 TWO TO GO: FAST FRIDAY DRIVE FOR THE CUP UPDATE WITH BRADY COUTO
SEEKONK, Mass. -- The twin sticks are in the air, two laps to go in the regular season at Seekonk Speedway. The chase for the inaugural Seekonk Speedway Drive For The Cup presented by Sunoco Race Fuels is quickly approaching us, and things took a turn this past Friday. Coming off the Everett’s Auto Parts Triple Crown finale, the focus was completely on the features. Let’s look at how they turned out for drivers who are still in the hunt for the playoffs and what it means for them coming into this week, Friday, August 19, for another round of Fast Friday action. Seekonk Grand Prix Bandolero Bandits The Seekonk Grand Prix Bandolero Bandit Division ran for 15 laps this past weekend and once again, Darren Krantz Jr. took down the win, making it two in a row for the defending champion. He took the lead on a nice cut inside early on and did not let up from there. He now holds a four-point lead over Milania Shilosky and a 34-point lead over Ryan Vanasse Jr. for first. All three of these drivers will be racing for the championship this season. That takes care of the first half of the playoff picture, now let’s look at the second half. If you didn’t know already, the Bandoleros have the top 6 drivers get into the playoffs instead of the top 8. Collin Vanasse holds fourth place and much like his cousin, he will be racing in September. Sam “The Green Hornet” Macedo sits in fifth and will more than likely race in the playoffs. But the big story is at the bottom, where we find a new driver in sixth place. A top-10 finish was sufficient for Nick Uhrig Jr. to claim sixth place in the points standings with 392 points, four off of fifth place. Bryson Robidoux now finds himself on the outside looking in with 388 points and Parker Davis with 380 points. These drivers aren’t far behind, and the difference between a Top 5 and a Top 10 could determine the outcome of their seasons. Seekonk Grand Prix Bandolero Outlaws The dominance continued this past Friday in the Outlaws, with Chase Silvia making it eight wins out of eleven races. He now has a total of 542 points, more than any other driver at The Action of The East. Silvia seesawed back and forth all race until lap 13 when he passed Mikey LeFort III and found himself in Victory Lane. Behind him in the standings is Andrew Gomes with 494 points and a climbing and consistent Bradley Strickland with 434. It is known that Chase Silvia is winning this division and these three drivers will have some extra-curricular racing to do and generally, they are all spread far apart. Yet the last half of the playoff field is the complete opposite. Joey Lemay, Adam Harrison, and newcomer into the top-six Brent Robidoux are all separated by a whopping two points. Lemay and Harrison have 432 and currently sit in fourth and fifth place. Robidoux follows them with 430. Brent was on the outside looking in but a second-place finish last Friday put him in the playoff picture. Mikey LeFort III dropped to seventh in the standings. Along with LeFort, rookie competitor Bobby Bettencourt III sits in eighth place with 394 points. The season looks to be over for Bettencourt as far as his chances to make the playoffs, but not for LeFort. To have a chance at the postseason, he’ll have to grab at least one more podium finish. It’s anyone’s guess who will grab that final playoff spot. And again, with two weeks left to go, there is no room for error. Everett’s Auto Parts Sport 4’s This division gave us the most bittersweet race of the evening last week. But this week, the happy one wasn’t AJ Manuel, it was Fall River’s Tyler Duhancik. The Phil’s Propane #48 battled with Justin Leduc, who came in second (his best finish all year) all race and found himself in Victory Lane for the second time this season. Still on top is Crystal Murray with 502 points. Duhancik is right behind her with 494. Henry Lavalle, Jarrod Freitas, and Taylor Bowser sit in 3rd, 4th, and 5th place. All will be locked in for September. Daniel Hayes moves to sixth with 368 points. But near the bottom is where it gets fun. First-year racer Stephanie Bruneau climbs to seventh and has shown consistency all season. She should be into the Sunoco Race Fuels Drive For The Cup. Karlin Levesque slid to eighth. For those that don’t know, Levesque sold the #44 car to Cassius Mitchell who in two weeks, has two top 10 finishes. Justin Leduc is in ninth and if he has one more solid performance, he’ll be in the playoffs. If not, DJ Thibeault or even Christine Cavallaro could race for a trophy. With two races left, there are many more questions than answers at this point in the Sport 4’s. As long as those in contention stay consistent, all questions will be answered and they will promise to give us one of the most exciting finishes in recent memory. Helger’s South Coast Power Equipment Pure