Well, it’s finally come. Championship night 2016 is now behind us. We went into this past weekend with four out the nine titles still yet to be decided, yet when it was all said and done, there were no upsets. Out of all of the divisions, the only division with a real threat of being changed was the Sport Trucks.
Mike Cavallaro came into the race with a slim 13 point lead over defending champion Chase Belcher. When qualifying was complete, Belcher closed it to 11. At this point, all Mike had to do was finish in the top five, regardless of what Chase did. Easier said than done, that’s for sure.
Chase started behind Cavallaro, but he seemed to have a much easier time working his way through the field on his way to the front of the field. He worked his way into the lead, but was beat over the final couple of laps.
Whereas Mike seemed to find a fight with every turn. The caution filled race did not help Cavallaro at all. Every time he seemed to have made a pass, the caution came out for a truck spun, a truck stopped on the track, or even debris.
At one point, he and Mike Lopes made contact, which could have been catastrophic. Instead, it solidified the drive within the six time champion. “Short of the first title, this one means the most” he said after the race, due to the way he felt he was disrespected by some of his fellow competitors throughout much of the second half of the season.
When it was all over, he finished in the top four, enough to capture his sixth title.
Sitting in Everett’s Auto Parts Victory Lane for the second consecutive week was Josh Hedges. He picked up his first career win the previous week, and was able to overtake Belcher with a couple of laps remaining in the 25 lap feature.
The Street Stocks saw another first time winner when former Pure Stock champion Jesse Melberg rolled to the win in the 25 lap feature. Jesse has been close a couple of times this year, but he hasn’t been able to close it out until the final points night. As happy as Jesse was, he was disappointed that his fiancée or his daughters weren’t on hand to witness it. I’m sure there will be more for them to enjoy together.
Scott Bruneau took the green flag and celebrated with his second championship in three years in the Street Stocks. A few wins and a lot of strong runs, not to mention the Phil’s Propane Triple Crown Championship helped him on his way to the head table.
The Everett’s Auto Parts Late Models saw, for the second consecutive year, Dylan Estrella pick up the title. Dylan led from opening day back in May and never looked back. He closed out the regular season by capturing the win in the 30 lap main event.
The Pro Stocks have a new champion. Tom Scully Jr. had enough of a lead that he only had to take the green in the 40 lap feature. Tom grew up watching his father compete here in the Late Models, back then they were known as the Sportsman or Charger divisions. Tom started there when Sr moved into the Pro Stocks, where he holds the record of the quickest to a win at three races as a rookie. Jr started in the Sportsman class before moving into the Pro Stocks about 11 years ago.
Since he made the move, he has been one of the most consistent drivers in the division when the final points are tallied. He has been in the top five in the final standings for almost all of the previous 10 years. Most of them have been seconds and thirds behind Dave Darling, Fred Astle Jr, Ken Spencer and Angelo Belsito.
I’m not sure what the difference this year was. He has had the same team for quite a while, driven for the same owner, mom and dad, and has always had the right equipment. One of the things I saw was his style this year was more reserved. He didn’t seem to force anything out on the track, and if something happened, he let it go.
There was one night around the middle of the season, and he got penalized to the back for contact with Rick Martin. A couple of laps later, and the favor were returned. He was able to put it behind him and re-focus on the race itself. To me, that was a true showing of how he was handling his season.
This week, we close out the racing season with the D.A.V/ Fall Classic. One of my favorite races of the year. Come on down and be a part of it as we close out our 71st racing season.
with Race Voice