Saturday night, we saw a thrilling battle in the 50 lap Phil’s Propane Triple Crown Series feature race. It was well-known going into the weekend that we would see some extra drivers come to target the glory and test for next week’s American Canadian Tour (ACT) Propane Plus 150 and they showed up and did not disappoint.
Eddie MacDonald, Ray Parent and Wayne Helliwell, three ACT Tour drivers, invaded the track and all were running inside the top-10 before long. However, our own Late Model gang did not make it easy on them. Defending champion Dylan Estrella gave them all fits trying to hold him off as he took the lead early on and it looked like he would be the one to beat in the final stages. But then, just as you thought it was going to be over, MacDonald pounced and took the lead and Parent came through with him. Parent and MacDonald ended up battling to the finish and MacDonald crossed the line as the winner.
Post-race technical inspection took the victory from MacDonald and handed it to Parent, but it doesn’t take away from the intense action we had on the track. We will see MUCH more of that this coming Saturday in the ACT Tour’s return to Seekonk in the Propane Plus 150. I am excited to see that as many of you are. Don’t miss it.
Our Pro Stock feature on Saturday was a struggle to keep all four fenders on the car. It reminded me more of a survival than an actual race, but unfortunately, sometimes you get that in racing. It happens and even though none of us obviously enjoy it, it’s part of the sport. In the end, Flying Fred Astle rolled that No. 30 Everett’s Auto Parts ride right into victory lane for the third time this season. Astle was probably the happiest I have seen him in victory lane in a while — he knew he worked hard to take down the checkers in that one.
It was also an impressive drive by Tom Scully Jr., who climbed all the way from the back to the front in the final laps and ended up with a second place finish. It was another impressive drive by Rick Martin as well, who grabbed another top-five run in his No. 14. Some of those Pro Stock drivers will be in competition on Wednesday night in the U.S. National Championship race worth $10,000 to the winner. Don’t miss that one!
The 25 lap Street Stock feature event was won by Mike Mitchell, who finally broke a dry spell behind the wheel of the RLS Performance No. 10. Mitchell has been driving the car as much as he can this season for owner Richard Sprague, but he has missed some races because he also runs on the Granite State Pro Stock Series. Mitchell started sixth on the grid, but worked his way to the lead by the time the field crossed the stripe at lap 8.
From there, it was a battle to the end and Mitchell clicked off faster lap times each lap, ending the race about two tenths of a second faster compared to earlier. Rob Murphy, who was driving car No. 2 in place of Chris Rioux, finished second. Scott Bruneau, Corey Fanning and Tyler Lallier finished the top-five.
Mike Cavallaro also returned to victory lane in the Sports Truck division on Saturday night. It seems like we have seen a lot more of Cavallaro in victory circle this season than the past couple of years. The competition picked up and he also picked himself up on his setup work and it is showing now. Congrats to Cavallaro and also to Mike “Showtime” Duarte, who grabbed a second place, his best of the season as we close in on the mid-way point.
Next week, the ACT Tour 150 hits the track with the Legends, Sports Trucks and Phil’s Propane Triple Crown Series for the Street Stocks!
SATURDAY NIGHT RECAP
WITH KYLE SOUZA
July 9th Recap