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Dave Darling picks up opening day win. Vanasse, Tripp, Oliviera and Uhrig also score.

Seekonk Speedway, for the third time, attempted to get their opening day program completed. But even a few rain showers weren’t going to delay us again. Dave Darling picked up his 22^nd career Pro Stock win in dominating fashion. Starting on the pole after the top 6 were inverted by a blind draw, Dave was out for a Sunday drive. While he dominated the event from the pole, there were many challengers for the lead. Sophomore Jake Vanada of Berkeley was the first to challenge Dave for the lead, but couldn’t hang on from his outside pole start. He would get another chance, as Wayne Dion brought out the first caution with a spin on lap 1, forcing the Houle Motorsports driver out of the event.

Darling and Vanada would try it again, but Darling was up for the challenge. Vanasse squeezed under Vanada and put the Team V Transport Chevy into the runner up position. The second caution fell on lap 4, when the K Spencer Electric Chevy of Ken Spencer scraped the outside wall and came to a stop in turn 1. Vanasse settled into the runner up spot with Mike Brightman, Rob Murphy and Tom Scully Jr rounding out the top five when the third caution came out on lap 15.

Once back up to speed, the Impact Collision Parts Ford of Brightman moved into the second position, with Kid Scully fighting a loose racecar, moved into fourth when the yellow came out for Dan O’Brien.

Brightman hang tough for a couple of laps on the outside, but had to settle behind the Johnson Landscaping Dodge and follow. Vanasse ran third, with Rob Murphy and Fred Astle Jr rounding out the top 5 at the one-third mark. Tom Scully Jr, Jeramee Lillie, Kyle Casper, Steve O’Brien and Tom Scully Sr rounded out the top ten.

Rob Murphy started eighth on the field, and was able to move his Tom Barboza Excavating Dodge up into the top three by lap 32, and appeared to be one of the fastest cars on the track. During that caution, however, something happened to the green machine, and forced him into the pits, where he would lose 10 laps before they could get the electrical problem repaired.

Fred Astle Jr set fast time on May 3, and picked up the win in his heat, giving him the proverbial pole position. He was the driver who pulled for the redraw, and was relegated to the sixth starting position. But that wouldn’t slow down the reigning champion. The Wood Frame Structures Chevy was rolling through the field at a leisurely pace, and by lap 33 had moved into third. Trying to work his way into second after a lap 42 restart, Astle spun the tires and spun down the backstretch, and would bring out the caution on lap 43.

Tom Scully Jr was coming off his best season, and was hanging on to a top five run when a left front tire was cut down on lap 41, forcing him into the pits. After returning, it was only a couple of laps before he was back in the top six, and the Wheelock’s NAPA Auto Group Chevy was back on his way to the front.

The biggest accident of the evening came on lap 42, when Tom Scully Sr and Jake Vanada got together. While the East Coast Collision Chevy of Scully would be able to continue, the Mad Dog Motorsports Ford of Vanada was done for the evening with chassis damage.

As the field crossed at lap 50, the top ten were Darling, Vanasse, Brightman, Lillie, Kyle Casper, Scully Jr, Astle, Phil Meany, Steve O’Brien and Scully Sr. When the caution came out on lap 58, Lillie had worked his way into third in the Houle Motorsports Chevy. The rookie contender started 13^th on the starting grid, and was looking right at home in the Pro Stocks. That run would find itself in trouble on lap 63, when he spun and had to go to the rear of the field.  Just after that, Lillie and Vanasse got together while battling for second, and forced another caution. Astle was now on the outside the front row on the restart, but not even he could get a run on the Almeida Farms Dodge. He had trouble hanging onto second as the EMI Ford of Brightman ran under Astle and got back into second.

Another caution dropped on lap 67, when Fred Astle and Kid Scully got together fighting for third position, with both drivers having to go to the rear of the field. Scully would be forced to the pits when intentional contact under caution forced the ARC officials to penalize him. With Darling out front, Brightman was now second, with Tom Scully Sr up to third, Gardner MA’s Phil Meany worked himself into fourth with Steve O’Brien fifth.

Lillie had mechanical problems with four laps remaining, and Vanasse slapped the outside wall as he tried to get around the limping Lillie. Astle worked himself into fourth over the last few laps, but was unable to mount any further charges as Dave Darling picked up his second Opening Day win in three years. Brightman finished second, with Tom Scully Sr third, Astle fourth, and Phil Meany rounding out the top five. Steve O’Brien, Dan O’Brien, Kyle Casper, Craig Weinstein and Jeramee Lillie rounded out the top ten.

“Oh My Gosh, did I have a good car”, exclaimed a tired but enthusiastic Darling after climbing out of his winning racer. “Ronnie Pond is the best in the business, and I can only do with what he gives me, and that’s the best car I’ve ever had.” “I’m glad my daughter Sophie was here for my win tonight. I have to thank the guys in the pits, Johnson Landscaping, Almeida Farms. Andy Johnson does an awesome job landscaping for us, and an awesome job giving me a great car.”  With David’s win, he becomes a guaranteed starter in the PASS 150 on August 15^th.

