Belsito Dominant in D.A.V. at Seekonk Speedway
Angelo Belsito defended his home track in dominant fashion going three for three in the 2019 D.A.V. Fall Classic. On a perfect day for racing, the Auburn MA driver was virtually just that in scoring his first D.A.V. as well as his first GSPSS victory.
The afternoon’s competition kicked off with the Crazy Horse Racing race for the pole and It was Belsito going out in the last group and jumping to the top of the board. Belsito’s time of 12.377 seconds would give him the pole for the first of three heat races.
Heat race competition was fierce as drivers tried to avoid being relegated to the consolation race. While the racing at the front of the heats was good, from about fifth on back the battles were intense. In the end, it was Belsito with leg two of the GSPSS trifecta along with Dave Darling and Reid Lanpher, all winning their respective heat races.
Unfortunately, several competitors suffered mechanical difficulties either during practice or in their respective heat races and were unable to make the call for the consi. With twenty-seven cars signed in and three scratches, the consi was canceled and the unqualified cars tagged onto the end of the starting lineup.
After the GSPSS redraw, Manchester Maine’s Reid Lanpher wound start the 100 lap D.A.V. Fall Classic from the pole position. Starting to his outside would be a former Seekonk regular, Craig Weinstein.
As the feature event rolled onto the track, no one would have guessed that the first two-thirds of the race would only see one caution but that was the exactly what happened. A quick caution for the spinning Jake Matheson was the only stoppage before lap sixty-five.
As the laps wound down there would be several stoppages as the competition grew more and more intense. At the front of the field, Belsito would show the way jumping out to a comfortable lead after each restart. Behind him, there were five cars who seemed to have the speed to challenge for the lead but spent most of their time battling each other. In Victory lane, Belsito credited his father and crew chief. “This setup was a collaboration between my dad and my crew chief”, said Belsito. “The car was on rails all day long” he added. When asked about charging to the front so early in the race he said, “I’ve seen these races go to the point where its too late to go. The car was good so I decided to go up and take the lead”.
Eventual second-place finisher Ryan Vanasse would best the group of cars battling behind Belsito. In Victory lane, he talked about the battle for second. “I really think we had a fast enough car to challenge Angelo but we just couldn’t ever get in the right lane. My guys worked really hard, I just wish we could have gotten in a position to race for the win.”
Reid Lanpher would emerge in third with a car that just got too loose at the end. GSPSS point leader Joey Doiron would finish fourth with 2019 Seekonk Pro Stock champion, Dave Darling in fifth.
Just outside the top five Eddie Macdonald’s team battled a malfunctioning clutch to give him a car he could drive to a sixth-place finish. Ryan Kuhn not only finished seventh in his pro stock but won the late model feature. Joe Squelia battled his new car all day to a seventh-place finish while Seekonk regular Mike Brightman and former regular Bobby Pelland rounded out the top ten.
Next up for the Granite State Pro Stock Series is the annual Oktoberfest at Lee USA Speedway in Lee NH. This two-day event is one of the most anticipated motorsports events of the year with over twenty divisions competing. For 2019 The Granite State Pro Stock Series will compete on Sunday, October sixth with all practice and racing taking place in one day.
For more, follow the GSPSS on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram as well as at www.gspss.net. for event information Check out leeusaspeedway.com as well as the tracks social media outlets.
Granite State Pro Stock Series contingency awards:
ARB Hard Luck Award: $100.00 00 Jimmy Renfrew
O’Reilly Auto Parts last car on the lead lap: $75.00 16 Austin Blais
O’Reilly Auto Parts 7th place finisher: $ 75.00 72 Ryan Kuhn
American Racer N.E Hard Charger: 11 Ryan Vanasse
Sunoco Heat Race Winners: #1 8 Angelo Belsito, #2 52 Dave Darling, #3 59 Reid Lanpher 5 Gal Sunoco Race Fue;
VDL 5th Place: $100.00 52 Dave Darling
Crazy Horse Racing Race for the Pole
1st $125.00 8 Angelo Belsito
2nd $75.00 23 Dave Farington
3rd $50.00 72 Ryan Kuhn
D.A.V. Fall Classic Official Finish
1- 8 Angelo Belsito
2- 11 Ryan Vanasse
3- 59 Reid Lanpher
4- 73 Joey Doiron
5- 52 Dave Darling
6- 17 Eddie MacDonald
7- 72 Ryan Kuhn
8- 03 Joe Squeglia
9- 27 Mike Brightman
10- 12 Bobby Pelland
11- 23 Dave Farrington
12- 00 Jimmy Renfrew Jr
13- 43 Devin O’Connell
14- 93ct Ray Christian III
15- 39 Nick Luscuola
16- 16 Austin Blais
17- 52 Jake Matheson
18- 40 Mike Mitchell
19- 88 Kevin Casper
20- 08 Mike O’Sullivan
21- 1 Todd Stone
22- 2 Tom Scully
23- 18 Jon Lowinski-Loh
24- 90 Craig Weinstein
Sources: Mike Parks/GSPSS PR