(Press Release from American-Canadian Tour)
Icebreaker 125 Entry List Brimming with Big Names
American-Canadian Tour (ACT) and Pro All Stars Series (PASS) officials have announced the slate of racing for the 46th Thompson Icebreaker on Saturday, April 10 and Sunday April 11. The 82nd season opener at Connecticut’s Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park currently consists of a nine-division card highlighted by the $10,000-to-win Icebreaker 125 for the Thompson Outlaw Open Modified Series.
The event marks the return of the historic season kick-off after a one-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Icebreaker was first held in 1974 and has become a staple of the Northeast motorsports calendar. It includes two days of racing with an optional Test N’ Tune on Friday, April 9.
All five of Thompson Speedway’s local divisions join the Outlaw Open Modified Series on the card. This includes the Sunoco Modifieds, ACT-type Late Models, Limited Sportsmen/8-cylinder Street Stocks, SK Light Modifieds, and Mini Stocks. Laps for each division are to be determined. The purses for these divisions will be similar to those at the Thompson Speedway events ACT and PASS promoted in 2020.
The PASS Super Late Models headline the Saturday portion of Icebreaker Weekend with a 75-lap event. It is the fifth straight Icebreaker featuring PASS, joining the 2016-2019 editions. PASS holds their first event of the year in the Northeast after opening the season with a pair of events at North Carolina’s Hickory Motor Speedway.
The NEMA Lites of the Northeastern Midget Association, who are longtime Thompson Speedway supporters, return for another showing at the Icebreaker. The EXIT Realty Pro Truck Challenge rounds out the card. Both series were slated to be part of the 2020 Icebreaker before its cancellation.
Officials are finalizing the full schedule for each day. More information regarding schedules, pricing, and ticketing will be announced over the coming weeks.
“We have something for everyone at the Icebreaker,” PASS president Tom Mayberry said. “It’s important to start the season with a bang, and we’ve put together a line-up to do just that. We know a lot of people are looking forward to the Outlaw Open Modified Series debut, but there’s plenty of other action planned for fans of both open-wheel and full-fender racing.”
Entries are already pouring in for the 125-lap Outlaw Open main event. Two of the biggest names on the list are Franklin, MA’s Bobby Santos III and Milford, CT’s Doug Coby. Santos has posted four career Tour-type Modified victories at Thompson Speedway and six at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He recently triumphed in the famed Little 500 for Sprint Cars at Indiana’s Anderson Speedway. Coby is a six-time champion of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour with six victories at Thompson.
Other notable Modified standouts on the early entry list include former Modified Racing Series and , International Supermodified Association Champion Jon McKennedy, former NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series National Champion Keith Rocco, 2011 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Champion Ronnie Silk, and Mike Christopher Jr., the winner of the Budweiser Modified Open at last October’s World Series of Speedway Racing. They’ll be joined by Northeast household names such as Matt Swanson, Eric Goodale, Andy Shaw, Carl Medeiros Jr., and Dan Meservey.
A limited amount of garage stalls are still available for Icebreaker weekend. These will be awarded to Outlaw Open Modified Series competitors in the order their entries are received.
The Icebreaker 125 is the opener of the new Outlaw Open Modified Series. The six-pack of big-money events concludes with the $20,000-to-win Thompson 300 on October 9 and 10 as part of the 59th World Series of Speedway Racing. In between are four 75-lap events on Wednesday nights throughout the summer that will pay a minimum of $5,000-to-win. Rules, entry forms, and other information for the Outlaw Open Modified Series is available at www.acttour.com/outlaw-open-modifieds or www.racedayct.com/thompson2021.
For more information about the American-Canadian Tour, contact the ACT offices at (802) 244-6963, [email protected], or visit www.acttour.com. You can also get updates on Facebook and Twitter at @ACTTour.
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.
For 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.
Which car is Santos driving? The $10k is going back to Indiana. Is he also going to Martinsville?? NHMS? Richmond?? We really need to get him to sit down for an interview. Asking for a friend of course. I’m still boycotting Thompson.
It will be interesting to see if Bobby is in the #44 or a second Sapienza car. Put him in ANYTHING and he’ll be competitive for sure!
JD, why boycott Thompson?
Not that I, or anyone else, really cares, just bored and curious…
Santos will probly be in the car he won louden in last year. His seat is still in that car actually.
