Seekonk Speedway announced today the opening of online ticket sales for the holiday season for race fans to purchase for their friends and family! Seekonk Speedway tickets are the perfect stocking stuffer for everyone who loves weekly motorsports right here at the Action Track of the East throughout the summer months. 


Seekonk Speedway is committed to keeping ticket prices the same for online purchases for the 2023 season, as we know how difficult these times are for everyone in the economy. 


Tickets will be on sale for Friday & Saturday night events — in the form of flex tickets. Opening day is Sunday, May 7 and the first Fast Friday of the season will be May 26. 


Fans may purchase tickets to any normal Friday or Saturday race and not have a date on them with flex tickets — you can pick the day you come during the season without being locked in now! Please note these are not eligible for special events like the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour or Thrill Shows. 


Online ticket prices for Saturday events will remain at $15, while day of sales will go up to $18 for the 2023 season for normal race events. Tickets for special events are different.


NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour tickets are $35 online or $38 at the gate on race day. Thrill Show tickets are $25 online or $28 day of at the event. For all Thrill Shows, front gates will open at 2:30PM for those who have online tickets already purchased and 3:30PM for those who need to purchase that day. Shows begins at 5PM for Thrill Shows.


Seekonk Speedway looks forward to releasing the full 2023 schedule as soon as it is complete but would like to begin selling tickets to help you with the perfect holiday gift!


For more information on Seekonk Speedway and to purchase tickets NOW for some of the most exciting action during our 2023 season visit SeekonkSpeedway.com.

Hirschman Clinches Seventh Tri-Track Title; DJ Shaw Wins ACT Race & Championship; Burns Pockets $2,000 in INEX Legends


By Souza Media


SEEKONK, Mass. – Saturday’s Seekonk Speedway season-finale hosted three divisions of New England short-track racing, with two champions crowned, and one driver keeping the hometown crowd on the edge of their seats in two different races.


In the headliner of the afternoon, Anthony Nocella topped the final race of the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series season, scoring his first victory of his career with the series. Nocella’s Seekonk triumph was a long time coming – as the driver of the No. 92 had finished at the front of the field at the third-mile multiple times, in multiple different modified divisions.


Nocella took the lead from early race dominator Chuck Hossfeld for the final time on lap 69, and drove away to the victory. Hossfeld finished second, driving for Stephen Kopcik, while Matt Hirschman wrapped the podium in third. Nocella’s victory marked the sixth different winner in seven Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series events for the 2022 season – only Hirschman ended the season as a multiple-time winner.


With his podium, Hirschman locked up the series title for the seventh time by more than 40 points over his closest challengers. In another season filled with winning and top-five finishes across the Northeast, Hirschman rocketed back to title form with Tri-Track – one of the most competitive Modified touring divisions in the region. 


Kyle Bonsignore and Woody Pitkat finished the top-five in the 100-lap event. In qualifying heat racing earlier in the day, the field was trimmed from 43 down to 29 cars who started the main event. In the Pepsi Challenge heat races, Matt Galko, Hirschman, Sam Rameau and Pitkat picked up $300 each for winning their respective heat. In the two Pepsi Challenge consi races, veteran Todd Szegedy and Rob Murphy picked up $300 each.


In the 100-lap penultimate race of the season for the American-Canadian Tour, the final 30 laps was a showdown between eventual series champion DJ Shaw and Seekonk Speedway Late Model regular Jacob “Rowdy” Burns. It was Burns who took the lead early, but Shaw charged from the bottom of the top-10 to the front quickly, and challenged for the lead in the final stages. The two swapped the lead back and forth for the final circuits, and on the final lap, as the field crossed for the white flag, Burns was out front. However, it was Shaw who would dive to the bottom and make the pass, edging Burns as the finish by .068 seconds. As a local regular, Burns was looking to become the first track standout to beat the invading ACT Tour drivers in the 17th race in the history of ACT at Seekonk, but came up just a tick short. Alexandre Tardiff finished third, followed by Jason Corliss and Tom Carey III in a 32-car starting field. 


