08/29/2004

Darling Repeats As Seekonk Pro Stock Mid-Season Champ

Seekonk, MA -- For the second consecutive season, Seekonk , MA ’s David Darling came away with top honors in the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series Pro Stock 50-lap Cumberland Farms-Providence Journal Mid-Season Championship feature presented by St. Angelo Buick-Pontiac-GMC at Seekonk Speedway on Saturday night, August 28.

One hundred thirty race teams packed the 1/3-mile oval’s pit area to compete in sixteen qualifiers and eight feature events on Craftsman Tools Night.  Darling won his qualifier in the Johnson Landscaping-Almeida Construction #52 Dodge and started eighth in the 25-car field.  Two-time track champion Len Ellis, Jr. started on the pole and led the first 15 laps with Les Rose, Jr. holding on to second.  Darling took fifth on lap 8, and had advanced to third by the time the first yellow waved for a Tom Scully, Jr. spin on lap 15.

On the next green flag lap, Ellis went around coming off turn four, moving Rose and Darling to the front row for the restart.  Several minor cautions kept the field bunched up heading to the halfway point, while two-time winner Kenny Spencer worked his way to second behind Darling, who had cleared Rose after a spirited battle on lap 20.

At the crossed flags, Darling led Spencer, Rose, Ray Parent, Matt Dewey, Vinnie and Todd Annarummo, Jimmy Rosenfield, Wayne Dion, and Scully, Jr.  Todd Annarummo brought out the sixth of nine cautions on lap 33, offering Spencer a chance to restart alongside Darling.  The 2003 Rookie of the Year took over the top spot for one circuit before the former NASCAR Busch North Series pilot resumed command.

Vinnie Annarummo muscled his way past Spencer for second on lap 43 with Ray Parent following him into third three laps later.  Neither mounted a serious assault on Darling, however, who cruised to his fourth victory of the season.  “The third link in the rear end broke on a restart about lap 34,” Darling admitted after the race.  “It was horrible on restarts.  I was just hanging on.  The more restarts we had, the more vibrations I felt.  We put three new tires on tonight, and we were really fast before it broke.  The car still isn’t where it was at the beginning of the season, but it’s getting there.  There was some good racing tonight.  Les Rose ran me clean and Kenny (Spencer) did, too.  I’ve got to thank everyone who works on the car for all their hard work and effort.”  For his efforts, Darling earned $1,800 of the $10,100 purse.

With his runner-up finish, Vinnie Annarummo extended his lead in the standings to 49 points over Ray Parent.  “The first half of the race, we were super.  The last half, we were too tight,” Annarummo explained.  “The car was really pushing.  We only had a second-place car though, we didn’t have anything for David.  We’re happy to bring it home in one piece.  Anything can happen in these last few weeks.  All one of us has to do is smash it up, and that could mean the championship.”

“I’m happy,” Parent remarked after finishing third.  “We had a good run tonight, but we didn’t have anything for the crate motors.  I got knocked into the frontstretch wall around lap 30, and we didn’t gain much after that.  It would have been nice to gain some points, but it didn’t work out that way.”

Kenny Spencer finished fourth, followed by Matt Dewey, who came from 15^th to record his second top-five of the year.  Wayne Dion was sixth, with Jimmy Rosenfield, who started 17^th after qualifying in the consolation round, taking seventh.  Tom Scully, Jr., Les Rose, Jr., and Dean Pettey rounded out the top ten.

In the Late Model divison, defending track champion Gerry DeGasparre, Jr. of Pawtucket , RI captured his first 25-lap main of the year and took over the hotly contested points lead for the first time in 2004.  Veteran Mike Becker started on the pole and had built up a comfortable advantage by the time the first of two cautions waved on lap 14.  At this point, Peter Donato ran second, followed by top rookie Mike Brightman, Bryan Connors, Glenn Lawton, Barry Shaw, Jr., and DeGasparre, who started 12^th in the Custom Auto Body-Spumoni’s Restaurant #71 Monte Carlo .

Donato hounded Becker through the next green flag segment, looking for an opportunity to grab the bottom groove.  On lap 18, Peter got the lane, but went around the next time by, taking Becker and Shaw with him.  This handed the lead to Connors with Brightman to his right.  The pair were running double file down the backstretch when DeGasparre made a three-wide charge for the lead on lap 20.  “I got to the outside of Mikey (Brightman),” DeGasparre recounted, “and I could see he was loose in.  I filled the hole, we went three-wide, and I was able to clear him.  Bryan was crossed up, and I just moved to the bottom.”

