(Press Release from Thompson Speedway)
While 19 different divisions get ready to battle in the 58th annual Sunoco World Series at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park, October 9-11, there is quite the group of variety of race cars planned for fans. There will be a mix of touring series divisions, local classes and open shows to make up three days of racing, with everything from Modifieds, to Midgets, Late Models, Mini Stocks and more.
Headlining the weekend will be the season-finale for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour — the Sunoco World Series 150. Although their 2020 season has been shortened due to COVID-19, they have put together nine races, including two at Thompson. In September, Ron Silk went to Victory Lane in the Thompson 150. For the Sunoco World Series 150, however, the story will surround the championship battle.
Justin Bonsignore, looking for his second series crown, leads by 27 points over six-time champion Doug Coby. The two drivers are no strangers to Thompson victory lane – with Bonsignore winning 12 events and Coby six on the high-banks. The two of them will be joined by a stout entry list to be released next week that will keep fans sticking around until the very end. The Whelen Modified Tour race will also air live on NBC Sports Gold, NASCAR’s TrackPass platform.
However, they aren’t the only invading division looking to steal the eyes of Thompson race fans.
On Friday night, the Senior Tour Auto Racers (STAR) are bringing two divisions – the Modifieds and Late Models – to give fans a look back in time. The cars that compete with STAR are some of the oldest but best-kept in the New England region. Many have competed in some of the top events in the history of Northeast racing. They will be joined by the Open Vintage Modifieds, another division that flashes fans back up to five decades.
On Saturday night, four other touring divisions will take the green flag. They are by the EXIT Realty Truck Series, which has quickly become one of the top tours in the upper part of New England. The Trucks return to Thompson with a championship battle on their hands. They will off a battle at Lee USA Speedway’s Octoberfest weekend, before heading to Thompson for their second-to-last race of the season. Winners this year so far include names like Randy Burr, Connor Souza, Duane Noll and Gerard Giordano Jr. The latter is no stranger to Thompson’s high-banks as Giordano picked up the big win last year.
The North East Mini Stock Tour has been busy in 2020, not letting COVID-19 slow down their championship battle. They have recently competed at Riverside Speedway, Star Speedway, White Mountain Motorsports Park and Oxford Plains Speedway with multiple different winners. As part of their current schedule, Thompson’s World Series 20-lap feature will be the last of the season, allowing them to crown a champion on the big stage.
The Pro 4 Modifieds continue their trend of World Series success with another 22-lap race on Saturday night, October 10. A former weekly division at Thompson, the Pro 4 group gives upcoming competitors a chance to dabble in the Modified ranks while also playing host to some veteran competitors looking to keep costs down. The race is the Harry Kourafas Memorial, remembering one of their longtime supporters.
The winged-warriors are also coming back to Thompson with three different winged divisions set to compete at the World Series. The ISMA Supermodifieds were recently added with another 50-lap feature for the fastest division of the weekend. The International Supermodified Association had originally planned on closing shop for the year after their race in September but have extended their schedule to include the prestigious Thompson weekend for the 45th time.
The NEMA Midgets and NEMA Lites are also headed back to the 0.625-mile oval with the NEMA Midgets running on Saturday and the Truly NEMA Lites competing on Sunday afternoon. Both divisions have a 25-lap feature race and are fan favorites.
On top of it all, the Pro All Star Series (PASS) returns to Thompson with their championship battle heating up. After a crazy, COVID-filled year, PASS is happy to add Thompson’s World Series to their schedule in 2020 as the second-to-last race of the year. PASS will crown their champion with a return to Oxford Plains Speedway the weekend after the Thompson event. Super Late Models will tour the Thompson oval for 75 laps at the World Series. Names like D.J. Shaw, Derek Griffith and Travis Benjamin will look to score the checkered flag in a stout field.
A three-day general admission ticket for the Sunoco World Series of Speedway Racing is $55 for adults and $15 for kids ages 12 and under. Advance tickets can be purchased by visiting https://happsnow.com/event/Thompson-Speedway-Motorsports-Park-YHPQ/WORLD-SERIES–NO2QX. Pit passes will be sold at the track and are $75 for adults and $40 for kids ages 12 and under.
For more information about the Sunoco World Series of Speedway Racing schedule, contact the ACT offices at (802) 244-6963, [email protected], or visit www.acttour.com/thompson-speedway. You can also get updates on Facebook and Twitter at @ACTTour.
For camping information and general Thompson Speedway inquires, call (860) 923-2280, email [email protected], or visit www.thompsonspeedway.com. You can follow Thompson Speedway on Facebook and Instagram at @ThompsonSpeedway or on Twitter at @ThompsonSpdwy.
For technical information concerning all PASS divisions, and for media or marketing questions, please contact [email protected] or visit www.proallstarsseries.com. Don’t forget to “Like” the Pro All Stars Series on Facebook or follow on Twitter @PASSSLM14 to keep up with breaking news as it happens.
Can someone explain why the Pro 4 modifieds have never taken off as entry level Modified division?
This should be a great event. This is a fantastic collection of cars.
Chris, I’m stunned and amazed that the Pro 4 Mods have not been an undercard series at many tracks and events for years and years. The smaller car puts on a great show in its own way.
Islip had a VW series that was fantastic. There were 2-3 classes delineated by engine size. It was awesome racing. I so wish the Pro 4 series would grow.
