Josh Parsons Grabs Gold in Legends
JOSH PARSONS GRABS GOLD IN LEGENDS
Josh Parsons came home the winner in Legends but it didn’t come easy and it had its odd moments as well. He started tenth, chased his way to the front by lap five, then pursued a very fast Brendan Hammann for the lead. However, as they prepared for a lap 10 restart, both Hammann and Parsons began swerving to scrub marbles off their tires. They bounced off each other and came to a stop in turn two. They re-engaged and drove around into turn four and came to a stop there. Parsons was able to pull away and rejoin the field, but Hammann remained immobile and finally had to be towed to the pits.
Parsons went on to battle to the finish with Derek Gluchacki driving Don Parsons’ car as a substitute driver and Connor Holderbach who finished third. Reagan Parent and Peter Bennett had fourth and fifth place finishes.
Connor Souza and RJ Marcotte started things off with a battle over the front: Souza grabbed the lead in turn two. Mason Tessier came from outside the second row to nab second and Jacob Burns climbed into third.
But Hamman was streaking up from an eighth-place start and was at Burns’ back bumper on lap two, then into third on lap three. Another circuit and he had moved Tessier out of second.
On lap 5, he was door-to-door with the leader as Parsons came in on Souza’s back bumper and lap 7 saw Hamman grab the lead. He had jetted out to an eight-car lead over the next lap, Parsons had taken over second and Bennett was fourth behind Souza.
Souza broke loose and did a 360 spin which took him up to the wall between turns three and four.
Now Hammann and Parsons lined for the restart with Bennett and Holderbach behind them. Gluchacki had now come up to fifth place after starting eleventh. Hammann wasted no time in taking the lead on the lap eight restarts and Parsons dropped in ahead of Bennett. Holderbach and Gluchacki pursued with Reagan Parent, Burns and Tessier following.
But lap ten saw two cars together with a hard hit in turn two. Jeff Wood had apparently climbed the wheel on Jake Klaeamovich’s car and rolled over twice. Wood took the ambulance ride to the pits but the EMT’s cleared him fairly quickly. The red flag situation took up a fair amount of time on the clock.
Again, they lined up, but Burns and Tessier came together in turn two, so another try was made for the restart. This time, Hammann and Parsons bounced off each other, ending the night for Hammann. Parsons, in his victory lane conversation with Kevin Boucher, explained that he had gotten his finger caught in his steering wheel and had a momentary loss of control while they were cleaning tires.
Parsons now had Bennett on his outside. Holderbach and Gluchacki were row two with Ryan Doucette and Reagan Parent behind them. Parsons grabbed the lead and Bennett fought back up. But Holderbach got underneath Bennett and Gluchacki jumped onto Holderbach’s bumper. Parent was running fifth. Parsons generated a three-car lead as Holderbach and Gluchacki got by Bennett.
With 12 laps to go, Matt Carpenter spun out of turn two after contact with Andrew Carpenter. Again they lined up and again Parsons took the lead. Gluchacki ducked under Holderbach and glommed onto Parsons’ bumper. Parent edged in under Bennett looking to take fourth. Gluchacki now got below Parsons and they ran side-by-side for two laps until RJ Marcotte spun on the backstretch. Parsons had the edge and was awarded the pole for the restart and nosed out on from the box. They were wheel-to-wheel across the stripe.
Parsons took a nose in turn two and Holderbach got under Gluchacki and back into second. Bennett and Parent gave chase. Gluchacki was now back under Holderbach and back into second in turn two. But as Parsons led the field by three cars, Newcomb spun out in turn four.
Parsons took a two-car lead on the restart, Holderbach was in second and Gluchacki again dropped under to take the spot. But Burns ground to a halt in turn two and red flags flew and emergency crews were called. Burns was having a problem with his arm. He was taken to the pits and examined. Personnel cleared him.
Again, Parson’s got away on the restart and the Holderbach/Gluchacki competition continued. Two laps remained and the trio at the front battled it out but did not change places. Parsons shot under the checkers in the lead to claim his first feature of the season.