Once out front, DeGasparre never let up until the checkers waved.  “We had an awesome piece from the word ‘go’ today,” he related.  “We had a terrible start to the season, but we got all the right breaks tonight, rather than suspension breaks.”

Mike Brightman took the runner-up spot, earning his seventh top-five of the season.  Glenn Lawton finished third and clawed his way back to third in the standings behind DeGasparre and Scott Fournier.  Ryan Vanasse was fourth, while Bryan Connors chalked up his first top-five of the campaign.  Positions six through ten went to Scott Dion, Alex Bernard, Billy Goodrow, Scott Fournier, and rookie Bobby Grigas.

Chad Hancock of Woonsocket, RI bounced back from a pair of hard crashes to earn his second Sport Truck victory of the season in the 20-lap main event.  Hancock’s Pro Cut-Signworks Ford started fourth, and used a lap 6 restart to work around early race leader Ryan Berthelette.  At the halfway point, Berthelette ran second with Bill Prisco in tow.  Contact between point leaders Lee Hayes and Kevin Casper brought out the second and final caution on lap 12.  Prisco overpowered Berthelette when racing resumed, but Hancock was able to maintain a four truck-length advantage all the way to the checkered flag.  The final result is pending an ongoing post-race inspection and will not become official until later in the week.  Rookie ace Prisco finished second, followed by veteran Ray Souliere, and Peter Gloddy.  Berthelette crossed the line fifth but was disqualified in the post-race technical inspection, moving Ken Morrissette in to the top-five.

In the 20-lap Street Stock feature which was held over from August 14, East Freetown , MA rookie Frank Duquette went pole to checker to capture his first career win.  Duquette withstood three caution flags and was never significantly challenged for the top spot.  Fellow rookie Bob Lantagne was second, followed by Tony Oliveira, rookie Greg Perry, Jr., and David Ratcliffe, who came from the 14^th starting position.

In the regularly scheduled Street Stock event, it was Lantagne who prevailed to post his first victory.  The 27-year old Riverside , RI resident, who served as a Sergeant with the 119^th Military Police Company in Iraq and Kuwait for 14 months before returning home this spring, went pole to checker, becoming the 12^th different winner in 13 events.

Three cautions slowed the race, offering Lantagne a brief respite from the pressure he received from fellow freshmen Ryan Lineham, veteran Jeff Sutcliffe, who briefly took hold of the lead before an untimely yellow flag waved, and defending track champion David Ratcliffe.

Ratcliffe took third via a three-wide maneuver with four laps to go and used the inside to get by Lineham in the final mile of the race, but couldn’t unseat the leader.  David was able to advance to second in the standings behind Dick Cavallaro, who finished fifth in the nightcap.  Al Clements IV was third while Lineham claimed fourth.

Fifteen-year old Kyle Dimond of Fall River , MA won his first 15-lap Seekonk Youth Racing Association Journeymen division feature of the season, besting Justin Perry and Louie DeChello.  In the Apprentice class 12-lapper, Taunton , MA ’s Zach Tucan, 13, nipped Brian Como, Jr. at the line to score his third victory of 2004.  Christian Brown, 11, of Chatham , MA checkered the 8-lap SYRA Apprentice Rookie main.

3M Night, Saturday, September 4 at the 1/3-mile Route 6 oval, will include the 25-lap Mid-Season Championship race for the Sport Trucks which was rained out last month.  A September 18 rain date has been allotted for the event.  The track’s annual Fans On Parade night will be held on September 11 with the return of the popular Trike Races the following Saturday.  The NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series Pro Stocks, Late Models, Sport Trucks, and Street Stocks and the Seekonk Youth Racing Association will be in action every Saturday night through September 18.

The Saturday night schedule concludes on September 25 with the return of the International Super Modified Association, the second annual Budweiser Spectator Drag Nationals, and a special Seekonk Youth Racing Association feature.

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.

