08/15/2004
Rob Murray,
Steve Fisher Star at Seekonk
Seekonk, MA -- One week after posting his long-sought first career Pro Stock win,
Rob Murray found himself back in
Victory Lane
at Seekonk Speedway on Saturday night, August 14.
The popular second generation racer from
Tiverton
,
RI
triumphed in a rain-shortened NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series Pro Stock
feature at the 1/3-mile Route 6 oval.
Murray
’s Quality Island Construction-Affordable Kitchens #08 Chevrolet
started 16th in the 25-car event and worked his way to the
front while avoiding a multitude of accidents that produced no less
than seven caution flags. Outside
polesitter Len Ellis, Jr. led the first 23 laps, withstanding heavy
pressure from teammates Billy Manchester and Dave Hutchins in the
early going. At the
halfway point, Hutchins and
Manchester
ran second and third, followed by Todd Annarummo, Ray Parent, Rookie
of the Year candidate Tom Scully, Jr., Murray, and Tom Furtado.
A nine-car pileup in turn two brought out the third
yellow on lap 18, with the most serious damage being sustained by
point leader Vinnie Annarummo, who had been running 11th.
Wayne Dion, Jimmy Rosenfield, David Darling, and Tom Scully,
Jr. were also involved, but each driver was able to return and salvage
a top ten finish. Yellow
fever continued to reign when racing resumed.
Manchester
went around after contact from behind on lap 22.
Dion and Rosenfield tangled two laps later.
Restarting in the high groove, Hutchins and Murray
were able to overpower Ellis to grab first and second on lap 23.
The next time around,
Murray
moved to the outside of Hutchins and took over the lead.
Contact from behind sent Ellis spinning two laps later,
shuffling the lineup once again.
At this point,
Murray
led Hutchins, Todd Annarummo, Parent, and Scully Jr.
With 27 of the scheduled 35 laps completed, Hutchins
went around coming off turn four.
In the scramble to avoid him, Matt Proc, making his first start
of the season, slammed the frontstretch wall, bringing out the red
flag. Proc was uninjured,
but by the time the field was set to return to racing, rain had begun
to fall. With heavy wind
and rain in the forecast, track officials declared the event
completed, and awarded the win to Rob Murray.
“I was doing the rain dance out there,” the 31-year old
victor admitted. “It
took time to get the first one, and I had said that when I finally got
it, we might be able to rattle off a couple more wins.
But I honestly didn’t think this was going to happen.
The car was running well tonight, and we just followed Ray
(Parent) on the outside right to the front.”
Todd Annarummo earned his third runner-up finish of
the year, followed by Parent, who shaved 32 points off Vinnie
Annarummo’s lead in the championship standings.
Annarummo, who finished 19th, now holds a 41 point
advantage over Parent with five points races remaining.
Tom Scully, Jr. was fourth, picking up his third top-five
finish, while David Darling bounced back to claim fifth.
Positions six through ten went to Tom Furtado, Tom Scully, Sr.,
Rob Mohan, Jimmy Rosenfield, and Wayne Dion.
Shelburne
,
VT
’s Steve Fisher regained the lead from Jean-Paul Cyr on the final
lap of the American-Canadian Tour’s New England Dodge Dealers 100 to
earn his first career victory. Polesitter
Dan Colby led the first 11 laps before Mark Lamberton muscled ahead on
the inside. The fourth of
11 cautions waved on lap 17 for a minor spin, with Lamberton leading
Jamie Fisher, Tom Fearn, Steve Fisher, and Colby.
Colby worked his way back to second at the 25-lap
mark, but was overtaken by Steve Fisher on the inside six circuits
later. Fisher gradually
worked his way to the leader’s bumper, and moved to the inside of
Lamberton for the lead on lap 44.
At the halfway point, Fearn ran third, ahead of Jean-Paul Cyr,
Colby, and Brent Dragon. Cyr
passed Fearn five laps later for third, and used a lap 67 restart to
overtake Lamberton for second.
When the caution waved six laps later, Cyr seized the
opportunity to restart alongside Fisher.
The pair ran side-by-side for eight laps before Cyr was able to
power his Chevy into the lead. Lamberton
took second from Fisher on a lap 91 restart, but was overtaken by
Fisher with four to go. Coming
through turns three and four the final time around, Fisher muscled his
Days Inn/CSI #24 Chevrolet to the inside of Cyr to grab the win.
Defending series champion Jean-Paul Cyr edged ahead in
the point standings with his second place finish, while Lamberton
claimed third. Tom Fearn
was fourth, followed by Patrick Laperle, Brent Dragon, Jamie Fisher,
Ken Dufour, B. J. Piekarski, and Eric Chase.