Stocks Finally, The Rock has come back to…. For those of you that got the reference, thank you! If not, that’s okay! And by The Rock, I mean Jordan Threlfall and he is back in Victory Lane. He grabbed his first win of the season and his second in two years. Threlfall was the polesitter in this one and was able to lead wire to wire and as a bonus, he found himself one place higher in the points standings. Threlfall now sits fifth in the points standings and will be racing for a trophy this fall. Ahead of him, we find Danny Massa, Sam “Hot Rod” Lincoln, Greg Perry, and Mike Henriques. The difference between them all is 28 points. These five, along with sixth-placed Jeremy Lambert, will be racing in the playoffs, barring something extraordinary. However, it is still unknown who will join them. Currently, Jared Cordeira and Mike Rotondo sit in 7th and 8th place. Cordeira bumped up a spot and now has 364 points whereas Rotondo has 356. On the outside looking in we find Ethan Souza. Souza has 348 points and a feature win this season. If he wants to race in September, he’ll have to duplicate his winning efforts. Nick’s Pit Stop Legends It is now clear that Mother Nature does not like the Nick’s Pit Stop Legends. The cars were bunching up and “Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins filled the track when it rained and rained, and it did not go away. As a result, our points standings stay the same. Devin Deshaies leads with Reese Bogue and Nick Bulkeley right behind him. In the middle, we find Brendon Hammann, Isaiah Newcomb, and Mason Tessier, who has been on a roll as of late. Rounding out the playoff field are Jake Silvia and Brendon LaBelle. LaBelle has 298 points and on the outside looking in is Josh Parsons with 292 points. Parsons won the last feature and another podium finish for him could mean trophy racing next month. Richie Helger Jr. isn’t far behind either in his Rookie season. In Conclusion Only two weeks remain before the playoffs begin, and the battle on the bubble is only drawing tighter across all five divisions on Fast Friday. Come on out and witness for yourself who can lock themselves into the first ever Seekonk Speedway Drive For The Cup presented by Sunoco Race Fuels. The battle continues this Friday, August 19 at 7:00PM.
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 By Sam Tulley SEEKONK, Mass. -- The NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series served up a night to remember last Saturday. With all four divisions returning to their regularly scheduled race distances, there was surely no shortage of exceptional racing on display. From first-time winners, to split-second margins, not to mention the ever-intensifying playoff points battles, August 13, 2022 was surely a night to remember at Seekonk Speedway. That said, let’s dive in to see where things stand in the point standings across all four divisions, and take a close look at who’s in and who’s out with just two weeks remaining before the playoff field is set. The inaugural Drive For The Cup presented by Sunoco Race Fuels is set for September. Chaz’s Auto Body Sport Trucks The Chaz’s Auto Body Sport Trucks kicked things off Saturday evening with a feature win for the history books. A lap two restart allowed Jake Vanada to start outside of Tom Scully III on the front row. Green flag waved, and Vanada failed to launch with gusto, allowing instant challenges from Darryl Church, Amy Arsenault, and Mike Duarte. While Vanada battled to overtake Arsenault as well as hold off a hard-charging Duarte and Barry Shaw, Scully had his hands full with Church knocking on the back door for the lead. Over the next several laps, Duarte would storm his way to the number two spot, with Vanada following him through for third and Shaw in fourth. Approaching 10 laps to go, Vanada put it all on the line with a look to the inside of Duarte into turn three. A slight tap on Duarte’s left side rear quarter panel, followed immediately by a couple of strong knocks to the rear from Shaw caused Vanada to lose a bunch of momentum. Vanada narrowly avoided a spin and was able to settle in for fourth. As the laps winded down, the battle at the front raged on between Scully and Duarte, but Scully kept collected and quick, emerging victorious for his first ever Sport Truck win. The first place finish was exactly what the young driver needed to accomplish in order to build his lead over Vanada in the points standings. With the gap now back to 19 points, Scully can go into the next couple weeks with just a bit more playoff confidence. It’s up to Vanada to average 10 points a week more than Scully, which equates to finishing at least 5 spots ahead for the next two weeks, if he wants a shot at the Drive For The Cup presented by Sunoco Race Fuel. Helger’s South Coast Power Equipment Sportsman The Helger’s South Coast Power Equipment Sportsmans