(Press Release from American-Canadian Tour)
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Connecticut’s Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park is just over a week away from the annual Icebreaker. The 82nd season opener on Saturday, April 10 and Sunday, April 11 is headlined by the Icebreaker 125 for the new Outlaw Open Modified Series, pitting the region’s Tour-type Modified stars in a $10,000-to-win showdown.
Noted open-wheel racers such as Doug Coby, Craig Lutz, Bobby Santos III, Jon McKennedy, and Matt Swanson are officially committed to the Icebreaker 125. The Sunday shootout is just the beginning, though. Six Outlaw Open Series events are planned for the 2021 season with big purses and even bigger action.
It culminates with the return of the Thompson 300. The $20,000-to-win event is part of the World Series of Speedway Racing on October 8-10. It’s been 16 years since the late Ted Christopher won the last Thomson 300 in 2005. Not only is the Icebreaker 125 important in its own right, but it also starts preparations for an event that is hallowed in Modified lore.
“The Icebreaker is always the big opener in New England to get back going and get started racing again, so I’m definitely looking forward to that,” two-time Modified Racing Series champion Chris Pasteryak said. “As for the season in general, the way I look at it is that the Thompson 300 is the biggest Modified race of the year. So the more laps we get at Thompson over the course of the year leading up to the 300, hopefully the better we can run in it.”
In-between the Icebreaker 125 and the Thompson 300 are four $5,000-to-win Wednesday night shows on June 16, July 7, August 11, and September 15. The Wednesday dates make it easy for teams to tackle the Thompson high banks without weekly or touring series conflicts.
In the meantime, all eyes are on the Icebreaker showdown. The event is 125 green-flag laps with teams allowed to use eight tires. Racers have to be fast and use the right strategy to stand in Victory Lane.
“I love it,” Oakdale, CT’s Zachem said of the 125-lap distance. “It’s a pit-stop race, so more or less, you are racing to halfway to figure out your pit stop situation. I’m looking forward to it. We’ve always run well over at Thompson.”
It’s definitely going to make a difference,” Moosup, CT’s Pasteryak added. “When you’re counting caution laps and you get to 50 or 60 laps to go, you normally only count on getting about 35 of them under green. Whereas now when you get to 50 or 60 to go, there’s still potentially a pretty long race left. And then you know that, if you have some tires left in the pit stall, or you want to try a strategy where you hold off and pit a little bit later, you know you’re going to have that many laps to actually try and race your way back to the front and not just ride around behind the pace car to finish the day.”
A total of 29 drivers have pre-entered the event, including Keith Rocco, Mike Christopher Jr., Eric Goodale, Andrew Krause, Patrick Emerling, and Jeff Gallup. The current entry list alone accounts for dozens of championships and hundreds of race wins. Several other teams have indicated they’ll be there, setting up a stacked field with many potential winners.
The Outlaw Open Modified Series is the brainchild of PASS’s Tom Mayberry and ACT’s Cris Michaud, who are co-promoting the Thompson Speedway oval track events this season. The duo put on two events at Thompson in 2020 and have banded together to carry on the track’s storied tradition.
Thompson Speedway opened in 1940 and was long known as the “Indianapolis of the East”, attracting every notable name in motorsports. Even today, the track is revered among the racing community. Drivers such as Ryan Preece, Harrison Burton, Bobby Santos III, and Derek Griffith have used Thompson victories as a springboard to national opportunities.
“What Cris Michaud and Tom Mayberry have done for Thompson is huge,” Zachem said. “Taking the chance last year to run the track, with everything going on with COVID…I started at the Little T Speedway in 2000 and everyone’s dream is to run the big track one day and I made it there. It’s really cool to see the track still going.”
Thompson Speedway opens its 82nd season with the annual Icebreaker on Saturday, April 10 and Sunday, April 11. Ten local and regional series go green at the two-day racing festival. Sunday’s card features the $10,000-to-win Icebreaker 125 for the Outlaw Open Modified Series. There’s also a 40-lap ACT-type Late Model shootout plus the Limited Sportsman and SK Light Modifieds. Post time is 1:15pm.
Saturday’s six-division card is highlighted by the Thompson 75 for the PASS North Super Late Models beginning at 1:00pm. They’re joined by the Sunoco Modifieds, NEMA LITES Midgets, EXIT Realty Pro Truck Challenge, Mini Stocks, and an 8-Cylinder Street Stock Open. An optional Test N’ Tune practice day is slated for Friday, April 9 for all Icebreaker divisions.
Adult general admission is $30 for Saturday and $35 for Sunday. Kids ages 12 and under are $10 each day. Advance tickets are available at https://happsnow.com/event/Thompson-Speedway-Motorsports-Park-YHPQ. Grandstand attendance is limited to 50% of capacity per Connecticut COVID-19 guidelines. Pit passes will be sold at the track.
Speed51.TV is also offering a live pay-per-view broadcast for both days of the Icebreaker. PPV passes are $29.99 for Saturday-only, $34.99 for Sunday-only, and $54.99 for both days. Sign up now at https://www.speed51.tv/products/ppv-2021-icebreaker-weekend-pass-at-thompson.
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 inquiries 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.
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Is it just me or does it feel like they keep putting out the same announcement
RACEDAYCT POLL PRE RACE REPORT
HOW IS YOUR PREDICTION LOOKING SO FAR?
FEBRUARY 23, 2021
RaceDayCT Poll: How Many Tour Type Modifieds Do You Expect For The Icebreaker At Thompson?
*RaceDayCt POLL TOP RESULT— 27-32 cars
*DarealGoodfella “First death was in February 2020
Total deaths: 513,055”
*JD “None. We are getting a blizzard that week. 100 year storm. It will snow for seven days and nights. Bright in sunny in VA though. LOL.”
*Fast Eddy “I’m thinking 33-38 “
JANUARY 28, 2021
RaceDayCT Daily Poll: How Many Drivers Will Compete At Both Martinsville And Thompson Icebreaker?
RaceDayCt POLL TOP RESULT– 6-10. Nearly 70% voted 10 or under.
*Fast Eddy-“ I voted 1-5, but should have gone with 6-10.”
*DarealGoodfella-“I’ll go with 3-7 drivers will compete in both events”
*Rob p “ 9-12 drivers”
*Doug “Over 10”
*Suitcase Jake “20 or more DRIVERS”
Modfan,
It’s part of event promotion. Not everyone is going to see every announcement, especially among casual fans. Therefore, organizations need to keep hammering away so fans and teams know what’s going on. It can admittedly get tiresome for those who are vigilantly paying attention. But the minute a track or series lets off, you risk ending up with the Wall Stadium situation that Shawn was writing about a few days ago. (i.e. holding an event that almost no one knows about.)
Modfan, I’m having a deja vu all over again.
Why do they need to keep hammering away when according to Dafella anyone that goes to any racetrack is a idiot moron?