Dick Houlihan Finds his Way Back to Victory Lane; Bernard, Lovelace and Cavallaro Repeat
SEEKONK, MA — Dick Houlihan has been one of the most consistent drivers over the past two seasons, but has not been able to break through to Everett’s Auto Parts Victory Lane. Saturday night, that changed when he went into turn three sitting fifth, but came out the other end as the leader.
Ken Spencer became the early leader and held on through a couple of restarts before Fred Astle was able to move around into the lead. The pair raced together for several laps before a caution came out. Mike Brightman and Dave Darling were running third and fourth when the field came back under green.
Astle took off with Brightman glued to his back bumper as they battled for the lead. Astle seemed to have the answer for just about every move Brightman would make. As they raced into turn three, contact was made, sending both cars up the track. Spencer and Darling were also involved, with Spencer bouncing off the turn three wall.
Kevin Folan was up to second, but something in the rear end broke on the restart, giving the outside pole position to rookie Bobby Pelland III.
Houlihan and Pelland brought the field down, with Pelland falling in behind, trying to chase down the two time champion to no avail. Houlihan picked up his first win since 2010. Pelland hung on for second, with Tom Scully Jr close behind. Elmer Wing and Fred Astle rounded out the top five.
1) Dick Houlihan 2) Bobby Pelland 3) Tom Scully Jr 4) Elmer Wing 5) Fred Astle Jr 6) Mike Brightman 7) Mike Mitchell 8) John Dickerman 9) Darryl Stampfl 10) John Berchem 11) Paul Reichert 12) Bill Joerres 13) Tom Scully Sr 14) Dave Darling 15) Bob Hussey 16) Ken Spencer 17) Kevin Folan 18) Dick Benoit 19) Kevin Casper 20) Kyle Casper 21) Sam Parazzo 22) Ryan Vanasse
The Phil’s Propane Triple Crown Series kicked off with the Sport Trucks kicking off with a 30 lap main event. Lenny Guy and Billy Clarke shared the top spot over the first couple of laps before Cavallaro found himself at the top of the leader board.
While Cavallaro set the pace, he was pressured by Rick Martin for the final 27 laps, with Martin using every trick in the book to try to unseat the 5-time Truck champion. While they battled for the lead, Scott Dion and Branden Dion were trying to find the fast way around the speedway, as they sat third and fourth. Darryl Church found some late race momentum to move past Lenny Guy for fifth with a handful of laps remaining.
1) Mike Cavallaro 2) Rick Martin 3) Scott Dion 4) Branden Dion 5) Darryl Church 6) Lenny Guy 7) Rob Murphy 8) Anna Gregoire 9) Bill Schoeler 10) Nick Uhrig 11) Mike Duarte 12) Jim Hawkins 13) Taylor Therrien 14) John Letourneau 15) Joey Wakefield 16) Billy Clarke 17) Dane Saritelli 18) John Paiva 19) Ron Cornell 20) Willie Sanchez
Rey Lovelace became the first two-time winner in the Street Stocks, using some timely cautions to find his way to victory. In a 25-lap race that was shortened to 23 laps due to time restraints, the cautions came fast and faithfully.
Chris DeMoura set the early pace with Ed Gannon III right behind. Ed took off on a lap eight restart and set the pace, before Bettencourt and DeMoura got together, bringing out the yellow. Gannon took off on the restart, and looked to be on his way to his first Street Stock win in several years, but after a lap 19 restart, the engine failed, forcing him out of the event for the night. Paul Lallier took over as the leader, and looked to be on his way to his second consecutive win until he and Charles Beal got together. This handed the lead over to Lovelace, and he held on through one final green-white-checkered finish. Bettencourt recovered to finish second, with Craig Pianka, Ray Negley and rookie Austin Blais rounding out the top five.
1) Rey Lovelace 2) Bobby Bettencourt Jr 3) Craig Pianka 4) Ray Negley 5) Austin Blais 6) Jimmy Belmont 7) Justin Travis 8) Charles Beal 9) Joe Melberg 10) A J Soloman 11) Crystal Serydynski 12) Paul Lallier 13) Phil Evans 14) Ed Gannon 15) Vinny Pangelinan 16) Scott Serydynski 17) Scott Bruneau 18) Chris DeMoura 19) Randy Moretti 20) Gerard Berthelette 21) Jeff Ellis 22) Stephen Potter 23) Manny Dias 24) Doug Rioux
Bill Bernard followed up his win two weeks ago with his second win in a row, edging out a fast Bobby Pelland II for the victory. For the third week in a row, however, Pelland had to come from the back of the field after getting caught up in an early incident.
Ron Barboza led the opening laps, and held on at the top of the leader board through several restarts. Ryan Lineham, Dylan Estrella all tried to get by Barboza, but it was just past the halfway point when Bernard put his Toyota to the top of the leader board. Pelland worked himself into second with ten laps remaining, and through a few restarts put heavy pressure on Bernard. As they came across the strip for the finish, Bernard held the third generation racer and picked up his second consecutive victory. Barboza held on for a third place finish, with Estrella and Gerry DeGasparre Jr rounding out the top five.
1) Bill Bernard 2) Bobby Pelland 3) Ron Barboza 4) Dylan Estrella 5) Gerry DeGasparre Jr 6) Ryan Lineham 7) Dave Hutchins Jr 8) Tyler Thompson 9) Joe Kohler 10) Jeramee Lillie 11) Charlie Rose
Sources: Kevin Boucher/Seekonk Speedway PR