Mike Brightman breaks Pro Stock winless streak; Ed Gannon picks up first Sport Truck win; Sparky inherits Street Stock win, while Vanasse makes it 60% for 2011; Bill Chouinard picks up Pure Stock exhibition
Seekonk, MA — Mighty Mike Brightman of Acushnet roared up behind Warwick driver Tom Scully, Sr. in both the heat and feature races to wrest victory from the latter in the waning laps by half a car in both events. In the feature, the final three laps was a door-to-door duel that had the crowd on its feet in delight at the action. Neither driver gave an inch, unwilling to relinquish victory. In the end, Brightman, running the outside groove, earned his sweat equity with a .049 second edge. The feature win was Brightman’s first in three years on the Pro Stock circuit after winning rookie of the year honors upon his entry. The duo had engaged in a similar battle after Scully took the lead in their heat race on the second lap. Brightman rambled up behind him, then went to the outside for a pass on lap 9 of the 12-lapper, winning the heat by .117 seconds.
The senior Scully leapt off the pole at the green and quickly disappeared from polesitter, Jason Ferreira’s view screen. Somerset’s Kevin Casper went to second from his position on the outside of the second row, while Jake Vanada came around Ferreira for third. Spencer immediately dived under Ferreira and Scott Dion for a big three-wide, coming out in fourth. Tom Scully, Jr. also made his way underneath and into fifth.
Brightman, meanwhile, was coming around Rob Murphy, who was making his first divisional start of the season. There was momentary contact between the two, but neither car wavered and Brightman moved ahead.
[Photo Gallery] by Nicholas Teto
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Scully’s lead had stretched to a full straightaway by lap 14 and was increasing as none in the field had an answer for his speed and agility. However, lap 17 saw Cape Codder Billy Brady, making his first start of the year, loop in turn 1, bringing out the caution and closing the field up with the leader.
Kevin Casper lined up outside Scully on the front row with Vanada and Spencer behind them. Tom, Jr. and Brightman made up the third row; Dion and Murphy, Astle and Darling and Ferreira and Dick Houlihan followed.
Scully edged to a lead over Casper and Vanada got underneath. Spencer took advantage of a space between the two and dived in for a three-wide. Tom, Jr. tried underneath Spencer, but Spencer sped into third on lap 19. Scully followed, and Brightman came through behind. Dion, Kevin and Astle tailed them.
As the field wound into lap 25, Kevin Casper got up into the frontstretch wall beneath the flag stand, then spun up into turn one, coming to rest with his driver’s side against the turn wall. He had to be wreckered from the track.
Scully now had Vanada on his shoulder for the restart, with Spencer and Brightman arrayed behind them. Scully went again to the lead, pulling Spencer on his bumper and Brightman dropped low to go through under Vanada. On the ensuing lap, Vanada pulled back up alongside Spencer, who had Brightman glued to his bumper. Spencer claimed second over Vanada on lap 35.
As the elder Scully again edged away, Brightman worked his way under Spencer for second position and set out after the leader, eight car lengths ahead.
Tom, Sr. got the jump on the final restart, but Brightman wound it up and pulled back alongside, holding the leader low in the corners. Brightman pulled by out of turn 2 of lap 36; Scully pulled in behind and crossed down and under Brightman to come alongside low. It was door-to-door again with Brightman on the outside. The late challenger found the grip needed this late in the event, and was able to wind up and get a fender by. But Scully found magic of his own to pull back even and then a door ahead. For three laps, the duo seesawed, with neither able to gain more than a fender on the other until, coming off turn 4 with the checkers flying, Brightman managed to gain the edge through the finish line in a finish that saw the crowd on its feet. Scully held on for second.
Berkley hotshoe Jake Vanada and Westporter Fred Astle also finished the feature on the same second for third and fourth, with Ken Spencer of Taunton rounding out the top 5. Tom Scully, Jr. of Cranston, RI, Rehoboth’s Dave Darling, Bridgewater driver Dick Houlihan, Tauntonian Scott Dion and Rob Murphy out of Wareham rounded out the top 10.
