SEEKONK, Mass. — Seekonk Speedway will debut a new and exciting playoff format for the racing season across both Fast Friday and NASCAR Saturday competition in 2022. As part of the new way to crown champions across all nine divisions, competitors will race in three weeks of playoff action in September, headlined by D. Anthony Venditti Fall Classic championship weekend on September 23-24, where champions will be crowned. The inaugural Sunoco Race Fuels Drive For the Cup will keep fans on the edge of their seats right down to the last few laps. The driver who bests three of his toughest competitors in the results of the final race (Fastest Four) will earn the right to be the Seekonk Speedway 2022 track champion and Drive For the Cup winner. The new 2022 season mindset will be simple for everyone involved: Every lap matters. Every race matters. Every position matters. “Debuting this playoff format is something we are excited about because it’s going to keep fans engaged on every single Friday and Saturday night throughout the season,” David Alburn, Competition Director at Seekonk Speedway, said. “The playoffs are going to create a new, fresh buzz around both the pit area and the grandstands and we won’t know who the champions are until right down to the final laps of the final race. Every race will truly matter in 2022.” In every major sport, including NASCAR, the NFL and the NBA, there is some sort of playoff format – and that is where the most entertaining games of the season happen. Think of baseball, in that final moment of the World Series, where a strikeout sends fans going crazy. Or in NASCAR, when the driver racing in the final four edges his competitor by two inches to win the championship. Seekonk Speedway is planning to bring that type of excitement right to Massachusetts during the new year. The regular season will begin on Sunday, May 1 for NASCAR Saturday teams and Friday, May 27 for Fast Friday teams. Concurrent with past years, the regular season format will not change. Drivers will compete in qualifying and feature racing and be awarded the same point totals as previous years. Heat points will be re-introduced for the 2022 season and will count towards the standings, with five points going to the winner, four to second, etc., with fifth earning one point. A point total will be kept for each division, just like before. The season will also still include special event races like the Everett’s Auto Parts Triple Crown Series and extra-distance events. The final weekend of the regular season will be Friday and Saturday, August 26-27. The field will be set across all nine divisions by using the point standings from the regular season. A specific number of top points finishers in each division will enter the playoffs. PRO STOCKS: 8 cars LATE MODELS: 8 cars SPORTSMAN: 8 cars SPORT TRUCKS: 8 cars LEGENDS CARS: 8 cars SPORT 4: 8 cars PURE STOCK: 8 cars BANDOLERO BANDITS: 6 cars BANDOLERO OUTLAWS: 6 cars All drivers in the playoff format will be seeded based off their points accumulated by the last completed race before Labor Day, with the number 1 seed being the highest points total from all of the regular season races. Two will be second in points, followed by three, and down through the top six or eight, depending on the division. If the final weekend of the regular season happens to have a rainout, the point totals leading into that weekend will be used to set the playoff field. As part of the August 26-27 weekend, all features will be the Last Chance Wild Card Chance for qualified cars who are outside the top 8 and have attended every week of the season. If a driver meets those criteria and wins that nights feature they will be added to Playoff field as the 9th seed. Different than NASCAR cup series, a win during the season doesn’t lock a driver into the playoffs. Only those drivers who win the feature on the final night of the regular season would be locked in, however, they would need to have run all events during the regular season to be eligible. If there is a rainout on the final night of the regular season, the drivers who won the week before would not be eligible to advance into the playoffs. Once the playoffs begin, the first round will be The Elite Eight on September 9th and 10th. Drivers will be lined up for the feature race based on their finish in qualifying heats. The first drivers in the lineup will be those who qualified through heat races, but are not playoff cars. The playoff contenders will lineup in consecutive rows. If the first playoff driver starts fifth, the rest will be sixth, seventh, eighth, etc. This will continue for all three rounds. Playoff driver lineups will be determined by a blind draw for each event. Drawing order will be based on playoff seedings. The highest seed drawing first , then next highest