(Press Release from American-Canadian Tour)
The American-Canadian Tour (ACT) and Pro All Stars Series (PASS) have announced the schedule of events and ticketing information for the 47th Icebreaker at Connecticut’s Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park on April 10 and 11. The 10-division card is highlighted by the $10,000-to-win Icebreaker 125 for the Thompson Outlaw Open Modified Series plus other top local and regional classes.
In a shift from previous years, all 10 of the divisions competing on Icebreaker weekend will have a “one-day” format. Six divisions have their qualifying and features on Saturday, April 10 with the Icebreaker 125 and remaining divisions set for Sunday, April 11. While teams may attend the Friday Test N’ Tune and other practice opportunities during the weekend, they can also practice, qualify, and race in a single day if they choose.
The Pro All Stars Series (PASS) Super Late Models, EXIT Realty Pro Truck Challenge, Sunoco Modifieds, 8-Cylinder Street Stock Open, NEMA Lite Midgets, and Mini Stocks will qualify and race on Saturday, April 10. The Outlaw Open Modified Series, Late Models, Limited Sportsmen, and SK Light Modifieds are slated for Sunday, April 11. Separate general admission tickets will be sold for each day.
Post time is 1:00pm for Saturday’s card and 1:15pm on Sunday. The optional Test N’ Tune on Friday, April 9 goes from 11:00am to 5:00pm. All local and state health and safety mandates will be in effect throughout the weekend.
“We think this schedule format is in everyone’s best interests,” ACT managing partner Cris Michaud said. “The one-day race format accommodates teams that have other things going on in their lives and simply aren’t able to make it to the track for an entire weekend. Fans also won’t have to buy a ticket for both days if they can only attend one of them. It gives people more flexibility so they can enjoy as much racing as they want.”
“This format is a significant money-saver for teams,” PASS president Tom Mayberry added. “With qualifying and features on the same day, that’s one fewer night of hotels and other expenses that traveling teams have to pay for. Those costs can add up fast, and we don’t want teams to burn through a big chunk of their budget at the first race. It sets them up so they can potentially go to more races throughout the year.”
Adult admission for the Icebreaker is $30 on Saturday and $35 on Sunday. Kids ages 12 and under are $10 both days. Grandstand attendance is currently limited to 25% of capacity per the latest Connecticut state guidelines. ACT and PASS are monitoring the guidelines for any potential updates before race weekend. Advance ticket sales will begin by week’s end. Visit www.thompsonspeedway.com/reservations to reserve a camping spot.
With more than a month remaining before the Icebreaker 125, the entry list is already full of the top names in tour-type Modified racing. It’s shaping up as a big-time start to the six-event series that includes the return of the Thompson 300 on October 9-10.
Former NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champions Doug Coby, Bobby Santos III, and Ronnie Silk have officially committed to chase the $10,000 top prize. So have former Modified Racing Series champions Jon McKennedy, Anthony Nocella, and Chris Pasteryak. Other notable drivers on the entry list include Keith Rocco, Eric Goodale, Richard Savary, and Ronnie Williams.
The PASS Super Late Models headline the Saturday program with a 75-lap main event. PASS has been a part of every Icebreaker since 2016. This year’s event is the opener of both the PASS North and Northern Series championships. The NEMA Lite Midgets and EXIT Realty Pro Trucks are returning for another Icebreaker while the $1,000-to-win Street Stock Open was recently added after a wildly successful outing at the most recent World Series of Speedway Racing.
ACT and PASS officials have also added bonus laps for many of the local divisions. The Late Models will run a 40-lap feature on Sunday while the Sunoco Modifieds go 30 laps on Saturday. Both the Limited Sportsmen and SK Light Modifieds have 25-lap Sunday features with the 4-cylinder Mini Stocks slated for 20 laps as part of the Saturday card. The Late Model feature is the first event in the ACT New England Late Model Challenge Cup, a region-wide series for weekly teams at eligible tracks.
The Icebreaker 125 and Thompson 300 entry forms, along with the rules for the Outlaw Open Modified Series, are available at www.acttour.com/outlaw-open-modifieds. The early-entry deadlines for the Icebreaker is March 15. Information about the local division and Open Street Stock rules is online at www.acttour.com/thompson-speedway.
Thompson Speedway opens its 82nd season of oval track racing with the 47th Icebreaker on Saturday, April 10 and Sunday, April 11. The 10-division card includes the $10,000-to-win Icebreaker 125 for the Thompson Outlaw Open Modified Series, the PASS Super Late Models, and eight other divisions. An optional Test N’ Tune practice day is slated for Friday, April 9 with all Icebreaker divisions welcome. Grandstand attendance is limited to 25% of capacity.
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 and camping reservations, 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.
See JD, not malarkey. No need for someone else to qualify Preece’s car. Reason prevailed it would appear.
One day qualifying and racing equals a loaded field of cars.
Hope they offer a 2 day ticket
Not making fun of Seekonk fan but for years people complained asking for single day tickets At Thompson and this group does just that and the first comment here is hoping for a two day ticket. LMAO
Yes they should offer some kind of weekend deal. I don’t care if the excuse is these are pandemic times. You want to buy your online ticket for the icebreaker weekend? $75.29. Freaking ridiculous. At least Stafford has the “excuse” of saying that the spring sizzler is only a one day event. The icebreaker is Saturday and Sunday. In what world does paying a pit pass for last year’s world series for 3 days and paying the same amount for a two day regular admission icebreaker pass make any sense?
I like the separate tickets because it’s impossible for me to go to all days of all events. However I think it might be a good marketing move on their part to offer weekend passes at a discount, maybe $3-5 off per day. It could entice someone to go both days that might be undecided. A little discount to get in will still earn the track 2 days of food and drinks instead of one.
I agree with Fast Eddie! A 2 day ticket with some discount makes sense to me.
You might suggest to the State of CT that fully vaccinated people with card and ID should have no limit for attendance on race day! By Memorial Day anyone that wants a vaccine will have it and this BS limitation on attendance should end!
Of course dealing with political hacks, common sense doesn’t matter!!!!
For the record, this is just one race fan’s observation: Another part of the ticket debate to keep in mind is before covid, usually multiday events were two days for the most part. There was an optional test/ practice day Friday. Saturday was official practice with heats and/or qualifying and perhaps 2-3 features of support divisions. Sunday was features only for all the more prominent categories. Using this year’s Icebreaker as a prime example, either day’s schedule is a good single day event at just about any track with practice, heats, and features of all the categories run that day. Funny how there’s been complaints about Thompson but none about Stafford when the exact same thing is taking place at both venues. I’m guessing Stafford thought that might be an issue, so their two day events are separately named racedays, as they were last year. There is the perception of separate events by name, but the Spring Sizzler was also previously run prior to covid as described above. The only difference now between the wo tracks is Thompson has the same name for both days and Stafford has separate names. One thing I noticed going to some multiday events is the crowds seemed to be different from one day to the other, as in not many going to both days. When covid is done, maybe discounted weekend tickets will appear and help that situation for fans and tracks.
It is safe to conclude that bigger purses attract cars. Ticket prices make up the purses.
How can an allegedly reasonably intelligent human rail against sanctioning bodies for being thieves, tracks for screwing racers by cutting purses, etc., for paying terrible purses that don’t attract enough or highly competitive cars, and then on another thread complain about ticket prices?
Answer: Not reasonably intelligent.
Sounds like Dougitosis is highly contagious.