Darling Continues Pro Stock Dominance into New Season
David Darling Jumps Out to Win 1st Tomassi Law Associates Power Five Race of the Year
Dave Darling winning the season’s opener may seem routine, but this event was anything but. Darling again found himself in victory lane, but the inside story became edgy for the six-time champ. He started in the second row after setting top speed in the time trials. But on the low side of the same row sat six-time Champ Freddy Astle. Fred was sporting a brand-new car.
In front of them sat Dylan Estrella on the pole and The Rocket – Ryan Vanasse at the outside pole. Last year, Estrella turned Darling’s own tactics against him en route to a late-race pass which gave Dylan the opening day win. And The Rocket was running at the top of his game as well.
At the start, Vanasse was commanding the lead coming out of turn two and Darling was battling Estrella. Lap two saw Darling settle into second and fix on Vanasse’s bumper. Estrella settled into third and acquired Astle at his bumper. Nick Johnson had fifth, a spot he would hold until lap 18. Tom Scully was bothering Johnson over position.
Vanasse slid up-track in turn three of lap 5 and Darling pounced, going under and into the lead. Vanasse dropped onto his tail and Estrella stuck to third with Freddy on his tail. Scully and Johnson followed. Ten laps in and Darling led by five cars The field had stretched out single file and Estrella took a couple looks under Vanasse. But on lap 16, Mike Mitchell spun in turn four. His back brushed the outside wall and he took it pit-side but was able to return.
Darling nosed away from The Rocket on the restart and Vanasse dropped in. Estrella and Astle followed, with Fred going to the outside to begin six laps of side-by-side. They whipsawed their positions as Darling moved on, generating an eight-car lead over Vanasse, who was six cars up on Astle and Estrella. Finally, Estrella came loose and went around in turn four. Mitchell, Dick Benoit, and Estrella headed to the pits for adjustments and returned.
Vanasse was outside Darling for the restart and Astle was behind him with Scully on the outside. Darling slid ahead of Vanasse and Astle stayed on Darlings bumper, sticking The Rocket on the outside. He was able to drop in between Astle and Scully as Radical Rick Martin ran in under Scully, keeping him in the second groove.
But Austin Blais came through turn four, trailing smoke from the rear of his car and went into a sudden spin on the front stretch, ending up in the infield in turn one. The problem cut short his night and he went off on the hook.
The lineup for the lap 20 restart had Darling and Astle at the front, followed by Vanasse and Scully, then Martin and Kyle Casper. Row four was Kevin Casper and Nick Johnson. Darling pulled ahead and Vanasse looked under Astle but Freddy shut the door in turn four.
The distance between Darling and Astle swayed between on-the-bumper and 2 car lengths. Darling could not dispose of Astle, nor could Astle get past Darling. Vanasse followed, but Scully was all over his bumper. Martin ran fifth and Kevin had passed Kyle to pursue Radical Rick. Behind them, a resurgent Estrella had gotten under Kyle, looking to move toward the front. Brightman and Mitchell were giving chase.
The field stretched out, running single file. With four laps to go, Darling and Astle lapped Bob Hussey. The field behind them had changed little since the last caution. Now, Brightman was working his way under Kyle Casper and they ran side-by-side.
They fired through the final lap with Darling and Astle exchanging withering fire all the way. At the stripe, it was Darling with Astle on his bumper for 1-2.Vanasse claimed third, just ahead of Tom Scully, Jr. and Martin completed the top five. Rounding out the top ten came Kevin Casper, Estrella, Kyle Casper, Brightman, and Mitchell.
Degasparre Jr Opens in Winning Form
Seven-time Late Model champion Gerry DeGasparre, Jr took the first big step in making it eight by battling his way to an opening night divisional win at the Cement Palace. He came off the outside pole to pull away from 2018 champ Ryan Lineham and then led all comers from green to checkers, posting a third-of-a-second win over a very pesky Mark Jenison. Along the way, Gerry set best lap time on the event. Chase Belcher finished in less than a second behind the winner for an impressive third place. Rounding out the top five came Mark Hudson and Tough Tommy Adams.
At the start, Lineham edged ahead of Gerry D down the front, but the latter fired back and they were door-to-door through turn four. It was too close to call the first time across the stripe, but the electronics gave the nod to DeGasparre. He got his nose ahead of Lineham in turn two. Lap three saw a half-car lead when Vinny Arrenegado pushed up to the leader’s bumper. Lineham fell back alongside Arrenegado easing Jenison back, who had been alongside.
Vinny looked underneath for the lead but was denied, instead claiming second. With Jenison on Lineham’s outside, Adams jumped forward underneath Lineham and Jenison dropped back. Five laps in, however, Tony Macrino spun.
DeGasparre and Arrenegado lined up with Lineham and Adams in row two. Belcher and Jenison faced off behind them. Hudson and Bobby Tripp made up row four.
