Seekonk Speedway is 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 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 driver is "Radical" Rick Martin of Westport, Massachusetts with 72 wins and still growing.[1]
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Typically starting on the first Sunday of May, the Action Track of the East plays 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, and Street Stock. In addition to the staple series, a variety of touring series visit the speedway. The True Value Modified Racing Series, NorthEastern Midget Association, Pro 4 Modifieds of New England, and Pro All Stars Series all have events on the Seekonk calendar, with the former three visiting on multiple occasions.
The Seekonk weekly motorsport program ends on the second Sunday of October with the D. Anthony Vendetti Memorial event. True Value Modifieds, NEMA Midgets, NEMA Lites, and Pro 4 Modifieds join the open-competition Pro Stock, Late Model, Sport Truck and Car, and Street Stock divisions for a two-day spectacular of extra-distance and extra-money racing.
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.
For the 2010 season, Seekonk is adding another event to the Open-Wheel Wednesday schedule, with an additional 25-lap NEMA Lites feature titled the "Showdown of Champions", a race intended to boast a starting lineup of some of New England's most notable drivers[2]
On Friday nights, Seekonk Speedway is open for lower-budget competition as well as youth racing. Seekonk's least expensive divisions are the Sport4 (stock 4 cylinder car with minor safety enhancments) 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 car race on the oval along with the two Seekonk Youth Racing Association Mini Cup classes open to competitors age 10-18.
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 figure 8, which typically cause cars to become completely airborne multiple times throughout an event.
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 figure 8 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.[3]