The Cumberland Farms-Providence Journal Pro Stock Mid-Season Championship Presented by St. Angelo Buick-Pontiac-GMC (50 laps)

1.     #52-David Darling, Rehoboth , MA

2.     #11-Vinnie Annarummo, Swansea , MA

3.     #17-Ray Parent, Tiverton , RI

4.     #03-Kenny Spencer, Taunton , MA

5.     #02-Matt Dewey, Seekonk , MA

6.     #99-Wayne Dion, Warwick , RI

7.     #44-Jimmy Rosenfield, Middleboro, MA

8.     #2-Tom Scully, Jr., Cranston , RI

9.     #62-Les Rose, Jr., Wareham , MA

10. #57-Dean Pettey, Assonet , MA

Late Model Feature (25 laps)

1.     #71-Gerry DeGasparre, Jr., Pawtucket , RI

2.     #27-Mike Brightman, Acushnet , MA

3.     #70-Glenn Lawton , Westport , MA

4.     #1-Ryan Vanasse, Warwick , RI

5.     #12-Bryan Connors, Pawtucket , RI

6.     #10-Scott Dion, Taunton , MA

7.     #49-Alex Bernard, Warwick , RI

8.     #32-Bill Goodrow, Pembroke , MA

9.     #57-Scott Fournier, Berkley , MA

10. #9-Bob Grigas, Marshfield , MA

Sport Truck Feature (20 laps)-Unofficial Results

1.     #6-Chad Hancock, Woonsocket , RI

2.     #94-Bill Prisco, Cranston , RI

3.     #24-Ray Souliere, Swansea , MA

4.     #4-Peter Gloddy, Tiverton , RI

5.     #35-Ken Morrissette, Warwick , RI

6.     #1-Billy Clarke, Seekonk , MA

7.     #20-Stanley Sherman , Lakeville , MA

8.     #88-Kevin Casper , Somerset , MA

9.     #27-Rusty Boardman, Acushnet , MA

10. #29-Dane Saritelli, No. Providence , RI

Street Stock Feature (20 laps)

1.     #4-Bob Lantagne, Providence , RI

2.     #84-David Ratcliffe, Lincoln , RI

3.     #99-Al Clements IV, Oak Bluffs, MA

4.     #19-Ryan Lineham, Coventry , RI

5.     #6-Dick Cavallaro, Seekonk , MA

6.     #02-Jeff Sutcliffe, Cumberland , RI

7.     #77-Paul Lallier, Attleboro , MA

8.     #39-Mike Lema, Taunton , MA

9.     #17-Pete Simpson, Warwick , RI

10. #29-Elmer Wing III, Lakeville , MA

Street Stock Feature (20 laps)-rescheduled from August 14

1.     #03-Frank Duquette, East Freetown , MA

2.     #4-Bob Lantagne, Providence , RI

3.     #41-Tony Oliveira, Taunton , MA

4.     #0-Greg Perry, Jr., Taunton , MA

5.     #84-David Ratcliffe, Lincoln , RI

6.     #2-Ron Barboza, Jr., Warren , RI

7.     #28-Matt Hudon, Acushnet , MA

8.     #33-Mike Taschereau, West Warwick , RI

9.     #17-Pete Simpson, Warwick , RI

10. #29-Elmer Wing III, Lakeville , MA

SYRA-Journeymen Feature (15 laps)

1.     #83-Kyle Dimond, Middleboro, MA

2.     #14-Justin Perry, Somerset , MA

3.     #25-Louie DeChello, North Haven , CT

4.     #7-John Geremia III, Johnston , RI

5.     #00-Matt Breault, Acushnet , MA

6.     #21-Joe Ferrucci, East Haven , CT

7.     #85-Nick Ribbe, Kingston , MA

8.     #2-Justin Travis, East Taunton , MA

9.     #1-Dale Thomas, Fall River , MA

10. #02-Matt Sagar, Seekonk , MA

SYRA- Apprentice Feature (12 laps)

1.     #3-Zach Tucan, Taunton , MA

2.     #13-Brian Como, Jr., Charlton , MA

3.     #80-Tom McVay, Riverside , RI

4.     #32-Robert Alberti, Carver, MA

5.     #11-Dan Nickless, Halifax , MA

SYRA-Apprentice Rookie Feature (8 laps)

1.     #5-Christian Brown, Chatham , MA

2.     #8-Jimmy Graves, Jr., Warwick , RI

3.     #17-Jessica Rosenfield, Middleboro, MA

4.     #56-Jacob Swift, Fairhaven , MA

Source:  Todd Baptista/Seekonk Speedway PR
Posted:  August 29, 2004