By Connor Sullivan, Speed51.com State Editor (CT, MA, Long Island)
Derek Griffith made his return to Seekonk Speedway (MA) Saturday for the first time since mid-July when he fell short of a $10,000 prize at the Pro Stock Nationals. This time around the prize was six-grand and the honor of winning Seekonk’s renowned 150-lap DAV Fall Classic. Griffith avoided big trouble in the opening laps and held off stout challengers en route to taking the win and finding some redemption.
“We started in the middle of the field and everyone got torn up quick, we stayed out of trouble and got out front quick. Made the outside work pretty early, after that it was fast, fast the whole time. I drove it hard and it paid off really well,” Griffith told Speed51.com powered by JEGS.
A huge multi-car crash on a Lap 5, eliminated a number of drivers including Joey Polewarczyk, Jr. Griffith did not inherit the lead, instead moving past DJ Shaw and taking advantage of circumstances when Seekonk Pro Stock regular Angelo Belsito spun after contact with another driver, handing the lead to Griffith.
But Belsito used yellow flags and a fast race car to storm through the field, getting all the way to Griffith’s back bumper in the final 30 laps. When Belsito made his move for the lead, it all went wrong as his car would break loose, sending him spinning a second time, this time just inches away from Griffith.
“He got me on the bottom so I left him some room, I was up as high as I could go. I tried to turn it and I felt him just barely get into me and he spun around,” explained Griffith. “It’s a bummer for him, I know how he feels, the same thing happened to me in July.”
Griffith was not out of the woods, as Shaw made one final attack on the No. 12D of Griffith, but did not have enough to finish the job.
“It was a great race, hard racing at the end. DJ was coming, I thought he had a little something for me at the end and I held him off to prevail,” said Griffith.
It is the second week that Shaw fell short of victory, cutting a tire one week earlier at Waterford (CT) late in the Granite State Pro Stock Series season finale, taking away his hopes of winning the series’ championship. Although unhappy with falling short again, Shaw concludes 2016 with the title in the PASS North series and owner’s title in Granite State.
“I almost got there,” Shaw said after the race. “I got there once but my car bottomed out into three, and there was going to be no gentle way by about it. So I just had to settle, we were close and almost out-waited him. Second is pretty good, better than what we deserved and it’s a good way to end the year.”
As for Griffith, Saturday marked the end of a spectacular end to 2016, following up a win six days earlier at Lee USA Speedway.
“The last few races we’ve done really well and I got to thank Louie (Mechalides), he set up a rocket ship. Every time we get to a race track, we’re one of the contenders. It’s huge for me, I haven’t been racing with these cars a long time, it’s a confidence booster to show up and do well. I got to thank my guys, they busted their butts all week while I was sick, still sick.”
