Seekonk Speedway Entertaining Race Fans For 80 Years

Massachusetts and Rhode Island race fans have flocked to Seekonk Speedway for generations, and there is no indication the fun will end anytime soon.

Seekonk Speedway, 1782 Fall River Avenue (U.S. Route 6) in Seekonk, a semi-banked 1/3-mile asphalt-paved oval is the longest continually operated family-owned race track in the United States, under the guidance of the Venditti family since it opened on May 30, 1946.

The Seekonk Speedway website says, "What has become one of the nation's most recognized short tracks was a vision of Anthony Venditti, and that vision quickly became a reality when the first gates opened in May of 1946.

"World War II was in the rearview mirror, the economy was turning around, and D. Anthony was ready to showcase his dream, taking the family 'Seekonk Poultry Farm' land and designing the asphalt oval track."

Dominic Anthony Venditti built the Seekonk Speedway, now a 72-foot-wide track, the widest in New England, after World War II, and the business has grown every year since.

During race season, Seekonk Speedway features four divisions of NASCAR races, modifieds, NEMA lights, Midgets, pure stocks, thrill shows, and more.

There have only been three crash-related deaths at Seekonk Speedway in nearly 80 years of operation, all occurring in 1947, involving Midget cars. Drivers Edward Casterline, Frank Hanley, and Fernando Facenda died within three months of each other.

Seekonk Speedway season runs from April to late September.