In the Late Model ranks, Ryan “The Rocket” Vanasse
of Warwick, RI captured his fourth feature win of the season in the
Norwood Motor Group #1 Chevrolet.
Polesitter Mike Becker led early on with Chris Robbins and
Barry Shaw, Jr. in pursuit. Both
drivers made a bid to unseat the leader but Becker persevered.
A three-wide battle for second on lap 10 allowed Vanasse, who
had started 12th, and rookie ace Mike Brightman to muscle
ahead of Shaw.
At the halfway point, Becker led a rapidly closing
Vanasse, Brightman, Shaw, Bobby Grigas, and Robbins.
Two-time winner Glenn Lawton, who entered the event as the
point leader, was spun out coming off turn four and lost a lap
righting his ride at the crossed flag signal.
Vanasse moved to the outside of Becker and took over
the top spot on the 13th circuit.
A minor spin brought out the second yellow on lap 16.
When racing resumed, Brightman overtook Becker for second.
Three additional cautions peppered the closing laps of the
25-lap event, including a lap 23 incident in which previous race
winner Dave Titus lost an oil line.
Titus’s Ford was briefly engulfed in flames, but the
Attleboro
,
MA
driver was able to escape unharmed.
Vanasse and Brightman traded the lead in the final laps,
running door-to-door all the way to the checkers.
Vanasse powered ahead in the final set of turns to become the
first four-time winner this season.
Three-time winner Mike Brightman was second, followed by Mike
Becker, Bobby Grigas, and Scott Fournier, who took over the lead in
the championship standings. Bryan
Connors was sixth, followed by Gerry DeGasparre, Billy Goodrow, Alex
Bernard, and Barry Shaw, Jr.
In the Sport Truck class,
Lakeville
,
MA
’s Stan Sherman earned his second win of the campaign, passing
polesitter Ryan Berthelette with three circuits remaining in the
20-lap contest. Five
cautions slowed the race, forcing officials to opt for a single file
restart with just four laps in the books.
The most serious incident occurred on lap 4, when Ken
Morrissette went around in turn four and was slammed by Nick
Brightman. Brightman was
able to walk away from the crash under his own power.
During the middle stages of the race,
Sherman
battled for second with rookie Peter Gloddy.
Sherman
used a lapped truck as a pick to gain the spot on lap 12, and then set
his sights on Berthelette. On
the final restart,
Sherman
was able to motor his Nissan to the outside of the leader to snatch
the top spot. Berthelette
and Gloddy followed him across the line, but Peter was disqualified in
the post-race technical inspection, moving veteran Billy Clarke up to
third. Billy Prisco, and
Ray Souliere rounded out the top five.
Defending champion Kevin Casper finished sixth,
cutting five-time winner Lee Hayes’ lead in the standings to 14
points. Hayes was
involved in a pair of early race accidents and finished two laps down.
Mike Cavallaro, Steve Desmarais, Lenny Guy, and Dane Saritelli
rounded out the top ten.
The 20-lap Street Stock feature was postponed due to
rain and the lateness of the hour.
A makeup date for the event will be announced later this week.
Thirteen-year old Nick Ribbe of
Kingston
,
MA
extended his lead in the Seekonk Youth Racing Association Journeymen
division point standings with his fourth victory of the year.
Ribbe beat three-time winner Justin Perry by inches in the
15-lapper to earn his ninth career victory.
Bobby Alberti, 11, of Carver, MA checkered his third Apprentice
12-lap feature of the season. Eleven-year
old Christian Brown of
Chatham
,
MA
nipped Jimmy Graves at the line in the 8-lap Apprentice Rookie feature
but was disqualified in the post-race technical inspection, sending
Graves
to
Victory Lane
for the second time.
The Northeastern Midget Association makes their annual
visit to the
Cement
Palace
on Saturday night, August 21. A
full evening of qualifying and feature races are also planned for the
NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series Pro Stock, Late Model, Sport Truck and
Street Stock classes as well as the Seekonk Youth Racing Association.
Adult tickets for the highly-anticipated NEMA show are $17 for
adults and $5 for children 6 to 12.
Children five and under will be admitted free.
Craftsman Night, Saturday, August 28, will feature a
special 50-lap main event for the top tier Pro Stock class.
The Cumberland Farms-Providence Journal Mid-Season Championship
Presented by St. Angelo Buick-Pontiac-GMC carries a purse of $10,100
with $1,800 going to the feature winner.
Twenty-five cars will qualify for the race.
Tickets for the regular Saturday night shows are
priced at just $12 for adults and $4 for children 6 to 12.