The following is the courtesy of the Seekonk My Laps page
Late Models
Pos | No. | Name | Laps | Total time | Diff | Best time | In lap | Best speed |
1 | 17RI | Ray Parent | 50 | 39:34.390 | 00:13.350 | 5 | 89.798 | |
2 | 17MA | Eddie Macdonald | 50 | 39:35.168 | 00:00.778 | 00:13.525 | 8 | 88.636 |
3 | 7 | Charlie Rose | 50 | 39:36.090 | 00:01.700 | 00:13.457 | 8 | 89.084 |
4 | 71 | Gerry Degasparre Jr | 50 | 39:36.952 | 00:02.562 | 00:13.708 | 11 | 87.453 |
5 | 82 | Mark Hudson | 50 | 39:37.335 | 00:02.945 | 00:13.689 | 8 | 87.574 |
6 | 16 | Austin Blais | 50 | 39:37.478 | 00:03.088 | 00:13.544 | 5 | 88.512 |
7 | 12 | Bobby Pelland III | 50 | 39:37.863 | 00:03.473 | 00:13.600 | 5 | 88.147 |
8 | 72 | Ryan Khun | 50 | 39:37.875 | 00:03.485 | 00:13.709 | 12 | 87.446 |
9 | 3 | Jarriah Roderick | 50 | 39:38.095 | 00:03.705 | 00:13.680 | 7 | 87.632 |
10 | 50 | Jeramme Lillie | 50 | 39:38.253 | 00:03.863 | 00:13.509 | 7 | 88.741 |
11 | 19 | Branden Dion | 50 | 39:38.566 | 00:04.176 | 00:13.729 | 5 | 87.319 |
12 | 2 | Ron Barboza Jr | 50 | 39:38.810 | 00:04.420 | 00:13.787 | 7 | 86.951 |
13 | 11RI | Ryan Vanasse | 50 | 39:38.906 | 00:04.516 | 00:13.714 | 12 | 87.414 |
14 | 00 | TJ Moreshead | 50 | 39:39.140 | 00:04.750 | 00:13.753 | 25 | 87.166 |
15 | 5 | Vinnie Arrenegado | 50 | 39:39.619 | 00:05.229 | 00:13.713 | 14 | 87.421 |
16 | 51 | Mike Teague | 50 | 39:40.833 | 00:06.443 | 00:13.704 | 14 | 87.478 |
17 | 11X | Corey Fanning | 50 | 39:41.797 | 00:07.407 | 00:13.813 | 7 | 86.788 |
18 | 7MA | Richard Marrocco | 50 | 39:44.378 | 00:09.988 | 00:13.943 | 7 | 85.979 |
19 | 11 | Nick Uhrig | 49 | 39:39.794 | 1 Lap | 00:13.669 | 21 | 87.702 |
20 | 99 | Fred Bonawelicz | 43 | 39:42.073 | 7 Laps | 00:13.991 | 14 | 85.684 |
21 | 6 | Nick Johnson | 30 | 25:28.127 | 20 Laps | 00:13.497 | 4 | 88.820 |
22 | 4 | Dan Johnson | 23 | 23:58.047 | 27 Laps | 00:13.622 | 5 | 88.005 |
23 | 26 | Chris Curtis | 21 | 00:00.000 | 00:00.000 | –:–:–.— | 0 | 0.000 |
Sport Trucks
Pos | No. | Name | Laps | Total time | Diff | Best time | In lap | Best speed |
1 | 81 | Chase Belcher | 30 | 16:26.235 | 00:14.651 | 4 | 81.824 | |
2 | 38 | Josh Hedges | 30 | 16:26.995 | 00:00.760 | 00:14.828 | 10 | 80.847 |
3 | 21 | John Paiva | 30 | 16:27.035 | 00:00.800 | 00:14.779 | 19 | 81.115 |
4 | 77 | Lenny Guy | 30 | 16:27.734 | 00:01.499 | 00:14.845 | 4 | 80.754 |
5 | 18 | Eddie Gannon | 30 | 16:28.043 | 00:01.808 | 00:14.933 | 26 | 80.279 |
6 | 12 | Joseph Fortin II | 30 | 16:28.425 | 00:02.190 | 00:14.961 | 16 | 80.128 |
7 | 82 | Adam Murphy | 30 | 16:27.744 | 00:01.509 | 00:14.829 | 4 | 80.842 |
8 | 37 | Shawn DeMello | 30 | 16:29.506 | 00:03.271 | 00:15.154 | 5 | 79.108 |
9 | 13 | Rick Albernez | 30 | 16:29.742 | 00:03.507 | 00:15.106 | 4 | 79.359 |
10 | 33 | Robert Rainville | 30 | 16:30.508 | 00:04.273 | 00:15.059 | 8 | 79.607 |
11 | 72 | Mike Lopes | 30 | 16:30.864 | 00:04.629 | 00:14.959 | 7 | 80.139 |
12 | 22 | David Lougee | 30 | 16:31.203 | 00:04.968 | 00:14.997 | 3 | 79.936 |
13 | 4 | Darryl Church | 30 | 16:31.420 | 00:05.185 | 00:14.771 | 6 | 81.159 |
14 | 00 | Ed Perry | 30 | 16:31.812 | 00:05.577 | 00:15.208 | 4 | 78.827 |
