Dave Darling wins Phil’s Propane Triple Crown Championship. Gerry DeGasparre Jr, John Paiva and Gerard Berthelette win mains
SEEKONK, MA — Dave Darling took over from Tom Scully Jr with one lap remaining in the 75 lap Pro Stock Phil’s Propane Triple Crown Championship, and held on for the final 1/3 mile to pick up his fifth win of the season.
Bob Hussey and Mike Brightman battled for the lead early on before Brightman took over at the top of the leader board. Brightman held on to the top spot through the one-third mark, with Tom Scully Jr and Ryan Vanasse second and third. They ran that way until Brightman spun. On the restart with 40 laps remaining, Scully, Vanasse, Darling and Craig Weinstein set up for a 40 lap battle for the win. Darling moved past Vanasse on the restart, and started to put pressure on Scully. Darling darted from the inside and the outside trying to find a way by.
With about 20 laps remaining, Darling went to the outside and pressured Scully hard, trying to get the youngster to make a mistake. But there were no mistakes to capitalize on this time. Scully continued to keep Darling on the outside as Vanasse ran under Darling, the three cars under a blanket. With less than five laps remaining, the defending champion reached deep with his Bristol Toyota Scion Camry, and found something more that he needed. As they came across the stripe under the white flag, Darling had nosed ahead, and followed through turns one and two to hang on for the exciting win by .003 seconds over Scully Jr. Ryan Vanasse was third, with Craig Weinstein and Dick Houlihan fourth and fifth.
1) Dave Darling 2) Tom Scully Jr 3) Ryan Vanasse 4) Craig Weinstein 5) Dick Houlihan 6) Dave Hutchins Sr 7) Kevin Casper 8) Bob Hussey9) Fred Astle Jr 10) Ken Spencer 11) Dave Silvia 12) Kevin Folan 13) Dick Benoit 14) Elmer Wing III 15) George Kourafas 16) Cory Cleary 17) Tom Scully Sr 18) Manny Dias 19) Billy Joerres 20) Mike Mitchell 21) Mike Brightman 22) Kyle Casper
Gerry DeGasparre used a late race restart to move past leader Bill Bernard to pick up his third win of the 2013 season. Bill Bernard jumped out front on the opening lap and set the pace with Mark Hudson right behind. Dylan Estrella moved past Hudson for second on the tenth circuit. Gerry had moved into third, and started looking to the outside of the leaders. On the eighteenth circuit, Bernard got loose off the fourth corner, and that allowed the current points leader to move past the pair into the lead, just before a caution came out.
On the restart, Bernard was able to find some extra grip on the outside lane, and moved past Gerry for the lead. He set the pace until the final caution came out on lap 21. Gerry used that same outside groove to make the same move and find himself back into the lead. Once out front, he was not pressured for the final several circuits. Bernard held on for second, with Jeramee Lillie, Dylan Estrella and Dillon Moltz third through fifth.
1) Gerry DeGasparre Jr 2) Bill Bernard 3) Jeramee Lillie 4) Dylan Estrella 5) Dillon Moltz 6) Ryan Lineham 7) Charlie Rose 8) Dave Hutchins Jr 9) Mark Hudson 10) Branden Dion 11) Chad LaBassite 12) Greg Cotter 13) Ron Barboza 14) Mike Marfeo 15) Bobby Pelland III
Gerard Berthelette picked up his first win of the season in the 25 lap Street Stock feature Saturday night. Austin Blais and Vinny Pangelinan both took turns leading the 19 car field for the first few laps before Berthelette took over on the sixth lap. Chris DeMoura followed through to second, and the pair ran that way through the checkered.
While Berthelette and DeMoura opened up some distance between them and the rest of the pack, the battle for third was hot and heavy. Pangelinan held on for third through the half-way point, with Crystal Serydynski and Paul Lallier fourth and fifth. As the laps wore down, Serydynski was able to move past into third. Pangelinan fell out of the top five by the time the checkered flew. Steve Axon was the Simpson’s Lucky Draw winner of $100.00.
1) Gerard Berthelette 2) Chris DeMoura 3) Crystal Serydynski 4) Scott Bruneau 5) Paul Lallier 6) Vinny Pangelinan 7) Steve Potter 8) Craig Pianka9) Austin Blais 10) Ray Lovelace 11) Ray Negley 12) Steve Axon 13) Bob Bettencourt Jr 14) Corey Fanning 15) Daryl Perry 16) AJ Solomon 17) Bill McNeil 18) Mike Palin19) Scott Serydynski
John Paiva picked up his fifth win of the season, padding his championship lead just a little more with a handful of races remaining. Nick Uhrig jumped out front over Darryl Church at the drop of the green, and held off the Brockton native for the first couple of laps. By that time, Paiva moved into second, and started putting pressure on the sophomore.
By the ninth lap, Paiva took control, keeping Uhrig behind. As his lead opened up, the leaders started to get into lapped traffic, and Uhrig started to close in on the leader. But time ran out, and the points leader picked up his fifth win of the season. Uhrig held on for a career best second, with Church, Mike Cavallaro and Rick Martin rounding out the top five.
1) John Paiva 2) Nick Uhrig 3) Darryl Church 4) Mike Cavallaro 5) Rick Martin 6) Scott Dion 7) Branden Dion 8) Rob Murphy 9) Joey Wakefield 10) Bill Schoeler 11) Anna Gregoire 12) Chase Belcher 13) Lenny Guy 14) Mike Duarte 15) Rob Rainville 16) Dan Leach 17) Dave Smith 18) Jim Hawkins 19) Taylor Therrien 20) Dave Haywood
Sources: Kevin Boucher/Seekonk Speedway PR