Dave Darling, Tyler Thompson, Scott Dion & Chris Demoura Win Everett’s Auto Parts Features at Seekonk
SEEKONK, MA — Dave Darling picked up his fourth win of the season, holding on through a flurry of cautions throughout the 75 lap Phil’s Propane Triple Crown race. Front row starters Tom Scully Sr and Ken Spencer swapped the lead back and forth through the first twenty five laps of the event.
With 1/3 of the race completed, Darling had moved into second, and used a restart to power past Spencer for the lead. Spencer fell back into second, with Dick Houlihan, Mike Brightman and Ryan Vanasse rounding out the top five. Darling held the lead at the 50 lap mark, with Vanasse in second, trying to chase him down. Several times, Vanasse would pressure Darling for the lead, but the defending champion would not waver.
A flurry of late race restarts slowed the pace, but Darling continued to keep the pressure behind him, picking up the win. Dick Houlihan slid past Vanasse on the final laps for second, with Vanasse, Tom Scully Jr and Fred Astle rounding out the top five.
1) Dave Darling 2) Dick Houlihan 3) Ryan Vanasse 4) Tom Scully Jr 5) Fred Astle 6) Ken Spencer 7) Dave Silvia 8) Mike Mitchell 9) Dick Benoit 10) Kevin Folan 11) Kyle Casper 12) Phil Meany 13) Dave Hutchins Sr 14) Mike Brightman 15) Tom Scully Sr 16) Bob Hussey 17) Elmer Wing III 18) Vinnie Annarummo 19) Bobby Pelland III 20) Daryl Stampfl 21) Manny Dias
Tyler Thompson held off some heavy challenges from former Street Stock champion Ryan Lineham in the 30 lap Late Model feature. The pair started on the front row, and for 30 laps, kept the pressure on each other, using every inch of the 72′ wide speedway to keep the other behind.
Several times, the pair raced wheel to wheel for the lead, leaning on each other. Only a few laps through the middle of the race did Linham edge out Thompson for the lead, but he would not be able to seal the deal, having the Somerset show edge back in front.
Mark Hudson ran third for much of the early part of the race, only to fall back when Gerry DeGasparre and Dave Hutchins Jr moved past. As the race wore on, Hutchins fell back on the outside, allowing Dylan Estrella and Bobby Pelland III to move into the top five.
1) Tyler Thompson 2) Ryan Lineham 3) Gerry DeGasparre Jr 4) Dylan Estrella 5) Bobby Pelland III 6) Jeramee Lillie 7) Dave Hutchins Jr 8) Joe Kohler 9) Bill Bernard 10) Mark Hudson 11) Ron Barboza 12) Greg Cotter
Scott Dion picked up his first win of the 2013 season, holding off some hard charges from Rick Martin, Rob Murphy, and finally points leader John Paiva, clinching the Phil’s Propane Triple Crown Championship for the Sport Trucks.
Dion jumped out front from his front row starting position, with Murphy in tow. Murphy held on to second until the half-way point when Martin finally squeezed through for second. A lap 17 caution put Martin aside Dion, and it appeared that the 5 time champion would be on the way to his second win in a row, edging Dion out front for a pair of laps, but it wasn’t to be, as Dion powered back past.
One final caution with five laps remaining put Paiva on the outside, and he also was able to edge Dion for a pair of laps, but it wasn’t enough to overtake the Taunton driver, as Scott held on for the Triple Crown win.
1) Scott Dion 2) John Paiva 3) Rick Martin 4) Brandon Dion 5) Rob Murphy 6) Nick Uhrig 7) Lenny Guy 8) Anna Gregoire 9) Joey Wakefield 10) Bill Schoeler 11) Dan Leach 12) Chase Belcher 13) Taylor Therrien 14) Jon Letourneau 15) Mike Duarte 16) Dane Saritelli 17) Jim Hawkins 18) Billy Clarke
Chris DeMoura finally got the monkey off his back and was able to finish a race. This time, it was in front of the pack, as he picked up his first win of the season. Chris started on the pole, and never looked back in the non-stop 25 lap feature.
Craig Pianka slid past Ray Negley on the opening laps into second, but couldn’t close in on The Outlaw enough to mount a serious challenge. With the top two drivers checked out, Negley had his hands full with rookie Austin Blais trying to move past the veteran. The 15 year old tried the inside and outside, but to no avail. For much of the race, Blais had Ed Gannon III on the outside as they battled for position. Gannon slid back over the final laps as he was caught on the outside.
1) Chris DeMoura 2) Craig Pianka 3) Ray Negley 4) Austin Blais 5) Bobby Bettencourt Jr 6) Steve Axon 7) Gerard Berthelette 8) Crystal Serydynski 9) Scott Serydynski 10) Ed Gannon III 11) Paul Lallier 12) Steve Potter 13) Scot Bruneau 14) John Hanafin 15) Chris Beauleau 16) Rey Lovelace 17) Bill McNeil 18) Darryl Perry 19) Joe Melberg 20) A J Solomon 21) Mike LeFort 22) Bob Henry 23) Jimmy Belmont
Sources: Kevin Boucher/Seekonk Speedway PR