 SEEKONK, Mass. — With the regular season now in the rear-view mirror, the fields have been set on Fast Friday for the Sunoco Drive For The Cup in 2024. Six drivers in each division will compete for the crown - with four advancing into the Final Four after the first three weeks to contend for the title on championship night, September 27.
In each division, the points leader at the end of the regular season earned three bonus points. They will enter as the leader of the pack with those 3 points, while the other five drivers will reset to zero points. Playoff drivers earn points based on their finish in the first three playoff events. The highest finishing playoff driver will earn 6 points in each feature, while the second highest earns 5, etc., down to 1. At the end of the first three weeks, the four drivers with the highest totals will advance into the Final Four. On championship night, the highest finishing of the four drivers in that specific event earns the championship. The Seekonk Speedway points grid will continue to also run normally though the rest of the season. The champion will finish first in the final points, but second place in the standings will be the driver who earned the most points over the whole season, if that driver is not the champion. Let’s break down the six drivers in each Fast Friday division contending for the title. —————-- The Nick’s Pit Stop Legends Cars field:
These six drivers will battle it out for Fast Friday’s top prize - the Nick’s Pit Stop Legends Cars title. The story here most of the year has been Burns, Parsons and Helger, and it shows in the standings. All of them have multiple feature wins to their credit. Burns picked up a win and the Everett’s Triple Crown in August, while Parsons may have started off slower than he wanted, but he rocketed to multiple wins during the summer and was a master of consistency. Helger, who won early in the season, continues to show growth in speed and consistency. He followed it up with a second win on the final night of the regular season - preparing him for the title run. Silvia, Tessier and LaBelle have also shown their speed during the season. Silvia picked up his first career win during the summer, showcasing his name to advance into the playoffs, now with a shot at the title in his second full-time season. Tessier hasn’t won in ’24, but the former Everett’s Triple Crown champion does know how to win, and will be a threat. LaBelle is another driver who always seems to be inside the top-five when it comes down to the end of the race. The speed in the No. 4 is unquestionably enough to give him a shot. Who wins the 2024 Legends Cars title? Is it Burns going back-to-back? Parsons finally grabbing his first? Helger winning his second Seekonk title, adding to his former Bandolero championship? Silvia bursting on and winning it? Tessier making a strong statement? LaBelle winning as the last seed in? We will all find out together. All Legends Cars races inside the playoffs will be 25-laps except championship night, which will be 30 laps. —————-- The Helger’s Pure Stock field:
The Helger’s Pure Stock field is one of the most competitive in recent memory, as they get set to chase the championship. The field is filled with veterans, a Rookie contender, and one just continuing to learn with every lap, chasing their first career win. Mike Henriques earned the three bonus points as the leader at the end of the regular season, winning that by 10 points over Brent Robidoux. Henriques is the most veteran of the group, other than Danny Massa. His experience in the Fast Friday Pure Stock division will certainly give him an edge when it comes to competing for the crown. With victory this season and tons of consistent top-five runs, look out for Henriques to finally seal the deal as a Seekonk Speedway champion. Robidoux has been the surprise of the year, as a Rookie in this division. With multiple feature wins, he is well on his way to winning the Rookie of the Year award. However, why stop there? Robidoux has shown the speed to contend, driving through the field weekly. Look out for the Rookie to make a strong push towards the title. Ethan Souza may be one of the quietest drivers in the group, but has the raw speed and driving ability to make himself a major threat. Souza has been to Victory Lane this year and is another driver who always seems to find his way to the front when the race is winding down. He’s joined by defending champion Jared Cordeira, who enters as the fourth seed. Cordeira quietly advanced last year as a lower seed and ended up capturing the title, showing incredible speed in the final four weeks. He’s definitely had similar speed this year - so will he make it back-to-back in the Pure Stocks? The final two drivers are two complete opposites when it comes to their veteran experience. Danny Massa, this year’s Everett’s Triple Crown champion, has been racing in the division for many years, with many wins and top-five finishes. Bobby Bettencourt III is the opposite - just in his second year, he will look to score his first career win during the playoffs - but what about contending for the title? He made it into the playoffs and he has a chance to really put a run together to surprise some people and capture a crown. All Pure Stock races inside the playoffs will be 25 laps except championship night, which will be 30 laps. —————-- The Sport 4 field:
The Sport 4 Sunoco Drive For The Cup field includes a mix of different drivers, some with more experience than others, but all with speed during the 2024 regular season. Matt Pion captured fire right from the start this year, winning, and finishing in the top-five in almost all of the events run. Pion may have come up short of the Everett’s Triple Crown title he wanted, but he now turns his attention to the playoffs, looking to add his name to the list of champions at the Action Track of the East - and he has three bonus points on his side to get started. Richie Johnson hasn’t been to Victory Lane in ’24, but has been quietly consistent. The driver of the No. 8 would certainly love to put himself in position to get into the Final Four and have a shot on the final night. Unlike Johnson, Tyler Duhancik has won twice this season. The driver of the No. 48 has shown some great speed all year, looking unbeatable a few times. Duhancik will be a threat down to the final laps to try and earn his first track title in the No. 48. Justin Leduc is another one that put together a consistent season. With wins to his credit and also the Everett’s Triple Crown title, Leduc enters the playoffs with nothing to lose. He wants the title. Crystal Murray may enter as the five seed, but she’s won the last two championships in this format - showing she can bring her best when it counts. She may have had a regular season unlike the last two years, but you can’t count out the first two-time female champion in the history of Seekonk Speedway, who is looking to make it three in a row. The final seed entering the playoffs is Taylor Bowser. Taylor has shown her own flashes of speed this season, and one of her goals entering the year was to grab her first career win. As the playoffs are set to begin, she has four more weeks to get it. And with four weeks with nothing to lose, she will look to drive into a championship run. All Sport 4 races inside the playoffs will be 25-laps except championship night, which will be 30 laps. —————-- The Seekonk Grand Prix Bandolero Bandit field:
The story of the season in the Seekonk Grand Prix Bandolero Bandit field has been consistency. As the six drivers who are advancing to contend in the Sunoco Drive For The Cup get ready to roll, who will it be hoisting the trophy? All six drivers have finished on the podium at some point this season, some more often than others. Bernier, Dib and Silva have all of the victories spread between the three of them, and those three have been on the podium the most. As you look at the field, it’s hard to say the champion will not be one of these three in 2024. All three have the speed to do it. Which one is the favorite? Hard to say. Bernier has the three bonus points on his side as the regular season points leader, but the other two have momentum as well. The other three contenders certainly enter as darkhorses, but they have all shown the speed to be on the podium this year at different times. Martin, who also made her Legends Cars debut recently, would love nothing more than to compete for a track title on the final night. Jase Chaber has watched his brother Nick win races over the years, and a victory in the playoffs could be exactly what he needs to spark a run. How about Carl Satterlund Jr? After picking up his first podium in the final race of the regular season, he’s storming into the playoffs with momentum on his side. Seekonk’s youngest division will surely put on a show for four weeks, with 15 laps each time to help decide the champion. —————-- The Seekonk Grand Prix Bandolero Outlaw field:
The six drivers entering the Sunoco Drive For The Cup in the Seekonk Grand Prix Bandolero Outlaws are all deserving of a shot at the title. Five of them have been to Victory Lane this season, showing the speed they need to make a run for it down the stretch. But, some of them have more wins than others. Robidoux has been the dominant car the last month. With three bonus points on his side now as the leader at the end of the regular season, he’s bound for a run into the Final Four. Once he gets there, he’s shown the car has enough speed to drive off into the sunset. His brother, Brent, is also contending for a Fast Friday title in the Pure Stocks. They both won on the same night twice already this year. Wouldn’t it be something to have two brother champions in the same year? Parker Davis has been to Victory Lane himself and has been truly consistent. With speed and a championship in this format in the Bandit division to his credit, look out for Davis to pounce on opportunity ahead of him. Uhrig, who made the Final Four last year in the Bandit division, has moved to the Outlaws, won, and showed speed and talent the entire season. Brody Wakefield has looked unbeatable at times. Although he may have cooled off some during the month of August, Wakefield comfortably advanced into the playoffs and now will turn his attention towards four solid weeks to have a shot to call himself a champion. He’s joined by Ryder Aguiar and Mike Hanafin, seeds five and six entering the playoffs. Hanafin has won, Aguiar has not. But both of these drivers found themselves needing strong runs on the final night to advance into the playoffs, and they made it happen. Now, can they make a run at the title? —————-- The Sunoco Drive For The Cup for all nine Seekonk divisions includes four weekends of racing from September 6 through D. Anthony Venditti championship weekend, September 27-28. For tickets to all events and more information, visit SeekonkSpeedway.com and follow the track on social media for the latest news and updates.
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