15 | 5 | Cole Jackson | 30 | 16:32.635 | 00:06.400 | 00:15.363 | 3 | 78.032 |
16 | 84 | Bill Schoeler | 15 | 16:32.944 | 15 Laps | 00:15.196 | 1 | 78.889 |
17 | 14 | Russ Bourges | 0 | 00:00.000 | 00:00.000 | –:–:–.— | 0 | 0.000 |
Not classified | ||||||||
DNS | 6 | Darryl Dutch | 0 | 00:00.000 | 00:00.000 | –:–:–.— | 0 | 0.000 |
Pro Stocks
ClassificationPosNo.NameLapsTotal timeDiffBest timeIn lapBest speed112DDereck Griffith1501:37:27.20700:12.6722594.602260DJ Shaw1501:37:27.49500:00.28800:12.6752094.580330Fred Astle1501:37:29.45900:02.25200:12.7353094.134452David Darling1501:37:29.74500:02.53800:12.7755893.84057Dave Farrington Jr1501:37:30.47600:03.26900:12.6902594.468649Matt Swanson1501:37:31.16700:03.96000:12.8172793.53272Tom Scully Jr1501:37:31.48200:04.27500:12.8712793.140873Joey Doiron1501:37:31.90500:04.69800:12.9201192.786912Bobby Pelland III1501:37:35.63500:08.42800:12.9251092.7501041Dick Houlihan1501:37:36.86200:09.65500:12.8662093.1761114Rick Martin1491:37:36.7541 Lap00:12.7062694.3491227Mike Brightman1481:37:32.2972 Laps00:12.8132793.5611340Mike Mitchell1481:37:37.92300:05.62600:12.9931892.2651466Mike Parks1471:37:40.5863 Laps00:13.074591.6931599Billy Joerres1421:37:29.1368 Laps00:13.198390.832168Angelo Belsito1301:27:53.25320 Laps00:12.6923194.4531711Ryan Vanasse1131:15:02.92737 Laps00:12.8382693.3791840MEDan McKeage4251:57.825108 Laps00:12.8502393.292197GCurtis Gerry2243:58.455128 Laps00:13.2621090.3942035Cassius Clark1338:45.709137 Laps00:12.8641193.190215MAPhil Meany707:33.160143 Laps00:13.194390.8592257Dean Petty506:18.624145 Laps00:13.260590.4072397Joey Pole507:21.12701:02.50300:13.211590.7432417MAEddie MacDonald300:47.060147 Laps00:13.238390.557
Street Stocks
ClassificationPosNo.NameLapsTotal timeDiffBest timeIn lapBest speed196Sparky Arsenault3034:48.86800:14.7091181.50122Robert Murphy3034:50.33400:01.46600:14.8711480.613310Mike Mitchel3034:50.50400:01.63600:14.782681.099456Thomas Adams3034:50.18200:01.31400:14.8491680.73353Anthony Kohler3034:51.10100:02.23300:14.848880.738674Scott Brunneau3034:51.30700:02.43900:14.823880.874722Scott Serydynski Sr3034:51.37200:02.50400:14.944880.219870Paul Lallier3034:51.62100:02.75300:14.926880.316953Vinny Pangelinan3034:51.94200:03.07400:14.9931779.9571032Jesse Melberg3034:52.20600:03.33800:14.9571980.1501198Ryan Flood3034:52.62600:03.75800:15.005979.893124Rob Kohler3034:52.69400:03.82600:15.1382779.191139Dane Saritelli3034:53.28400:04.41600:15.069779.5541433Corey Medeiros3034:55.29300:06.42500:15.3422078.1381527David Smith3034:56.29200:07.42400:15.5081977.3021613Paul Williams2634:55.7574 Laps00:15.6112676.7921746Tim Watson2529:48.4325 Laps00:15.3192078.2561804Steve Axon1826:02.94712 Laps00:14.943880.2251954Kyle Casper921:27.62121 Laps00:15.057779.6172019Ryan Lineham921:31.06300:03.44200:15.313378.2862144Craig Pianka307:32.54527 Laps00:15.420377.7432251Brenden Nutter307:33.93800:01.39300:15.591376.8912326Miles Bonalewics307:35.51700:02.97200:15.729376.216245Ed Flanagan Jr100:26.52729 Laps00:16.087174.520
Note: If your track, tour or event is not posted on this blog send your press releases to lmodestino.com