PASS
at Star: Sessions Three-Peats |
Sam Sessions shadowed race leader Larry Gelinas for
over sixty laps before taking the lead late in the Pro All Stars 150 at Star Speedway and
recording his third consecutive PASS feature victory. Sessions drove his Typar/ASM Custom
Metal Fabrication Monte Carlo to a half-straightaway victory over Chuck LaChance and
series points leader Ben Rowe.
Rookie Wayne Helliwell earned his first PASS pole position of the season in Carleton
Robies' #24, edging out Larry Gelinas and thirty-five others for the number one spot with
a 13.367 clocking on the Epping quarter mile. The pole dash draw juggled the lineup with
Gelinas pulling the pole position and scoring the dash win with Kenny Wright second, Louie
Mechalides third and Ben Rowe fourth. Sessions would start from the fifth spot with
Helliwell sixth.
Gelinas got the jump on the features' initial green flag and Louie Mechalides moved
underneath Wright to challenge Gelinas' MCR Real Estate Monte Carlo immediately. Gelinas
and Mechalides were evenly matched and raced nose to tail for the first fifty laps.
Mechalides snuck past Gelinas briefly but one of the nights' numerous cautions had already
flown and Mechalides went back to the second spot. The Cushman Competition Ford didn't
come up to speed on the restart, eventually retiring with engine problems. Next it was
Sessions up to put the pressure on Gelinas and once again the Scarborough Maine veteran
was up to the task, keeping Sessions in his mirror and taking command after every restart.
But a late restart saw Gelinas slip high in turn two and Sessions took advantage,
snatching the lead away with a charging Chuck LaChance and Ben Rowe in hot pursuit.
Problems eventually sent Gelinas to the pits and he retired for the night. LaChance was on
a mission and the Rockland Ford looked quick enough to give Sessions a challenge over the
closing laps but Sessions slowly edged away as the race wound down. At the checker the
unofficial order of finish was Sessions, LaChance, Ben Rowe and Doug Averill a career best
fourth. Richie Dearborn battled to a season high fifth place finish with Kenny Wright
recovering from a pit stop to finish sixth. Wayne Helliwell crossed the stripe in seventh
while home track hero Babe Branscombe came home in eighth. Joe Squelia and Gary Smith
rounded out the top ten.
True Value heat race winners were Branscombe, Johnny Clark and Scott Mulkern. Dan Bezanson
and Gary Smith scored in the consolation rounds and Jeff Crowley was the winner of the
"B" feature.
The Pro All Stars make their final Canadian stop of the season on August 16 and 17 for the
Atlantic Cat 250 at Scotia Speed world in Halifax Nova Scotia. Louie Mechalides is the
events' defending champion. |
