Wild Legends Forday as Parsons Catches Hammann at the Checkers
Friday the thirteenth played its trump card on the Legends division, as it had all night, with an early bit of wreckage sidelined a number or competitors and one at the end changed the course of the finish.
Coming down toward the waving checkers were leader Brendan Hammann and Josh Parsons under a full head of steam. Hammann looked under the lapped car of car as they came out of turn four and Parsons looked to the high side. Just as the unthinkable happened: The lapped car of Anthony Bello lay just ahead. Bello came out of turn four and moved up track; Hammann ducked under and Parsons moved to follow as the checkers waved. Bello continued up but ahead, Nikki Vicarioli got spun at the stripe, leaving her astride the line in mid-track with Hammann and Parsons bearing in on her. Hammann lifted and turned up. Parsons went high on Hammann just as the latter struck Vicarioli a glancing blow. Parsons blew past and was recorded at .008 seconds ahead of Hammann. The field highballed past the accident site without further incident. Luke LeBrun was able to also avoid Vicarioli to claim fourth, while Casey Call and Peter Bennett rounded out the top five.
The finish was a major point as Parsons has been chasing division leader Bennett for the championship and was 36 points down going in. Bennett had been caught up in an early race incident and had been coming up from the rear. The finish lifted Parsons another eight points closer to Bennett.
Mason Tessier took the pole after Jacob “Rowdy” Burns had lost power in turn one of the opening lap. A second attempt to start the race saw a turn three spin turn into several cars into the wall just out of turn four as the field attempted to avoid the turn three spin. A big pileup collected between turn four and the flagstand.
Eliminated by the incident were RJ Marcotte, Connor Souza, Shileigh Martinez, and Brandon Martinez. Bennett had been collected in the mob of wrecked cars, but had suffered minor damages. He sat just short of Marcotte, who had backed up to the wall and surrounded but not in contact with three others. He was pushed free and able to pit and then rejoin.
Tessier and Paul Newcomb started side-by-side but Matthew Carpenter spun off turn four to the infield. Newcomb stopped in turn four under caution and began looking under the rear of his car. He had to go off on the hook.
Carpenter came loose through turn four on the next restart attempt but continued. Tessier grabbed the lead and Hammann pulled in behind him with Ryan Doucette at his back. LeBrun moved into fourth.
Four laps in, Hammann got under Tessier and next time around held the lead. LeBrun, Doucette, and Parsons followed before Carpenter went around in turn two.
On the restart, Hammann pulled away from Tessier and LeBrun ducked under into second. Parsons grabbed third and Tessier stayed on the high side to challenge. Bennett was charging up from his restart at the rear. Meanwhile, LeBrun and Parsons were battling for position, pitching and yawing the spot.
Lap ten saw Hammann with a five-car lead. Parsons had settled in ahead of LeBrun who led Tessier. Casey Call was getting under Doucette behind them and Bennett was following, looking for options. As Call moved ahead, he ducked under and stole Tessier’s spot. With twelve to go, Bennett was now running sixth.
Just beyond the midpoint, the field was established and running single file with Hamman in the lead. Parsons followed, then came LeBrun, Tessier, Casey Call, and Bennett. Call and Bennett moved Tessier back with ten to go and the field ran single-file without changing position as the laps wound down. Positions held all the way to the final run down the front straight.
Sixth on the event went to Doucette. Joseph Marfeo, Reagan Parent, Tessier, and Connor Holderbach rounded out the top ten.
THE OUTLAW WINS AGAIN, CLOSES ON POINTS LEADER
Danny Massa, AKA The Outlaw, hustled up from mid-pack to overtake Joey Morrissette on lap 13 and steal the lead. Morrissette has been victim to this sort of theft all season long, and The Outlaw made an excellent burglar. But from there on, it wasn’t easy. Massa had edged Scott Cestodio out of second to take his shot at Morrissette and Cestodio wanted it back. He was at Massa’s bumper like an angry hornet for the rest of the twenty-five-lap feature. The only thing Cestodio could not do is find a way past and Massa preceded him under the checkers for the win. Cestodio was second and Morrissette third. Greg Perry and Mike Henriques rounded out the top five.
So, Perry saw The Outlaw steal six points from the division lead and will have to be looking over his shoulder for the week leading up to next Friday’s championship closer. Unofficially, they stand ten points apart after this race.