Sixth on the event went to Matt Carpenter, followed by Ryan Doucette, Souza, Marcotte, Tessier and Jonathan Deshaies.
SOUSA OUTLASTS PERRY, MASSA FOR PURE STOCKS WIN
Lenfender Lenny Sousa broke from an outside pole restart on lap four to grab a quick, three-car lead over Max Bergstrom, then spent the rest of the 20 laps fending off an insistent Greg Perry to claim his first win on the new season. Perry unloaded his bag of tricks, but the swift Sousa was able to hold him off, aided in part by The Outlaw – Danny Massa who kept Perry busy by working to pry Perry out of second. Aaron Plemons and Doug Benoit filled out the top five.
Nick Mignone and Bergstrom led off from the getgo and after Marc Sienkiewicz spun to the turn four grass just two laps in, they went at it again. Bergstrom nosed ahead crossing the stripe as Sousa got under Mignone and Perry got side-by-side with The Outlaw. Suddenly third place went three-wide with Perry on the bottom, Mignone outside and Massa the meat in the sandwich. As it broke, Mignone backed out and Perry was looking under Massa. Mignone spun, collecting Amy Arsenault, who headed for the pits with right front damage. She was unable to return.
It was door-to-door across the stripe on the restart with Sousa jetting ahead in turn two. Perry was coming around high with Bergstrom underneath. Lenny scooted to a three-car lead as they battled. But five laps in Alice Benoit was motionless near the wall in turn four, drawing caution.
Sousa and Perry came out of the box on the restart with Sousa grabbing the lead. Perry stayed outside to battle but it was called back for a Shayne Lambert spin. They restarted the same lap as the field had not made a lap and Sousa again went to the front. Perry remained a half-car back on the outside. They made the circuit before Bergstrom made contact with Perry after being bumped from behind, then went into the grass.
Another restart and Sousa had the numbers again, taking the lead. Again, Perry stayed outside to fight it out with him. He got loose in turn two and Sousa seized the moment to scoot ahead. Massa got in under Perry. They rushed up on Sousa’s bumper and the latter suddenly lost some speed. Perry went to the outside as Sousa came loose in the turn. But he recovered in turn three. Nevertheless, he was now on the low side of a three-wide which also included Perry and Massa. And Benoit was sitting in third, waiting to see what kind of advantage he might get as it broke down. Plemons, Ava Chouinard, and Alice Benoit followed.
Sousa generated a one-car gap over Perry, who had Massa on his bumper with Benoit, Plemons, Chouinard, and Benoit in hot pursuit. Lenny stretched the lead to two cars as Massa was all over Perry’s bumper.
The order remained the same under the white flag and through the final lap. As the dust settled, Souza collected the checkered flag for his victory lap.
Sixth went to Chouinard, followed by Mike Henriques, Tommy Blackwell, Cliff Avila, and Mignone.
MEACK HOLDS OFF WESTGATE FOR FIRST WIN
Arthur Meack grabbed his first Sport Four win and made it all the sweeter by wresting it away from multi-champion David Westgate by a quarter of a second and current champ AJ Manuel who was just another tenth of a second behind Westgate. Tough Tim Bolger was another missile as he made it four cars all on the same second (.092 behind Meack’s winning time) in the event. Mike Lefort completed the top five, just another 0.2 seconds back. Needless to say, it was a tight clot of cars blasting home under the checkers.
At the outset, Sport Fours had another big night in turnout as ten cars made the grid for a consolation race. John Lineberger led the late qualifiers to win the consi which put eight cars at the tail end of the feature’s starting grid.
Lineberger was able to leverage the Conci win into a tenth-place finish overall.
Kyle Diamond muscled out of the pole position to grab the lead over Timmy Ouellette. Ouellette dropped in while Jason Poitras and Ouellette then did some door-to-door running with Poitras edging second at the end of lap one. Henry Lavalle and Matthew Smith followed. But Christine and Dave Simpson, Jr., the division’s mother-and-son team from TTM Motorsports, tangled, sending last week’s winner Jordan Lopes into the accordion effect. As Lopes slowed to avoid Christine, Karlin Levesque came in to push him into Simpson. Lopes and Levesque headed pitside and returned for the restart.