Ed Gannon of Fall River sidestepped all the bad luck and awkward decisions to slide what is undeniably one of the quickest four-cylinder Sport Trucks over the finish line in victory. It was Gannon’s first trucks win, although he has posted wins in other Seekonk divisions. He also set fastest time in the feature with an 81.214 mph enroute to a .264 second win over division leader and three-time trucks champ, Seekonk native Mike Cavallaro. New Bedford’s Lenny Guy, who had edged Gannon in the earlier heat race, held on for a third place, just ahead of Ted Berube of Somerset and North Dighton’s Dan Leach.
Gannon set out from the pole position with Leach on his right hand, Guy on his rear bumper, and Berube on his right rear quarter. West Warwick rookie Peter Donato and Cavallaro made up row 3.
Gannon went straight to the lead, as Guy moved up under Leach leaving Berube in fourth. Cavallaro got by Donato for fifth. Guy squirreled back a bit, and Berube tried to sneak underneath, but Lenny shut the door. Gannon quickly was showing a 5-car lead on the third lap; Guy, Berube and Cavallaro bumper-to-bumper behind him. Leach, Donato and Portsmouth wheelman Rob Andreozzi followed at length.
One lap later, with Gannon’s lead still increasing, Tiverton’s Greg Boone found himself dead on the backstretch. Brockton’s Darryl Church then looped on the frontstretch, but since the caution had already flown, he was not termed an accident car, and retained his position.
At the green, Gannon and Guy were door-to-door while Berube and Cavallaro dueled each other with their 8-cylinder trucks, behind them. As Guy attempted to settle into second, he found Berube trying to pass underneath him while Cavallaro was looking around the outside. Guy bore down on the revolutions and denied their advances.
Cavallaro got into third on lap 8, followed by Berube and Leach.
Lap ten had Guy a car behind the leader with Cavallaro on his bumper and Berube a bit back. Cavallaro tried Guy for second, but was shot down in lap 12. Andreozzi spun of the frontstretch into the infield on the next lap, bringing out the second caution.
Guy tried to get by Gannon on the outside in the restart, but Gannon held him off. Berube fell back, and Cavallaro then succeeded at getting under Guy into second. He was moving quickly forward and it looked as if the V8 power was going to net him his third win on the young season. Gannon had other outcomes in mind.
Lap 15 saw Gannon leading Cavallaro, Guy, Leach, Berube, Andreozzi and Donato. The lead duo began to edge away from the field, and Guy found himself five cars back in third on lap 18. The persistent Berube got under Leach into fourth on lap 19, as Church headed for pit road with mechanical problems.
Cavallaro spent the final five laps trying to find some way to solve the problem of Gannon to no avail, looking high, then low. On the final lap, he made one last bid, going wide with the hammer down, but Gannon held him off for the victory. Just .264 seconds separated Cavallaro from the victor. Guy flashed under the checkers 1.468 back. Gannon had also set the best lap of the feature, coming around at 81.214 seconds.
Andreozzi, Donato, Woonsocket’s Jim Hawkins, Joe Gardner and Church rounded out the top 10.
Hard-charging Ryan Vanasse made it three wins in five tries on the early season, getting past Gerry DeGasparre in the waning laps of a very fast race with few problems. Pawtucket’s DeGasparre, who is still seeking his first win on the season, had led 7 of the 30 laps in the feature after Bob Pelland III had topped the first 18 circuits. Vanasse, from Warwick, entered the contest 23 points behind the division leader, DeGasparre, owing to mechanical problems with his car on the evenings he had not won. The win, and a heat race win, edge him closer to the points leader. DeGasparre finished .273 seconds back, followed by last week’s feature winner, Tyler Thompson of Somerset and Cranston driver, Pelland.
Vanasse started sixth on the field, with Dylan Estrella earning the pole. Pelland was outside on the front row, while Holliston hotshoe Bill Bernard and Acushnet ace Matt Breault (who owns an opening day win on the season) made up the second row. DeGasparre ran from the fifth slot.
An even start saw Pelland go to the front out of the second turn, settling in as they crossed the stripe. Breault and Bernard contested the third spot. DeGasparre was trying under Breault for third. As DeGasparremoved forward, Thompson moved under for fifth, with Vanasse on his tail. Middleboro’s Randy Burr, who had mechanical problems all through practice and the heat races, clung to Vanasse’s tail.
