The first Saturday night under the lights racing for the 2017 is now in the books and the entire night of racing on Saturday had plenty of thrilling action on the track. All of the divisions had some intense battles throughout the field and drivers were able to keep their cars straight, with very few caution flags flying from the flagstand.
In the Sports Trucks, Chase Belcher captured his second win of the season and now has won both of the events the division has run this year. Driving for Everett’s Auto Parts, Belcher seems to be lights-out behind the wheel of his No. 81 truck so far. He got out front and never looked back in the mirror in route to his win and showed that is going to be the truck to beat this season. With Mike Cavallaro finishing fourth, Belcher opened up his points lead. Some may think it’s too early to worry about points, but it really isn’t. The weeks go by quickly.
In the Sportsman class, Craig Pianka returned to Victory Lane holding off a late charge from Rob Murphy. Pianka took last season off to spend time working on his son’s SYRA car and once he realized he missed being behind the wheel, he climbed back in this season and it paid off on Saturday night. Pianka is one of the most hard-working drivers in the field, but also finds time to have fun while at the track and not be so focused on the car. Congrats to Craig on the big win.
The Late Model division continues to see improved car counts and Saturday’s first Propane Plus Power Five race was a thriller right down to the end. It looked as though Charlie Rose was going to capture his first win of the season in the late stages, since he was out front. However, with just a few laps left, something started falling ill on the No. 7 and Rose had to pull out of line. The move handed Vinny Arrenegado his first win of the year behind the wheel of his No. 17. Vinny has won a few races before, but was thrilled to be back in Victory Lane. Saturday also saw Gerry DeGaspere Jr. return to his successful ways, finishing second.
Kyle Casper finally captured his first career Pro Stock victory on Saturday, dominating the 40 lap main event behind the wheel of his Bay State Sewage No. 7. Casper took the lead early from the pole position and was able to pull away from the rest of the field and roll into Victory Lane. Kyle had been trying to win a feature for eight years and finally was able to get one on Saturday. Congrats to him on a great run.
Next Saturday, we kick-off the 2017 Phil’s Propane Triple Crown Series season with the Sports Trucks! The extra distance and extra cash Phil from Phil’s Propane brings us will surely make drivers give their all.
SATURDAY NIGHT RECAP
WITH KYLE SOUZA
MAY 20,2017