Diamond outran Poitras on the restart and Ouellette was working under Lavalle with Smith on their heels. But Hailey Brightman and Christine made contact and spun, bringing the second restart in the same lap.
Diamond was away again. Ouellette claimed second. Behind the leaders, a three-wide broke out in the crowded pack, broke down and then a four-wide formed a couple positions further back.
Westgate had started tenth but was hustling forward and suddenly ran past Ouellette into second. Diamond was a car-length ahead when Westgate completed the pass into second and he set out to conquer the leader.
Bolger was springboarding forward and as Westgate snared the lead from Diamond, he went by Ouellette into fourth and a lap later, he eased Lavalle out of third. Westgate, Diamond, and Bolger ran 1-2-3 for five laps until Meack dodged in to get by Lavalle, then Bolger into second on Westgate’s bumper.
But now, Mike Lefort had made his way from sixteenth to sixth along with AJ Manuel. They debated briefly, swapped positions and AJ debated with a resurgent Jordan Lopes. The trio fourth a three-way battle over fourth, eventually won by AJ. Lopes grabbed fifth with LeFort on his bumper.
Lap sixteen saw Westgate continuing to lead Meack and Bolger; AJ was fourth, followed by Lopes, Lefort and Samantha Mattera.
Lopes suddenly acquired handling problems and got sideways in turn two. He saved it, but ran up near the wall in turn two, stopping just before he contacted the barrier. He was unable to continue and went pitside on the hook.
Westgate and Meack now lined up with three laps to go; they had Bolger and Manuel behind them while Lefort and Mattera made up row three.
Westgate jumped out but Meack put on a big surge and ran to the front in turn two. Manuel grabbed Westgate’s bumper setting Bolger back to fourth. Behind them, Mattera and Lefort went door-to-door. AJ inserted his nose under Westgate and they flew under the white flag. Meack couldn’t edge away, but neither could pass as they debated second.
At the checkers, it was Meack with his first Sport Four win.
Karlin Levesque edged Mattera for sixth and Sam collected seventh, ahead of Lavalle, Diamond, and Lineberger.
INSTANT REPLAY FOR RUGGIERO
Giovanni Ruggerio made it two straight wins on the new season in Bandolero Outlaws with a hard-fought win over a fast and persistent Nathan Smith. Meanwhile, Samantha Dell survived an opening-lap trip to the rear after a spin between turns one and two which sent Nicholas Rose diving to the infield in self-defense. In fact, on the final circuit, she took a hard shot at going around Ruggerio as Smith was nosing under her for second. She got wide in the turn and Smith made the pass to claim second, relegating Dell to third. Ethan Heilborn made his second top-five appearance at fourth with Joey LeMay rounding out the top five.
The first lap was characterized by intensity as polesitter Riley Caron popped out ahead at the green and Dell, starting behind him in row two, ducked under Smith. Going for a little extra speed between turns one and two proved to be her undoing as she snapped loose and spiraled up the embankment sending Rose ducking into the grass.
On the second try, Caron zipped ahead but Smith pressed on and ran past him into the lead on the backstretch. Heilborn, LeMay and Isaiah Newcomb zipped by going into lap two, but there was contact and Newcomb went around in turn two.
Smith and Heilborn lined up with LeMay and Caron behind them. Row three was Ruggerio and Cameron Tavares. Smith took the front under green, Heilborn settled into second ahead of LeMay but Joey went by and grabbed second. Ruggerio got under and into fourth. Next time around, he stormed past Heilborn onto LeMay’s bumper while Caron grabbed fifth.
Another time around and Dell was returning, arriving in sixth behind Tavares. She challenged him on the outside and Newcomb joined in to make it three wide. He pulled ahead leaving Tavares on the low side of Dell.
Six laps in, Smith was enjoying a half-straightaway lead over LeMay who was wrestling with Ruggerio on his bumper. Gio ducked underneath and they ran side-by-side, pursued by Heilborn and Newcomb. Caron was now pestering Dell over sixth.
