Friday Night Recap from Sept. 9
Friday Night Recap From Sept. 9:
At the end of Fast Friday last week, Jake “The Jet” Johnson was standing trackside with me as we got ready to do the post-race report. I quickly looked around, making sure no one was in the area so we had the best sound quality possibly for the fans to hear what Jake had to say following a thrilling feature race.
Then, I realized. Jake is one of the youngest kids in competition in the Legends Cars and he had just defeated Dana DiMatteo, an invading car that was arguably faster than anyone in the field, and he had also out-run two-time division champion Nick Lascuola in the final laps. Johnson earned his victory on Friday and with the win, he opened up his points lead just a little bit more over the rest of the field. Johnson has had a stellar season, now winning twice and consistently running inside the top five. That’s how he has collected so many points and barring a miracle, he is going to be the one that hoists the big trophy at the end of the season.
We had another first time winner on Friday in the SYRA 600 class, something I feel like I am typing to you fans each week, which is a good thing. We are seeing the young talent rise to the top here at Seekonk and many of these Friday night drivers will be seen on Saturday’s night here before long. This time, it was Maddie Harkin wheeling the No. 4 to victory in the SYRA class, holding off Evan Marchand to do it in the final laps.
Marchand closed the gap late and gave everything he had, but it wasn’t enough to get around and find glory. However, with the wreck Evan Donnellan was involved in that forced him out of the race, Marchand did open his points lead and solidify himself as the main challenger going down the final two weeks of the season.
Our SYRA 750 feature on Friday saw a big monkey fly off the back of Timmy Ouellette, who took down the win in his No. 67. Ouellette has struggled at times over the past few weeks, but as he told me in victory lane, it’s all in the rear-view mirror now. He got out front early on and with no caution flags, it was tough for anyone to challenge. Meanwhile, Colin McMullen continues to show speed, grabbing a second place finish, followed by points leader Luke LeBrun in third.
In the Sport 4 main event, “Big Time” Mike Belanger held on to capture the checkered flag. Even though he crossed the line in second spot at the checkered flag, Chris Pacheco, who had crossed first, was penalized for racing contact and it handed the win to Belanger. Mike has been strong all season and he is another one who is leading the points and running away with it at this time of the season. Expect Belanger to be the one at the head table come November at the banquet.
And the other feature on Friday, the Pure Stocks, was a thriller right down to the final laps. Amy Arsenault was giving everything she had to hold off defending champion Andrew Kun, while Scott Cestodio came out of nowhere in the final laps to challenge the both of them. In the end, it was Arsenault taking down her first victory of the season behind the wheel of the Chaz’s Auto Body No. 9. Congrats to Amy and the whole team on a long overdue win.
Our Fast Friday season has just three races remaining in 2016. The final two points races are ahead, and then we celebrate the annual D.A.V. Fall Classic. See you next week!
Sources: Kyle Souza/Seekonk Speedway