etc. This will remain constant for all three rounds. Nothing from previous rounds will matter when it comes to lineups. All remaining drivers in the race will lineup behind the playoff contenders. This is still going to be a race inside a race. Drivers will still earn money, points and value for every single race. Across all rounds of the playoffs, all of Seekonk’s General Rules and Divisional Rules will still be in effect, including technical inspection. If a driver advances through a round but does not pass inspection, the next driver in line will be added to the next round. In round one, the lap distances will be as follows and are subject to change. PRO STOCKS: 45 laps LATE MODELS: 35 laps SPORTSMAN: 30 laps SPORT TRUCKS: 30 laps LEGENDS CARS: 25 laps PURE STOCKS: 25 laps SPORT 4: 25 laps BANDOLERO DIVISIONS: 15 laps In order to advance to round two, drivers must beat the other competitors in the playoffs during the round one race. For example, if there are 9 total Pro Stocks in round one (this would include one winner, who didn’t make the top 8 in points), only six will move to round two. For all divisions except the Bandolero’s, the top-six finishers in the round one race will advance to round two. In the Bandolero divisions, out of the six eligible drivers, five will advance to round two. Round Two is the Super Six, on September 15-16. The following will be the lap distances for round two, and are subject to change. PRO STOCKS: 45 laps LATE MODELS: 35 laps SPORTSMAN: 30 laps SPORT TRUCKS: 30 laps LEGENDS CARS: 25 laps PURE STOCKS: 25 laps SPORT 4: 25 laps BANDOLERO DIVISIONS: 15 laps In order to advance to round three, drivers must beat the other competitors in the playoffs during the round two race. For all divisions, the top four finishers out of those eligible will advance to the finale round. At the end of round two, there will be four drivers from each division who will be set to compete for the playoff championship one week later. The Fastest Four weekend will be D. Anthony Venditti Memorial Fall Classic Championship Weekend, Friday, September 23 and Saturday, September 24. The following will be lap distances for all nine divisions in round three to determine the champion and are subject to change.
PRO STOCKS: 50 laps LATE MODELS: 40 laps SPORTSMAN: 35 laps SPORT TRUCKS: 35 laps LEGENDS CARS: 30 laps PURE STOCKS: 30 laps SPORT 4: 30 laps BANDOLERO DIVISIONS: 15 laps The winner of the Playoffs will be the driver that finishes ahead of the other three fastest Four competitors in the final race. In the event of a rainout in the first two races of the playoffs, there will be no rain date. If this happens, drivers will advance based on their playoff seedings. For example, if round one rains out in the Pro Stocks and there are 8 championship cars, only 6 advance towards round two. Those 6 drivers would be the 6 highest point total drivers from the season. In the event of a rainout on either of the championship days, rain dates will be posted including Sunday and the following weekend. NASCAR and track points will run from opening day right through to the end of the season. This means a driver could still run for NASCAR National, Regional and State points and their weekly point totals will still be accumulated with no changes. In the event the final race cannot be completed due to unforseen circumstances on scheduled date and rain dates, the champion will be decided by highest points total of remaining championship cars. Seekonk Speedway will honor the winner of the Drive For The Cup as the 2022 track champion in their respective division. Seekonk Speedway will continue a points grid, recognizing drivers from both Fast Friday and NASCAR Saturday all year. The points grid will start opening day and end on September 23-24, just like the playoffs will. Points through the entire regular season and playoffs will be honored in the same manner as 50-48-46-44-42 & through the field. At the end of the final race of the playoffs, there will be a final points grid that includes the point totals from the entire season. The winner of the Drive For The Cup will be the Seekonk Speedway Track Champion and be awarded first place, while positions second on back will be determined based off overall season totals. For example, if car 17 finishes second in the last race of the season and they were in the playoffs, car 25 may end up second in points, because they earned the most points during the season of the others in the division who were not champion. This system will not affect NASCAR points and INEX points which will run independently and separately from Seekonk track points. For more information on Seekonk Speedway, visit SeekonkSpeedway.com and follow the track on social media for the latest updates. Opening day is set for Sunday, May 1, 2022.
