New Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park general manager Josh Vanada said Thursday that the management at the track is working diligently to have a finished 2014 schedule ready to present to competitors and fans for the World Series of Speedway Racing, which takes place Oct. 18-20 at the track.
Vanada said track officials are working to put together a schedule that will see six to eight events run on the .625-mile Thompson Speedway oval in 2014. Next year will also see the opening of a new 1.7 mile road course at the facility.
“[Thompson race director] Jeff Zuidema is talking a lot with competitors who are coming up with some creative ideas,” Vanada said. “And we’re welcoming everybody’s input to make some marquee events that are enjoyable for fans and competitors alike. Some things that are perhaps a little bit more creative and outside the box than what we’ve done in the past.”
Vanada said the known variables at this time are that the track will have a traditional Icebreaker season opener and a World Series season ending event. What happens between them remains to be seen.
Vanada said the track will host the Whelen Modified Tour at least three times in 2014, with events at the Icebreaker, the World Series and an event at some point during the summer. He said it’s unclear at this point what part the Valenti Modified Racing Series will play in the scheduling for next year.
He also said it’s not clear what day of the week the four to six events between the Icebreaker and World Series will run on. Over the past decade Thompson has run its weekly events on Thursday nights.
“I do want to have some definitive answers for folks by the World Series,” Vanada said. “I am working diligently on it. We’re batting a lot of stuff around to make sure it’s the best for all parties involved. It’s our plan to let teams know exactly where we stand by the World Series.”
Asked how he would respond to longtime competitors who might say they have too much invested in their race teams to only run six to eight events in a season Vanada said: “We understand that everyone has got a lot of money into what they’re doing. We want to work together to give them the six to eight best events that Thompson Speedway can give them and we want to let them know that we appreciate what they’ve done and we’re going to continue to work with them. We value their input and we want them to be a part of the events that we have.”
Vanada, who had been working part-time as director of motorsports operations at Thompson, began full-time as general manager of Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park on Tuesday.
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how about longer races with increased purses
6 race mini-series, once a month, sunday twi-night shows.
50 lap max. 1500 to win, 500 for 5th, 300 for 10th, 200 to start.
Point fund to those attending 50% of shows, equivalent to 1 night purse.
4 tires first time competing, 2 tires additional nights.
2 rounds of warm-ups. No heats. Draw for feature starting position.
This is example of SK mod. Similar format for light mods, late models, and limiteds with proportionately adjusted purse and race distance.
This example would be for SK mod. Similar format
The road course is going to be the primary revenue generator, as a rental for motorcycle track days. Watch the schedule. Not much of a spectator event, that.