Last Saturday night we saw a lot of children in the grandstands with their sports jerseys on from the teams they play with. It was exciting to see lots of children up near the fence before and during some of the races jumping up and down for their favorite drivers. We will look forward to Scout Night in August, where we will honor some of the young scouts at the track.
As far as the NASCAR racing action on the track, Angelo Belsito was able to capture the checkered flag in his No. 8 once again. He struggled with a crash opening day that forced him to a bad finish, but he rebounded well and was right back to the fastest car on the track. We must give a shoutout to Tom Scully Jr., who wheeled his Anytime Realty No. 2 machine to a second place run. He gave Belsito everything he could handle, especially in those final laps, but came up just short. Those two finished last season 1-2 on the top of the title chase and it will be hard for anyone to beat both of them this year.
In the 30 lap Everett’s Auto Parts Late Model feature, Dylan Estrella and T.J. Moreshead gave Charlie Rose everything he could handle over the final 11 laps and it was extremely exciting to watch right down to the checkered flag. Moreshead worked the outside for the final 1/3 of the race and mentioned to me post-race that he was surprised that his car stuck so well on the top groove since all rubber that was on the track from opening day had been washed off because of rain during the past two weeks.
When they took the white flag, Rose held the bottom, trying to hold off Estrella who was all over the back bumper and that allowed Moreshead to work the outside, drawing even in turn three on the final circuit. However, a little slip sideways off turn four sent Moreshead up the track and eventually spinning, allowing Rose to capture his first checkered flag of the season. Estrella crossed the stripe in second spot, with Moreshead spinning across the line to third. Dan Johnson finished in fourth spot and early race front-runner Jeramme Lille rounded out the top-five.
In the 25 lap Street Stock feature, Corey Fanning made a cross-over move on early race leader Scott Serydynski with under five laps remaining and captured his first victory of the season in car No. 11. Fanning ran inside the top-five for much of the event and watched the challengers up front tangle a few times. He made his move on lap 23, cutting to the inside and racing Serydynski around in the final laps. Fanning took the checkered first, with Tyler Lallier grabbing second in the final corners. Anthony Kohler grabbed third, with Serydynski fourth and opening day winner Scott Bruneau fifth.
T. Moreshead Landscaping sponsored a special 30 lap Sports Trucks feature, with extra cash on the line throughout the field Saturday. In the end, defending track champion Chase Belcher took the checkers after driving away from Darryl Church in the final laps. Belcher took the lead on lap 19, jumping from third to first in that lap. Church was able to cross second, ahead of opening day truck winner Mike Cavallaro, who finished third. Veteran Lenny Guy grabbed fourth and “Showtime,” Mike Duarte finished fifth.
We look ahead to next week now, when we will honor Dave Humphrey and Leo “The Lion” Cleary as the newest members of the 630 WPRO Seekonk Speedway Wall of Fame. Our Late Models have the night off and the Nick’s Pit Stop Legends will have the honor of joining the action.
SATURDAY NIGHT RECAP
WITH KYLE SOUZA
WEEK 2 IN THE BOOKS!