Pelland was moving at the front, quickly gaining a 15-car lead by lap eight. On lap 10, Burr lost a real panel and retired to the pits. By lap 12, Pelland had a full straight’s lead over the field. Vanasse continued to work on the ensuing lap, and got under Thompson and into fourth.
By lap 14, DeGasparre was holding second, Estrella was third and Vanasse claimed fourth. Thompson, Bernard, Breault, Ron Barboza, Jr. and Jariah Roderick followed. Vanasse sought the outside on Estrella, but was held off. He fell back and then tried underneath successfully putting him in third place.
By lap 18, Pelland had nearly a full straightaway lead, about 2.5 seconds, over DeGasparre, with Vanasse yet 10 more behind. At this moment, Estrella spun out, bringing the caution, and pulling the field back together. The restart would see DeGasparre outside Pelland with Vanasse and Thompson behind them. Bernard and Breault followed.
The lead pair came out door-to-door, with DeGasparre gaining an edge in turns three and four. Into lap 20, he was edging out again when the two competitors made contact. Pelland, in the low groove, spun in turn four. The following field made a mad scramble to avoid him, with all surviving.
The restart had Vanasse on the front, outside DeGasparre. Thompson and Bernard followed, with Breault, Estrella, Roderick and Pelland behind them. On the green, DeGasparre lagged through the starting box and Vanasse jumped then held back as DeGasparre powered up to a very big lead before the start was called back. On the second attempt, DeGasparre fired up early and went to the lead out of turn 2. Vanasse then looked to the outside, but was denied and settled in behind. But not for long, as on the backstretch, he got underneath and pushed in on turns three and four, relegating DeGasparre to the outside. They went door-to-door through lap 21, with DeGasparre holding him low. DeGasparre managed an edge down the backstretch, only to have Vanasse eke out a tiny lead on the front. By the backstretch, DeGasparre threatened again. The seesaw battled continued until lap 26, when Estrella went around in turn one.
DeGasparre had a .118 sec ond lead on the last crossing of the stripe, which earned him the pole spot for the restart. Estrella retired to the pits after a push start from the wrecker, and the field lined up with the two leaders at the front, DeGasparre on the low side. Thompson and Bernard were the second row, and Pelland, who had moved up since the previous restart at the rear, joined the third row with Breault.
With four laps remaining, DeGasparre gained an edge on Vanasse at the green. Vanasse ran strong on the outside. DeGasparre powered back, but Vanasse had a .004 second lead at the stripe. He edged ahead on the backstretch and claimed the lead clearly in turn two of the 28th lap, and settled in ahead of DeGasparre. Not giving up, DeGasparre made a run in the final lap, but Vanasse held off the furious charge for his third win of the early season.
North Dartmouth’s George Rego, after a long absence from the oval, came out with an early season win to cement his return to the Cement Palace, leading from start to finish while holding off the field in a couple of restarts. Former champ Sparky Arsenault of Attleboro, powered home second, followed by fellow townsman, Paul Lallier, last week’s winner Steve Axon also of Attleboro was fourth, while fifth went to Johnston’s Crystal Serydynski. Serydynski and Ryan Lineham of Coventry had engaged in a duel over fifth place that took the crowd’s attention away from the leaders as the final laps wore down.
Rego started the pole with Arsenault on his shoulder. Rego nabbed the lead at the outset as Rey Lovelace jumped under Arsenault. Chris Beaulieu had fourth to himself while Mike Mitchell and Justin Travis duked it out over fifth. Patrick Delaney held the spot behind them, looking for an opening.
In three laps, Rego wound to a six car lead as Lovelace and Arsenault remained locked in battle. Flyin’ Ryan Lineham was working his way rapidly forward from his eleventh place start.
Into lap 5, Travis’ back end snapped out from under him and he spun up into turn one. He had to be towed from the track with his right rear axle broken.
The lap 5 restart had Rego and Arsenault at the front again, with Lovelace and Beaulieu, then Mitchell and Delaney. Rego again claimed the lead; Arsenault, falling back, was hung out threewide as Lovelace and Beaulieu jumped under him. Lovelace ended up second with Arsenault and Beaulieu fighting it out. Mitchell followed.
Rego had a seven-car lead over Lovelace by lap ten. Arsenault was falling back along the outside with Mitchell underneath him and Beauleau challenging Lovelace. Going into lap 13, Joe Kohler came to a stop in turn 1 with some right front damage and the tire down. He limped the car from the track and unable to return.
