WILD ONE: MIKE BRIGHTMAN COMES AWAY WITH PRO STOCK WIN ON OPENING DAY

It was a wild one — really wild. 



But, after 40 laps of Pro Stock racing on opening day at Seekonk Speedway, Mike Brightman found himself in Victory Lane in the No. 27, opening the year with the checkered flag in his hand. 


For the last few years, beating Dave Darling on opening day has been a nearly impossible task. And it looked like Darling was in position to pounce yet again. But it didn’t work out, and Brightman was the one who beat the rest to get to the winner’s circle.


Early in the race, “The Rocket” Ryan Vanasse seemed to be the favorite. He jumped to the lead early and was at the point of the race for much of the distance. After Mark Jenison and Tommy Adams both slid around with 14 laps to go, Vanasse was the lucky man when the two got together and Vanasse and inherited the lead back. 


The final 12 laps of the race included multiple yellows, including a wild three-wide battle where Darling was on the bottom, Vanasse in the middle and Rick Martin on the outside. When they entered turn one, it worked. When they excited turn two, it didn’t work anymore. All three cars were collected and that handed the lead to Brightman, who wasn’t going to give it up. 


Brightman beat former division champion Kenny Spencer to the line, followed by Jenison, who came away with a solid third. Colbey Fournier was fourth in the 40-lap race and Bobby Pelland III rounded out the top-five. 


Ryan Lineham finished sixth, followed by Danny Thibeault, Martin, Darling and Vanasse. 


The Pro Stocks will return to the track for the first NASCAR Saturday night of the season on Saturday, May 7 at 6 p.m. Tickets are available in advance today at SeekonkSpeedway.com. 
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