Opening day notes.

EVENT SCHEDULE SUNDAY MAY 3rd
9:00 AM PIT BOOTH AND PIT AREA OPENS

12:00 – 1:00 PM Practice
1:15 PM Pro Stock time trials
1:40 PM Drivers meeting

START TIME 2:00 PM

****NATIONAL ANTHEM****
2008 ARC Champions on track
(30 PS, 71 LM, 96 SS, 80 SST, 01 Pure Stock)

Qualifying races
Truck 10 LAPS
Street Stock 12 LAPS
Late Model 10 Laps
Pro Stock 12 LAPS

Consolation races
Intermission
Feature races
TRUCKS 20 LAPS
PURE STOCKS 25 LAPS
LATE MODEL 30 LAPS
STREET STOCK 25 LAPS
PRO STOCK 75 LAPS

Schedule subject to change

A reminder for the 2009 Contingency awards:
Pro Stocks:
Propane Plus Tire Contingency: All drivers must carry a Propane Plus decal on your car to be eligible. On Opening Day, all Pro Stock competitors will be eligible. Starting on the second week, and to follow each event, the field will be split in half, and the drivers that finish in the bottom half of the finish will be eligible for the tire contingency on the following week. The drawing will take place as part of the drivers meeting on the next race meet. The winner of the previous event will draw the winning car#, and the certificate will be presented during the drivers meeting. You may hold onto the certificate for a later date, or use it in the same meet. All tire inventory rules will be in effect. The previous year champion will pull the opening day number. He will also be an eligible driver on that day. This is a blind draw. Contingency decals will be available on Saturday practice and opening day.

Late Models:
Seekonk Speedway Tire Contingency. On Opening Day, all Late Model competitors will be eligible for the Late Model Tire Contingency. Starting on the second week, and to follow each event, the field will be split in half, and the drivers that finish in the bottom half of the finish will be eligible for the tire contingency on the following week. The drawing will take place as part of the drivers meeting on the next race meet. The winner of the previous event will draw the winning car#, and the certificate will be presented during the drivers meeting. You may hold onto the certificate for a later date, or use it in the same meet. All tire inventory rules will be in effect. The previous year champion will pull the opening day number. He will also be an eligible driver on that day. This is a blind draw.

Phil's Propane 10 race Bonus Contingency: This contingency is for 10 (ten) feature events in 2009. The winner of said events will receive an extra $100.00 bonus. Second and third place finishers will receive an extra $50.00 bonus. All drivers must display a Phil's Propane decal on their car to be eligible. If you do not carry the Phil's Propane decal, you will not be eligible for the bonus. The dates for this bonus are: May 3, May 16, May 30, June 13, June 27, July 11, July 25, August 8, August 22, September 5. These dates are subject to change due to weather. Contingency decals will be available on Saturday practice and opening day.
Phil's Propane logo will be displayed above the back left and right side tires. Decal and application to be paid by Phil’s Propane.

Street Stocks:
Town Fair Tire 10 race Bonus Contingency: This contingency is for the winner of 10 (ten) feature events in 2009. The winner of said events will receive an extra $100.00 bonus. All drivers must carry a Town Fair Tire decal on their car to be eligible. If you do not carry the Town Fair Tire decal, you will not be eligible for the bonus. The dates for this bonus are: May 3, May 16, May 30, June 13, June 27, July 11, July 25, August 8, August 22, September 5. These dates are subject to change due to weather. Contingency decals will be available on Saturday practice and opening day.

ALL Competitors:
New England Racing Fuel / Sunoco Race Fuels Contingency: New England Race Fuels/Sunoco have agreed to provide the winner of any Pro Stock and Late Model feature a $40.00 cash fuel refund, and to the winner of any Seekonk Sport Struck and Street Stock feature a $25.00 cash fuel refund. All drivers must display a Sunoco decal on your car to be eligible. If you do not carry the Sunoco decal, you will not be eligible. If an eligilble driver buys a barrel or drum of Sunoco Race Fuel within the 2009 season, they are immediatly qualified for a $45.00 refund for every win (with proof of purchase). Contingency decals will be available on Saturday practice and opening day.

Please remember to thank these companies that have joined our contingency program during your interviews throughout the season. Remember, support those who support the sport.

A Couple of opening day notes.

While the complete opening day schedule is being completed, I wanted to get a couple of notes out for the competitors.

12:00 - 1:10 PM Practice for Seekonk divisions.
1:20 PM Pro Stock Time Trials (2 laps each-order determined by draw-best lap is lap of record)
1:40 PM Drivers meeting mandatory for ALL competitors.

START TIME 2:00 PM

NATIONAL ANTHEM
2008 ARC Champions requested on track
(#30 Pro Stock, #71 LM, #80 SST, #96 SS, #01 Pure Stock)
Drivers are to line up at entrance tunnel and follow the pace car out onto the track. line up at Start/Finish line as usual in this order: PS, LM, SST, SS, PS.

PRO STOCKS will draw for time trial starting positions. Fastest time trialer will have the pole in heat one, second fastest will earn the pole in heat two, etc. A random inversion of Pro Stock heat finishes will set the feature lineup (e. g. likely to be the top 6, 8, or 10 cars). Winner of heat 1 will draw the inversion number at the handicapper’s booth.

Recent Opening Day Pro Stock Time Trials (fastest laps):
2008-#30-Fred Astle Jr. 12.431 sec, 96.436 MPH
2007-#03-Kenny Spencer, 12.525 sec, 95.713 MPH
2006-#03-Kenny Spencer, 12.700 sec, 94.394 MPH
2005-#52-David Darling, 12.531 sec, 95.667 MPH

SIGN IN PROCEDURE:
Upon arriving at the track, please sign in with our handicappers, Marc Cunha and Chris Saunders, and notify them if you are a Rookie of the Year candidate in your division. All cars and trucks MUST sign in with the handicapper before being allowed to practice on Sunday.

