Rookie Late Model driver Austin Blais made a surprise visit to victory lane at Seekonk Speedway. (Credit: Seekonk Speedway photo.
)Austin Blais went to the front early and stayed for the whole race Just to take his first win on his Late Model rookie season in night four of the early season. It wasn’t an easy cruise at the front, by any means, as he had some pretty good shadows, including the man he knocked out of first, Mark Hudson.
Hudson was followed by Bill Bernard for lap 7, then The Hammer mJeramee Lillie made life at the front just a little more miserable for the leader. Then Bobby Pelland showed up at the halfway point to harrass and attack the leader. At one point, Pelland actually pushed under Blais and had his nose out front before John Mahoney and Roland Wheeler came together for a spin but Taking the restart back to the previous lap. Much debate followed over position at the front but finally resolved when Pelland lined up outside Blais for the restart with seven laps remaining.
Gerry DeGasparre, Jr. and Dylan Estrella were row two and The Hammer was outside Charlie Rose in the #13 in row three. They came out of the box door-to-door and went down the stretch and through turns one and two. Blais earned a slight edge which became a half-car at the stripe into lap 24 but Pelland fired back up alongside as DeGasparre et al could only wait until the matter had been settled.
Lap 25 saw Blais take advantage and DeGasparee filled the hole so that Pelland was not availed the option to surprise Blais with a cross-under move to the front. Rose moved in under Estrella and the side-by-side battles served to ease Blais’ escape. DeGasparre remained underneath Pelland and on lap 26 pulled into second. This freed Pelland up and the cross-under move found him shoving in underneath to retake second. Two laps remained and Blais had enough of a lead to hold off the charging Pelland for the win. Pelland crossed a second back, just ahead of DeGasparre, Rose and then Estrella.
Bernard briefly nosed ahead of Hudson at the stripe into lap 6 but some wild movement saw Hudson slam the door and then Lillie went underneath trying for third. Bernard’s car then began to fall back and at length as he retired after 13 laps. Ten laps in Blais led by a straightaway over Lillie and DeGasparre who was working underneath Dave Hutchins, Jr. But Greg Cotter went around on lap 11 and Wheeler joined him at the back on the assist.
It was a whole new ball game and Blais outran Lillie from the box, gaining the full front down the back. Another circuit and he had a five-car lead while Pelland had gone to work on Lillie. DeGasparre shadowed them. Vinny Arrenegado, running eighth, suddenly lost speed and went to the high side of turn three to get out of the way and attempt to get into the pits. The field bunched up as Vinny went dead in the tunnel and Curtis Rolando got stuck in turn four. Hudson ran for the pits and Ron Barboza was stuck on the grass in turn three as Bernard pitted for the race.
The lap 15 restart set Pelland against the leader and the setup for the rest of the race. Nick Uhrig plugged his way from a thirteenth place start to finish sixth and Rookie TJ Morsehead, just up from SYRA last year, rolled from eleventh to seventh. Rookie Nick Johnson finished eighth just ahead of Lillie. Wheeler rounded out the top ten.
Street Stock driver Paul Lallier made a huge lap-4 springboard going to the outside around Chris Rioux, , Corey Fanning and race leader Manny Dias then ran hell-bent to the finish line in a wild race that ran full bore, green-to-checkers with no quarter given. Lallier already led the division by 26 points over Craig Pianka and 28 over Scott Bruneau. Son Tyler Lallier pulled up alongside, post-race, to share congratulations as Paul collected the checkered flag for a victory lap.
Rioux, who had spent the entire race in the top five, followed Lallier across the stripe for second, followed by Steven Potter, Bruneau and Tyler. Current champ Rey Lovelace closed out the evening in sixth. Dias leapt from the pole away from AJ Soloman on the outside and Fanning blasted in underneath to steal second. The middle of the pack went three-wide as Dias, Fanning and Soloman ran nose-to-tail. Rioux ran fourth, a few cars back, pursued by Potter who shot out from the bottom of the three-wide, leaving Bruneau, Lovelace and Tony Oliviera of Raynham in arrears. Meanwhile, Ed Flanagan, Jr. limped slowly to the pits ending his night.
