Seekonk Speedway
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| The Cement Palace, The Action Track of the East | |
|---|---|
| Location | Seekonk, Massachusetts |
| Time zone | Eastern |
| Coordinates | 41°47′04″N 71°18′08″W / 41.7845°N 71.3021°W |
| Owner | Venditti Family |
| Operator | Francis Venditti |
| Broke ground | 1945 |
| Opened | May 30, 1946 |
| Major events | A.R.C pro stocks, late models, street stocks, sport trucks, Fast Friday Series |
| Oval | |
| Surface | Cement |
| Length | 1/3 miles |
| Turns | 4 |
| Banking | 7 Feet |
Seekonk Speedway is a family entertainment venue that features racing of all kinds on a semi-banked 1/3 mile paved oval, located on U.S. Route 6 in Seekonk, Massachusetts.
The track holds the distinction of being the longest continually family operated race track in the United States, under the guidance of the Venditti family since it opened on May 30, 1946. It is also the widest track in New England at 72 feet.
The track's all-time winningest drivers include George Summers and "Radical" Rick Martin of Westport, Massachusetts.[1]
Weekly racing
Typically starting on the first Sunday of May, Seeking Speedway is host to short track action every Saturday night, depending on the weather. Most weekly programs are composed of Seekonk's four regular divisions: pro stock, late model, sport truck, street stock, and SK Lite. In addition to the staple series, a variety of touring series visit the speedway. The Valenti Auto Mall Modified Racing Series, NorthEastern Midget Association, Pro 4 Modifieds of New England, and the Pro All Stars Series all have events on the Seekonk calendar, with the three visiting on multiple occasions.
The Seekonk weekly motorsport program ends on the second Sunday of October with the D. Anthony Vendetti Memorial event. The Valenti modifieds join the open-competition pro stock, late model, sport truck and car, and street stock divisions for two-days of extra-distance and extra-money racing.
Open-Wheel Wednesday
Since 2005, Seekonk has featured an exclusively open-wheel program on one Wednesday of the summer, with the NEMA Midgets, NEMA Lites, and Pro 4 Modifieds underlining the main event, a $10,000-to-win True Value Modified race. The event has become one of the most popular on the Seekonk schedule, with a large crowd each year.
Fast Friday Series
On Friday nights, Seekonk Speedway is open for lower-budget competition as well as youth racing. In 2012, Legend Car Racing was added in the Fast Friday lineup. In 2013 Nicks Pit Stop jumped on board as the title sponsor for the legend cars. Nick Lascola won the championship in the legend division and moved up the ladder to then Late Model class in 2014. Seekonk's least expensive divisions are the Sport4 (stock 4-cylinder car with minor safety enhancements) and Pure Stock, that are same as 4-cylinder class, only 8 cylinders. These classes have a minimum age of 15 with proper paperwork on file with track. These cars race on the oval along with the two Seekonk Youth Racing Association Mini Cup (SYRA 650 and 750 classes) open to competitors age 10–18.
Figure8 Racing
The speedway's figure 8 path is considerably longer than average tracks, and is fully paved, increasing the speed of racing cars (as well as the risk of injury). Another unique facet to the track are the four "humps" placed within the "X" of the Figure8, which typically cause cars to become completely airborne multiple times throughout an event. Trucks have been added to the Figure8 family as of 2010.
Seekonk Speedway holds four to five races of twenty five cars each twice a year, on the Sundays of Independence Day and Labor Day weekends, as well as several somewhat smaller figure8 and demolition derby events from May through October. Due to the high intensity of each race, densely packed fields of cars, and the geometry of the track, vehicles tend to crash out very quickly, keeping most races to five or ten complete laps.[2]
Wall of Fame
Class of 2013 Inaugural Class[3]
- D. Anthony Venditti
- Irene Venditti
- Ron Bouchard
- Carl Berghman
- Norm Holden
- Len Ellis
- George Summers
- Johnny Verissimo
Class of 2014[4]
- Wayne Dion
- Ron Manfredo
- Don Dionne
- Billy Clarke
Class of 2015[5]
- Bobby Sprague
- Deke Astle
See also
- Ron Bouchard (former competitor)
- Ken Bouchard (former competitor)
- Allen Bestwick (former track announcer)
References
- The History of America's Speedways: Past and Present by Allan Brown