While Morrissette and Justin Menard came off the front row, Massa and Cestodio were starting tenth and eleventh. Morrissette jumped off the pole into the lead and Ava Chouinard got under Menard into second. Cestodio got past Massa, who gave chase, and they followed each other toward the front. Cestodio held position over Massa all the way to lap 12.
Two laps in, Morrissette led Chouinard and Menard. Cliff Avila was fourth, ahead of Doug Benoit, who was battling with Max Bergstrom.
Lap seven saw Benoit and Avila engaged with Cestodio on their tails when Amy Arsenault spun. Emily Brightman visited the pits briefly during the caution and returned.
Morrissette now had Chouinard outside for the lap 7 restart with Avila and Benoit behind them. Cestodio and Menard followed, just ahead of Massa and Perry. Joey got half his car past Ava coming over the stripe on the restart then had the lead in turn two. Avila got under Chouinard with Cestodio tight on his bumper. Once more around and Cestodio had moved past Chouinard into third behind Avila and Massa was door-to-door with her looking for fourth. He succeeded and they ran single-file to lap eleven. Cestodio stayed on the high side seeking a route into second and Massa started to look underneath as Marc Sienkiewicz spun to the grass in turn three.
Morrissette and Avila lined up again, but now they had Cestodio and Massa side-by-side behind them. Mike Henriques and Max Bergstrom followed. Morrissette took the lead once again but Cestodio ran under Avila to second and Massa followed into third. Suddenly, Morrissette, Cestodio, and Massa were running nose-to-tail as Cestodio looked underneath only to have Morrissette slam the door. Massa chose to go high. He forged forward, passed Cestodio and came alongside Morrissette. Midpoint in the 25-lapper saw Massa take over the lead in turn two leaving Morrissette with Cestodio festering at his bumper. Behind them, Bergstrom and Chouinard were door-to-door.
With ten to go, Cestodio moved to Morrissette’s high side and they ran wheel-to-wheel until there was contact and Berstrom went around out of turn three from a three-wide with Chouinard and Perry.
Massa and Morrissette lined up ahead of Cestodio and Bergstrom. The Outlaw grabbed the front in turn four and Cestodio got under Morrissette into second. Henriques went to Perry’s high side for a pass as Benoit and Chouinard followed. Henriques went very wide to steal third from Morrissette but Joey held him off.
With six to go, Cestodio was hounding Massa but beginning to show some looseness in the corners, especially turn straight breakaway on the rest of the field. Perry was under Morissette who was under Avila for the three-wide.
With two to go, Massa and Cestodio homed in on a group of lapped cars, who moved up as they came down the front to the twin sticks: two to go. Massa had a three-car lead coming by the white flag and he held it to the checkers. Cestodio kept second and Morrissette was third. Perry kept Massa’s points gain to three with a fourth-place finish, ahead of Henriques.
Sixth went to Benoit. Cliff Avila, Ava Chouinard, Eddie Ryan, jr. and Nicholas Mignone rounded out the top ten. Bergstrom was just off the pace in eleventh.
LOPES’ FOURTH WIN PUTS HIM ATOP STANDINGS
Jordan Lopes came into the Friday-the-thirteenth feature in a three-way tie for leadership in Sport Fours, and the Full Moon as well couldn’t deter him as he chased Tim Bolger for seven laps to take the front away, then led the final seven to the checkers. Co-leader (and 2018 champ) AJ Manuel moved past Bolger into the runnerup spot and pursued Lopes the rest of the way, but could not wrest victory from the leader. Third co-leader Mike Lefort recovered from some accident damage early on and the leading trio finished up the leading trio on the feature. Karlin Levesque and Bolger rounded out the top five.
It took four tries to get the race started with the Full Harvest Moon rose over turn one. On the first try, Arthur Meack was slow to come to speed and the field took to evasive action. David Simpson, Jr. spun in turn one and Lefort dodged him but not completely incurring damage to his right rear quarter. Meack was unable to continue.
The full race restart resulted in a half-dozen cars piled up between turns one and two. Henry Lavalle suffered enough front end damage to go off on the hook, not to return.