Burns was the winner of the day in the $2,000 to win, 30-lap INEX Legends Cars race – holding off a hard-charging Mason Tessier in the final few feet to win by inches. Burns and Tessier swapped the lead back and forth themselves for many of the late laps, with Tessier trying the bottom in the final corner, but coming up just short. Jase Mongeon, Jake Silvia and Brendan LaBelle finished the top-five in the 27-car starting field, with a purse of over $7,000 distributed post-race. 

Barre, VT — The next leg of the Southern New England Swing Triple Crown for the American-Canadian Tour comes down to Massachusetts’ Seekonk Speedway this Saturday, October 22nd with the Haunted Hundred. Once again alongside the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series, the ACT Haunted Hundred is expected to be yet another legendary showdown between the Touring stars of Quebec and New England against a stout field of hometown favorites with the 2022 season quickly coming to a close. 
​

Currently in the cat-bird seat, leading the American-Canadian Tour points, is a driver who has seen plenty of ups and downs at the Cement Palace. Center Conway, New Hampshire’s D.J. Shaw narrowly won the 2021 Haunted Hundred and the 2021 American-Canadian Tour before being edged in a final lap dogfight with fellow New England touring legend Ben Rowe. This time around, Shaw holds a strong lead but don’t look for the 04VT Ford Mustang playing it safe on Saturday, the A.H. Fence team will be there to win. 


On another hot stream, the ‘Fireball’ rookie from Notre-Dame-des-Pins, Quebec is looking to take down his first American-Canadian Tour win this Saturday night. Alexendre Tardif may have the Rookie of the Year title all sewn up, but he’s still hungry for more. Currently second-in-points behind Shaw, it may take a miracle to get him to the top but the only trophy he’s missing on his mantle this season is the elusive first win. Look for Tardif out front on Saturday. 
A pair of Massachusetts hot shoes will also be hard to keep your eyes off. Both Tom Carey III and Derek Gluchacki were in contention all day one year ago before late incidents stole away the chance to join the Haunted Hundred winner’s circle. Both are also looking to keep up their top spots in the Southern New England Swing Triple Crown after their 1,2 finish at Thompson Speedway two weeks ago. The three-race series will close out the final three events of the American-Canadian Tour season with a $3,000 purse to be spread amongst the top three who compete in all three Southern New England events. Looking for redemption, and eyeing their share of the Triple Crown bonus, both Gluchacki and Carey are coming into Seekonk with something to prove. 


After a hard last-lap crash turned him into instant icon status at the third-mile oval just weeks ago, 2022 Seekonk Speedway champion Mark Jenison has filed his Haunted Hundred entry as has one of the top Thunder Road Speedbowl Late Model rookies with Stephen Martin ready to haul south from Craftsbury Common, Vermont. Officials expect several Seekonk Late Model regulars to join the fray, each looking to be the first regular to ever take the American-Canadian Tour win in the sanctioning bodies 17th visit to the Cement Palace.


The American-Canadian Tour returns to Massachusetts’ Seekonk Speedway on Saturday, October 22nd for the Haunted Hundred alongside the Monaco Modified Tri-Track Series and the INEX Legend Cars. The penultimate event for the American-Canadian Tour brings the championship down to the ‘Cement Palace,’ a wild card oval where anything can happen as drivers set themselves up for the championship Shoreline 150 at New London-Waterford Speedbowl on Saturday, October 29th.


For more information about the American-Canadian Tour, contact the ACT offices at (802) 244-6963, media@acttour.com, or visit www.acttour.com.  You can also get updates on Facebook and Twitter at @ACTTour.

​One. More. Race. for everyone that just wants one more awesome day of racing we give you the Haunted Hundred! 100 laps of championship racing for the Monaco Tri Track Modifieds and ACT Late Model Tour plus a 2k to win INEX Legends race!
Pits open at 8am, Grandstands open at 11:30 and the action starts at 1:30 pm!