Great question! As a long-time modified fan, I have pondered that same question! A much-older friend of mine who used to drive what tracks such as Seekonk called “mini-modifieds” knew Dan Meservey, Sr. From what I’ve inferred through conversations with him, the series has lost direction in terms of guidance, funding, etc. in direct relation with Dan’s increasingly reduced involvement.
I know little about the mechanics and set up of modifieds, but from I observe and have learned from talking with my friend, the set up seems similar, just on a smaller scale. At a much lower cost to run than any SK Light, I would certainly expect Pro-4 racing to appeal to many.
I believe that track access has stifled the series’ growth. Seekonk, once their home base, has not hosted them in quiet a while, I believe. For the first few years of Open Wheel Wednesday, they raced along with NEMA and Tri-Track contingent. When ISMA ran its weeknight show at Stafford, they supported them along with NEMA. Every time they ran at Star, Lee, and Waterford, they had high car counts and consistently ran competitive, clean, and close races. I loved to watch them at Thompson in the World Series. As I recall, the faster ones ran laps consistently in 21-second range.
Unfortunately, the series today remains in critical condition, almost DNR. It has little to no social media presence. The sources I have found contain outdated information. With that background, I had no expectations when I watched the Pro-4’s race this year at Monadnock as part of a regular show. Needless to say, I felt satisfactorily unimpressed. About one dozen cars raced, but that included three different divisions: two different four-cylinder divisions and one with V-6 engines.
Perhaps someone has more in-depth knowledge regarding the specifics. Ideally, it would run many of the tracks the modifieds do as part of two-for-one! I emphasize ideally. The nature of racing in every has changed in every way over the years, compounded exponentially by Corona.
Work precludes me from getting to the World Series, so I’ll not see them again. The silver lining: I will attend Tri-Track at Stafford. Let’s make the best of what remains in 2020!
The Pro4 series has had some good racing particularly on small tracks and not all that long ago had good car counts. I think maybe the NEMA Lights and SK Lights or Sportsman Modifieds may have unintentionally caused their car counts to dwindle. They used to have 12-16 Pro4’s and 6-8 Pro4 Lights with separate features. The last few years when I’ve seen them run they are struggling to get 10 cars total for one combined feature.
Stick a fork in em. There done. 2 years ago at Hudson 4 showed up. Seekonk ran them on a Wednesday nite with a Super late model show, they never got on track, only 3 showed up ! They need to find a track that will let them run weekly or bi-weekly. Never did or will make it as a touring division. I know the Meserves have put a ton of effort into this but…………. not going to be pretty at thompson with 6-7 cars on a 5/8 mile track.
My name is Tim Thibault and I am the president of the Pro4 Modified’s.
Wanted to shed some lite on the division.
2020 has been a transition year of changes for Pro4’s.
Last winter a competition committee was established to bring the field more even. The goal is to be one division in 2021. Allowing various 4 cylinder and v6 motors. We have been adjusting rules all season and have made great success in leveling the field. And we will continue to make adjustments. Another change is to make the Pro4s motor cost effective. Some competitors have had great success.
We have a tire & rpm rule now To include Addition tech inspection that help level field. While car counts have been lower, many other divisions have also struggled with this. We are promoting some very cost effective motors to keep costs down with reliability. We expect to have 15-18 cars at Thompson. We have changed qualifying At Thompson to group time trial. This will give fans a prospective of how close and fast the field is
We are in process of planning our 2021 schedule.
Anyone that has any questions please email me at [email protected]
My name is Allan Rieser and have been racing these Pro4 modifieds since 2003 . They are one of the least expensive to race . I have and still do have a lot of fun at every event , if somthing goes wrong the other racing teams come over to help get you back on the track if possible . The changes being added to the Pro4 club is tightening up the racing field which makes great racing to see and experience as a driver.
Mr. Thibault, thanks for the info on the Pro4’s. That kind of car count should certainly produce some good racing, especially on the smaller tracks.
Good info. My question is what are the cost differences between the SK Light and the Pro 4?
I can give you costs of pro4.
Tires $130 each – two tire max per race.
Fuel some use 110 @$11 and some use pump fuel based on their motors
There are cars for sale as rollers $3,000 and up or turn key for anywhere from $7,000 to $10,000.
The motors we are promoting are lower rpm (8000) and much more cost effective. ideally we would like to keep costs down to $5,000-$8,000. There Are a few more expensive motors racing now but we have made rule changes that are making them not required to be competitive but still car run.
There are a few reasons why people should consider racing a pro4.
1. They are fun and fast. TC/Dowling/Pitkat/Rocco & Colby have driven them and had blast.
2. You don’t need a Large crew at the track, or work on these cars 40hrs a week to race.
3. It’s a good stepping stone for v8 Modified’s.
I think the SK lights or crate mods has been successful because they are run at several tracks under similar rules. You can run a crate mod at Stafford, Thompson, Waterford, Hudson, Monadnock, Claremont, Wall, Riverhead and some tracks in upstate NY pre or post covid. I believe Hudson and Monadnock run them as their tier 1 Nascar divisions for regional and National points. The crate engine should ensure most cars are in the same ball park in horsepower. So you shouldnt be at too much a competitive disadvantage to the bigger dollar teams. The SK lights also are a good entry point if you want to step up to an SK or tour type modified. You already have a usable chassis and a ton of parts if and when you do move up.
The crate engines have increased car counts significantly in the Dirt Sportman Modified ranks. There are a few tracks running 2 features each week. Some separate them based on experience. Its a boon for the tracks. They pay the same amount to get into the track each week and race for half the purse of the top division. Love them or hate them, the crate engine has probably saved a lot of tracks from going out of business.