Lap nine saw Newcomb ducking under Ruggerio but Newcomb’s back end snapped out. Caron and Tavares made contact trying to dodge LeMay who was avoiding Newcomb.
Now Smith had Ruggerio on his shoulder for the restart with LeMay and Heliborn in row two. Dell shared row three with Tavares. Smith leapt away from Ruggerio, who was followed by LeMay. Dell went by Heilborn into fourth and on the next lap, she edged LeMay out of third as Ruggerio took a nose, trying to steal the lead from Smith.
With 4 remaining, Rose spun in turn four and Giovanni’s snout advantage put him on pole for the restart, Smith on the outside while Dell and LeMay followed. Ruggerio outdistanced Smith and Dell slipped underneath and into second with three laps remaining. She had Smith on her bumper, and he was all over, looking to get second back. Heilborn had fourth just ahead of LeMay. They ran under the white flag and on the final lap, Dell pushed hard, forcing her wide. Smith pounced into second and got under Ruggerio and they drag raced to the line. Ruggerio held him off at the checkers by 28 thousandths of a second for the win, making him two for two on the young season. With last week’s .013-second win over Newcomb, Ruggerio has now won two races by the combined margin of just 41 thousandths of a second!
Sixth on the evening went to Tavares, followed by Stephen Bowden, Aubrey Keller and Rose. Newcomb and Caron were behind the wall, six laps down.
BOGUE NAILS FIRST ROUND OF TRIPLE CROWN
Smilin’ Reese Bogue poked through into the lead on lap two, edging polesitter Rob Murphy, Jr. back to second, then had Murph scouring his rear bumper for the remainder of the trip to the checkers. Murphy’s battle for the lead endured throughout the feature, but he was usurped on the final circuit by Ryan Vanasse, Jr., who repeated in the runner-up spot. Murphy claimed third, followed by Adam Harrison and last week’s winner, Brenden LeBelle rounded out the top five.
Incidentally, both Bandit winners so far this year are sporting the number 4 on their cars. Bogue is CT4 while LeBelle is 4 without embellishments. Fortunately, they sport different colors on their vehicles.
The Banditos had a difficult time coming up to speed, as it took five attempts to complete lap one. Once going, they progressed well, with a single caution midway through for the rest of the fifteen circuits. On that lap 8 restart, Race Director Tim Bolduc was forced to a single-file restart due to the race running over time limits. Frequent spins and difficulties communicating field realignment each time were major contributing factors to the problems getting the race underway.
But once rolling, the feature settled down to good action. Murphy erupted out of the box and Smilin’ Reese moved into second. Adam Harrison looked under Bogue, but could not keep his car in the low groove and Bogue grabbed second as they navigated lapped traffic in turn four.
He was on Murphy’s bumper, trailing Harrison, Vanasse, Jr. and Ethan Dion. Bogue took over the lead from Murphy and went to a five-car lead on lap five and added another space over the subsequent circuit. Meanwhile, LeBelle, who had been thrown to the rear by one of the opening lap caution events, ran from the rear of the 13-car field to fifth, was looking to overtake Vanasse.
Eight laps in, Reese was certainly smilin’ at his ten-car lead, although Murphy still pursued with Harrison at his back and Vanasse looking underneath. But Brandon Cowen ground to a halt between turns three and four. He started with a push from the track crew but the motor died again, leaving him stuck on the front stretch.
Bogue was away on the green, under single file starting. Murphy kept second but Harrison began to fell back and Vanasse was all over his bumper, looking for third. Bogue was three cars up on Murphy the next time across the stripe, and Murph had three lengths on Harrison.
This was the action spot, as Vanasse became relentless. He came alongside and they were wheel-to-wheel across the stripe into lap thirteen. Once more around into the white flag lap and he was past Harrison in a great surge that also carried him past Murphy into second.
But Bogue’s lead was too long for the quarter-lap remaining in the feature, and he dashed in ahead of Vanasse for his first win. Vanasse collected his second consecutive runner-up finish with Murphy a close third.
Completing the top ten were: Dion in sixth, Colin Vanasse seventh, then Jaden Dib, Mike Hanafin and Brent Robidoux.
Sources: SeekonkSpeedway.com