Ryan Vanasse picked up just where he left off in the Late Model division. After winning the final two events, including the DAV Fall Classis, the Team V Transport team decided they were going to run double duty, with the Pro Stocks and the Late Models in 2009. Kevin Casper led the field down in his Phil’s Propane Toyota bodied machine, and jumped out to a quick lead over Bill Bernard, Vanasse, Jon Dickerman and Kyle Casper, who was also running double duty.

Bernard slid back a little in his Ashland Lumber Chevy, and backed up to fourth by lap 4. Mark Anzalone brought out the first caution on lap 4 when contact sent him around as he was slowing in turn three. Vanasse used the outside lane to find his way into the lead and never looked back. While they were battling for the lead, Kyle Casper was working the outside lane and worked his Somerset Federal Credit Union Chevy into third by lap eighth.

While Vanasse had opened up a 2 second advantage over the field, the brothers Casper were working each other over for the second position. After a fierce side by side battle, Kyle Casper moved his Kidd Motorsports machine into second at the halfway point. Kevin Casper was third, with the Dennis K Burke Toyota of Dickerman fourth and Gerry DeGasparre in fifth.

The field would be slowed for the second time on lap 17, when rookie Late Model contender Mike Cavallaro spun his Gateway Auto Sales Chevy. The top five were Vanasse, Kyle Casper, DeGasparre, Dickerman and Kevin Casper. Kyle Casper had a chance to take the lead, and did just that on lap 18, but Vanasse was too strong, and retook the lead on lap 19 and never looked back. While Vanasse was leading, the fight behind was fierce. Casper and DeGasparre were both fighting side by side, and they raced that was for several laps, with DeGasparre taking over second on lap 29. But all of that went away as they came off of turn four. While Vanasse was grabbing the checkers, Kyle Casper and DeGasparre were renewing a rivalry that started in 2008. As they came off of turn 4, both cars got sideways as neither one was giving an inch. DeGasparre was on the inside, and the back end snapped around, costing him a top ten finish. Kyle Casper finished second, with Kevin Casper third, with Jon Dickerman and Bernard rounding out the top five.

“This car was a missile. These Team V guys make me look good. I couldn’t do it without them.” Ryan stated in Victory Lane. “This one goes out to my new little girl. She told me I could leave, but I had to win. I need to thank Team V Motorsports and A & A Auto Parts; They’ve really been helping me out this year, Houle Motorsports and Phil’s Propane for the extra $100.” Phil’s Propane has joined as a contingency partner for the Late Models and is offering an extra $100 to the winner, with an extra $50.00 for the second and third place finishers.

The Seekonk Sports Truck feature came down to the last 20 feet, as Jody Tripp picked up the win in his Silver Key Inc. Chevy by .002 over Rick Martin. John Paiva of Fall River and Westport’s Martin brought the field down, and Martin jumped quickly into the lead. The MD Cabinetry Ford of Hugh Bowser jumped in line behind Martin, with Tripp in tow. The first caution came out on lap 3, when Russ Borges spun in turn two and Brian Murray and Mike Ronhock made contact with the spinning Borges. Jim Hawkins was also involved.

After a brief rain delay, action resumed once again. Bowser was able to edge ahead of Martin for two circuits until Martin took back over on lap five. Bowser fell back to third when Tripp followed Martin on the inside. Paiva continued to run fourth with Steve Dumas rounding out the top five at lap ten.

A lap 12 restart saw Martin give up the lead once more when Tripp overtook Rick and eked out a lead, but it would only last one lap. Martin seemed to be too strong on the inside in his Rick Martin Race Car Chevy.

A final restart on lap 21 would give Tripp one last shot at the lead. As they headed into turn one, Tripp edged out a slight advantage. Lap by lap, they continued to push each other to the limit. As they entered turn 3 for the final time, Martin dove in deep and pushed up the track just a bit, forcing Tripp out of his groove. As they exited turn 4, both trucks seemed to become one, as they both slid the back end of their trucks out. With one final push, Tripp found a touch more traction and found himself edging out Martin in one of the closest truck races ever at Seekonk. Bowser was right behind them, looking for any type of opening that may be there, but ended just under ½ second behind. Lenny Guy was able to recover from an earlier spin to come home fourth with Jason Heroux rounding out the top five. DeSouza worked his way back up to sixth, with Paiva, Dumas, Darryl Church and Jim Hawkins rounding out the top ten.

“This is incredible,” Tripp exclaimed after picking up his second career win. “I didn’t think I’d be able to beat him. I did what I had to do. I have to thank Blanchette’s Boutique, Vel-Parts, Hydro-Stop Roofing, Riley’s Kitchens, Silver Key, Sanford & Son’s and Nat’s engines. I have to thank my father and Mike for helping me.”