went into the night boasting the thinnest margin between bubble drivers, as just 3 points separated Adam Pettey in eighth, and Tyler Almeida on the outside looking in at ninth. Colby Lambert, the next driver to the good of the bubble above Pettey, looked to pad his 23-point advantage. The big shake up of the night however was the absence of Steve Axon, who sat sixth in points, 36 points to the good of Pettey on the bubble. Solid finishes by Almeida, Petty and Lambert would surely cause Axon to plummet in the standings. When the green flag flew, Pettey rolled off sixth and Almeida 12th. A couple of early-race cautions would allow Almeida to eventually restart ninth. The two drivers ran nose-to-tail in sixth and seventh early on. Pettey worked quickly to put cars between him and Almedia, squashing Almeida’s hopes of erasing his deficit in the points standings. Meanwhile, polesitter Lambert led several laps early on before being overtaken by the eventual top three, Petty included. As the laps wore on, Petty battled up front with eventual winner Chad Baxter and runner-up Scott Serydynski Jr., ultimately coming home in third, just ahead of Lambert in fourth. Tyler Almeida came home with a much better points night than one week prior, coming home in sixth. Running through the numbers, Axon was clearly the biggest loser on the night, sliding three spots points in the standings, now sitting on the outside of the chase in ninth by seven points! Almeida assumes the bubble, now trailing Pettey by nine points and Lambert by 28 points. While Almeida may be inside the cutoff for now, he’ll certainly have his hands full trying to best Axon the next two weeks should the former track champion be present to take the green. Late Models Hot off the heels of the fantastic Sport Truck feature, the Seekonk Speedway Late Models stormed the third-mile for a 35-lap affair that dazzled all in attendance. As far as the points battles in play, Paul Lallier was looking for a bounce-back performance after his 19th-place finish one week prior. When Saturday’s Late Model starting grid was finalized however, Lallier could rest assured that Josh Hedges, immediate challenger for the eighth and final spot in the playoffs, was not in attendance for competition. This means that really any points earned by Lallier on the evening would all but lock him into the top eight with just two weeks remaining after this one. Lallier rolled off eighth and finished 11th after some heated on track battling, including an exciting three-wide moment in between Vinnie Arrenegado Jr. and Richie Murray into turn three. Coming home 11th would ordinarily not be an incredibly successful points night, but ended up being more than sufficient compared to Hedges’ goose egg for not racing. Hedges’ absence allowed Lallier to grow his lead back up to 58 points, essentially guaranteeing Lallier a ticket to the Seekonk Speedway Drive For The Cup presented by Sunoco Race Fuel in September. Pro Stocks The Seekonk Speedway Pro Stocks capped off the thrilling night with 40 laps of competition. Kenny Spencer and Rick Martin would be looking to eek eachother out as just five points separated the two drivers sitting on either side of the playoff cutoff, Spencer with the under. The two started on the front row. Spencer looked strong to start and was poised to buck the trend of mechanical gremlins plaguing his 2022 campaign. Anything Spencer could do to put cars between him and Martin would be a huge help in closing up the five point gap. Early on, Spencer got exactly what he needed when Martin was spun by Colby Fournier and sent to the back of the 17-car field, leaving Spencer to restart again from the pole. Best case scenario, right? After leading several laps off the restart, the same bad luck that found Martin would befall Spencer when a hard-charging Mike Brightman got into Spencer’s No. 0 machine, sending the two to the rear of the field. Now Spencer would have to restart from the tail of the field! This set up for some interesting hard-charging to brew over the course of the remaining laps. The race found itself in a long green flag stretch after an early spin by Tommy Adams brought on by a battle with Dave Darling for the lead. Martin and Spencer were joined by Brightman, Fournier, Adams, and Daryl Stampfl mid-pack as they sliced and diced for the remainder of the feature. Martin and Spencer found themselves nose-to-tail as laps ran out, and leader Dave Darling was quickly closing up on the rear nearly a lap ahead. Martin and Spencer remained on the lead lap and battled to the end, with Martin finishing just ahead in 11th, and Spencer in 12th. Advantage to Martin as his performance on the night earned him just one more point than Spencer’s, growing the gap to six points for that final seat in the playoffs. In Conclusion Saturday’s display of racing surely produced one for the memory scrapbooks, yet with playoffs just around the corner, things are only just beginning to heat up. Three of our four divisions still have a playoff spot that is very much up for grabs, and major points can be gained or lost in the blink of an eye in the next two weeks. See for yourself who will punch their ticket to the first ever Seekonk Speedway Drive For The Cup presented by Sunoco Race Fuel. The battle continues this Saturday, August 20 at. 6:00PM. For tickets and more information on Seekonk Speedway, visit seekonkspeedway.com.  