It took two tries to get a restart with a spin by Paul Newcomb before a lap could be completed. Second try, DeGasparre nosed out and Lineham got under Arrenegado. Jenison and Adams were side-by-side and behind them came Hudson dueling with Belcher. Twice around and DeGasparre was three cars to the good over the Lineham/Arrenegado combo. Jenison was fourth while Hudson and Belcher continued to dispute fifth. But Arrenegado and Lineham got sideways and while fighting to recover, they started an accordion effect as the field behind them looked to avoid. This sent Mike Duarte dodging to the infield to avoid.
The lap eight restart saw Degasparre again escape Arrenegado and Lineham sneak in underneath looking for second. Vinny went to second and Jenison came alongside Lineham looking to take third. By lap eleven, DeGasparre had a two-car lead.
Jenison, on the outside, began to edge past Lineham with Adams following and looking for openings. Belcher followed with rookie Derek Gluchacki following closely.
The leaders were the same on lap fifteen, but Lineham had fallen back to seventh. Just ahead of him, Gluchacki was now on Belcher’s bumper. He pushed in underneath and they ran door-to-door with Hudson in pursuit. Tripp had kicked it up a notch and now was on Hudson’s tail.
Twenty laps in, and the players were still the same: Gerry De continued to lead with Arrenegado in chase mode. Jenison covered third followed by Adams, who had Gluchacki and Belcher going wheel-to-wheel behind him. Then came Hudson, Tripp, and Lineham. But Tyler Tomassi spun on the backstretch and headed for the pits. Tony Macrino followed.
The restart saw DeGasparre take a half car lead on Arrenegado, who stayed up on the high side. Jenison shoved his nose underneath while Belcher now worked underneath Adams. Hudson got under Gluchacki and then Lineham as Hudson moved up. Hudson got by Arrenegado and Adams now engaged the latter in a duel for position.
With eight laps to go, DeGasparre was now focused on the finish and Jenison was determined to overtake. Belcher had moved into third and Hudson was moving under Arrenegado. He moved up and Adams was now below Vinny looking for position.
The field snaked around the third-of-a-mile twice again. Belcher was now on Jenison’s bumper looking to improve his place. Hudson, Adams, Lineham, and Arrenegado followed.
With two to go, it was a straight, single file, save for Tripp and Gluchacki brawling over ninth behind Paul Newcomb.
They swapped twice en route to the checkers.
The final lap went to DeGasparre for the win.
Rounding out the top ten came Lineham in sixth, followed by Areenegado, Newcomb, Gluchacki and Tripp.
Bruneau Wins First South Coast Power Equipment Power Five Feature
Scott Bruneau chased Anthony “Ant” Kohler the final six laps to the Sportsman feature but Kohler crossed under the checkers first. Kohler’s pace had kept at the front the entire 30 laps. He had fended off outside polesitter Sparky Arsenault, Austin Erickson, Kyle Casper and 17 laps of hard assault from Kid Chaos – Corey Fanning. Bruneau had been the icing on the cake en route to Kohler’s first-ever win.
Or, was it? Tech inspectors found a mechanical disqualification and that first win will have to come on another evening. The trophy went to 2017 champ Bruneau.
Bruneau started ninth as Kohler pulled away from Arsenault at the outset and Erickson latched onto Ant’s bumper. Ant’s brother, Smokin’ Joe Kohler, had passed Bruneau on the start, and the latter had to climb back past as he headed for the front. Meanwhile, Casper had replaced Erickson on Ant’s bumper, but Fanning was at his back and two laps later, squeezed past. Casper slid up the track as they traded paint and before another lap was completed, caution waved for debris just outside the racing groove in turn one.
Kevin Rioux headed pitside and lost power at the exit. He had to be pushed in. Casper also headed pitside. Neither driver returned.
The lap 7 restart featured Kohler and Fanning with Pianka and Erickson backing them up. Bruneau sat below Arsenault in row three. Kohler pulled away from Fanning who dropped in and tried to press in underneath but Kohler shut the door on him. Fanning persisted and made several attempts along with some bumper tag. Finally, he got under pushed through and took the lead.
However, Chris Gomes and Scott Fanning got together in turn two and caution flew again before the lap was complete, bringing Kohler back to the pole for the restart. Erickson and Bruneau were in row two with Joe Kohler and Justin Travis behind them.
At the drop of the green, they were door-to-door. Fanning dropped in behind the leader and Bruneau jumped onto his tail, trailing Smokin’ Joe and Erickson battling for position. Kid Chaos locked onto Ant’s bumper and looked under but could not go. With 12 laps remaining, Ant began to open a gap. Fanning looked to close, but Bruneau moved in and gained his attention by making attempts to take over second. By lap 22, however, Fanning was eight cars up on Bruneau but unable to close back up on Kohler’s bumper. Now Joe Kohler had Tyler Lallier looking underneath and sliding in to shake him loose from fourth. But Chad Baxter spun out, bringing a caution.
On the restart, Anthony escaped Fanning at the stripe and Bruneau got underneath. Fanning nosed ahead, but Bruneau was solid in the groove below him. Scott began to edge forward and took the position in turn three. Six laps now remained and Kohler had a 2-car lead. Bruneau bore down and began to close, as Lallier, Fanning and Joe Kohler gave chase.