Rego had Lovelace on his outside for the restart, and went to the front with Lovelace chasing him into turn three. Lovelace went around between three and four, bringing another caution. Beaulieu was called for an assist on the spin and adjourned to the rear of the field. In the scramble to avoid the spinning Lovelace, Lineham moved up to fifth place simply by avoiding the wrecks. Lovelace was untouched until the blue smoke obscured vision in the turn and Scott Bruneau of Tiverton emerged from the cloud to strike a glancing blow. Both cars were able to continue. The reshuffling of accident cars to the rear brought Arsenault back up to the outside pole for the restart. Mitchell and Lallier made the second row with Lineham and Axon in the third. Delaney and Serydynski were behind them.
Rego again grabbed the lead with Arsenault taking second. Mitchell and Lallier disputed third followed by Axon and Lineham. Delaney and Serydynski battled behind them.
Lap 15 brought another caution as Rioux died in turn 3. Again, Rego outran Arsenault for the lead. Serydynski got under Lineham and the two began to dispute. By lap 17 their battle over sixth was heating up. Mitchell, ahead, was absorbed into a three-wide as Serydynski got under him and Lineham went wide. Serydynski went to the front as Lineham fell back with Mitchell in between. Not to be denied, Lineham went around Mitchell to renew the challenge to Serydynski on the outside.
As Rego cruised to a 5-car lead, the battle for fifth intensified with Serydynski, Lineham and Mitchell hacking away at each other, bumper-to-bumper.
With two laps remaining, Rego had an eight car lead over Arsenault, Lallier and Axon, who were some distance ahead of the battle for fifth. Lineham moved alongside Serydynski, and they wound around the oval inches apart, neither giving an inch and Serydynski a fender ahead. Off the final turn, Lineham broke wide for the pass, but Serydynski held him off to the line.
Rego won over Arsenault. Following Lineham, Mitchell, Bruneau, Michael Lema and Beaulieu rounded out the top 10.
Note: Rego was disqualified by technical infractions in post-race tech inspection, moving all finishers up, making Arsenault the victor.
Bill Chouinard made a late race charge to the front to take the win in a special, no-prize, no-points introductory race to the coming Fast Fridays series at Seekonk. Eighteen competitors fielded their cars for the introduction.
Jamie Salley and Doug Benoit took the front row for the start. The green saw a huge, 4-wide pass in lap one, with Lima, Dan Mass, Jesse Melberg and Nick Uhrig, last season’s Pure Stock champion.
This brought a big spin in the pack as cars braked and juked to avoid each other. Jeremy Lambert, coming around in the last row, had his nose crushed into his right front wheel and was unable to continue. Tom Blackwell went to the pits for repairs.
No laps had been completed; the complete race restart had several holes in it from cars in the pits.
Salley went to the front and Benoit settled behind him. A three-wide developed in the second lap between Missy Charette, John Robidoux and Bill Chouinard that continued through two laps. Finally Robidoux got sideways and Chouinard moved ahead. Robidoux saved his car and continued.
Uhrig had advanced to second by lap five and was challenging Salley for the lead, but Lima’s spin on the backstretch brought out a restart.
Salley pulled away from Uhrig, who made a pair of tries underneath to no avail. He began to try the outside on lap 6, and the duo went wheel-to-wheel. Uhrig gained the lead at the stripe into lap 7. Chouinard got under Benoit and Massa for third.
On lap 10, Uhrig was running away from Salley to a 12-car lead, which he had stretched to a straightaway lead by lap 15. Curtin was moving forward, coming around Bill Chouinard for a shot at Salley.
Uhrig was encountering lapped traffic into lap 21, as Chouinard dived under Salley. Salley got loose and stutter stepped. But the effort came to tragedy for Uhrig as his car erupted in smoke on the backstretch, getting an immediate black flag as cars spun in the spilled fluids.
The restart had Chouinard with Curtin alongside with Salley and Massa behind them. They came out side by side, dueling for a lap before Curtin could edge by. Into the final lap, Chouinard gained an edge at the stripe, Curtin hung tough but Chouinard went across for the win with Salley coming home third.
Sources: Kevin Boucher/Seekonk Speedway PR