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Seekonk Speedway announced today the full schedule of events for the 2022 season at the Massachusetts third-mile oval. The season includes 18 NASCAR Saturday events, 16 Fast Friday weekly series races, three Wednesday night specials, the return of Thrill Shows, Monster Trucks, and much more.
The action all begins on Sunday, May 1 at 2 p.m., when Seekonk’s NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Pro Stocks, Late Models, Sportsman and Sport Trucks compete on opening day for the 76th season of competition. The Fast Friday season opens on Friday, May 27, with five divisions of action including Seekonk’s youth racing Bandolero action. From the first weekend in May through the end of October, the track will host more than 45 events to showcase short-track racing. Tickets are already available for all events and can be purchased online by visiting SeekonkSpeedway.com. The Fast Friday weekly series begins on Friday, May 27 and concludes on September 23, while the Saturday showdowns begin on May 1 and conclude on September 24. The Pro Stocks, Late Models, Sportsman and Sport Trucks will continue to headline Saturday action, while the Legends Cars, Pure Stocks, Sport 4’s and Bandolero divisions return on Fast Friday. Tickets on sale Now for ALL Events CLICK HERE Seekonk Seekonk will debut a playoff format for the 2022 racing season across both Fast Friday and NASCAR Saturday competition. As part of the new way to crown champions across all nine divisions, competitors will race in three weeks of playoff action in September, headlined by D. Anthony Venditti Fall Classic championship weekend on September 23-24, where champions will be crowned. The driver who bests three of his toughest competitors in the results of the final race of the season will earn the right to be the Seekonk Speedway 2021 track and Drive For The Cup champion. The new 2022 season mindset will be simple for everyone involved: Every lap matters. Every race matters. Every position matters. “Debuting this playoff format is something we are excited about because it’s going to keep fans engaged on every single Friday and Saturday night throughout the season,” David Alburn, Competition Director at Seekonk Speedway, said. “The playoffs are going to create a new, fresh buzz around both the pit area and the grandstands and we won’t know who the champions are until right down to the final laps of the final race. Every race will truly matter in 2022. The Fastest Four weekend is going to be memorable." Stay tuned for more info on this exciting format coming soon. Outside of weekly racing, the Triple Crown Series returns, and new for 2022, will be sponsored by Everett’s Auto Parts. The three-race series for all nine of Seekonk’s divisions will take place throughout the season and will conclude as part of a two-day special event weekend on August 5 and 6, where all of the Triple Crown champions will be honored. Seekonk will continue to use the “Chase” format where the final race of the Triple Crown will be a four-way battle to see who can beat the others and win the crown. Seekonk Speedway wishes to thank Phil’s Propane for their support of the Triple Crown Series for nearly a decade to make it what it is today and the track is happy to have Everett’s on board as the new sponsor of this special series. The Triple Crown Series will begin on NASCAR Saturday on May 7 and Fast Friday on June 3. From there, most every weekly night leading into the August finale will have at least one Triple Crown race each night. "Roy Andrade and his team at Everett's Auto Parts continue to step up to give back to the racers of Seekonk Speedway," Ed St. Germain, Director of Business Development at Seekonk Speedway, said. "We're appreciative to him and his team for coming on board in a big way again in 2022. Our sponsor lineup at Seekonk Speedway includes the best businesses in the area and the best in short-track racing." Headlining