Why are you boycotting Thompson? ACT and PASS have stepped up to keep the track running when others wouldn’t/couldn’t. I believe they increased the purses from what Thompson initially stated they would be for 2020. The purses were competitive compared to other tracks and they paid through the field. The only argument I can see is dropping Nascar and the tour but several other tracks have done the same thing in recent years. I dont think Thompson should be singled out and boycotted when others have done the same thing. If enough people boycott, the promoters wont make money and the oval track will close possibly forever. I dont think anyone wants to see that happen. I think thompson deserves the support of racers and fans.
Santos is driving the 44 for the Tinio’s
The purses were slightly less than waterfords were. And Thompson paid out the night of the race. The bowl however did pay out but some waited a cpl weeks for a check. Give the guys running Thompson now much credit for bringing the oval back from the grave!
Just got some sad news. Rube “Ruby” Pascale passed away. Those of you in the modified community may know him. For many years he was associated with the Boehler #3, having been a good friend of Lenny. More recently he was with the #16 Flamingo team, of which his son Timm was a longtime crew member. Ruby was a great guy, who treated everyone with respect and dignity, and always walked through the paddock with a smile on his face, he was well known throughout the modified community. My condolences go out to his family and friends.
Yeah, yeah, what csg said! Mr.’s Mayberry and Michaud even paid the full purse in the first race when the weekly classes had slim fields, which I thought was a real “standup guy” kind of move. They deserve as much support as possible from race teams and fans. Thanks to Open Modifieds running at all their events, I am hoping to be there for the full “Thompson six-pack” myself.
Boycott:
“to join together in abstaining from, or preventing dealings with, as a means of protest or coercion”
So far it’s a guy for whatever reason not going to a race. Happens all the time. Boycott is a little dramatic isn’t it? Get a few hundreds others on board and bingo…….you’ve got a boycott.
Why is JD going to boycott? Because Thompson speedway is not hosting his precious WMT. Point blank. What JD has yet to realize is that there is more to modified racing than just the WMT. In fact many WMT drivers have already stated their intentions in racing these other Tour Type events, including Thompson’s open shows. Who is he hurting? Only himself, as he will surely miss some great racing. Will his boycott affect Thompson? Hell no, the only one JD is hurting by this is JD. Boycotting a Track because they don’t host the WMT, shows me that in fact JD really ain’t a die hard race fan of any kind. I myself did not attend any races in 2020, and probably won’t in at least the early part of 2021, but when I feel it’s safe for me, and those around me you can bet I’ll be at the track whenever possible, taking in the sights and sounds of EVERY division. Because I am a true racing fan, who’s not consumed by just the WMT, but love all the various divisions racing has to offer.
Just stay home JD, we won’t miss you and your gosh darn negativity about Thompson.
With Santos in the line up, no matter what he drives and there is obviously some difference of opinions about that, this changes everything for the competition. Can’t wait.
The only way Santos isn’t a factor is if he drives a 1979 Troyer that hasn’t been updated since 1980, and even then I wouldn’t count him out.
As long as Bobby Santos III has his dad as Crew Chief, his run has a decent chance to be good. 😌
Hopefully Bob Santos will be prepping the car as BSIII likes it.
Talk about calling the kettle black Rob P. You stated a few months ago you haven’t been to Thompson in 20 yrs. The rest of you won’t be there either per usual. Meanwhile JD has made plans for Florida, Martinsville and is working on Richmond. Plus all the northeast races obviously. Made most of the races last year too.
I am aware of the Thompson entries. Actually, I’m aware of everything. The Wednesday shows will really determine how successful Thompson is in 2021. Stafford hasn’t drawn half of those big names for their open shows by the way. Hmmm… That is the first chink in the armour. The modified landscape will look much different in 10 months. I’m just going to sit back and watch. You guys enjoy sitting in your basements for another season.
Was it the two Muskets? Was that when Santos became this larger then life figure and instant favorite in any modified race he chooses to day trip in for. Gotta say after looking at his record over a number of years it baffles me how he blows past the guys that have been winning when it comes to fan reaction. If we’re talking diverse driving abilities then by all means heap on the praise. If we’re talking just modifieds seems more aura then one of the notable favorites in modified racing. That I would reserve for Hirschman, Coby, Bonsignor and Silk.
6 wins at NHMS + an all star win. 18 wins overall. That is right behind JB and Coby. One championship. Not bad for a part timer who lives in Indiana.
This really needs no explanation. You should try attending a race. Bobby has been kicking tail in both the 44 and 36 for a few years now. He was leading at Thompson with two to go as well in Aug of 2019. Doomed by a late race restart. He had the 2 and 51 covered that night too.