SEEKONK, Mass. — Eight-time Seekonk Speedway Pro Stock champion Dave Darling went back to Victory Lane again on Saturday night. Darling jumped to the lead from the outside lane just before halfway, and drove away into the sunset in dominating fashion once again to take down another victory. While Darling drove away, Mark Jenison followed up his Late Model win earlier in the night by finishing in second, with Tom Scully Jr. crossing the line third. Early in the race, it looked like the front of the pack wasn’t the place to be, as Mike Brightman, Tommy Adams, Kenny Spencer, Rick Martin and Colbey Fournier all spun outside of the top-five at times. At the finish of the race, Bobby Pelland III finished fourth, while Ryan Souliere making his Pro Stock debut to finish in fifth. Ryan Vanasse was sixth, followed by Tyler Tomassi, Colbey Fournier, Mike Brightman and Tommy Adams. The Pro Stocks will return to the track on Saturday, August 20, for the American Racer Pro Stock 75. For more information on Seekonk Speedway, visit SeekonkSpeedway.com and follow the track on social media for the latest updates.  SEEKONK, Mass. — Chad Baxter clearly is the favorite in the Helger’s South Coast Power Equipment Sportsman division. The defending champion rolled to yet another win on Saturday night, but this one didn’t come easily. Baxter got to the front quickly, before the halfway point, and it looked like he was going to drive into the sunset. However, Scott Serydynski Jr. and Adam Pettey didn’t let him get away without a fight. Serydynski chased the back bumper over the final 10 laps, looking to the inside and the outside, but wasn’t able to find a way around. At the finish, Baxter took the checkered flag first ahead of Serydynski, Pettey, Doug Benoit and Colby Lambert. Tyler Almeida followed in sixth place, with Craig Pianka, Chris Rioux, Don Perry and Cody Tripp completing the top-10 spots. The Helger’s South Coast Power Equipment Sportsman will return to the track on Saturday, August 20, for a 50-lap feature in the Helger’s special. For more information on Seekonk Speedway, visit SeekonkSpeedway.com and follow the track on social media for the latest updates.  SEEKONK, Mass. — It’s been an emotional season for the Scully family. Following the loss of Tom Scully Sr., it was Tom Scully Jr. capturing a Pro Stock win just a few weeks later. And on Saturday night, the Scully family was celebrating again in Victory Lane, this time with Tom Scully III at the front of the pack.
Scully jumped out to the lead from the pole position and never looked back in the 25-lap Chaz Auto Body Sport Truck feature, taking his first career victory in the Helger’s No. 5 Truck. In what has already been quite the season, Scully held off the best of the division to take his first career checkered flag. Mike Duarte hounded the back bumper over the final half of the 25-lap feature, but had to settle for second. Barry Shaw worked his way to the front with failing brakes on the No. 85, but was able to finish third. Jake Vanada and four-time season winner Rick Martin completed the top-five. Darryl Church finished sixth, followed by Amy Arsenault, Brittany Campbell, Gil Bradstreet and Mike Cavallaro. The Chaz Auto Body Sport Trucks will return to the track on Saturday, August 20, for another 25-lap feature. For more information on Seekonk Speedway, visit SeekonkSpeedway.com and follow the track on social media for  SEEKONK, Mass. — Saturday night proved that the Seekonk Speedway Late Model division is one of the top in all of New England. After 30 laps of side-by-side action, trading paint and intense racing, Mark Jenison edged Connor Souza by .009 seconds at the finish to take his first win of the season. Early in the race, it was Souza working the outside of Reese Bogue, and eventually taking the top spot. Over the final 10 laps, Jenison worked the outside lane, with Souza on the bottom. They raced hard, tight and close, but it was Jenison using the top lane to cross the stripe just ahead of Souza in another instant Late Model classic. They may have traded the lead over the final laps, but there was no doubt it was Jenison out front at the finish. Gerry DeGasparre worked his way to the front from a ninth-place starting spot to finish third, while Jacob Burns and Jeramee Lillie completed the top-five. Luke Lebrun finished in sixth, followed by Chase Belcher, Reese Bogue, Vinnie Arrenegado and Richie Murray. The Late Models will return to the track on Saturday, August 20, for another 30-lap feature. For more information on Seekonk Speedway, visit SeekonkSpeedway.com and follow the track on social media for the latest updates.  