the special event category are three Wednesday races – including the return of the $10,000 to win Open Wheel Wednesday on June 29, the second annual $10,000 to win Bay State Summer Classic for the Pro All Series Series on July 27 and the return of the Boston Louie Classic on Wednesday, August 24. The Open Wheel Wednesday spectacular will once again be headlined by the Tri Track Open Modified Series, and will also include the 350 SMAC Supermodifieds and the NEMA Lites. In July, the top Pro Stock drivers from Seekonk will compete against the top in the region for the big prize in the 150-lap event, while the PASS Modifieds and Legends Cars help to complete the card. In August, the newly formed New England Big-Block Super Modified Series, led by the team at PASS, will debut at Seekonk, joined by the special events for the NEMA Midgets and NEMA Lites, honoring the late Boston Louie. Thrill Show fans will once again be able to enjoy the spills of exciting action with seven total special events in 2022 – including two shows with the Monster Trucks. The Thrill Show season begins with a bang on Memorial Day weekend on Saturday, May 28, with Spectator Drags, Car and Truck Enduros, Figure 8 Races, a Power Puff Race and Crazy Train Race. The action continues on Sunday, June 19, with the first of two Monster Truck Meltdown shows. Back with a second show due to their popularity in 2021, the Monster Trucks will also be back at Seekonk on Sunday, August 14 for a second show, which will include the second annual Spectator Drag Summer Showdown race, where drivers will race other in an actual race instead of just a short dash. Additional Thrill Shows will take place around special dates during the season. On Saturday, July 2, the Independence Day Thrill Show is back with one of the top fireworks displays in the area, while on Saturday, July 30, action continues with the MidSummer Thrill Show. On Saturday, September 3, Seekonk celebrates Labor Day weekend with more fireworks, while the final Thrill Show of the year – the annual Pumpkin Smash – is set for October 8. The Troy City Tactical Spectator Drag Series also returns for 10 events during the 2022 season. Seekonk Speedway will end the season with the annual Haunted Hundred on Saturday, October 22. The stars of both the American-Canadian Tour and Tri Track Open Modified Series will crown their champions at the third-mile as part of this Saturday special. Additional Notes & Special Events To Watch For: April 30 – Classic Car Show & Swap Meet, Burnout Drags, NASCAR Practice Day June 18 – Youth Sports Night – New England Auto Racers Antique Division June 25 – Pro All Star Series (PASS) 150 + Late Models, Sportsman and Sport Trucks July 9 – VIP Night, Senior Tour Auto Racers Antique Division July 23 – Rhode Island Shriner Clowns Night; Kids Trike Races + NASCAR Divisions August 5,6 – Everett’s Triple Crown Weekend Finale For All Divisions August 13 – Fans on Parade, American Racer Pro Stock 75 lap race August 20 – Helger’s South Coast Power Equipment night at the track August 27 – Military Night, Providence Bruins Night September 10 – Scout Night September 23 – D. Anthony Venditti Friday Championship Night September 24 – Ocean State Oil D. Anthony Venditti Saturday Championship Night Seekonk Speedway will announce any additional information regarding the 2022 schedule in the coming months. For more information on Seekonk Speedway, including the most updated content, visit SeekonkSpeedway.com and follow the track on social media. SEEKONK, Mass. — Seekonk Speedway will celebrate champions from the 2021 season from both Fast Friday and NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Saturday next January. Two different banquets will be held to appropriately honor all of the champions, top-10 finishers and special award winners from all nine of Seekonk’s racing divisions. Rookie of the Year awards will also be handed out during these banquets for those divisions who are eligible.
