PLAYOFF ACTION HEATS UP WITH ROUND TWO THIS WEEKEND AT SEEKONK SPEEDWAY

SEEKONK, Mass. — One down, two left to go in the inaugural Seekonk Speedway Drive For The Cup presented by Sunoco Race Fuel. This Friday and Saturday night, the playoffs heat up with round two, as the Final Four will be set in all nine of Seekonk’s divisions looking ahead to the finale weekend on September 23-24.


On Fast Friday and NASCAR Saturday, drivers will be racing as the fields will be lowered from six drivers down to four. The Bandolero divisions will drop from five down to the Final Four. NASCAR Saturday also includes a special appearance by the Troy City Tactical Spectator Drags and the STAR Antique Racers to fill a full night of action, beginning with a special time of 5:30 p.m.


Fast Friday’s playoff fields in the Seekonk Grand Prix Bandolero divisions eliminated Chase Silvia (Outlaws) and Darren Krantz Jr. (Bandits) last week. Krantz didn’t show up to race, immediately knocking him out. Silvia, who entered the weekend with nine wins in 12 races, was eliminated after some early contact slowed his efforts. This week, the race for the Final Four is on. In the Bandits, Milania Shilosky won last week and leads Ryan Vanasse Jr., Sam Macedo, Collin Vanasse and Nick Uhrig Jr. into the final two. Which single driver will be eliminated out of the five of them this week?


In the Outlaws, the field seems wide open with Silvia eliminated. Bradley Strickland is coming off yet another win last week and has become the new favorite, with Joey LeMay, Andrew Gomes, Brent Robidoux and Adam Harrison not far behind. If the stats are right, LeMay would be the one to get eliminated this week. But as we have learned after one week, anything can happen. Don’t forget — Krantz (if he shows up) and Silvia will still be looking to spoil the party and add to their win counts this week still.


The Everett’s Auto Parts Sport 4 division almost saw a major shake-up last week, with Tyler Duhancik wrecking in practice, and originally looking like he wasn’t going to make it out. He got some help from a friend with a backup car and advanced to the round of six. He joins points leader Crystal Murray, last week’s winner Henry Lavallee, Jarrod Freitas, Taylor Bowser and Stephanie Bruneau in this round, with two drivers set to be eliminated this week.


Greg Perry and Sam Lincoln raced hard to the finish of last Friday’s 25-lap Helger’s South Coast Power Equipment Pure Stock race, with Perry coming out on top, and Lincoln close behind in second. They both earned the right to advance to the next round and will join Danny Massa, Mike Henriques, Jeremy Lambert and Ethan Souza this week to see who will make the finals.


The Nick’s Pit Stop Legends Cars race last week ended with a similar surprise, as multiple-time season winner Mason Tessier and one of the top seeds, Nicholaus Bulkeley, were eliminated from contention for the title. That leaves Devin Deshaies, the points leader, along with Brendon Hammann, Reese Bogue, Isaiah Newcomb, Josh Parsons and Jake Silvia to battle for the final four spots. Silvia showed impressive speed last week with a top-five finish and could easily become a dark horse for the title by sliding his way into the final four spots.


The NASCAR Saturday show will kick-off with the Troy City Tactical Spectator Drags and the STAR Antique Racers. The Spectator Drags will give fans a look at a little bit of street car action, while the STAR Antique Racers go back in time with their own racing action.


The Pro Stock field might not be able to top the excitement from the final lap of last week’s 45-lap playoff opener, but only time will tell. Contact in the final corner created complete chaos, with Tommy Adams and eight-time track champion Dave Darling now officially eliminated from the playoffs. Mike Brightman picked up his fourth win of the season in the process and catapulted his way to the favorite position, while Tom Scully Jr. isn’t far behind. Those two will have to hold off Colbey Fournier, Bobby Pelland III, Rick Martin and Mark Jenison if they want to win the title. Better yet, if they want to advance to the Final Four.


Late Model racing continued to shine last week, with Jacob “Rowdy” Burns grabbing another season win, using the outside lane to do it. Burns now seems to be on his game at the right time, but he’s going to have his work cut out for him this week to make the final four. Vinnie Arrenegado, Gerry DeGasparre Jr., Richie Murray, Mark Jenison and Chase Belcher will join him this week in the playoffs round two action.


After an early scare, Helger’s South Coast Power Equipment Sportsman favorite Chad Baxter rebounded for a top-five last week, advancing to round two. He’s got Craig Pianka, Ed Perry, Colby Lambert, Doug Benoit and Tyler Almeida hot on his tail heading into this week, with Benoit, Lambert and Almeida seemingly dark horses to make the final four. But, they made it this far, and could certainly make it there. 


The Chaz Auto Body Sport Trucks may have had the quietest first round of the Sunoco Drive For The Cup, with Rick Martin rolling to a sixth win, advancing to the second round. Barry Shaw Jr., the defending champion of the division, joins Martin in the round of six and isn’t going to go out quietly. Mike Duarte, Brittany Campbell, Amy Arsenault and Jake Vanada are the remaining contenders. Who gets knocked out this week?


Fast Friday racing begins at 7 p.m., and NASCAR Saturday will begin a tick early this week at 5:30 p.m., starting with the Troy City Tactical Spectator Drags.


Tickets for all remaining events during the 2022 season are available now at SeekonkSpeedway.com, including for the upcoming final two rounds of the playoffs, the Pumpkin Smash Thrill Show and the Haunted Hundred.


For more information on Seekonk Speedway, visit SeekonkSpeedway.com and follow the track on Facebook for the latest updates.

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