Lallier went after second and tried to slide under Bruneau, who denied him the spot. They went under the white flag and it was a no-holds-barred run to the line. Anthony Kohler arrived first, but Bruneau nabbed second which elevated him to the win following the DQ. This made the final results on the race read: second to Lallier, followed by Fanning, Joe Kohler and Adam Petty in the top five. Rounding out the top ten came Paul Williams, Steve Axon, Erickson, Pianka and Tim Watson.
Shaw Snags Season Opener
Barry Shaw, sporting a new ride in the Everett’s team Sport Truck, came home the opening night as a winner but took some strong challenges from newcomer Rob Bryant and former division champ Radical Rick Martin. Bryant and Martin ran at Shaw’s tailgate over the second half of the thirty-lapper. But he held them off and in the final tally, scored his fifty points for the win. Bryant, who had taken the lead after polesitter Andrew Kun had led the first seven laps, was ¾ of a second behind for second, and Martin finished on his bumper for third. Mike Cavallaro was fourth and rookie Richie Murray completed the top five, driving Josh Hedges former ride. (Hedges moved up to Late Models.)
Bryant, brother to former track standout Rusty Bryant, had started in the fourth row with Shaw on his shoulder, while Kun had Lenny Guy on the outside pole. At the green, Kun nosed ahead and Lenny stayed out for a half lap, then dropped in front of Murray. Cavallaro started outside the second row and as Guy fell back before dropping, Martin charged in underneath. Three laps in, the order was Kun, Guy, Murray, Martin, Bryant, and Shaw going door-to-door underneath Cavallaro. The field was stretching out into single file.
Four laps in, caution flew as rookies Connor Souza and Mikey Cooper made contact battling through turn three sending Cooper spinning.
Kun and Guy lined up again with Murray and Martin behind them. Bryant and Cavallaro followed while Shaw was paired with Brittany Campbell. Kun nosed ahead and Murray got under Guy, pulling Bryant along at his tailgate. Bryant pressed under Murray into second and Shaw dodged in to steal third with Martin on his bumper. Martin took a look underneath, but Shaw stayed tight to the berm.
Caution reigned again when Nick Testone III spun between turns three and four.
Kun now had Bryant on his high side for the restart, and the latter nosed ahead across the stripe. He dropped in on the backstretch and Shaw squirted under Kun into second, with Martin grabbing third. Then Darryl Dutch spun in turn four.
This put Bryant and Shaw side-by-side for the restart while Martin and Kun were row two. Shaw grabbed the lead off the green and Martin shot up along Bryant’s outside. Nine laps down and Shaw had a car-and-a-half on Bryant who had Martin, Cavallaro and Ed Perry clamoring at his tail. But Mike Belanger and Testone tangled between three and four.
The restart saw Campbell get sideways and collect Maddie “Mad Dog” Harkin and Testone. Second try saw the field away with Shaw and Bryant wheel-to-wheel down the front stretch. Shaw got away in turn two while Martin jumped in under Bryant. Radical Rick started to tighten the screws on Shaw and kept rolling up to his tailgate, but Shaw kept his composure and rolled on. Kun, running seventh on lap 13, spun in front of Murray and Guy. Murray escaped but Guy couldn’t. He joined Kun at the back for the restart.
Again, the Shaw/Bryant/Martin trio clustered at the front for the restart. Belanger had climbed to fourth and Cavallaro was fifth. Shaw won the drag race down the front and Martin got under Bryant while Cavallaro got by Belanger. The scramble between Martin and Bryant gave Shaw the ability to generate an eight-car lead, the longest of the feature.
Martin escaped Bryant and set out after Shaw. Belanger, Cavallaro, Perry, Murray, and Campbell pursued. Over the next lap, Cavallaro edged Belanger out of fourth and another circuit saw Perry take over fifth.
With eight to go, Martin had closed to within a car-length of Shaw. They began to seesaw the gap as Bryant and Cavallaro gave chase. Murray got by Belanger into fifth. The field tightened as Bryant now moved back in to pressure Martin and they dueled with Cavallaro waiting for any opportunities. They brawled around the oval until, with three remaining, Shaw had pushed his lead back out to three cars and Bryant had sneaked in under Martin for another battle over second. They rubbed through turn one and then Bryant took a nose in turn two. He had second to himself going into lap 28, but Martin was on his back. Cavallaro was eight cars back in fourth with Murray on his bumper.
The white flag lap was a firefight to the checkers, but Shaw nailed down the opening night win.
Bryant, the newcomer, was an interesting surprise in second, while the two former champs, Martin and Cavallaro, showed they are looking to repeat. Murray’s fifth-place proves that the racing genetics are still strong in the family’s third generation.
Completing the top ten were Perry, Belanger, Guy, Kun and Dutch, all veterans looking to the following week’s competition.
Sources: SeekonkSpeedway.com