New for this year, the banquets will move away from the Venus De Milo and will now take place at White’s of Westport, located at 66 State Road in Westport, Massachusetts. Tickets are now on sale to the general public by visiting www.seekonkspeedway.com and clicking on the banquet of their choice at top of the main page. Each ticket is $38 per person plus online fees. Tickets can also be purchased with assistance from our Office staff Monday thru Friday between 10 am and 4 pm by calling Dawn or Gail at 508-336-9959 Also new for this year, fans, teams and sponsors can pick the seat they would like to sit in at the awards ceremony by purchasing their tickets online. Dinner will be a traditional dinner buffet with a mix of different meats, a fish option, sides, and more. On Saturday, January 22, NASCAR divisions will celebrate accomplishments with Dave Darling hoisting his eighth championship in the Pro Stocks. Vinnie Arrenegado will earn his accolades from his first Everett’s Auto Parts Late Model title, while Chad Baxter and his team will celebrate winning the Helger’s South Coast Power Equipment Sportsman championship. Baxter’s NASCAR National Division III championship will also be recognized. And in the Chaz Auto Body Sport Trucks, Barry Shaw Jr. will officially collect his trophy after a dominant year en route to his first track title. On Saturday, January 29, Fast Friday champions, top-10 points finishers and special award winners will be honored at White’s. Richie Helger Jr. will celebrate his first career championship in the Seekonk Grand Prix Bandolero Outlaw division, joined by fellow rising star Darren Krantz Jr., the Seekonk Grand Prix Bandolero Bandit champion. In the Nick’s Pit Stop Legends Cars, Luke LeBrun will be crowned the title holder after a dominant year with double-digit wins, while Mikey LeFort will celebrate another championship in the Everett’s Auto Parts Sport 4 division. For the second time in his career, Greg Perry will also be crowned the Helger’s South Coast Power Equipment Pure Stock champion. Seekonk Speedway is actively working on the 2022 schedule and will be released once available. For more information on Seekonk Speedway, visit SeekonkSpeedway.com and follow the track on social media for the latest updates. This hallowed ground will sit quiet for the remainder of 2021 — and into the start of 2022 — but it just finished seeing some of the best racing in 75 years of short-track action in Massachusetts. There were some incredible car counts, record crowds and historic performances during this quite impressive season. Seekonk Speedway thanks each driver, team, fan and staff member for making the 2021 race campaign one to remember.
Picking a top moment from the 75th season is a difficult task. Looking back, it opened with a ton of unknowns. When the first green flag dropped, NASCAR racing returned to the track for the first time in over 18 months, with the track essentially shuttered during 2020 due to the COVID pandemic. But, what few of you remember is that we started the year with only 25% total capacity and the pit area separated from the grandstands. Families couldn’t even sit together at the track due to restrictions put in place by the state to keep everyone safe. Months later, we look back at the year that was filled with some of the most historic moments the track has ever seen. It was truly a 75th year we will never forget. With no question, the most memorable moment of the year came on Saturday, August 7. It wasn’t just the most memorable of this year — but for many — may have been the one they will remember for decades to come. Chasing 100 wins was something Rick Martin fought hard for all year, scoring his 98th career win in a dramatic Pro Stock finish where Kenny Spencer and Dave Darling got together racing for the lead late, and Martin sneaked by. He captured his 99th career checkered flag in the Sport Trucks, but on August 7, he made sure the big number came in the Pro Stocks. Martin used the outside lane to race his way to the front, and held off Tom Scully Jr. in the most dramatic fashion, by a mere few inches, to win his 100th race. The scene that night was surreal — with fans sticking around more than 30 minutes after the checkered flag, and raising their hands in the air in excitement and thanks to Martin, who had worked so hard to accomplish the goal. Mark it down as a night to remember in Seekonk Speedway history. Dave Darling clinched his eighth track championship in Seekonk’s top division, the Pro Stocks, built by D. Anthony Venditti himself more than 30 years before. Darling’s title gave him the right to become the first driver in Seekonk history to win eight crowns, beating out Gerry DeGasparre Jr. as the only drivers to have won seven. Darling’s run included eight victories in dominant fashion — and there was no question he was going to accomplish the feat. Possibly overshadowed by Darling’s historic run, Chad Baxter smashed the Sportsman field, winning over a handful of races, and the track title. More importantly, Baxter became the first NASCAR National Champion to come out of Seekonk Speedway, scoring the Division III National crown. The honor for Baxter, and car owners Richard and Emily Sprague, is one to keep close for the Seekonk family. Who would have thought