 SEEKONK, Mass. — With the regular season now in the rear-view mirror, the fields have been set on NASCAR Saturday 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 28.
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 NASCAR division contending for the title. —————-- The Pro Stock field:
The Pro Stock field couldn’t have more talent, experience and capability. These six drivers all earned their spot in the Sunoco Drive For The Cup, and it is going to be fun to watch them battle it out for the crown. Arrenegado had a host of second-place finishes this year, finishing there in all but just a few events. The defending track Late Model champion knows how to win in his format. Since he’s moved to the Pro Stocks, he’s yet to visit Victory Lane. If he wants to win the championship, it’s likely he’s going to have to find his way there before it’s all set and done. Bobby Pelland III is a former track Late Model champion, but not in this format. Pelland was in the Final Four last year, coming up just short of the title. This season, he looks for redemption. The car has been nearly on point all year, with multiple top-five runs and a victory to his credit. Pelland would like nothing more than to become a two-time champion at Seekonk Speedway, this time in the Pro Stocks. Mark Jenison enters the playoffs as the third seed, and the two-time and defending champion. Can he make it three in a row? Jenison would join an elite list if he can, not only winning three Pro Stock titles in a row, but also capturing a fourth track title overall. He may not have had winning speed weekly this season, but it feels eerily similar to his past title runs. Dylan Estrella is a former track Late Model champion, looking to knock the Pro Stock title off his bucket list. Estrella has won multiple events and shown speed right from the first green flag of the season. With Everett’s Auto Parts on the side, he’s going to be a threat. Colbey Fournier has multiple wins to his credit, including one towards the end of August. Maybe a darkhorse to some entering the playoffs, Fournier will be there when it counts. He’s shown the speed, the ability and the drive to get it done. The final seed is Mike Brightman. After a year filled with ups and downs, Brightman ended the regular season in Victory Lane on August 24. Can he use that momentum to finally grab his first Pro Stock title in the Sunoco Drive For The Cup? —————-- The Late Model field:
The field in the Late Models wasn’t decided until the final lap of the regular season. A wild final event and wreck in turn three switched up the points, moving a driver from third entering the night all the way out of contention. It just goes to show every single lap matters. Charlie Rose enters the playoffs with the three bonus points as the regular season leader. Perhaps one of his best seasons of his career, Rose has been to Victory Lane multiple times and been inside the top-five and podium often. There have been times this season where Rose looked unbeatable. As he enters the playoffs, his veteran experience and speed will be tough to match. Jacob “Rowdy” Burns will be right there to challenge him. Burns is a multiple-time winner in 2024 and not someone to overlook. He’s shown similar raw speed to Rose at times, but also the ability to charge through the field in different grooves to get to the front. Burns will also contend for the Fast Friday Legends Cars title, which he won last year. Chase Belcher enters as the three seed, but he’s been quiet this season. Consistent enough to push himself into the playoffs, can Belcher use this opportunity to go out there and become track champion in the Everett’s Auto Parts No. 35? Richie Murray won on opening night in 2024 and followed it up with another win during the month of August. He advanced into the Final Four in 2022, coming up just short of winning the title. Can he add another title to his family legacy? His sister, Crystal, is also competing for the Sport 4 title on Fast Friday, and she’s won the last two. Richie is a former NASCAR Saturday Sport Truck champion himself and his family needs no introduction to longtime Seekonk fans. Luke Lebrun entered the final night of the regular season outside of the playoff field. He jumped into the battle in a big way - picking up the feature win to do it. Lebrun has a few wins this year, and although he had a quiet final stretch to get in, he seems to have grabbed momentum just at the right time. The final driver in? Former champion Mark Jenison. He will look to do what he did in 2022 again - win both the Late Model and the Pro Stock titles in the same season. The Late Models will come up first, with Jenison looking to find some more speed. He hasn’t had the year he would have hoped so far, but the last few years in this format, he found the ability to get the job done. Can he do it again in 2024? —————-- The Helger’s Sportsman field:
The Helger’s Sportsman playoff field is filled with a mix of experienced drivers, but some not in this division. Colby Lambert enters as the leader with the three bonus points after a dominant regular season in the No. 54. Lambert won the regular season by just about 20 points, even with a mechanical failure on the final night and a tough finish. He’s entering the playoffs looking to showcase that he can get the job done and add another championship to the Lambert family list at Seekonk Speedway. His brother, Jeremy, picked up a Fast Friday Pure Stock title a few years ago. Colby is primed and ready to contend for it in the Sportsman. After making the Final Four last year and coming up just short, Adam Pettey looks to rebound this playoff run. He had another strong season, with countless wins and speed every week. Pettey is going to be there when it matters. Can he seal the deal, and will it take a victory on the final night to do it? Tyler Almeida quietly climbed his way up to third in the Sportsman point standings at the end of the regular season. With a strong car late, Almeida was in contention for the victory on the final night. Can he transfer the speed into the playoffs and compete for the crown? It sure looks like he has a good shot. Josh Hedges is a former Seekonk Late Model winner, Sport Truck champion, and now Sportsman winner. He’s put together a consistent regular season, always around the top-10 in the finishing order. As he enters the playoffs, can he pounce on the opportunity? Look out for the final two seeds as well. Doug Benoit is a former Fast Friday Pure Stock champion, and even though he had trouble throughout the summer, Benoit is going to be a factor. In the last few events of the regular season, he’s shown the speed to prove he can contend. And we can’t count out Scott Serydynski Jr., either. Although he hasn’t shown blazing speed, the team has a week in between the regular season finale and the playoffs to get to work and make it faster. Can this young driver add his name to the list of Sportsman champions at Seekonk Speedway? —————-- The Chaz’s Auto Body Sport Truck field:
The Chaz’s Auto Body Sport Truck playoff field includes three former champions and three looking to mark down their first at the Action Track of the East. Mike Duarte had best regular season of anyone, coming away with the three bonus points as the leader. He picked up his first win of the season late in August, and enters the playoffs looking for his second track title. Duarte has never seemed more motivated to contend for a championship. Radical Rick Martin, who will enter the Seekonk Speedway Wall of Fame on September 21, is looking to make it three Sport Truck titles in a row. The last few years, when it matters most, Martin is right there to seal the deal. With a feature win to his credit and a solid regular season, Martin enters the playoffs looking to add more hardware to the mantle. Tim Bolger Jr. may be the surprise of the season so far in the Sport Trucks. With multiple feature wins and the Everett’s Auto Parts Triple Crown Series title to his credit, Bolger is fast, consistent and smooth. Can he make a run at the championship? Absolutely. He’s joined by three others: Jake Vanada, Amy Arsenault and Mike Cavallaro. Vanada has put together a year with ups and downs, but enters the playoffs with a little momentum, after a podium finish in the final race of the regular season. The driver of the Everett’s No. 29 will look to use that momentum to catapult himself to the title. Arsenault is a feature winner this year and made the Final Four in the Trucks last year. She looks to get back there this year, and seal the deal as champion. And Mike Cavallaro… the veteran of the group, along with Martin. Cavallaro has countless titles to his credit, but hasn’t picked one up since 2016. The speed in the No. 80 may not have been where he wanted early in the year, but man, did he find something down the stretch. Is it just his time to get back to the top? The Sunoco Drive For The Cup for all nine Seekonk divisions includes four weekends of racing from September 6-7 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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