Saturday night, Seekonk Speedway inducted three new members on the Wall of Fame. Rollie Lindblad, Nat Chiavettone and Fred Astle Sr. were all inducted, with Lindblad and Chiavettone accepting their honors trackside before the racing action got underway. Fred Astle Jr., a current Pro Stock driver, accepted the plaque for his father. It was great to see three veterans inducted into this years class, with one driver, one car owner/builder and one engine builder inducted. All three have been a major part in the history of the Seekonk Speedway, especially Nat, who works on most of the motors in the pit area.
The racing action on Saturday showed some of the aggressiveness that drivers have while on the track, which ended up causing a little bit of chaos. In the opening feature of the night, Mike Cavallaro, the defending Sports Trucks champion, went for a wild ride. The driver of the No. 80 got caught up in someone else’s mess and ended up flipped over on his side and riding the wall down the frontstretch. Cavallaro was able to climb from the truck, but it was a tough hit in the points for him in round one of the Phil’s Propane Triple Crown Series. In the end, after 30 hard fought laps, Josh Hedges captured his first victory of the season behind the wheel of the No. 38. Congrats goes out to Josh and the entire team on a job well done.
In the Late Models, lots of calamity took place in the middle of the pack, but the racing for the lead was hot and heavy right down to the final few laps. Defending Nick’s Pit Stop Legends Cars champion Jake Johnson was at the lead for much of the 30 lap feature, but when he stumbled on a restart, Austin Blais took advantage. The Somerset, Mass. driver wheeled his No. 16 to Victory Lane for the first time this season and he showed a lot of speed. Congrats to Austin and his dad Steve on a great victory.
The Sportsman division saw the second wild ride of the night, this time right at the checkered flag. Rob Murphy ended up involved in a major crash along with Anthony Kohler, but luckily both drivers escaped the race without an injury. Kohler was actually leading the race right from the drop of the green flag but a little bit of contact in the final laps ended up sending him sideways and back to a sixth place finish after the crash. In the end, Scott Serydynski Sr. took down his second win of the season behind the wheel of his No. 22.
The final feature event of the night was the 40 lap NASCAR Pro Stock main event and our defending track champion Tom Scully Jr. found himself back in Everett’s Auto Parts Victory Lane at the end of the night. Behind the wheel of his No. 2, Scully started mid-pack but quickly worked his way to the front and slid by Ryan Lineham to the lead. Scully took down his first win, but points leader David Darling continued his streak of top three finishes, grabbing a second place run. Darling won the opening day feature, finished third trailing winner Kyle Casper in week two and finished second this week.
Next Saturday night, the Late Models kick-off their Phil’s Propane Triple Crown Series with a 50 lap main event that is sure to be a thriller. Make sure you don’t miss the action! There will be one new surprise in the division you will not want to miss.
SATURDAY NIGHT RECAP
WITH KYLE SOUZA
MAY 27,2017