Third attempt: same results. The fourth attempt finally scored and Bolger ripped off the pole into the lead. Timmy Ouellette dropped into second ahead of Christian Herman, who had Jason Finkbien and Lefort wheel-to-wheel behind him. Herman went high and into second and Lefort nailed fourth, then proceeded to third on lap four, easing Ouellette back. And here came Lopes, shooting up from a seventh-place start. Lap four saw him past Ouellette and behind Lefort. And on Lopes’ bumper came AJ, bringing the three challengers together behind Bolger and Finkbein.
Four laps in and Bolger was cruising with a half-straightaway lead. Finkbein, Lefort, Lopes and Manuel could only watch and pursue. Five laps in, Lopes hurdled past Lefort on the outside as Lefort clung to Finkbein’s bumper. As Lopes moved ahead, Manuel pulled up outside LeFort.
Six laps in and the speedy Bolger was already lapping slow cars. Lopes, a half-straight back, was trying to close. As he picked up a bit more speed, Manuel came up to Lefort’s bumper and then past onto Lopes’ tail. He looked under, but Lopes shut the door. Lefort then tried the same on Manuel.
Seven laps remained when Tyler Alemeida and Herman got together, catching Sabrina Beaulieu in the fracas. Beulieu retired to the pits. Bolger’s long lead collapsed in caution and he lined up with Lopes on his outside.
This placed two jackrabbits on the front for the restart: both drivers with a reputation of shooting away under the green flag. Row two had Manuel and Lefort, with Karlin Levesque and Finkbein behind them. Samantha Mattera and Sam Mesick followed.
Boger and Lopes came out of the box and across the stripe wheel-to-wheel but Lopes found some extra speed and grabbed the front coming out of turn one. Behind Bolger, Manuel and Lefort were door-to-door with Levesque waiting for the results. Mattera and Mesick were still side-by-side.
Bolger moved up track and Manuel seized the moment, shot under and claimed second. Bolger couldn’t get back down and Lefort deprived him of third.
Three laps left and Lopes was suddenly six cars ahead of Manuel and Lefort. Levesque was working in under Bolger while Mattera continued to battle Mesick. AJ bore down, but as the twin sticks came up, he’d only pared Lopes’ lead to five lengths. At the white flag, it was the same. The field roared around the final one-third mile to the checkers with Lopes hauling down the win. Manuel followed just ahead of Lefort and Levesque while Bolger filled out the top five.
The championship pretenders came into the matchup dead even. The left in practically the same situation with Lopes a bare two points up on Manuel, who is now two up on Lefort, leaving next week’s championship night a toss-up for the trio.
Sixth went to Mattera, while Mesick, Ouellette, David Westgate, and Jason Finkbein completed the top ten.
NEWCOMB WINS THIRD OUTLAW FEATURE
The late season is good for Isaiah Newcomb as he captured his third victory on the season just a couple races after his second win. He spent the first half of the race in a duel with leader Nathan Smith then did his best to keep Nate behind him for the remaining distance to the checkered flag. He succeeded and Samantha Dell tried but could not remove Smith from the runner-up spot. She collected third while Joey LeMay and Ethan Heilborn rounded out the top five. The championship points race tightened up with the finish as leader Giovanni Ruggerio placed sixth, allowing Dell to close in by six points, reducing Gio’s lead to single digits and angling for a major confrontation in next week’s championship final race.
After the initial green was called back for a false start, Smith outdistanced Heilborn from the front row to grab the lead. Newcomb moved Heilborn out of second while Riley Caron and Ruggerio moved into fourth and fifth.
Nicholas Rose ended his night after one lap, spinning into the wall on the front stretch. He was OK, but his car had to be lifted off the track by the wrecker.
The lap one restart had Smith and Newcomb side-by-side and they went door-to-door. Smith nosed ahead. But Dell spun on the backstretch. Second try and they were away, with Smith moving ahead. Ruggerio got under Caron but LeMay and Nick Chaber, Jr. made contact between turns three and four with Chaber spinning. LeMay was called for the assist and joined him at the rear for the restart.
Smith and Newcomb came out side-by-side again. Nate took a nose through turn two but Isaiah came right back. Behind them, it was three-wide for fourth as Caron and Ruggerio were battling side-by-side and got very wide, allowing Dell to sweep in under and into the position behind Heilborn.