A family four-pack for two adults and two children up to age 12
is available for just $25, a savings of $7.
Children 5 and under are admitted free.
For more information, or to order tickets or gift certificates,
contact the track office Monday through Friday at (508)-336-9959 or
visit online at www.seekonkspeedway.com.
Pro
Stock Feature (Rain-shortened; 27 of 35 laps completed)
1.
#08-Rob
Murray
,
Tiverton
,
RI
2.
#10-Todd Annarummo,
Swansea
,
MA
3.
#17-Ray Parent,
Tiverton
,
RI
4.
#2-Tom Scully, Jr.,
Cranston
,
RI
5.
#52-David Darling,
Rehoboth
,
MA
6.
#5-Tom Furtado,
Taunton
,
MA
7.
#3-Tom Scully, Sr.,
Westport
,
MA
8.
#72-Rob Mohan,
Bridgewater
,
MA
9.
#44-Jimmy Rosenfield, Middleboro, MA
10.
#99-Wayne Dion,
Warwick
,
RI
American-Canadian
Tour
New England
Dodge Dealers 100 (100 laps)
1.
#24-Steve Fisher,
Shelburne
,
VT
2.
#32-Jean-Paul Cyr,
Milton
,
VT
3.
#29-Mark Lamberton, Mooers Forks, NY
4.
#03-Tom Fearn,
East Longmeadow
,
MA
5.
#91-Patrick Laperle,
St. Denis
,
Quebec
6.
#55-Brent Dragon,
Milton
,
VT
7.
#18-Jamie Fisher,
Shelburne
,
VT
8.
#4-Ken Dufour,
Bethlehem
,
NH
9.
#19-B. J. Piekarski,
Nashua
,
NH
10.
#40-Eric Chase,
Milton
,
VT
Late
Model Feature (25 laps)
1.
#1-Ryan Vanasse,
Warwick
,
RI
2.
#27-Mike Brightman,
Acushnet
,
MA
3.
#00-Mike Becker,
Avon
,
MA
4.
#9-Bob Grigas,
Marshfield
,
MA
5.
#57-Scott Fournier,
Berkley
,
MA
6.
#12-Bryan Connors,
Pawtucket
,
RI
7.
#71-Gerry DeGasparre, Jr.,
Pawtucket
,
RI
8.
#32-Bill Goodrow,
Pembroke
,
MA
9.
#49-Alex Bernard,
Warwick
,
RI
10.
#85-Barry Shaw,
Holbrook
,
MA
Sport
Truck Feature (20 laps)
1.
#20-Stanley
Sherman
,
Lakeville
,
MA
2.
#13-Ryan Berthelette,
Assonet
,
MA
3.
#4-Peter Gloddy,
Tiverton
,
RI
4.
#94-Bill Prisco,
Cranston
,
RI
5.
#24-Ray Souliere,
Swansea
,
MA
6.
#88-Kevin
Casper
,
Somerset
,
MA
7.
#80-Mike Cavallaro,
Seekonk
,
MA
8.
#3-Steve Desmarais,
Westport
,
MA
9.
#77-Lenny Guy,
New Bedford
,
MA
10.
#29-Dane Saritelli, No.
Providence
,
RI
SYRA-Journeymen
Feature (15 laps)
1.
#85-Nick Ribbe,
Kingston
,
MA
2.
#14-Justin Perry,
Somerset
,
MA
3.
#25-Louie DeChello,
North Haven
,
CT
4.
#7-John Geremia III,
Johnston
,
RI
5.
#2-Justin Travis,
East Taunton
,
MA
6.
#00-Matt Breault,
Acushnet
,
MA
7.
#83-Kyle Dimond, Middleboro, MA
8.
#78-Danny Thibeault,
Fall River
,
MA
9.
#27-Tommy Donahue,
North Easton
,
MA
10.
#29-Alex Tucan,
Taunton
,
MA
SYRA-Apprentice
Feature (12 laps)
1.
#32-Bobby Alberti, Carver, MA
2.
#13-Brian Como, Jr.,
Charlton
,
MA
3.
#80-Tom McVay,
Riverside
,
RI
4.
#9-Chris Robinson,
West Warwick
,
RI
5.
#77-Emily Santor,
Norwood
,
MA
SYRA-Apprentice
Rookie Feature (8 laps)
1.
#8-Jimmy Graves, Jr.,
Warwick
,
RI
2.
#17-Jessica Rosenfield, Middleboro, MA
3.
#56-Jacob Swift, Fairhaven, MA
Source: Todd Baptista/Seekonk
Speedway PR
Posted: August 15, 2004
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