Seekonk Speedway Announces Updated Sunoco Drive For The Cup Format For 2024
Seekonk Speedway 2024 Playoff Format
Definitions:
Regular Season = Points races between May 1 and August 31
Seekonk Points = All weekly points earned at any Seekonk points event running from May 1 till end of the season.
Playoff Points - points run in addition to Seekonk points for six playoff cars used to establish final four contenders.
Playoff Season = 3 scheduled weeks of racing in September to determine Final Four
Championship Night - Winner Take All Race to determine track champion between final four playoff contenders
Championship Format
Regular Season will consist of all Seekonk Points races between May 1st and August 31st.
Top Six teams in SEEKONK points will advance to playoffs on both Friday and NASCAR Saturday, all divisions.
The 2024 Seekonk Speedway regular season will conclude on the weekend of August 23-24. At the end of that weekend, the top six drivers in the point standings in each division will advance to the playoffs.
In the event of a rainout on that weekend, the points at the end of the most recent event will be used to determine the six playoff cars for both Friday & Saturday night. In the event of a tie for the final playoff spot, Seekonk Speedway’s general tiebreaker rules will be put in place to determine the final playoff car.
New for 2024, a playoff points format will be used to determine the Final Four. There will be no eliminations in the playoffs until after the third week of the playoffs. Playoff points are used only to determine the Final Four contenders.
The playoffs will be four scheduled weeks on both Fast Friday and NASCAR Saturday. Friday playoff dates include September 6, 13, 20 and championship night on the 27th. NASCAR Saturday playoff nights will include September 7, 14, 21 and championship night on the 28th.
The driver who leads the point standings at the end of the regular season will be automatically awarded 3 bonus points as the regular season champion, while all other cars entering the playoffs will begin with 0.
Drivers in the playoffs will be awarded points for their finish on the track in each event
6 will go to the highest-finishing playoff driver
5 to the second-highest-finishing playoff driver
4 to the third-highest-finishing playoff driver
3 to the 4th highest finishing playoff driver
2 to the 5th highest finishing playoff driver
1 playoff point to the last playoff driver
At the end of the three weeks, the four highest PLAYOFF points drivers will advance and be part of the Final Four Finale Championship Race.
On the NASCAR Saturday Championship Night, the Final Four contenders will kick-off the night by running one-by-one time trials. Only the Final Four drivers will time trial. The order in which they time trial from fastest to slowest will be the order in which they start the feature race. In order for a driver to start in their spot they earned, they must qualify inside the handicap through heat races. THE FOUR DRIVERS WILL START IN A GROUP IN THIS ORDER BEHIND THE NON PLAYOFF QUALIFIED CARS.
The Champion will be decided by the highest finishing driver out of the final four participants.
Notes :
- NASCAR Saturday heat race points will not be included in the playoff points tally.
- In the event of a tiebreaker for the Final Four spot, the total Seekonk points standings up to that point will be used to determine who advances, with the highest in the points among tied cars advancing. Further Ties would utilize general rules tiebreaking methods.
- In the event of a rainout in any of the playoff events in the first three weeks, no races will have a rain date. If there are only two playoff weeks due to rain, the highest four after those two weeks will advance. Same with if two out of three events rain out. If all three September playoff events rained out the top four regular season points would compete in the final four.
- For the championship weekend September 27-28, the highest finishing of the Final Four drivers in that feature race will be the track champion in their respective division.
- In the event of a rainout on the Final Four weekend, rain dates of October 4 (Fast Friday) and October 5 (NASCAR Saturday) are in place. If those dates rain out, the season is over. The champion would be the highest of the Final Four drivers in the overall seekonk season point standings to that point.
- A non playoff car that is the feature winner from the previous week cannot start in front of the playoff cars, even if qualified.
- Seekonk Speedway will continue the overall season points grid for both Fast Friday and NASCAR Saturday throughout the season. The winner of the Final Four will be the champion for their division, but the second-place driver in the final standings will be the driver who gained the most points during the season, even if they didn’t make the Final Four.
- For all playoff events, Seekonk’s general and technical rules are in effect. For all playoff rounds, the lineups for heat races and features will be the same it was in 2023 and 2022. The first in the lineup will be those who qualified through heat races but are not playoff cars. The qualified playoff cars will line up next based on a blind draw. The highest of the points drivers going into the race will draw first for the starting spot, followed by second, etc. Nothing from previous rounds/races in the playoffs matters when it comes to lineups.
- The Playoff system will not impact Seekonk NASCAR State points or the INEX National Points. The Seekonk Speedway NASCAR Massachusetts State championship will be determined in the final race of the playoffs. The State champion will be the driver who earned the most NASCAR points across all track events for the season.
- Points through the entire regular season and playoffs will be honored in the same manner as 50-48-46-44-42 & through the field. At the end of the final race of the playoffs, there will be a final points grid that includes the point totals from the entire season. The winner of the Drive For The Cup will be the Seekonk Speedway Track Champion and be awarded first place as champion.
Playoff Week 1 + 2
Pro Stocks: 40 laps
Late Models: 30 laps
Sportsman & Sport Trucks: 25 laps
Bandolero divisions: 15 laps
Sport 4, Pure Stock & Legends Cars: 25 laps
Playoff Week 3
Pro Stocks: 45 laps
Late Models: 35 laps
Sportsman & Sport Trucks: 30 laps
Bandolero Divisions: 15 laps
Sport 4, Pure Stock & Legends Cars: 25 laps
Final Four Championship Events:
Pro Stocks: 50 laps
Late Models: 40 laps
Sportsman & Sport Trucks: 35 laps
Bandolero Divisions: 15 laps
Sport 4, Pure Stock & Legends Cars: 30 laps