a Sportsman regular chasing wins on a weekly basis would turn into country-wide glory. In the middle of the year, history was on tap on Fast Friday, with the Green Hornet, Sam Macedo, winning seven straight races in the Seekonk Grand Prix Bandolero Bandit division. Memorable itself, it was a moment we will never forget, for a young rising star with green hair — to match the color of his car — smashing his competition in style with seven trophies in a row. Racing returned in a big way on both Fast Friday and NASCAR Saturday, along with the return of historic Thrill Shows, special events and mid-week showdowns. Three Wednesday shows were part of the schedule — including the inaugural Bay State Classic $10,000 to win PASS Pro Stock race won by Johnny Clark and the $10,000 to win Open Wheel Wednesday with the Tri Track Mods, won by Matt Hirschman. The ISMA Big Block SuperModifieds also returned, joined by the NEMA Midgets and NEMA Lites for their Boston Louie Classic, spearheading a winged warrior Wednesday to remember. The July 4th Thrill Show packed Seekonk Speedway with some of the biggest crowds ever, while other holiday spectaculars returned, and the Monster Trucks packed the track in style. First time winners were all over the place. On Fast Friday, the Bandolero division saw popular first-time wins for Stephen Bowden, Brent Robidoux and Milania Slihosky, while Richie Helger Jr. and Darren Krantz Jr. captured championship glory. In the Everett’s Auto Parts Sport 4’s, Mikey LeFort may have won his third straight title, but first time victories for Tyler Duhancik and Dave Simpson Jr. helped to steal the show. Perhaps the top moment of the Sport 4 season was Crystal Murray opening her year with two straight wins in the first three races, and looking like she was in prime form to win the title for the first time. However, she elected to pursue her education — a smart, but tough decision to make — and give up the chance to win the title. She still ended seventh in points, and will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come. The Helger’s South Coast Power Equipment Pure Stocks saw Joey Morrissette, Curtis Rolondo, Ethan Souza and Jim Reilly become first time winners, while Greg Perry found title glory again. The Nick’s Pit Stop Legends Cars division ran through Luke LeBrun, as the former Mini Cup Seekonk champ returned to partner with Nick Lascuola and win double-digit races and the impressive championship. Mason Tessier (first-time winner) and Josh Parsons were the only two drivers to win points races other than LeBrun. On NASCAR Saturday, while Barry Shaw rolled to the Chaz Auto Body Sport Truck title, Amy Arsenault stole the show — scoring her first career win in her move from Fast Friday to Saturday, and capturing the Rookie of the Year in the division. Baxter rolled to the Helger’s Sportsman title, while Scott Serydynski Jr. was the only new winner of the year, also scoring the Rookie of the Year honors, following in the footsteps of his father. King Vinnie Arrenegado started his reign at the top of the Everett’s Auto Parts Late Models, winning five times en route to the title. In the Pro Stocks, Darling was the dominant force. The Phil’s Propane Triple Crown Series returned, a three-race series for all divisions with a special champion crowned, while Seekonk also introduced the Everett’s Auto Parts Diamond Dash races. Special event races included the Helger’s Sportsman 50, American Racer Pro Stock 75, and more. Dylan Estrella and Ryan Vanasse got their doors blown off by clowns in a trike race, the Senior Tour Auto Racers honored their founder, Mary Lima, with a memorable three-wide parade lap and victory by her husband in her memorial race, and the Haunted Hundred ended the year with over 100 cars in the pit area and one of the most packed crowds for a short-track race in recent Seekonk memory. All year, attendance was up in record numbers, and fans flocked to Seekonk to watch some of the best drivers in the area race for trophies, checks and bragging rights. And in the end, outside of racing on the track, the Seekonk Speedway faithful came together in a big way to support one of our own. Rich Helger, owner of Helger’s South Coast Power Equipment, found out at the beginning of the year he needed help from all of us in his chase to donate life. With his kidney health dropping, Helger reached out to us for help in a chase to find someone to donate a kidney to help him take his next laps. The response was incredible — with thousands of people coming behind him to help keep him on his feet. Not only did some offer support with their own kidney, but the feeling of family and love pushed Helger to help his son, Richie Helger Jr., become a Seekonk champion for the first time in the Bandolero division. It was a special moment, to say the least, and one we will never forget. Seekonk Speedway’s entire staff thanks everyone for their support during what started out to be a challenging year, but ended as one of the best ever. Thanks to the sponsors that helped make it all possible, and all of the hard work by the staff to keep the track going. Enjoy your offseason, and we are looking forward to seeing you in May of 2022. Sincerely, The Seekonk Speedway staff |
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