SEEKONK, Mass. — The Pro Stock finale on a chilly Saturday night at Seekonk Speedway did not disappoint, as Tom Scully Jr.’s Helger’s South Coast Power Equipment No. 2 took his first checkered flag of the season after a lengthy duel with Ryan Lineham.
Scully Jr. battled Lineham for the majority of the 40-lap feature, as Lineham’s No. 10 car jumped out to an early lead from the outside of Row one. Scully nestled into second during the beginning stages of the race, with Lineham stretching out a sizable lead. Scully seemed to be quicker as the runs got longer, and was reeling in the Hope Valley, RI leader before a three-car accident on Turn 2 brought out a caution flag at Lap 21, with Mark Jenison, Rick Martin, and Fred Astle trading paint.
Lineham utilized a great restart to gain the advantage on Lap 22, and the duo stretched out a 1.5 second lead over the rest of the field with 11 laps remaining. Scully once again stalked his prey on the extended green flag run, and passed Lineham with five laps to go. Another yellow flag flew soon afterwards, with Kenny Spencer spinning and landing in the infield grass near Turn 2, adding more drama to an already intense race.
While the top two drivers engaged in their back-and-forth tussle, Dylan Estrella calmly remained in the top 3 for the majority of the encounter, while last week’s winner Dave Darling forged his way from his Row 6 starting position into the Top 5. As the field was bunched up for the subsequent restart, both Estrella and Darling made their moves in hot pursuit of the top spot. Estrella was able to claim second place with four laps remaining, and Darling made a move to attempt to get into a podium spot before Dick Benoit halted the race with three laps remaining as he spun out on Turn 3.
Estrella, who was lined up on the outside of Scully for the tense restart, initially jumped the gun on the first attempt to go back to green flag racing on Lap 37. Scully led the troops back to the stripe on the second take, and took the inside route to solidify his place in the front, with Lineham and Estrella battling for second place. Estrella made the pass with one lap left, and Lineham held off Darling for third to round out the podium spots. Darling marched from his 12th-place starting spot to finish in fourth, with Ryan Vanasse, Ryan Kuhn, Rick Martin, Fred Astle, Kenny Spencer, and Darrell Stampfl rounding out the top ten.
The Pro Stocks return to action on Military Night on Saturday, May 15, with a 40-lap feature as part of the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series. Due to limited capacity restrictions, advanced tickets will be on sale at seekonktickets.net.
BY ADAM BELUE
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