LATE MODELS, TRUCKS, STREET STOCKS will draw for starting position in heat races. Top 6 finishers in three Street Stock heats and top 8 finishers in consi will make up the Street feature- car count permitting. A random inversion of the total top 4 or 6 finishers in heat races will likely be used to set the feature race lineup.

TRANSPONDERS: Please be sure that all transponders are turned on and operational before racing begins. If you have a question about your transponder, please speak to one of the handicappers or Race Director Dave Alburn.

SPONSOR INFORMATION: Tower personnel have been distributing press information sheets to teams at the open practice sessions. Please complete your form and turn in to Kevin Boucher ASAP to have your team’s sponsors announced. Additional forms will be available this weekend.

ROOKIES: Please be aware that MINIMUM SPEEDS will be set for all divisions. A rookie competitor who does not meet the minimum lap time in practice but draws a starting position inside the top two rows will be asked by the race director to start from the tail end of the field. This procedure, which has been in use for several seasons, was implemented to protect all of our competitors and their equipment. If you feel as though your vehicle is not up to par, please inform the handicapper and you will be assigned to the tail end of the field. Thank you for your sportsmanship.

Phil’s Propane joins the growing list of Seekonk Speedway contingency sponsors.

Seekonk Speedway announced that Phil’s Propane of Tiverton RI, the official propane distributor of Seekonk Speedway, has joined the 2009 Contingency Awards program for the Late Model division. For ten events, the winner of the Late Model main event will win and extra $100.00, while the second and third place finishers will receive an additional $50.00 each for those same events.

Phil Viveiros, owner of Phil’s Propane, has been a longtime supporter of the racing at Seekonk Speedway. For over a decade, Phil’s has been sponsoring many a competitor at the 1/3 mile oval. For the past 6 years, he has been the major partner with Kevin Casper, who has picked up several wins in the Late Models over the past 5 years, and continues to be a championship contender.

In addition to the ten events that have been added to the Late Model contingency, Phil’s will also present the annual Phil’s Propane 50 lap Late Model event on Saturday, June 27. Dates for the contingency are Sunday May 3, May 16, May 30, June 13, June 27, July 11, July 25, August 8, August 22 and September 5. These dates may change due to weather conflicts. To be eligible for the Phil’s Propane contingency, each driver must carry a Phil’s Propane decal on their car.

Seekonk Speedway opens for second round of practice of the spring.

With 2 weeks left of the off season, Seekonk Speedway will host their second of three open practice sessions on Saturday, April 18. Pit gates will open at 9am, with rookie practice at 11. Practice will continue until 5pm. All competitors from throughout the Northeast are welcome to get ready for their season opener. The grandstands will be open for the public at no charge.

Competitors from several touring divisions, including the American Canadian Tour, Pro All Stars Series, True Value Modified Racing Series and North East Midget Association, joined the Seekonk Speedway regular divisions in getting ready for an exciting 64th season under the ARC banner.

When the gates swing open on Sunday, May 3rd, fans and competitors will be greeted by all new seating that surrounds the 1/3 mile facility. For the first time ever, fans seated on the backstretch will have aluminum bench style seating, instead of the concrete that fans have been resting on since the beginning. Seekonk Speedway is the only racetrack in New England that offers stadium style seating, allowing the fans to sit anywhere around the track that they wish. The seating was unveiled on the speedways first practice on Saturday, April 4th.

It was announced this week that Francis Farm of Rehoboth MA has taken over the concession stands for 2009. Ken Foley and his crew took over one of the concessions in 2008 and brought a true New England flavor the action Track of the East with their legendary homemade Clam Cakes and Chowder. This quickly became a track favorite in turn one. Francis Farm will continue their support of the local racing with the annual Francis Farm Mid Season Championship to be held on Saturday, July 18, when all ARC divisions will compete for extra cash in extra distance events. Francis Farm is located in Rehoboth MA, and has been providing the community with clambakes and more for over 100 years.

Update on John McKenna from the Backstretch

John McKenna, the Whelen Modified Tour crew chief who was seriously injured during the season opening Icebreaker 150 on April 7 at Thompson International Speedway, remains in the intensive care unit at UMass Medical Center in Worcester and has been in a medically induced coma since last Wednesday.

See complete story here:
http://blogs.courant.com/autoracing/2009/04/injured-whelen-modified-tour-c.html

Taken from The Backstretch. Shawn Courchesne Author

Opening Day Addition

Dave Alburn has confirmed today that the Pure Stocks have been added to the opening day schdule. They will join the ARC Pro Stocks, Late Models, Street Stocks and Seekonk Sport Trucks. Opening day is scheduled for Sunday, May 3 with the first green flag at 2pm.

Practice continues on Saturday, April 18, and Saturday May 2.

Grandstands now open.

Upon further review, speedway management has decided to open the grandstands for Saturday's practice. Be sure to check out the new and im............ Oooops. I almost let it out...

Open Practice Saturday 4/4

FIRST OPEN PRACTICE FOR 2008:

Saturday, April 4 (Rain date is April 11)
Pit gate and pit booth open at 9 AM
Mandatory Rookie Meeting at 11 AM to be followed by rookie practice.
Practice for all divisions will follow.
All touring classes and outside teams are welcome.
Practice will run until approximately 5 PM. Safety inspections will be ongoing throughout the day.
MAIN GRANDSTANDS WILL BE CLOSED
CONCESSIONS WILL NOT BE OPEN.

Additional practices will be held on Saturday April 18 and May 2.

OPENING DAY IS ALMOST HERE!