The final division to crown its 2022 champion on the night of the DAV Fall Classic was the Pro Stock division, and 50 laps were allotted for the honors to be won between Mike Brightman, Tom Scully Jr., Mark Jenison, and Rick Martin.


Martin and Jenison had already had themselves a night to remember, both claiming championships earlier in the evening in the Sport Truck and Late Model divisions, respectively, but they were back for a double dose.


Scully was in it to win his second career Pro Stock title, and Brightman set out to become track champion again, having done so in 2005 in the Late Model division. 


Brightman was the leader of the playoff drivers in the early running, but a miscue between him and Ryan Vanasse brought out the yellow with 24 laps complete and shuffled both drivers to the tail of the field. Just like that, Jenison was now the cream rising to the top of the playoff drivers with just half distance to go. 


Colbey Fournier sat at the point while the battle for the championship raged on his outside and his rear bumper between Jenison and Scully for the next 25 laps. A late caution reracked the field for a five-lap shootout, and just like the Late Model race, Jenison had to make do with the outside. 


Scully and Jenison see-sawed for the advantage as Fournier started breaking away for the win. Coming to the checkered, in near spitting-image fashion to the Late Model feature, Scully drove to the bottom underneath Jenison on the absolute edge, sliding up enough to barely tag Jenison to the outside.


“The hair stands on my neck as soon as you say that,” Jenison said when asked about the final turn. “I knew I had to try using the 16 (Fournier) as a pick. I was faster than the 16 and the 2 (Scully) was faster than him, but we’re not racing for the win. We’re racing for the championship. That’s why I rolled up on the outside to keep the 16 down, or else the 2 might be able to get by on the inside.”


This time, Jenison kept the handles on his hot rod, held his speed, and soared across the line ahead of Scully to collect the 2022 Pro Stock Championship. 


“I thought for sure we were all gonna be in the wall,” said Jenison. “As soon as I corrected and I knew I hit the line first, I knew I had it… But if he put me in the wall, I never would have lifted. He woulda had to total me to take it from me.” 


The moment marked Jenison’s second championship of the night, making him the first driver in the 77-year history of Seekonk Speedway to win two championships in the same season.


“It’s too unreal… still hard to believe.” Jenison said on attaining the feat. “It’s a tribute to the track, and an honor to be the first person to do it. There could be more people to do it. If I can do it from a rusted up, beat up Pro Stock, someone else can do it.”


Jenison had an outpouring of gratitude for track management and ownership in the wake of his two-championship winning weekend. “I can’t stop thanking Ed (St. Germain), Lenny (Ellis), Dave (Alburn), and the Venditti family for all they do to run this track and this season.”


It’s to be expected that Jenison will need some time to let the storybook weekend soak in, but that hasn’t stopped him from planning ahead.


“Coming back to compete in the Late Models is pretty definite, as well as the Pro Stocks,” Jenison commented on his 2023 racing plans. “We still need to figure out how much we’ll commit to one car or the other, but the only way to top two championships in one season is by going for three.”
​

The Seekonk Late Models were second in line to crown their champion on the night of the Annual DAV Fall Classic. For 40 laps, Gerry DeGasparre, Mark Jenison, Richie Murray, and Chase Belcher all battled through the field to get themselves up front. The final push for the championship sent both fans and drivers flipping. 


DeGasparre, the seven-time track champion, including six Late Model titles, was in the hunt to tie Dave Darling for all-time Seekonk Speedway track-champion leader. Belcher and Murray both looked to double their championship totals, adding to their Sport Truck titles from 2015 and 2019, respectively. Jenison was out to earn championship honors for the first time in his career.


Jenison started front most out of his four playoff counterparts, and was pushed by Belcher to race his way by Vinnie Arrenegado, Josh Hedges and Corey Fanning for the race lead. A Lap 21 restart allowed Jenison to get a great jump around Fanning to take over the lead, and Belcher and Murray followed close behind. A last-gas effort by DeGasparre to get around Jacob Burn and Luke Lebrun prevailed, finally catching him up to the three championship challengers.