SEEKONK, Mass. — For the second straight year, Darren Krantz Jr. seems to be the dominant force in the Seekonk Grand Prix Bandolero Bandits. Krantz used a quick move to get to the front of the 15-lap feature on Friday night, then held off Milania Shilosky over the second half of the race to take another feature win. Even though it was one of the longer Bandolero Bandit races of the season, Krantz and Shilosky were two of the fastest during the race. They got to the front early, and decided the race between the two of them, with Krantz coming out on top. Shilosky tried everything to get around, but wasn’t able to accomplish the task. Ryan Vanasse Jr. worked his way from the rear to the front to finish third, while Rodney Dowless and Parker Davis finished the top-five. RJ Murphy was sixth, followed by Luka Dib, Nick Uhrig Jr., Zachary Keith and Brody Wakefield. The Seekonk Grand Prix Bandolero Bandits will return to the track on Friday, August 19, for another 15-lap feature. For more information on Seekonk Speedway, visit SeekonkSpeedway.com and follow the track on social media for the latest updates.  SEEKONK, Mass. — Chase Silvia captured his eighth victory of the season in the Seekonk Grand Prix Bandolero Outlaws on Friday night. Driving the No. 17, Silvia has clearly been the dominant force in the division during the 2022 season, now scoring victories in all but three of the 11 events so far on the schedule. This win was one of the tougher victories of his season, as Silvia had to work his way from the middle of the field to the front, then pass Mikey LeFort III to take another feature win. Silvia bested Brent Robidoux across the line for the victory, while Robidoux finished second, a strong run after a couple of tough weeks. Bradley Strickland would finish third in the 15-lap race, followed by Adam Harrison and Mikey LeFort III across the line. Andrew Gomes was sixth, followed by Dylan Calabro, Jordan Duquette, Bobby Bettencourt III and Joey LeMay. The Seekonk Grand Prix Bandolero Outlaws will return to the track on Friday, August 19, for another 15-lap feature. For more information on Seekonk Speedway, visit SeekonkSpeedway.com and follow the track on social media for the latest updates.  TYLER DUHANCIK SCORES HIS SECOND SPORT 4 WIN OF THE SEASON
SEEKONK, Mass. — Friday night was the night for Tyler Duhancik to capture his second victory of the season in the Everett’s Auto Parts Sport 4 division. Duhancik passed Justin Leduc for the lead just before the halfway point in the 25-lap feature and wasn’t going to be denied over the final laps. Even a late caution flag didn’t slow him down — as Duhancik quickly jumped back to the lead, and was able to hold off points leader Crystal Murray to score another win on the season. Murray continued her success on the podium, finishing just behind him in second, while Leduc crossed the line third, however, in post-race inspection, Leduc didn’t pass. Henry Lavallee would finish in third in the final results, followed by Taylor Bowser and Daniel Hayes in the top-five. Jarrod Freitas, Cascis Mitchell, Stephanie Bruneau, DJ Thibeault and Andrew Rittman finished the top-10 spots. The Everett’s Auto Parts Sport 4’s will return to the track on Friday, August 19, for another 25-lap feature. For more information on Seekonk Speedway, visit SeekonkSpeedway.com and follow the track on social media for the latest updates.  SEEKONK, Mass. — Jordan Threlfall had been fast all year, but it hadn’t quite worked out to get him his first win of the season. But, after 25 laps on Friday night, Threlfall captured the victory in the Helger’s South Coast Power Equipment Pure Stocks, while the rain started to fall. Threlfall started at the front, and led the entire 25-lap distance, holding off a hard charge from Sam Lincoln in the final few laps to take down the victory. Lincoln, who captured the Triple Crown championship last week, followed it up with a second-place effort this week. Mike Henriques followed up his victory the week before finishing in third. Greg Perry worked his way from the back of the field to finish in fourth, while Jared Cordeira completed the top-five spots. Ethan Souza finished sixth, followed by Ed Gould, Timmy Ouellette, Jim Reilly and Mike Rotondo. The Helger’s South Coast Power Equipment Pure Stocks will return to the track on Friday, August 19, for another 25-lap feature. For more information on Seekonk Speedway, visit SeekonkSpeedway.com and follow the track on social media for the latest updates. |
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