SEASON PREVIEW
NICKS PITSTOP LEGENDS READY TO ROLL
Though the Legend Cars compete up and down the East Coast, some of the most competitive racing has come at Seekonk Speedway in the past few years. Between the duels with Nick Lascuola and Nick Ladyga a few years ago, all the way to the battles between Jordan Lamothe, Brandon Martinez and Jesse Melberg in 2015, the racing has been hot and heavy each and every Friday night.
With that said, 2016 is expected to be no different at Seekonk. Much like 2015, Woodstock, Conn. native Jordan Lamothe has entered behind the wheel of his No. 16 TS Motorsports machine. The defending champion scored more than a handful of wins last year and each week he was the dominant car when it mattered most at the end of the feature event.
Expect Lamothe to be there at the end of each race and even if he doesn't score the victory, he will gain valuable points towards the title run.
Young and rising upcomers Brandon and Shileigh Martinez will also be back behind the wheel of their Legend Cars this season. Brandon finished second in the division point standings last year and got his first victory late in the season, while Shileigh struggled at first, but vastly improved and finished inside the top-10 consistently in the final weeks of the year. Both drivers are expected to run up front and be contenders when it matters most this season.
Richmond, R.I. native Corey Caddick, who scored a few dominating Sport 4 wins in 2015, has filed an entry behind the wheel of his No. 27. He will be making a jump from the 4 cylinder car to the Legend, but with his driving talent, there shouldn't be any first timers struggles.
Joining Caddick as rookies this season will be Mason Levesque, Derek Gluchacki, Adam Avedisian and multiple others. It's a tough task for drivers to get the handles on a legend if they haven't had time around the 1/3 mile oval, so the open practice sessions before the official points season starts will be crucial for these drivers.
We saw at the end of 2015 that Brendon Hammann and Joey Lembo, both rookies last season, were really starting to improve each week. Both drivers will be back this season and you can count on at least one of them carrying the checkered flag before October comes around. Both have racing background and Hammann has experience working with multiple Late Models across the New England racing scene. It should be interesting to see what they both can do up front with some of the veterans.
Matt and Andrew Carpenter both will be returning once again for this season, along with names like "The Mop" Jesse Jakubajtys and former division winner John O'Sullivan. All drivers have run up front before and you can expect "The Mop" to possibly finally score a victory in 2016. His crew chief, Nick Lascuola, has won multiple division titles before and currently competes in the Pro Stock division.
The Legend Cars will once again be sponsored by Nick's Pit Stop, a business owned by Keith Lascuola out of Abington, Mass. Thanks to Keith and his gang for helping sponsor the division once again, they have been an important part of bringing Legend Cars to the Seekonk Speedway.
Don't forget that the Legends will compete twice on Saturday night this season. They will officially kick-off their points championship run on Saturday May 21 and will also be a part of the American Canadian Tour 150 night on July 16.
Otherwise, you can catch the division action starting on Friday June 3 and running through the first week of October. Action each Friday night gets underway at 7 p.m.
LEGENDS GEAR UP FOR BIG SEASON
INEX Legends