlihan. Paul Reichert looped on the backstretch in lap 38, bringing out another caution, and a restart with three laps to the checkers.
Scully and Martin were still the front row; now Astle joined Darling in the second echelon. Houlihan and Brightman were followed by Ken Spencer and Vanada.
Scully held on to the lead with Martin falling back by half a car. Darling held on underneath Martin with Astle and Houlihan behind. The final laps unwound with the top 5 holding position all the way to the flag and Scully had his win on the season. Scully, Martin, Darling and Astle all finished on the same second, the pack was that close together. Spencer, Ray Parent, Mike Brightman, Vanada and Rob Murphy rounded out the top 10.
Sources: Kevin Boucher/Seekonk Speedway PR