The Granite State Pro Stock Series invaded the third-mile for the first time on Saturday night and their appearance did not disappoint. Regular David Darling has been among the fastest weekly cars this season and Saturday, he showed the outside invaders the way around the Action Track of the East.
Darling started fifth in the 21-car field but quickly worked his way to the lead before the race even hit lap 10. From there, it was clear sailing for the Bristol Toyota No. 52 in route to his first career Granite State Pro Stock win.
Darling’s dominance in the Saturday night NASCAR program has been clear this season and even though he ran a different car in the Granite State race, nothing really seemed to change. Hats off to the entire No. 52 crew and the crew chief on a job well done representing the home crowd. Tom Scully Jr., our defending Pro Stock champion, followed right into Darling’s footsteps and captured a second place run. Travis Benjamin was able to finish third with a late charge through the field.
In the Sportsman class on Saturday night, Dick Benoit inherited his first career Street Stock win. Dick has been driving for Danny Cabral this season and they have been struggling to find the right setup to have under the hood of that No. 47. Saturday, although Benoit crossed the line second at the end of the 30 lap distance, he was able to rocket into Victory Lane when original winner Tommy Adams didn’t pass technical inspection. Congratulations to Benoit, who gave Danny Cabral his first win as a car owner.
Our Seekonk Sports Trucks race came right down to the end with a green-white-checkered finish keeping fans on the edge of their seats. In the end, David Lougee captured his first win of the season behind the wheel of the No. 22 truck. Lougee got out front early and for a while, it looked as though he was going to wire the race without competition. However, a late-race restart set Mike Lopes to his outside and Chase Belcher to his tail. Lougee was able to survive the final few laps and hold off the hard chargers behind him to take down the victory.
The Everett’s Auto Parts Late Model feature almost saw Dylan Estrella capture his first win of the year, but instead it was Charlie Rose who got the job done. Rose worked the outside of Estrella for many laps but since Estrella was loose on the bottom, Rose was able to just inch on by in the final laps and hold on for the win. Estrella came home with a podium finish and it seems like they finally have the handling heading in the right direction on the Everett’s No. 46. The defending champion will get that first win of the year before long.
Next Saturday, we are off from weekly racing for our Independence Day Thrill Show. We return with the Late Model 50 lap Triple Crown race on July 8!
SATURDAY NIGHT RECAP
WITH KYLE SOUZA
JUNE 24, 2017