PURE STOCKS LOOKING FOR A NEW CHAMPION IN 2017
The last two years of racing action in Fast Friday’s Pure Stock division have been dominated by Andrew Kun, who has collected back-to-back championships. It’s been difficult for drivers to find a way to keep pace with Kun, who will go down as one of the most consistent drivers in division history. At one point in 2016, Kun finished in second spot every single week for more than a month.
However, his fellow competitors will be pleased to know that he won’t be returning for a run at a third straight title this season. Kun has moved onto the Nick’s Pit Stop Legends class and leaves a large list of drivers to compete to try and replace him at the head table come the end of the season.
Leading the list of challengers will be former champion Scott Cestodio, who was one of the drivers who was able to run with Kun at times towards the middle of last year. Cestodio returned to the class in 2016 and visited victory lane multiple times behind the wheel of his No. 01. Now, he is hoping to return to championship form and enters the 2017 season the one that everyone will look at as the favorite.
However, multiple drivers are not far behind him in the run for the title. Amy Arsenault is back for another season in her No. 9 and is she has also been one that could give Kun a run for his money. Arsenault had a 2016 season that was filled with bad luck — but she still was able to sit in victory lane. She came oh-so-close to the title in 2015, ending that season in a dead tie with Kun for championship honors. Watch out for the fast lady as she looks to beat all of her male contenders.
Lenny Sousa returns for another year in his No. 31, while former champion Mark Murphy has also filed an entry for this season. Names like Max Bergstrom, Missy Charette and Jay Sullivan will also be back for another run.
One of the underdogs going into the season has to be “The Outlaw” Danny Massa, who struggled to find speed and get the handling right on his No. 41 last season, but is hoping to rebound.
Trailing Massa and the rest of the field into the first race will be multiple rookie contenders. Jason Tisi makes a run at the class, along with Laurie Bonaparte, who has filed an entry in car No. 1. Rick Mossman, who comes from Coventry, R.I., has also indicated he will compete along with Dave McKay and DJ Pires.
The 2017 season should be another competitive season. We will see multiple winners along the way and don’t be surprised if someone rises to the top that we didn’t think would.
PURE STOCKS