A Lap 35 caution set up a five-lap shoot out for the ages. The Championship Four fired off, with Belcher and Jenison on the front row, Murray and Degasparre just behind. Jenison had speed on the outside, gradually edging ahead of Belcher as the laps counted down. 


Approaching Turns 3 and 4, Jenison and Belcher drove their cars in as hard as their tires could physically handle.


“I started thinking about what was going to happen going into (Turns) 1 and 2, “ Jenison said in the moments leading to the finish. “Once I realized I was too far up in Turn 4, I knew I wasn’t gonna clear the exit, all I could hope is that (Belcher) was gonna give me the room to clear the wall, which would have meant he was gonna lose.” 


As the checkered flag waved Belcher slid up into Jenison, pinching him into the wall at such an angle that Jenison was now a passenger in his Late Model which was sliding on its driver’s side door. Both cars grinded across the finishing line, fused at the hip, and coming to a halt in Turn 1.


“Neither one of us can deny it -- we were both on the floor with the gas pedal.” Jenison commented on crossing the line with Belcher. “When I went up on the wall, what propelled me was I was still on the throttle until I stopped. Neither one of us was gonna lift. It was almost a sign of respect, what he did. He knew he had to do that to beat me. If it were me, I would have backed out of it. But he wanted to beat me so bad.”


The championship hung in limbo as safety crews rushed to the scene high on the entrance of Turn 1. According to the timing and scoring system, Belcher had crossed the line first, by .07 seconds. That said, Race Control had a decision to make on whether they felt the action on Belcher’s car off Turn 4 was significant enough to cause the wreck. A decision was made to penalize Belcher for the incident, and complimented by a roar of applause, Jenison’s name was announced over the P.A. system as the 2022 Late Model Champion and feature winner. 


“I was in the ambulance getting checked out when the call was made,” Jenison reflected on the moment he learned the result. “ My brother Glen swung the door open and told me ‘Let’s go champ!’ I was in shock. I was like ‘What do you mean?’”


After 24 years of racing, and after many close calls at tracks like Thompson and Star Speedway, the championship marked his first. 


While Jenison’s victory was one for the ages, his day at the office was only half done by that point. After being cleared by medical personnel and interviewed on track by Kevin Boucher, Jenison needed to get right back into the zone to compete for his second championship of the night in the Pro Stock Division. 

To the unknowing eye, Saturday’s Sportsman race might have looked like just another race. In reality, it was the championship round of the Sunoco Race Fuels Drive for the Cup for the  Helger’s South Coast Power Equipment Sportsman division. But to one particular driver, the 35-lap feature was a game of chess.


Odds might have seemed steep for Craig Pianka, who sat as far back as 13th overall while he trailed other playoff drivers Chad Baxter, Ed Perry, and Colby Lambert.


Pianka took one lap at a time, getting to the bottom when he could, avoided Cody Tripp’s Lap 17 wreck, and took advantage of restarts on the inside. After working his way by Lambert at about half distance, Pianka passed Perry who was stuck on the outside. Before long Pianka had found himself on the tail of Adam Pettey and Baxter battling hard for third overall. 


All Pianka needed to do was find some way to get his nose ahead of Baxters at the wave of the checkered. 


Diving into Turn 3 for the final time, Pianka was presented with his one opportunity to make it happen. Using Pettey as a pick in the middle to stall out Baxter, Pianka sent his No. 4 car down the inside. Sandwiched together off of Turn 4, Pianka emerged with the most momentum, crossing the line ahead of Baxter, stealing the championship in absolute shocking fashion.


“Tonight, I played chess,” said Pianka in victory lane. “I knew when it was time to really push it, (it) was this race right here. And that’s what you get!’ 


After battling mid-pack with half way to go, Pianka had pulled off the improbable, passing Baxter, the hottest driver in the division of the last two years, in the final seconds of the race. 


“This is the move, if I’m gonna do it, I gotta do it right now,” Pianka said when asked about his championship winning move. “I needed to make sure I was close enough to take advantage of my position and make the move… I put myself in the right positions all race to give myself that opportunity, and I had to make it work.”


