WALL OF FAME + FIRST RESPONDERS NIGHT, SUNOCO DRIVE FOR THE CUP CONTINUES THIS WEEKEND AT SEEKONK SPEEDWAY

SEEKONK, Mass. — Seekonk Speedway has a packed weekend of excitement planned September 12-13, with drivers continuing their battle for the championship on both Fast Friday and NASCAR Saturday. On top of that, Saturday night is First Responders Night, with free admission for First Responders courtesy of IBEW Local 99, along with the annual Wall of Fame induction. This year, Ronnie Pond, a “Master of Speed” and Johnny Tripp, a multiple-division winner and a former track champion, will both be inducted at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday night.

Fast Friday racing begins at 7 p.m., while NASCAR Saturday will go green at 6 p.m. Friday night competition will be the second week of Sunoco Drive For The Cup action, while due to rain last week, Saturday becomes round one of three.

Fast Friday’s playoffs kicked-off last week with Jacob Burns capturing his sixth Nick’s Pit Stop Legends Cars win of the year. With his three bonus points from the regular season, Burns leads all playoff contenders with nine playoff points - now six ahead of the fourth and final spot for the championship. Josh Parsons finished second in the race and has five playoff points, while Chase Silvia has four and Richie Helger Jr three. Currently on the outside looking in, Ryan Vanasse Jr has two and Brenden LaBelle one. All six drivers have shown at times this season they are worthy to race for the championship - but with two weeks left before the Final Four is set - the battle will go right down to the final few laps. In the battle to win the 25-lap race this week, non-playoff contenders Mason Tessier, Jake Silvia and others will be ready to challenge. 

Round one of Pure Stock playoff competition went to defending champion Brent Robidoux. With his three bonus points from the regular season, Robidoux currently has a six playoff point gap over the fourth and final spot. Ethan Souza had a strong start to his playoff quest, scoring five points, while Matt Talbot scored four and Mike Henriques three, currently set as the provisional Final Four. Former champion Jared Cordeira and rookie contender Zachary Keith are on the outside looking in heading for week two - but there is plenty of racing left to go. In the race to win this Friday’s 25-lap feature, non-playoff contenders Crystal Murray, Peter Bleau, Danny Massa and others will all be on track. 

In the Seekonk Grand Prix Bandolero Bandits, round one of playoff racing ended with London Solomito adding his fifth win of the season, the most of all drivers. Solomito is still trailing Carl Satterlund Jr in playoff points - Satterlund leads with eight total, including three bonus points from the regular season. Jace Chaber has four and Landon Heim three, currently third and fourth. Just outside looking in are Brook Meyer and Elias Dib. The Seekonk Grand Prix Bandolero Outlaws has a similar story, with non-playoff driver Zac Kelley stealing the win away from playoff contenders last week, his first in over five years of racing in Seekonk’s youth divisions. The highest finishing playoff driver was Ryder Aguiar in second, while Allyha DeSomma followed close behind. DeSomma leads the playoff points with eight, including her three bonus from the regular season. She’s followed by Aguiar with six, Mason Silva with four, and Vincent Sarro, three. Outside looking in, Jordan Duquette has two and former Bandit champion David Bernier, one. It’s likely Bernier will have a heavy ladder to climb if he wants a spot in the Final Four, as he plans to compete in the INEX Bandolero Nationals instead of Seekonk playoff racing this week.

The opener of the Sport 4 Sunoco Drive For The Cup went to Daniel Hayes. His second win of the season positions him well with six playoff points, only trailing leader Richie Johnson, who finished second Friday and leads with eight playoff points due to his three regular season bonus points. Arthur Meack is third with four points, with Samantha Sleboda right behind, with three. Just outside, Jacob Budzyna and Christine Cavallaro will be looking to find their way into the provisional Final Four this week.

On NASCAR Saturday, playoff contenders include a mix of former champions, race winners and drivers looking to make a name for themselves - and now - due to Mother Nature - they only have two weeks before the Final Four is set in each division. 

The Sport Trucks will have to battle Rick Martin for the championship again this year. Martin is looking to make it an incredible four straight championships in the division, coming off a regular season that left him with two wins and three playoff bonus points as the leader. He will be tough to beat. Up for the task, though, appears to be Jake Vanada, multiple-time winner and Triple Crown champion Ethan Heilborn, Tim Bolger Jr and Dane Saritelli. Making the playoffs, but unable to compete due to injury, is Mike Cavallaro.

The Late Model battle includes a mix of high-speed contenders. Chase Belcher won the regular season title with a victory and loads of consistency, but there are five other drivers trying to chase him down. Season winners Charlie Rose, Mark Jenison, Connor Souza and Andrew Gomes have all qualified for the playoffs. Gomes won the final race of the regular season, his first career. Rose won the 80th Anniversary special earlier in the summer. The other driver racing for the crown in the Late Models is former Sport Truck champion Richie Murray, who has been in the Final Four before, and although he hasn’t won this year, Murray ended the regular season with extreme consistency on the podium most weeks.

In the Sportsman division, the race for the championship will run through defending champion Adam Pettey, two Lambert brothers and Doug Benoit. These four drivers have been the most consistent this season - led by Colby Lambert, who captured multiple wins and leads the championship seeding with three bonus points going into the playoffs. His brother, Jeremy, didn’t win during the regular season, but was consistent and came close multiple times. Pettey captured the win in the final race of the regular season and also won the Everett’s Triple Crown title this year, entering the playoffs looking to win back-to-back titles. Doug Benoit, who picked up a win during the summer, invested his time back into some old notes to gain speed and looks primed and ready to chase the title. The other two drivers racing off the title in the Sportsman are dark horses - Nick Brightman and Nick Wood. Both of the Nick’s would love to storm into the Final Four and give it their best shot to become first-time track champions.

The Pro Stocks playoff battle includes three former champions. Defending champion Dylan Estrella, two-time champion Mark Jenison and eight-time track champion David Darling have all qualified. All three of them will be major players when it comes to deciding the Final Four and the eventual track champion - but - is Darling the favorite of the three - looking for an elusive ninth title? Also in competition will be regular season leader and Rookie of the Year contender Jacob Burns, who captured three regular season wins and the Everett’s Triple Crown title. Other contenders in the Pro Stocks include Bobby Pelland III and Vinnie Arrenegado - two former Late Model champions - looking to add a top-division title to their resume.

Fast Friday and NASCAR Saturday divisions have just three weeks of racing left before the champion is decided. The next two weekends will set the Final Four in each division, before championship weekend on September 26-27. For tickets for all upcoming events, visit SeekonkSpeedway.com. For the latest information on the Sunoco Drive For The Cup, visit seekonkspeedway.com/playoffcentral.