He is winning everything in site out west too.
With that said, I will let Doug get back to asking more dumb questions about a guy who is about to move into the all time top ten WMT wins list. Carry on.
Hey doug, unless there are no fans allowed or some disaster happens i guarantee you ill be at both days of the icebreaker. Been following santos since his nema days around here. The fact that he drives all the usac divisions along with mods, supers, and midgets very well makes him a force to be reckoned with driving anything!
Seriously, do you think so little of me I’m going to pop off about anyone without some kind of statistics to back it up. Don’t answer that!
Ten year stats for Coby, Bonsignor, Santos and Silk
Races Wins Top 5’s
Coby 145 28 (19%) 82 (57%)
Bonsignor 146 29 (20) 82 (55)
Santos 96 14 (15) 40 (42)
Silk 121 11 (11) 52 (43)
Pretty cool huh? Coby and Bonsignor so close. The surprise for me is Ron Silk’s top 5’s. If the observation is that Santos is competitive in whatever race he runs and whatever car he’s driving Ron Silk matches that ability step for step.
It’s just an opinion of one fan but there is statistical basis for it. A lot of you guys are constantly searching for some strange. A pretty face you don’t see that often to get you aroused. Thing is this particular pretty face is fickle. A bit of a gadabout. Old Doug just appreciates what he has right at home that grinds it out throughout the schedule. Just saying.
That did not transfer from Word to this format very well so let’s give it another try.
Races Wins Top 5’s
Coby 145 28 (19%) 82 (57%)
Bonsignor 146 29 (20) 82 (55)
Santos 96 14 (15) 40 (42)
Silk 121 11 (11) 52 (43)
Any better?
Nice stats Doug! Interesting to note Santos has run a third less WMT races than the top two, but his percentages are not that far off. Also of note, I think Silk’s numbers will improve the most this year of the three WMT regulars. I think they found something last year and if they can stay on the positive side of the “luck bank”, they’ll be in the championship hunt.
I must say JD that was very rude of you sniping at my race attendance patterns in making a point about Santos. Without being equally petty I will use it to give you my impressions of the ways to enjoy racing and what a fan can get out of it.
Your conclusion is that one cannot truly understand how to judge driver performance or reflect on races unless they are physically at the race. I completely reject that premise.
Of the three ways I have watched races each has it’s own strengths. The most exciting way to enjoy a race is being in the race in competition. The most enjoyable way to watch a race is at the track preferably with a tasty snack, your favorite beverage and good company. By far the best way to truly understand what’s going on in a race is viewing it on the big screen at home in the basement or otherwise with race monitor on your laptop. It’s not even close. Really hearing the announcing, replays both by the provider and your own replay function, lap speed data at the ready and the ability to research interesting tidbits that may be mentioned. Don’t know who a driver is simply do a search.
It’s not for everyone because most just want to get caught up in the moment and have fun. However if the goal is to grasp as much of what is going on the best way to do that is not in the car, not in the stands but via a streaming service.
You’re a stubborn cuss JD and have expressed your contempt for streaming races on more then one occasion. I respect that. Seems you are missing out on a lot of good races. Otherwise you are making that judgement at this point in time with little regard for the future. There may come a time when physically going to the races and all that it entails from the travel, time investment, late night and all the rest causes you to think it’s not worth it more then it is. At that point you may be happy that there is a way you can enjoy what you love at a moments notice with a few clicks and be happy the service exists.
A stubborn cuss. I like that(seriously). I’m going to use that moving forward. Thanks.
Was it rude? Probably. I was in a mood yesterday. You are probably right. One day I will be in the home yelling at some pretty nurse to put my race on the TV. I can’t say you are wrong there.
Replying to some comments @ the beginning of this topic, Bobby Santos can drive anything with a wheel, (common quote), and that has a lot to do with him starting his career @ age 5 (maybe 4.5) and having his dad prepare the car as a very humble chief. No flashing, No chest pounding…etc. Nicest family in racing, that also has talent. Hope he wins all races in which he competes
Replying to some comments @ the beginning of this topic, Bobby Santos can drive anything with a wheel, (common quote), and that has a lot to do with him starting his career @ age 5 (maybe 4.5) and having his dad prepare the car as a very humble chief. No flashing, No chest pounding…etc. Nicest family in racing, that also has talent. Hope he wins all races in which he competes