The Street Stocks had over 30 cars on hand to compete for 26 starting positions, and it was Mike Mitchell and Mark Henshaw Jr bringing the field down. Tony Oliveira moved into second on the start, with Henshaw, Sparky Arsenault and Chris Rioux rounding out the top five in the opening laps.

While the top four ran single file, the battle from fifth back was raging on. Chris Rioux held onto fifth for several laps, until Ryan Lineham snuck the Impact Collision Parts Camaro underneath, taking away a position. Middletown RI’s Jim Silvia was following through and kept pace with the Coventry RI native. Bob Pelland II was also working his way from his eleventh starting position into eighth before having the car come out from underneath him on lap 10. This brought out the first caution of the night.

Mitchell and Oliviera ran side by side for a couple of laps after another restart on lap 11, before the Kitchen Concepts Malibu of Oliviera took over the lead. On lap 12, Ryan Lineham found himself in the turn 3 wall after contact sent the Blaze’s Billiard machine around.

By lap 13, Silvia was up to the second spot, but would only hold it for a couple of laps before Mitchell worked back into second. Sparky Arsenault also moved by for third. Paul Newcomb moved into the top five by lap 14 from his 12^th starting position.  

On lap 19, Mike Mitchell cut a left front tire and slid through the infield, coming into Paul Newcomb. With nowhere to go, Paul Vanasse, Jeff Amaral and Justin Travis all got involved. It took the safety crew a little time to untangle the Team V Transport Malibu of Vanasse and the Newcomb Tree Service Camaro of Newcomb.

Arsenault would have one final shot at Tony, but the champ did not have enough, as Oliviera took off out front once again. Silvia moved into second, but ran out of time, as he would have to settle for second. Arsenault finished third, with Steve Axon and Jay Steely rounding out the top five.

“Mike Mitchell was on me tonight,” an exuberant winner told.  “We couldn’t get our footing out here tonight, but I kept it in there. I want to thank Reids for building a heck of a motor. It was nice to have a freshened up motor after three years. Jimmy Read did a great job. EA Dion supports me as always, Kitchen Concepts, Nilda’s Hair Design is a new sponsor this year, Destiny’s Salon, ET Transmissions, Sanford & Sons has always been good to me, and I think that’s it.”

Nick Uhrig and Scott Cestodio brought the Pure Stock field down for the start of their 25 lap feature. Uhrig jumped out to a quick lead. Cestodio settled in behind and tried to keep up, but Uhrig continued to pull away. While the leaders were running single file, several cars were trying to work their way through the field. Attleboro’s Lou Robinson started ninth, but by lap 5, he had worked himself into the top five.

By lap 7, the leaders caught the back of the field, and the reigning Pure Stock champ was able to close in the distance between he and Uhrig, down to a car length. Once clear of traffic, however, Uhrig pulled away once again. While Nick pulled away, all eyes were on the battle raging up for the third position. Amy Arsenault was running third, but had a lot of pressure from Assonet’s Bob Hinckley and Robinson. Enter former champion Bill Chouinard and Randy Moretti into the fight, and Arsenault had her hands full. Jamie Burch brought out the first caution on lap 12, when he spun in turn three. Uhrig, Cestodio, Arsenault, Hinckley and Robinson were first through fifth, with Chouinard, Carlos Silva, Moretti, Pangelinan and Dirk Eykelhoff rounding out the top ten.

Uhrig once again pulled away, as he took up where he left off, with the field in tow. Hinckley moved into third at lap fifteen, with Chouinard moving into fourth the following lap. Cranston RI’s Moretti moved his way forward after the restart, and by lap 19, he was up to sixth.

Over the final five laps, the race for third was hot and heavy, as Hinckley worked the Glassman Auto Oldsmobile hard to hold off Chouinard and Robinson. One final restart was forced when Joe Carpenter lost a hose on lap 23, putting fluid down on the track. Tom Blackwell was involved when he hit Carpenter, forcing him out of competition.

From there, it was clear sailing for the Cranston RI native, as Uhrig wired this one complete. Cestodio held on for second, while Hinckley held off Chouinard, Robinson and Moretti for third. Pangelinan, Arsenault, Silva and Eykelhoff rounded out the top ten.

“I have to thank the guys at Team V for helping me on this,” Uhrig mentioned. “Ryan, Mike Paul and everyone at Team V Transport has been good. We found something at the end of last year and we didn’t have to do anything to it over the winter.”

Seekonk Speedway action returns in a double header this weekend. On Saturday, the Pro Stocks, Late Models, Street Stocks and Seekonk Sport Trucks run a full Saturday Night card under the ARC banner. Gates open at 4 with the first qualifier at 6pm. On Sunday, the Army National Guard presents our Sunday Thrill Show. The action will start at 5pm with the Spectator Drags. There will also be Enduro Drags, Drifting by NEDrift.com, Truck Drags, Figure Eight racing, and the world famous Seekonk Speedway Demolition Derby. Gates open at 2:30. You can purchase your tickets online and print them at home using our website at seekonkspeedway.com. Please check our website for new regulations concerning the safety of our fans.