Rick Martin & Crystal Serydynski Beat the Rain; Pro Stock Triple Crown & LM Features Postponed
SEEKONK, MA — They went brawling into the final two turns of the Sport Trucks feature: Radical Rick Martin on the outside and Rob Murphy down low – the veteran master and the young hotshoe. They battled through turns three and four, on the edge of their traction, and came sliding out of turn four with the checkers flying a half-straight ahead, locked in battle. Martin’s back end slid a few degrees away from his line and Murphy skittered through the low groove, wobbling slightly. Hungry John Paiva hung on their heels waiting for any opportunity or spin. In the tense moment, Martin’s tires bit first and he leapt ahead past Murphy and under the checkers. Murphy grabbed second right on his bumper and Paiva flew across the stripe, locked to Murphy’s bumper for third. It was the grand finale of a race which had begun with a massive red-flag accident, then ran caution-free with intense, high-octane action to this conclusion. Scott Dion and Nick Uhrig rounded out the top five after pounding among the leaders for supremacy.
Darrel Church had taken the lead at the outset and Scott Dion made his way from fourth underneath Nick Uhrig as third starter Martin did not come off quickly and Dion dropped in front of him. Murphy, Brandon and Anna Gregoire gave chase until the second pass into turn one saw Brandon spin in front of the big crowd (17 had started the race and a mad scattering to avoid him set up a chain reaction.
Chase Belcher went to the wall between turns one and two, and then Mike Duarte and Barry Shaw got tied together and piled into Belcher. Duarte’s truck mounted Belcher’s rear deck and climbed atop the cab, while Shaw stayed on the ground, but piled into Belcher’s door. The stress on the vehicle by the twin assault was a testimony to the sturdiness of Belcher’s roll cage to protect him.
[Photo Gallery] by Nicholas Teto
With the red lights on around the track, ambulance, fire and track crews rushed to the scene. Belcher’s net came down and he let them know he was all right, but he was trapped in the vehicle for a long time while crews struggled to remove Shaw and Duarte so that Chase could make good his escape from the vehicle. The wrecker crews struggled mightily before they could remove Duarte from atop Shaw and Belcher.
Meanwhile, Dane Saritelli was sitting at the edge of the infield with his bumper torn free and Brandon sat on the grass a few yards away. In turn one just short of the pileup at the wall, Billy Schoeler and Gregoire were spun facing against the traffic. Several other cars were sporting bumps and bruises from the altercation.
A real testimony to pit crews came when both Shaw and Belcher returned to the oval in time for the restart. Duarte, with underneath damage from climbing atop the pileup, was unable to get back out.
Uhrig and Church led the field off on the lap one restart which would run all the way through the checkers. Uhrig pulled away from Church only to see Murphy leaping underneath Church and into s the lead as they crossed the stripe again. Martin then pushed past Uhrig for second with Paiva following to third and Scott taking fourth.
By lap five, Murphy, Martin and Pavia were a high-speed train, coupled together as they wound around the track. Two cars back another locked-together group was Scott, Church and Uhrig, with Taylor Therrien just off the pace. Things tightened up to a seven-car speed parade on the next lap. The pursuit was furious.
By lap ten, Murphy, Martin, Paiva and Scott had detached themselves. A short distance back, Uhrig was beneath Church, contesting fifth while Therrien searched for a way past them.
Martin, on Murphy’s bumper, was sideways out of four and there was contact with the leader’s rear. Radical Rick gathered it in then went to the outside but Murphy charged back to the front and Paiva took the opportunity to charge under for second.
By lap 14, the field looked the same as Murphy led Paiva, martin, Scott, Uhrig and Church all tightly together, with Brandon, Shaw, Therrien and Schoeler a distance back. Two laps later, an anxious Paiva was playing bumper tag with the leader while Martin sat third. The leaders began to encounter lapped traffic and the field tightened up again with seven cars curling around the oval like a fast freight train.
Martin became impatient on lap 20 and ran to Murphy’s high side. He lit the boosters and began to push toward the front with the checkers just five laps away. He worked his way past Paiva and was alongside Murphy with two to go. They were door-to-door down the backstretch with Paiva, Scott, Uhrig, Church and Brandon as they came sliding through turn four.
Brandon Dion, Church and Shaw finished sixth through ninth.
Like she was running down Hollywood Boulevard, Crystal Serydynski flew through the field until she sat behind leader Paul Lallier as the laps shortened up to a handful. Angling down the backstretch she pushed the nose under the leader, ran hard and had earned enough space below the leader to hold her spot into turn three. Out of turn four and down the frontstretch they battled but Crystal emerged fully into the lead going into turn one. It was a tightly laced shoe with Lallier loath to have his position back and hungry Gerard Berthelette looking to snatch away a win for himself. But try as he might, Lallier was unable to get back to the front and, with tenacious Gerard Berthelette on his bumper, had to grudgingly watch Crystal flash under the checkers with her second victory of the season. Scott Bruneau and Ray Lovelace competed the top five.
Lallier started inside the third row and Crystal the outside of the fourth as Chris DeMoura and Ray Negley led off. One lap down, John Hanafin spun to the infield and Charles Beal was assessed with the assist. On the restart, the front four pairs were wheel-to-wheel into lap two until AJ Solomon looped going into turn two and another restart followed.
DeMoura and Negley were off again, but Negley was loos out of turn four allowing DeMoura to get the lead. Scott Serydynski followed. But Joe Melberg went dead in turn two.
Beal stopped to confer with officials at the pit entrance, then drove to the pit exit, dropped his window net and stopped for a period before he departed to the pits.
The lap three restart had DeMoura and Negley door to door again. As they dueled into lap five, Bob Bettencourt spun in turn two. Jimmy Belmont had nowhere to go and piled in, nose-to-nose. Both cars were retired for the night, but both drivers were uninjured. In the meantime, leader DeMoura swerved off the backstretch, taking a roller coaster ride across the infield. He also departed for the pits.
On the restart, Lallier jumped under Negley and went through to the lead as the lap completed. He had room to settle in coming out of turn two. Negley and Scott battled over second, and Scott was into the infield on lap nine. Negley earned the back for the assist.
Lallier took pole for the restart. Berthelette and Crystal, who had worked their way through the field brilliantly sat second and third.
Berthelette and Lallier battled for the lead with Crystal locked in and she gained second as Berthelette fell back with Scott Bruneau holding fourth. He was trailed by Lovelace, Austin Blais and Hanafin dueling with Vincent Pangelinan.
Lallier, Crystal and Berthelette were on rails as they went bumper-to-bumper in a mad duel. Crystal nosed under Lallier on lap thirteen and they went side-by-side, trading paint into lap 14. Crystal pulled ahead on the backstretch and into lap fifteen she led Lallier, Berthelette and Bruneau.
The pack wound through the next ten laps in dispute but not changing positions. Ed Gannon worked his way around Pangelinan and then Blais for seventh as the laps unwound.
A desperate trio of Lallier, Berthelette and Bruneau could only chase Serydynski under the checkers as the thunderstorms which had been flashing throughout the feature shortened the victory celebrations at the stripe and ended the evening in mid-interview.
Sixth through tenth went to: Gannon, Blais, Hanafin, Craig Pianka and Scott Serydynski.
Sources: Kevin Boucher/Seekonk Speedway PR