Dave Darling continues his opening day dominance in the Phil’s Propane 60 win. Bernard, Pappa, Lallier and Paiva
Seekonk, MA — Dave Darling picked up his fourth consecutive opening day victory, and his fifth in the past six years in the Phil’s Propane 60 lap feature. Darling, driving his Bristol Toyota/Scion Camry, started sixth in the 22 car field, and found himself sitting third on a lap 21 restart. Dave moved past Astle, and them found the inside lane in his favor as he battled with pole sitter and leader Ryan Vanasse.
Once Darling was out front, he survived a couple of restarts, but was never seriously challenged for the remainder of the 39 laps. As the laps wound down, Darlings lead got bigger, opening up a ½ straightaway lead over defending champion Fred Astle Jr.
Astle had actually made it into second with Darling on his tail, but Dave proved that Opening Day was to continue being his domain. The Wood Frame Structures Chevy of Astle fell back a little on the initial start, falling back to sixth before starting to pick the cars off one by one. A restart on lap 21 cost Fred the runner up position when Darling snuck underneath. Astle followed through, but there was no keeping Darling out of Victory Lane.
[Photo Gallery] by Nicholas Teto
Ryan Vanasse brought the 22 car field down for the green, and set the pace early on. Through a couple a cautions, he was able to hang on, but couldn’t hold off the charges of Darling. Astle snuck by as well, and Vanasse settled into the third position. Over the final 24 laps, the A & A Auto Parts Chevy hounded Astle, trying the inside and outside grooves, but could not squeeze by Astle.
Kevin Casper’s Phil’s Propane Ford started strong, running with the leaders for much of the first half, but lost ground over the final 30 laps due to the engine running on 7 cylinders. Kevin hung on for a fourth place finish.
Taunton’s Ken Spencer set the tone early on in the Janine’s Machine Impala, setting fast time in qualifying time trials. This is the only event that has the 2 lap format, but only to line up the heats for opening day. Ken has become a master at time trialing over the past several years, picking up fast time on 3 occasions. During the 60 lap main, Ken quickly moved into the runner up position behind Vanasse, and hounded him for the first 10 laps, before falling behind Tom Scully Jr on a restart. Astle, then Darling snuck by as well, as Kenny was hanging on in the outside lane. Spencer fell back into line in fifth, but could not reel in the top four from there.
Top Ten: Dave Darling, Fred Astle Jr, Ryan Vanasse, Kevin Casper, Ken Spencer, Mike Brightman, Tom Scully Jr, Kyle Casper, Dick Houlihan, and Bobby Pelland III.
Spencer picked up the fastest time in TT with a lap of 12.242. Astle was second with Pelland, Kevin Casper, Scully, Brightman, Vanasse, Darling, Kevin Folan and Kyle Casper the top ten. There was a 0.327 difference between Spencer and Kyle Casper.
Bill Bernard was as confident as he has been in a long time coming into opening day, and backed that up by picking up his third career LM win.
Tyler Thompson and Mike Marfeo brought the field down, but after two tries, Bobby Pelland III sat on the outside of the front row with Thompson. The pair took off and raced side by side for almost 20 laps, before Pelland chased a loose car up the track and lost several positions. The young Pelland showed his skill in saving the car, but ran out of time to work back into the top five.
Tyler now had Bernard on the outside, who had just passed Pelland for second before the caution. Bernard threw his Camry in hard and deep, and was able to take over the lead, one which he would not relinquish for the final 10 laps.
Dennis Stampfl had his best finish, as he picked up a runner up position. The Norwood native started eighth on the grid, and found himself in the right spot at the right time, as he worked his way through the field. He was able to crack the top five by lap three, and sat in that area for over 15 laps, using the inside lane on a restart or two to help move up. He moved past Thompson with three laps remaining to take over second, but could not close in on Bernard.
Jeramee Lillie picked up the most positions in the LM main event, starting back in tenth spot, and kept the hammer at bay, as he picked up a third place finish. Thompson held on to finish fourth, with defending champion Gerry DeGasparre Jr rounding out the top five. Gerry started seventh on the grid, but was never able to move through the traffic to contend for the win.
Dylan Estrella made some great moves through the field, and the sophomore was on his way to the front before he brushed the outside wall on the front stretch with 8 laps remaining. The North Attleboro native started twelfth, and was up to fourth when he spun on the front stretch. It was the second time he made contact with the wall, after backing into the wall lightly in practice.
