Estrella, Lovelace, Cavallaro & Spencer NWAAS winners
ESTRELLA LATE PASS MAKES IT TWO IN A ROW
Rob Murphy grabbed the lead off the pole and took off, running. But back in the pack, something was rumbling and it was Charlie Rose, intent on proving he had it despite losing last week’s finish with a tech infraction. And to the front he came, to take it over on lap 13, after chasing Murphy’s bumper since lap two. But there was something else a-rumblin’ and that was last week’s winner, Dylan Estrella, protecting his 19 point series lead over Bobby Pelland III.
Estrella slid into fourth behind a major debate over second raging between Murphy and Vinny Arrenegado. After a lap 19 restart, Estrella was by Murphy and four laps later he was behind Rose in second. Charlie had the afterburners going, but Estrella bore down and four more laps had him recorded as the leader with two remaining. Rose was unable to recapture the lead and Estrella roared home for his second in a row and fifth on the year. Rose claimed second and Arrenegado third. Murphy was fourth, Just ahead of Pelland. Estrella’s points lead bloomed by another ten points, leaving next week’s race a showdown between the current Late Model Champion and this year’s pretender to the throne.
Murphy and Mark Hudson led off from the front with the former taking the lead after brief contact with Hudson. Arrenegado went under Hudson, who spun and took Gerry DeGasparre, Jr. with him into the wall. DeGasparre, with massive front end damage, angrily nosed into Hudson and was black-flagged. Both drivers retired for the night with no laps complete.
The complete race restart saw Jeramee Lillie on the outside pole, now, with Arrenegado behind Murphy in the second row. Pelland was on Vinny’s shoulder. Austin Blais and Rose were the third row. On the green, Murphy took the front as Lillie wobbled on the start. Murph had the lead into turn two while Arrenegado was working under Lillie. Rose was under Pelland.
Rose created a three wide with Arrenegado and Lillie, who backed out while Rose pushed hard into second and Vinny nabbed third. Visitor Jeff Rocco ran into fourth ahead of Lillie. Dave Hutchins, Sr. was working under Pelland who suddenly lost ground on lap five, all the way back to seventh before he could stabilize. Murphy, meanwhile, had engineered a six-car lead on Rose.
Charlie was a man possessed and lowered the advantage to just two cars over the next lap while Arrenegado, Rocco, and Blais kept pace. Rocco went after Vinny and lap eleven saw them hotly involved. But sparks erupted under Rocco’s car and he was around and ground to a halt in turn four. He was pushed to the pits but was able to return just as the race restarted.
Murphy and Rose went door to door out of the box. Arrenegado was followed by Lillie working under Blais, while Estrella worried behind them with Hutch on his bumper followed by TJ Moreshead.
Arrenegado nosed under Murphy, who was paying more attention to Rose on his outside and a three-wide situation arose at the front just before Blais took a spin in turn two. By a miracle, the field squeezed by and around Blais with no contact.
Rose and Arrenegado shared the front ahead of Murphy and Lillie. Estrella and Hutchins were row three. Rose pulled ahead and Murphy dropped under Vinny with Hutch and Pelland following. Behind them, Estrella, Lillie, and Moreshead were in a three-wide. Moreshead fell out, leaving Estrella under Lillie just before Hutchins spun and went pit side on the hook.
Rose and Murphy faced off again and Charlie grabbed the lead. Arrenegado ran under keeping Murphy outside and Estrella followed under into third. Murphy dropped into fourth as Pelland nosed ahead of Lillie for fifth and the debated the position.
Four laps later, Estrella moved Arrenegado back to third and set his sights on Rose. As Estrella toured on his bumper, Rose drifted up-track and Estrella pounced on the opening to get underneath. They went wheel-to-wheel until the strip into lap 29 when Estrella moved past. They battled around the final lap and out of turn four with Estrella notching the win.
Rounding out the top ten were Lillie, Moreshead, Rocco, Blais and Crystal Serydynski with her best finish since returning to Seekonk three weeks back.
LOVELACE WINS SECOND ON SEASON
Street Stock champ Ray Lovelace came home the winner, leading the final fifteen circuits of the 25-lap feature and coming in just ahead of “Kid Chaos” Corey Fanning. They were chased across the stripe by the Lallier Family, points leader Paul scoring third just ahead of son Tyler. Chris Rioux rounded out the top five.
Anthony Kohler grabbed the lead at the outset, but Jeremy Walker stumbled and the accordion effect went through the field with Vinny Pangelinan and Scott Bruneau going around and collecting Joe Melberg. Kohler got away again on the second attempt and Walker dropped in cleanly. Thomas Adams grabbed third. Walker went under Kohler and had the lead coming out of turn four. Adams got under Kohler while Walker rushed out to a three car lead. But John Carpenter spun in turn three.
Walker and Adams ran door-to-door on the restart for a lap until Walker grabbed the front at the next crossing of the stripe. Lovelace was advancing, moving into fourth behind Kohler as Paul Lallier followed him. Steve Axon grabbed sixth behind Lallier.
Lovelace captured second, putting Adams in third between him and Lallier as Fanning moved into seventh behind Steve Axon. The field became a tight line circling the track until Lallier nosed under Adams in lap ten. They went side by side through turn four. Lovelace drove under Walker and took the lead as Lallier completed his pass on Adams.
Fanning moved in behind, then passed Adams coming in behind Lallier, who then worked his way past Walker into second and Fanning chased him into third as Walker faded back toward seventh.
Walker spun in turn four bringing up a lap 16 restart. Lovelace and Paul Lallier went door to door out of the box and exchanged advantage. By lap eighteen Ray had ¾ of a car on Lallier and took the lead in turn four. Fanning followed Lovelace under Lallier to grab second, sliding Paul back in front of Tyler who had moved to fourth after the restart and was just ahead of Rioux, Adams, and Walker. Bruneau ran eighth, just ahead of Adam Dion.
