Fred Astle picks up Pro Stock win in Mid Season Championship; Dylan Estrella gains 1st LM Checkered; Rick Martin wins Truck main; Scott Serydynski nabs Street Stock win
Seekonk, MA — After taking a week off, a rejuvenated 6 time Pro Stock Champion in Fred Astle picked up his third win of the season. In a race that treated the fans to a throwback type of race, he held off Rick Martin and Dave Darling for the checkered.
Dick Houlihan jumped out to the early lead over Kyle Casper, and set the pace for the nine laps, before Astle used a restart to out power Houly to the corners. Once out front, Astle had to hold off the challenges of points leader Darling and Martin, who was competing in his second race of the season in the Pro Stocks.
For the final 20 laps, Martin used the outside lane to move past Darling and make a run at Astle, but the defending champ was up to the challenge, as he held Martin off at the stripe. Darling finished third, as the three crossed the finish line under a proverbial blanket. Houlihan was fourth across the line with Mike Brightman fifth. After post-race tech, Martin failed, moving Houlihan and Brightman to third and fourth, with Craig Weinstein rounding out the top five.
In the 30 lap Late Model feature, North Attleboro’s Dylan Estrella finally completed what it has taken him a year and a half to complete, a LM feature win. Ron Barboza of Warren, RI jumped out to the early lead, and set a comfortable pace until a caution came out on lap seven when Bruce Rego and Bill Bernard got together. Estrella powered past on the ensuing restart and never looked back. Barboza hung on for second for a few laps until Bobby Pelland III squeezed by for second with Jeramee Lillie in tow. With a late race caution for Gerry DeGasparre and Tyler Thompson, the field bunched up for one last shot, but the sophomore would not be denied on this night, as Estrella picked up his first career Late Model win. Pelland held on for second, and closed the gap in the championship chase, with Lillie, Barboza and Bernard rounding out the top five.
[Photo Gallery] by Nicholas Teto
Rick Martin rolled to his second truck win in the past several weeks in the Sport Trucks 25 lap main event. Darryl Church of Brockton jumped out to the lead at the drop of the green, and with the first 15 laps non-stop, it appeared that Church may be closing in on his first career Truck win. But Martin took that dream away and took off on the restart. Mike Cavallaro used another restart to move into second, and chased the Westport native to the stripe. Dan Leach finished third, while Barry Shaw and Scott Dion rounded out the top five.
In the 25 lap Street Stock main event, the race went non-stop and featured three and four abreast racing throughout the entire race. When it was all said and done. Scott Serydynski of Exeter, RI crossed the finish line first and picked up his first win of the season. Gerard Berthelette of North Smithfield RI jumped into the lead and set the pace through 17 circuits. Scotty started in the eighth spot, and worked his way through the pack using primarily the outside lane, and slid past Berthelette for the lead, taking over on the eighteenth circuit. While leading, Rey Lovelace, Ryan Lineham and points leader Paul Lallier also moved past and made it a 4 car battle to the finish. Serydynski held on, with Lovelace just edging out the defending Street Stock champion Lineham for second, while Lallier and Berthelette were fourth and fifth.
Sources: Kevin Boucher/Seekonk Speedway PR