CHAMPIONSHIP FOUR SET IN EACH SEEKONK SPEEDWAY DIVISION

The championship four drivers are now set in all Seekonk Speedway divisions, as the track prepares for D. Anthony Venditti Fall Classic championship weekend on September 29-30. The Fast Friday championship four was set on Friday, September 22, with eliminations occurring during racing events. With Mother Nature impacting the show on September 23, cancelling NASCAR Saturday, the final four is decided based off remaining playoff cars seeding in the way they entered the first round of the playoffs.  The seeding was determined based off point standings at the end of the weekend of August 25-26 (Regular Season).

Every lap, every heat race and every feature mattered during the entire season. 


In the Pro Stocks, the Final Four will be made up of Mike Brightman, Bobby Pelland III, Mark Jenison and Tom Scully Jr. All track champions in their history, Brightman and Pelland have Late Model crowns, while Jenison is the defending Pro Stock champion and Scully won the title in 2016. Eliminated from contention due to the rain are Dick Benoit and Mike Rotondo. Benoit had quite the impressive run in the Pro Stocks this year in the Danny Cabral Racing mount, coming close to contending for the title with multiple top podium runs. Rotondo, in his Rookie season, drove the Rollie Lindblad No. 48 special to multiple strong runs himself. 


The Late Model Final Four will be made up of Vinnie Arrenegado, Mark Jenison, Jacob Burns and Charlie Rose. The top four seeds entering the playoffs have advanced to the finals and are ready to contend for the crown. Arrenegado and Jenison both have Late Model titles to their credit at Seekonk. Burns has been the dominant force through the first two races of the playoffs, sweeping both, and Rose came close to snagging last week’s win and is the most veteran of the group. Eliminated due to rain are Chase Belcher and Connor Souza. Belcher had a year filled with ups and downs, while Souza scored his first career win in 2023. 


The Helger’s South Coast Power Equipment Final Four includes Adam Pettey, Craig Pianka, Steve Axon and Ryan Lineham. When you talk about veterans, you make up the Final Four. Axon, Pianka and Lineham are all former champions, with Pianka winning in this format last year. Pettey has been the most consistent of the whole division this year and now has the chance to make himself a champion. Eliminated in the Sportsman were Randy Moretti and Don Perry.


The Chaz Auto Body Sport Truck Final Four also comes down to drivers who were the top four seeds at the end of the regular season. Rick Martin, Jake Vanada, Brittany Campbell and Amy Arsenault have all advanced. Martin, Vanada and Campbell all have multiple wins this season. Arsenault advanced to the Final Four off consistency. Eliminated in the Trucks are Bobby Tripp and Mike Cavallaro — two drivers that won this season in years filled with ups and downs.


On Fast Friday, the Seekonk Grand Prix Bandolero Bandits and Outlaws completed their Final Four on Friday night. In the Bandits, Nick Uhrig Jr., Sam Macedo, Parker Davis and Mason Silva make up the final round. All but Silva have won this year, with Davis on a roll, sweeping the first three playoff events. Macedo is the defending champion, Uhrig is the fan favorite. And Silva, sneaking his way in, could spoil the party for all of them. In the Outlaws, Ryan Vanasse Jr.’s dominant season will come down to one week in the quest for a title. He will be joined by Collin Vanasse, his cousin, Brent Robidoux and Andrew Gomes. With competitive action all around the track in Seekonk’s youth racing divisions, these may be some of the most exciting championship events to watch. Eliminated on Friday were Mike Hanafin from the Bandits and Bryson Robidoux from the Outlaws.


The Sport 4 championship looks like it may run through Crystal Murray, as the defending champion rocketed to the front again this week and has victories in two of three playoff races. She will be joined by regular season top contender and multiple-time winner Jarrod Freitas, former Thrill Show standout who is now racing on Fast Friday Richie Johnson, and multiple-time Sport 4 champion Mikey LeFort. This may be one of the toughest divisions to pick a champion. Christine Cavallaro and Daniel Hayes were eliminated on Friday.


The Helger’s Pure Stocks saw the shock of Scott Cestodio, the number one seed, being eliminated. He was joined by Mike Henriques in the group where championship hopes were over. That leaves Ethan Souza, Danny Massa, Jared Cordeira and Greg Perry to battle for the championship. All of them are worthy of getting to this point, but all eyes might be on Perry - who started off slow this season - but has come into the playoffs hot and is the most recent winner.


In Nick’s Pit Stop Legends Cars competition, the top four seeds have advanced. Jacob Burns, Isaiah Newcomb, Richie Helger Jr and Nicholaus Bulkeley are the four who will contend for the crown. All of them have won this year, Newcomb the most of anyone. Bulkeley scored his first and second career win, while Helger visited Victory Lane for the first time in his career. Burns enters championship weekend with a chance to win titles in both the Legends Cars and Late Models. Eliminated in the Legends were Brendan LaBelle and Josh Parsons.


Seekonk Speedway’s championship weekend will take place on September 29-30. Tickets for both nights, the final short-track racing of the season, are available online at SeekonkSpeedway.com. Fans are encouraged to follow the track on social media for the latest news and updates.