Lovelace ran with Fanning on his bumper and the Lalliers on his, followed by Rioux, Adams, Walker and Bruneau. As the laps wound down, the field strung out single file. Fanning ran to Lovelace’s bumper but couldn’t make the pass giving Rey the late-season victory.
Bruneau finished sixth followed by Adams, Craig Pianka, Dion, Walker, and Kohler.
CAVALLARO WINS TRUCKS AS CONTEST BECOMES A BRAWL
Trucks multi-champ Mike Cavallaro chased race leader Rob Murphy for fourteen laps before Chase Belcher got by into second on lap 21. With the championship on the line and Belcher up on Murphy, the reigning champ by three points, they were racing for all the money with five laps remaining.
On lap 24 of the 25-lap affair, Belcher nosed under Murphy for the pass and suddenly Murphy was spinning. Caution flew and Belcher was called for the assist, joining Murphy at the rear. Green-white-checker rules in effect and Cavallaro was joined on the outside of the front row by leading rookie Dan Johnson. Darryl Church and Mike Duarte were row two, followed by David Lougee and John Robidoux. Cavallaro took of on Johnson, Church and Duarte ran side-by-side followed by Lougee, Robidoux, and Shawn DeMello.
Into the final lap, Belcher got into Murphy, pushing him sideways and going around himself. Murphy recovered and continued, but Belcher remained stalled. Meanwhile, Cavallaro ran under the checkers to collect the win with Johnson on his heels. Church was in for third, Duarte fourth and Lougee rounded out the top five.
Lenny Guy and Church had kicked off the feature from the front and they debated the front for two laps until Lougee went around between turns three and four with DeMello getting the assist. They settled at the rear and Guy lined up with Church again. Cavallaro and Duarte followed with Belcher and Murphy in row three. Lenny went to the front while Murphy and Belcher brawled under Duarte three-wide over fourth. Cavallaro grabbed the front for a lap, but Belcher and then Murphy streamed by leaving Cavallaro third, just ahead of Ed Perry. Guy was fifth, followed by Johnson and then Robidoux.
Murphy got under Blecher, bumping and grinding as they went door to door. Murphy gained a nose and Belcher then dropped into second. Johnson got under Perry and onto Cavallaro’s tail, easing Perry to fifth. DeMello went around in turn one on lap seven and Bob Rainville ran for the pits.
Murphy and Belcher lined up for the lap seven restart and while Murphy ran to the front, Cavallaro got under Belcher into second. Perry was working under Johnson and Robidoux ran through underneath as well.
Lap ten saw Murphy leading by a car length over Cavallaro as the field was stretching out single file. Belcher followed just ahead of Perry, Johnson, Church and Lougee. Johnson ran under Perry and into fourth. By now, Murphy had a comfortable eight car lead on Cavallaro, who was six up on Belcher.
Lap 20 saw Perry spin in turn four to the grass bringing out the caution. Murphy ran away from Cavallaro on the green, who was chased by Belcher, who dug In underneath as Johnson followed. Belcher went to second in turn four and Johnson got under Cavallaro down the stretch. That was the moment that the points leaders got into each other.
In the final analysis, Robidoux captured sixth place, followed by DeMello, Rainville, Guy, Perry, Murphy and Belcher. Murphy gained two points to send the championship into a virtual dead heat for the coming week’s racing to settle.
SPENCER ROCKETS TO STERLING WIN
It was a big turnaround night for Kenny Spencer – and for the Pro Stock division as a whole. Spencer leapt to the front off the outside pole, followed closely by Mighty Mike Brightman and Tom Scully, Jr. The trio who were placed at the front, ran at the front from the opening green to the flashing checkers. Spencer, who despite his championship in 2014, has suffered a dearth of wins, put it all behind him after a week off for reconstruction. He ran like a gazelle from the opening gun to the finish and lapped a third of the field in the process. He was a half-straight ahead of Brightman most of the way; and Mighty Mike had the same distance on Scully. It was the same sense for Brightman who has been around the front all year but has seen late-race adversity take its toll. And Scully has suffered some difficult luck over the second half of the season after leading early. Likewise the division, which has been spotty with a proliferation of cautions over the past three weeks. This feature suffered only one restart on lap two and after that: 38 laps of green flag racing.
Angelo Belsito ran fourth for half the race and exchanged places with Fred Astle, Jr. on Lap 21. Otherwise, the top seven cars ran in position over the complete race. For those that followed, most of the racing was done before mid-race. Lots of straight-ahead, hold the hammer down running. The top five was represented by Spencer, Brightman, Scully, Astle, and Belsito.
In the initial stages, Belsito started fifth, then passed Kevin Casper on lap five. Astle went from seventh to pass Dave Darling on lap four, then Casper two laps later onto Belsito’s bumper. Dick Houlihan, last week’s victor, got by Rick Martin on lap two, Dean Petty on lap four, then Darling and then Casper. With a lap seven pass of Casper, he was into sixth, where he remained all the way to lap forty. Casper shadowed him all the way to the finish.
Kevin Folan was edged out of eighth by Rick Martin on lap 21 and Martin ran to the checkers in position. Ryan Vanasse took over ninth from Folan and finished ninth. Folan then went 16 laps to the checkers in tenth. And the net result for the racers was a maintenance-free week save for minor repair and setup adjustments rather than cutting away wreckage and replacing components.
The top ten on the evening were: Spencer with the win and Brightman second, followed by Scully, Astle, and Belsito. Houlihan finished sixth followed by Casper, Martin, Vanasse, and Folan. Dave Darling and Ryan Lineham finished just outside the top ten.
Sources: SeekonkSpeedway.com