Top Ten: Bill Bernard, Dennis Stampfl, Jeramee Lillie, Tyler Thompson, Gerry DeGasparre Jr, Bobby Pelland III, Ron Barboza Jr, Dave Hutchins Jr, Mike Marfeo, and Jariah Roderick.
The Nick’s Pit Stop Friday Night Legend Series / NELCAR Legends took to the third mile and once again, they were full of action. In the end it was Matt Pappa, making his first appearance at Seekonk, finding his way to Victory Lane. The 14 year old racer out of Nassau, NY brought the field down for the green, and quickly jumped out front. Matt was able to hand on through three restarts, but was never challenged for the win, as he opened up comfortable leads in between each one.
Nick Ladyga of Voluntown, CT moved into second on the initial start, and ran there for the entire event. This makes two runner-up finished for the former Seekonk Youth Racing Association standout, as he was second in May of 2011, which was the last time the NELCAR Legends visited Seekonk.
Shaun Buffington is one of the top runners when it comes to the NELCAR Legends, and was victorious in May of last year, but on this day, he was unable to find the right setup on his mount, and had to settle for a third place finish. But not after battling with teammate Tom Gray for the first third of the event.
Reid Lanpher scrambled through the field from his ninth place starting position, and found himself in fourth at the final flag. Tom Gray fell out of the top five at one point, after battling with Buffington for several early laps, but was able to complete the race in fifth.
Top Ten: Matt Pappa, Nick Ladyga, Shaun Buffington, Reid Lanpher, Tom Gray, Evan Beauleau, Ryan Hammar, Nick Lascoula, Joey Parker, and Bob Weymouth.
The last time the Sports Trucks ran in a Saturday Night event, John Paiva picked up his first career truck win. Coming back on opening day, he was spot on, as he made it two in a row on opening day. John led from the drop of the green, and was never headed in a 25 lap feature that went nonstop.
Scott Dion made the jump from the Pro Stocks over to the Sport Trucks, and found himself getting more comfortable lap after lap. Scott jumped into second on the initial start, and spent the afternoon chasing Paiva. While he could get within a few truck lengths at times, he could not get close enough to challenge.
Rick Martin looks like he will be competing for the Sports Truck championship once again, and started his season off on the outside pole for the start. Rick fell back to third, and spent the next 24 laps trying to get back by Dion, but to no avail, as the 5 time Seekonk Champion had to settle for third.
Lenny Guy started out for bear, picking up the win in his qualifier, but couldn’t carry that momentum into the main event. After the inversion, Lenny started fourth, and maintained that position for the entire distance.
Defending champion Mike Cavallaro was also a heat winner, but had his hands full, trying to keep his Chevy underneath him, as it appeared he missed the setup for the afternoons event. Mike finished fifth after starting seventh.
Top Ten: John Paiva, Scott Dion, Rick Martin, Lenny Guy, Mike Cavallaro, Dan Leach, Nick Uhrig, Derek Robbie, Billy Clarke, and Jim Hawkins.
Ryan Lineham seemed to pick up right where left off in 2011, but it was not to be. After taking the win, he did not make it through post-race tech, handing the win over to Paul Lallier.
Crystal Serydynski jumped out front from her pole position, and set the pace for the early stages. She took off, leaving Rey Lovelace, who started on the outside of the front row, to slide back on the outside. It wasn’t long before Lineham moved past and took off. She held off Patrick Delaney for the first few laps, before Lallier moved in. Paul spent several laps moving around the track, trying to find a groove to get past Crystal. He found it on a lap 12 restart, and moved into the second spot.
While Paul took over, Scott Serydynski followed through into third, while Manny Dias slid through for fourth. While Manny fell a little behind Scottie, the former champ closed in on Lallier, and battled him down to the checkered for what they thought was for second. Lallier held on for a .150 victory.
Dias started 14th, and found his Robert Henry owned mount strong early on, but as the race wore on, the handles started to go away. He did have enough to hold on for a .3 second advantage over Crystal.
Top Ten: Paul Lallier, Scott Serydynski, Manny Dias, Crystal Serydynski, Sparky Arsenault, Joe Kohler, Scott Bruneau, Gerard Berthelette, Charles Field, and Ray Negley.
Sources: Kevin Boucher/Seekonk Speedway PR