Pianka started the year on a hot streak, winning three of four races to start the season, but as the summer heated up, Pianka cooled off, biding his time until the start of the playoffs.


“The bad crash in Week 5 changed everything,” Pianka reflected. “Right after that, Chad (Baxter) was just dominating.”


With the new playoff format, Pianka knew he had time to let the season come to him.


“Just be in the top four by the end, that’s all I gotta do,” Pianka said in reference to the lead up to the final round of the  Drive for the Cup. “I really let the big picture of everything settle in, almost like a game of chess.” 


An avid fan of chess, Pianka couldn’t help but draw parallels between the chessboard and the race track.


“In chess, you can make good moves and bad moves, mistakes and sacrifices, have wins, ties and losses. Like AK (Andrew Kun, Pianka’s long-time teammate) said to me before the race: no ties, no losses, just go and get checkmate! 


Now a champion in the inaugural season of the playoff era at Seekonk Speedway, Pianka had some fond feedback on the new format. “Kudos to Ed St. Germain for talking Dave into going in the playoff direction. It made it alot more stressful as a driver, that’s for sure, but it was a lot of fun. This is going to work, no doubt about it.”


The title marks Pianka’s first ever Seekonk track championship. “Now that I won one, I feel like I  won’t need to chase it for a bunch more years,” Pianka said on plans for future racing efforts. “It’s up to the powers at be if I’m gonna do this again next year. I would love to. It takes a lot, I have a great team… everyone surrounding me…it’s the perfect situation. None of this is possible without everyone I have surrounding me.”


Before any decisions are made on Pianka’s 2023 racing plans, he says for now, he’s “...just really enjoying this (championship), and I’m looking forward to the banquet and the speech in January.” 

Sport Truck glory was on the line to start the night at the DAV Fall Classic this past weekend. For Rick Martin and Barry Shaw, and Mike Duarte claiming the season title would double their Sport Truck championship count, while Brittany Campbell set out to earn the honor of “champion” for the first time.

With momentum on his side following back-to-back wins, Martin just needed to beat the rest of the Fastest Four for one more week. Duarte fell out of the competition by Lap 4, suffering too much damage to continue after a brief stack up in Turn 2. Only Campbell and Shaw remained to try and deny Martin his sixth career track championship, and Shaw especially proved to be no small hurdle for Martin to clear on his way to the front. 


Shaw and Martin raced nose-to-tail in that order, from Lap 16 to Lap 26, escalating to rubbing fenders and tapping bumpers as the laps wore on. When Martin decided it was time to go, he made his No. 14 truck squeeze between the burm and Shaw into Turn 1, sliding up just enough to stall out Shaw’s No. 85 machine. Martin put his foot down and won the inside, and there was nothing Shaw could but watch Martin outpace him for the championship.


“When you’re trying to take the crown from the top dog you don’t expect him to just roll over,” Martin said about the move for the championship. “Me and Barry Shaw had a few pushing matches this year, but nothing but hard racing. We race hard - the way I like it - but always congratulate each other after.”


Coming off yet another marquee year in his illustrious racing career, Martin put together seven feature wins and led the division in points the entire second half of the year in 2022.


“Of course none of it would be possible without the support from sponsors and friends,” Martin said. “ To me, the Seekonk truck division is one of the best divisions around. The racers have more respect for each other than other divisions I've competed in.


Though he’s been racing for more than 40 years, Martin hardly shows signs of slowing down. 


“Obviously, I'm towards the end of my racing career, and with age it gets much harder to compete each weekend,” Martin commented. “But when so many people come up to me and say they can't wait already to watch me compete next year, or that they have been a fan since they were a kid, that is what makes all the time and work feel like it has a purpose.”


Martin’s 2022 Sport Truck Championship is his second ever in the division, and combined with his four titles in Seekonk’s Pro Stock division, now owns six total titles, joining the ranks of Vinnie Annarummo, Fred Astle Jr., and Mike Cavallaro.