Seekonk NASCAR divisions points battles heating up
Coming into this Saturday night’s racing action, our point championship chases tell different stories in each division.
Let’s start with the Everett’s Auto Parts Late Models, that come into this weekend with one driver way ahead of the rest of the field in the championship standings. Dylan Estrella, behind the wheel of his Everett’s Auto Parts No. 46, comes into Saturday’s 30 lap feature race with a 69 point advantage over Jeramee Lille. Estrella has frequented victory lane this season and has been the car to beat almost every single week. He is the defending champion of the class and without something crazy happening going down the stretch, he will most likely return to the head table.
We have seen Lille come on strong of late and he will be giving his best to try and close the gap, hoping Estrella stumbles a few times. Behind them, Somerset, Massachusetts driver Austin Blais sits third, 93 points out of the lead. He is tied with TJ Moreshead, who has been the surprise driver in 2016, running consistently towards the front of the field and collecting points. Rounding out the top five is veteran, Charlie Rose.
In our NASCAR Street Stock division, the points lead has started to dwindle a little bit over the last few weeks for leader Scott Bruneau. It isn’t because Bruneau has stumbled, but instead because of some horrible racing luck. He was involved in a late-race crash a couple of weeks ago and this past Saturday night he had his primary car break. Luckily, the team had a backup car at the track that Kyle Casper was scheduled to drive. Casper jumped out and let Bruneau take the car to a top-10 finish and pick up some crucial points.
He will come into Saturday with a 40 point advantage over Paul Lallier, who is the defending division champion. Both Bruneau and Lallier have been champions before and it will be one of those two who will return to the head table this season, since third place Corey Fanning is over 100 points out from the top. Will it be Bruneau or Lallier who captures the big trophy down the stretch of the season? This Saturday, the class has a double points Phil’s Propane Triple Crown Series race that could help decide the title.
Our Pro Stock division has seen some competitive racing all season long and the championship standings show that the final few weeks of the season are going to be intense. The Pro Stocks still have one more double points race on August 27, but going into this weeks 40 lap main event, Tom Scully Jr. holds the points lead. Scully is coming off his win last Saturday with a scant 4 point edge over defending champion Angelo Belsito. Those two drivers decided the title last season and they are both right back in the mix going down the final stretch.
The one lurking in third may have something to say about things though. Six-time division champion Fred Astle Jr. sits just 20 points behind. He has been consistently one of the fastest cars week in and week out and everyone knows he can get the job done. With double points on the line in a few weeks, it’s very possible Mike Brightman could close a 55 point gap to give them all a run… Who will it be?
In our Sports Trucks class, it looks to be a three man race to the end of the season. Former champion Mike Cavallaro holds a 10 point lead over Everett’s Auto Parts driver Chase Belcher coming into Saturday night. Belcher is the defending champion of the class and Cavallaro is a multi-time champion, so both have the crucial experience needed to go down the final stretch.
Lurking in third is “Showtime” Mike Duarte, who sits just 34 points behind with just over a month remaining. Duarte has never been a part of a tight championship battle, but if the top two stumble just a little, he will be right there to take advantage.
Sources: SeekonkSpeedway.com