Historic win at Seekonk for Scott Payea
SEEKONK, MA – It’s come down to who can beat Scott Payea on the American Canadian Tour and Saturday at Seekonk Speedway – for a record-breaking fourth consecutive race – the answer was nobody.
Payea started ninth in the Harrison Redi-Mix/RPM Motorsports No. 37. He led for the first time on lap 27 when he went around Seekonk regular Ryan Lineham who had been dicing hard with Jimmy Hebert.
At the halfway mark, Hebert drove underneath Payea hard enough to move him up half a groove, but clean enough to leave him moving forward.
Hebert held the point for eleven laps as Jason Corliss got past Lineham and joined the fray at the front. Corliss started 10th on the grid.
Payea regained the lead for keeps on lap 61, but he had to survive two restarts in the final ten circuits with Corliss, the eventual runner-up, perched outside him on the front row.
Rich Dubeau of Lebanon, NH nosed past of Ray Parent of Tiverton, RI on the last lap to finish third. Rowland Robinson Jr. of Steuben, Me completed the top five. Dillon Moltz and Hebert were next in line.
Vinny Arrenegado Jr. of Warren, R.I. rallied after being turned around on the second lap to place eighth ahead of Ryan Vanasse and Gerry DeGasparre Jr.
Payea, smooth as always and patient while opportunistic, praised his team for giving him a car that never seems to drop off as long-distance races unfold.
His four straight wins breaks a mark held by Gary Caron, Ben Rowe and most recently Joey Polewarczyk Jr.
“We got up front earlier than we have in the past and we just wanted to hold onto it,” he said. “All of those yellows had me sweating a little bit. I knew Jason was right up there. It’s so awesome to win four in a row.”
“I made some passes on the outside,” Corliss said of his rookie career-best finish. “But the outside really wasn’t the place to be on those restarts. I really enjoyed racing here. It’s a neat little mix of everywhere I’ve raced – Thunder Road, White Mountain, Groveton (Speedway 51).”
Dubeau, third in points behind Payea and Moltz going into the race, was pleased with his third-place result in the Upper Valley Equipment Rental No. 30 after a lot of close-quarters racing with Parent and Robinson.
“We’ve still got some work to do, but this is good,” Dubeau said. “My brother David does an awesome job of spotting for me. This one is for my crew guy Nick Jillson who couldn’t be here tonight because of surgery.”
The American Canadian Tour’s next appearance is at Beech Ridge Saturday, August 5.
Seekonk Speedway 100 Finish – starting position in (*)
1.Scott Payea (8) 2. Jason Corliss (10) 3. Rich Dubeau (9) 4. Ray Parent (7) 5. Rowland Robinson Jr. (4) 6. Dillon Moltz (15) 7. Jimmy Hebert (6) 8. Vincent Arrenegado Jr. (21) 9. Ryan Vanasse (20) 10. Gerry DeGasparre Jr. (16) 11. Ryan Kuhn (14) 12. Ryan Lineham (2) 13. Mark Jennison (11) 14. Walter Sutcliffe (27) 15. Miles Chipman (18) 16. Mark Hudson (17) 17. Josh Masterson (12) 18. TJ Moreshead (22) 19. Bobby Pelland (1) 20. Kyle Welch (5) 21. Nicholas Uhrig (24) 22. Mike Mitchell (26) 23. Ron Barboza (19) 24. James Linardy (25) 25. Mike Ziter (23) 26. Charlie Rose (13) 27. Nick Johnson (3)
Sources: Tom Herzig/ACT PR