‘A Proud Day’ for Seekonk Speedway
NASCAR & Seekonk Speedway Renew Partnership
SEEKONK, MA — Seekonk Speedway officially rejoined the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series on Tuesday morning. Track President Francis Venditti signed the sanctioning agreement at the Clarion Hotel in Seekonk.
Francis, the son of track founders and NEAR Hall of Famers D. Anthony and Irene Venditti, will oversee the 70th season this year. It is the oldest family operated track in the country, opening in the post-war racing boom. It is also the lone survivor of more than 50 auto racing venues in the commonwealth.
“It is a proud day and we have a great staff, and again we’re looking to cement the relationships and the efforts for the team to do great things,” Venditti said. “… We want to improve upon that and we were looking to improve a lot of things and create the effort of opportunity to be overwhelming for everybody and again, I know it’s going to be a great year. Hopefully we’ll have great weather to go along with the great events we will have this year.”
When asked about affiliating with the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series, Venditti is looking to build and improve his facility.
“It’s an interesting time, and yet we’re all striving to be the team that really accomplishes an enduring effort,” Venditti said. “That really is notable and accomplishing. So it’s like I say, it’s all about the team and we expect our team to very notable things.”
While the ‘Cement Palace’ has been known as an independent track for many years under their own ARC, NASCAR has history with the family. The Venditti family promoted the first NASCAR Grand National (now Sprint Cup Series) race in New England at Thompson (CT) Speedway Motorsports Park in 1951.
“There’s a lot of history there,” Venditti said. “Both NASCAR and Seekonk Speedway have a lot of history to be proud of, and that’s part of our effort to have that team relationship that we’re going to accomplish notable things.”
One of the earliest NASCAR sanctioned races at the track was September 21, 1951. The season finale Sportsman 100-lapper was won by NEAR Hall of Famer Dave Humphrey in the Perry No. 3. NASCAR returned to sanction weekly Modified competition in 1972, when the track moved to Friday nights. 1973 saw the Late Models take over as the primary division and held races on Saturday nights.
The NASCAR Budweiser Modified circuit visited in the early ’80s with Richie Evans, Bugs Stevens, and Ed St. Angelo claiming wins. The NASCAR North Tour held four races from 1983-85.
The NASCAR K&N Pro Series East (formerly NASCAR Busch North) visited Seekonk eight times. A charter track for the series in 1987, they returned in 2000 until 2004. The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour has raced at Seekonk six times since 1987. They returned in 2000 and held an annual race until 2005.
Do not expect either of NASCAR’s regional tours to visit Seekonk this season. “We haven’t been talking about that, but we’re looking for a lot of things to happen.”
Venditti believes that the new association can improve attendance and sponsorship efforts, for the track and teams alike.
“I think the brand recognition is going to help everyone,” Venditti said. “Certainly while we’re looking to expand our fan base and our sponsorship relationships, the cars are trying to do the same thing, create important relationships that are enduring.”
Jason Cunningham, a Providence resident and NASCAR Integrated Marketing Communications staff member, welcomed Seekonk back to the fold.
“Looking at Massachusetts it was kind of a void there, ’cause we had Connecticut, and then New Hampshire, and Maine, and Vermont with a NASCAR presence, but it had been a few years since we had a track in Massachusetts,” Cunningham said. “With Seekonk from 2001-2005, and of course before that Riverside Park, but it’s great to be able to kind of connect all of New England now with having a NASCAR weekly racing presence, for sure.”
Local news affiliates WJAR 10 and WPRI 12 were in attendance to cover the press conference.
“I don’t think that Seekonk is entirely unique, but of our 58 weekly tracks, not many of those are that close to a media market like Seekonk is with Providence,” Cunningham said. “So, I think it’s certainly an opportunity for the track being that close to a city like it is to have an opportunities for exposure that maybe others don’t.”
The facility will be sanctioned under the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series on Saturday nights. This places it with three Connecticut tracks, Stafford Motor Speedway, Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, and Waterford Speedbowl for the first time since 2005. Whelen Engineering builds “warning and signaling devices” at factories in Connecticut and New Hampshire. The Chester, CT company carries the title sponsorship for the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series, NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour.
“Some of the tracks that have come to the Whelen All-American Series program in the last few years, … I’m sure that they’re paying attention to existing NASCAR members and are noticing what could be potential benefits in different areas to them if they join the program as well,” Cunningham said. “So I think that there’s certainly an attractive package that we can offer for the tracks and for the competitors, and I think that we’re seeing that its appealing enough that there are a number of tracks that are interested in doing it.”
The Division I (Pro Stocks) will compete for the NASCAR state championship. NASCAR has not awarded one for the Bay State since 1981. Stan Greger claimed his second state title while competing at the old Riverside Park Speedway in Agawam. NASCAR also sanctioned Norwood Arena from 1960-72.
The Charlotte Convention Center at the NASCAR Hall of Fame hosts the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Awards banquet each December. NASCAR honors their drivers, including the state champions and the top three national drivers. A New England driver has won the national championship three times since the series was founded in 1982: Ted Christopher (2001), Peter Daniels (2002), and Keith Rocco (2010).
“I think that most of these competitors watch the Sprint Cup Series, and the XFINITY, and Camping World Truck Series banquets on TV, so they kind of get a grasp of what it is from what you can see from the television broadcast,” Cunningham said. “And then when they go to the touring series or the All-American Series awards shows, and they see that it’s pretty much identical as far as the production that goes into it, I think it really kind of gives them a sense of they are important in the NASCAR scheme. And then when you have Dick Berggren and Mike Joy on the stage as emcees it really kind of cements it.”
The 1/3 mile oval is located at 1710 Fall River Avenue (Route 6), Seekonk, MA 02771. The track’s web site is www.seekonkspeedway.com. The track hosts racing from May through October, primarily on Friday and Saturday nights. The season opener is Sunday May 3 at 1PM.
NASCAR Massachusetts State champions
Modified
1968 Leo Cleary
1969 Fred Schulz
1972 Leo Cleary
1976 Bob Polverari
1978 Stan Greger
1979 Reggie Ruggiero
1980 Richie Evans
1981 Stan Greger
Late Model Sportsman
1970 George Savary
1971 Les Rose
1972 Dave Dion
1973 Red Barbeau
Hobby
1960 Woody Woodward
1962 Bill Schulz
1963 Bob Santos
1964 Bob Santos
1965 John Lundin
1966 Donald Kibbe
1967 Michael McClelland
1968 George Delmar
1969 Ken Phinney
Sportsman
1960 Bob Duffy
1961 Rene Charland
1962 Bill Slater
1963 Bill Slater
1964 Bill Slater
1965 Bill Slater
1966 Bill Slater
1967 Fred DeSarro
Limited Sportsman
1963 Bob Melnick
Sources: Nicholas Teto/YankeeRacer.com
State Champions from NASCAR Media Guide