Fast Friday Preview...with Kyle Souza
SEEKONK, Mass. — The Fast Friday Series at Seekonk Speedway has been one of the fastest growing racing nights in the New England region for the last decade. The family fun racing environment has allowed young and upcoming talent to showcase themselves in front of a crowd each Friday evening.
This season, a new division will roll into the track with plenty of challengers hoping to start building their legacy. The Seekonk Grand Prix Bandolero class will begin action under the INEX sanction on opening night. The division has run weekly at track’s in the surrounding area for a few years and Seekonk is happy to bring the class onto the 2017 schedule.
“We have enjoyed some great support from youth racing teams in our Mini Cup division for almost two decades, but need to expand the division to allow our young races to grow with a more structured system,” David Alburn, Competition Director said. “INEX offers a system that has proven successful with the Legends and we look forward to working with them and growing a successful youth program.”
The “Bando” class has some new faces along with some drivers fans will already be familiar with from Fast Friday. Plenty of former SYRA competitors like Conner Souza and Maddie Harkin have filed entries, along with the defending SYRA 600 champion Evan Marchand. However, plenty of upcoming drivers like Tyler Barry, Teddy Welch and Tyler Tomassi will be taking first left turns around the famed third-mile oval in 2017, hoping to get a hang of things.
For those who are unaware, the SYRA division will be coming to a close over the next few years, but this season should be one of the most competitive in history. Souza and Harkin, who both also entered in the Bando class, will be back in the SYRA for some racing as well. Hugh Bowser and Zachary Martinez are also back this season, while Martinez is looking to take things to the next level after coming on strong at the end of the year. Names like Jake Melberg, Kyle Pianka and Nicholas Frechette are also planning on taking laps in the SYRA class this year.
In the Pure Stock class, drivers will be pleased to know that two-time and defending division champion Andrew Kun has moved to a new class for this season. While Kun moves on, Scott Cestodio comes to the front of the pack of championship favorites. Cestodio will be joined by veterans like Mark Murphy and Amy Arsenault, but will also face some Rookie of the Year contenders like Jason Tisi.
In the Sport 4 division, defending champion Mike Belanger has moved on and will leave a void at the head table that plenty of drivers will be looking to fill. Names like Glen Leduc, Mikey Lefort, Mike Glad and David Westgate come to the top of the list as favorites because of their veteran experience. However, just like every other class, newcomers like former SYRA driver Timmy Ouelette and Kamryn Casper will be hoping to make their first move.
Finally, a competitive Nick’s Pit Stop Legends class is expected to draw cars from all over New England this season. While defending champion Jake Johnson moves onto the Late Models, names like Josh Parsons and Brandon “Batman” Martinez come to mind as favorites. Others, like former Pure Stock standout and champion Andrew Kun and multiple time 2016 winner Ryan Kuhn are also expected to make runs this season. Kuhn will be competing on a part-time basis while focusing on his Everett’s Auto Parts Late Model.