\The lead group closed tighter with Potter dashing up to Soloman’s bumper and Bruneau looked to Potter’s outside. Lovelace crowded in high attempting to get inside. But some elbowing and paint trading sent Rey back to eighth. Rioux faded from second to third as Fanning nabbed Dias’ rear. But Lallier got by Lovelace on the ninth circuit as Potter nosed under the lead group only to find the door slammed in his face.
Lallier was on a roll and disposed of Bruneau and Soloman in a singe leap, then conquered Potter. He worked on Rioux for three laps before going to the high side for a mad dash around Rioux and then Fanning on lap 14. Tony Oliviera spun at mid-pack, but the field avoided him and he recovered to continue at the rear without caution. Lallier continued his flight, going around Dias for the lead on lap 14. Manny began to fade from an ailing car and eventually retired, five laps short of the finish. Paul lit the afterburners as Dias, Fanning and Bruneau were three wide over fourth place. Two laps later, Paul had a half-straight lead on Rioux, Potter, Bruneau and Tyler, while Lovelace worked in under Fanning.
Rey and Fanning debated over sixth for the remainder of the feature with Lovelace claiming the spot. Tyler edged past them both with six laps remaining as Paul continued to pull away gaining a full straightaway lead with four remaining. Soloman came in eighth followed by Jeremy Walker, Thomas Adams, Adam Dion and Sam Porazzo.
In the Sport Truck feature Rob Murphy battled John Paiva for supremacy and discovered after crossing in second place that a technical infraction had stripped Paiva of his win and moved Murphy from second into Victory Lane elevating the remainder of the division one position each.
Paiva started fourth and fought a spirited battle for second with rookie trucker Eric LeBrun for seven laps then pried LeBrun out of his one lap in the lead. Initial leader Lenny Guy had been pulled off the front when LeBrun put his nose in underneath at the stripe. But LeBrun got loose and Paiva tore on past them both onto the front of the field for lap 8. LeBrun pursued, but began to fade while tough Dave Lougee zeroed in. To add to Paiva’s concerns, Truck Champ Rob Murphy roared up into second on lap 13. Lap 14 presented the double whammy as Murphy’s teammate Chase Belcher, followed through into fourth.
Guy and Dan Johnson sat at the pole for the green with LeBrun and Paiva behind them. Lenny got the jump on Dan while Paiva dove into third. Lougee got under Johnson to go for fourth with Cavallaro in pursuit. On lap four LeBrun looked underneath for the lead then slowed as the door slammed and a close-running Paiva caught him in the tailgate.
On lap six and LeBrun went under again this time making it stick and they went wheel to wheel with LeBrun taking the lead on lap 7 and Paiva following through to second. Paiva wasted no time looking underneath for the lead. Then LeBrun got loose and had to yield to Paiva. Lougee picked up third with Murphy and Johnson following. LeBrun began to lose ground while Paiva went out to a 15-car lead over Lougee, Murphy and Johnson until John Robidox, making his first start in trucks, spun on the backstretch.
Paiva and Lougee set up at the front with Murphy and Johnson behind them. Belcher and Cavallaro waited in the wings. Paiva escaped Lougee and Murphy shot under into second. Belcher followed in third. Lougee battled outside and won third back but Belcher gathered the spot up on lap before Gu y was around in turn two with LeBrun being called for the assist. On the second try on lap 13, Paiva again won the lead over Murphy and Belcher taking third from Lougee. Johnson followed as Paiva went out two car lengths ahead of Murphy who led Belcher,. Lougee, Johnson, Church and Cavallaro were in the hunt behind them.
Lougee got sideways on lap 17 but saved it as Paiva gained a 5-car lead going into lap 18. Church had relieved Johnson of fifth and Cavallaro moved him back to seventh before Shawn DeMello spun on lap 20. Paiva again escaped Murphy on the restart and after a spirited duel worked his way into a two car lead over the champ. Belcher, Lougee, Cavallaro, Church and Johnson were on their tails. The line straighened out single file and LeBrun made a big save on lap 22. Paiva was 4 car lengths in the lead with two laps to go and Church began to harass Cavallaro for position. The field ran home in order while Church was able to prevail over Cavallaro by .105 seconds. Rounding out the top ten were Johnson, Guy, LeBrun and Robidoux.
Competitors were lifted by one position each for the technical DQ of winner John Paiva and moved Shawn DeMello into the top ten.
Source: Seekonk Speedway PR