Another lap and the Smith/Newcomb brawl continued. Smith nosed out again as Dell got under Heilborn into third and Ruggerio followed. With nine to go, the pylon lit up with Smith, Newcomb, Dell, Ruggerio, Heilborn, and Caron in that order.
The field was now single file, but Chaber spun out of turn two, bringing a lap seven restart.
Smith and Newcomb lined again. Newcomb had been running extensively on the outside and set to do it again. Dell and Ruggerio waited behind them, just ahead of Heilborn and Caron, followed by LeMay and Stephen Bowden. As the green dropped, Newcomb pushed a fender ahead and they were again wheel-to-wheel with Dell on their bumpers. Smith drifted up and Dell started under but backed off as the door wasn’t fully open.
Now, Newcomb sailed ahead to grab the lead, chased by Smith and Dell. LeMay came past Ruggerio into fourth and closed up on dell. With four to go, Joey was all over Sammy D’s bumper but she scooted ahead in turn two. Ruggerio slowed for a moment and Heliborn took advantage to slip under and deprive him of the spot.
Newcomb had the lead over Smith with three to go and edged out to a three-length advantage by the time the twin sticks came up for two laps remaining. The field was established and they roared through the final two laps in order.
Newcomb now had his third win on the season and the race for division honors tightened up by six points.
Ruggerio had sixth place, while Caron, Bowden, Chaber and Aubrey Keller completed the top ten. Thomas Dyment was the last car running, at eleventh.
SMILIN’ REESE DOES IT AGAIN
Smilin’ Reese Bogue even had the Full Moon/Friday the 13th backing him up in a season where everything else has seemed to go his way. Only Dave Darling in Pro Stocks has more wins in 2012. On this Harvest Moon night, Bogue’s smiling took on an ethereal glow as the evening’s events in Bandolero Bandits unfolded. This night, he was to experience Richard Petty’s “I’d rather be lucky than good,” firsthand.
Bogue had a comfortable although not insurmountable lead over his nearest rival, Brendan LeBelle going into the next-to-last championship of the season. A first-lap incident put the reins in Bogue’s hands as a turn one crash spilled across into turn two: Grant Harkin and Rob Murphy, Jr. tangled and Jaden Dib spun around them, coming to rest near the wrecker ramp. And then LeBelle discovered sitting down track. He had to be pushed to the pits, ending his night and perhaps his challenge to Bogue for the championship.
After a lap-two incident brought another halt as Harkin again spun onto the front stretch grass and retired for the evening after the first lap had been completed. Once more around for the field saw four more competitors in the pits as Ethan Dion, Joel Newcomb, Brent Robidoux, and Zacarias Kelley were all together in turn two, sending the field scattering to avoid. The fifteen-car field suddenly was down to nine.
And Bogue was restarting on the outside pole (he had begun on the outside of row three) with Adam Harrison on the point. Harrison shot away at the green, as he had the previous starts on the evening. PJ Evans shot under Bogue and then Harrison in turn two and was two cars ahead on the next circuit. Bogue dodged past Harrison to give chase and Brody Monahan caught hold of Harrison’s bumper in fourth just ahead of Jaden Dib and Ryan Vanasse, Jr.
Evans and Bogue rushed out to a fifteen-car lead over the field and at the midpoint of the feature, Evans led by three cars. In the field, Harrison (running third) was two lengths up on Monahan. Evans was on top of things on the evening and pushed out to eight cars as Bogue sought to maintain contact on the leader.
With seven laps remaining, the field was running single file and holding position.
With four to go, Evans was a half-straight ahead and Bogue was trying to maintain pace. Monahan was now all over Harrison for third, but Harrison was able to evade all of Monahan’s pretenses.
They wound through the final laps in this order with Evans flying under the checkers with an apparent victory. However, he had jumped the start, as had Monahan. They’d been informed by race control to drop back two places but with the race underway it had not happened and two positions were taken on the finish.
This spring-boarded Bogue onto Victory Lane and Harrison to second while Evans fell back to third. Monahan’s third was also scrapped and he fell to sixth behind Ryan Vanasse, Jr. and Richie Helger, Jr. Dib scored seventh, while Collin Vanasse, Rob Murphy, Jr, and Ethan Dion completed the top ten.
Sources: SeekonkSpeedway.com