(Press Release from American-Canadian Tour)
Officials with the American-Canadian Tour (ACT) and Pro All Stars Series (PASS) released the 2024 purse structure for the weekly track championship divisions at the Thompson Speedway oval. With the introduction of the Sunoco 604 Modifieds comes their launch to the top of the heap, a $1,500-to-win, $200-to-start purse will be in place for the new division in 2024 as excitement continues to mount for the upcoming season.
Fans and teams alike have much to look forward to at Thompson Speedway this season. Expanded to 10 track championship events for each of the five divisions that will call Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park home for the 2024 season, along with the bookending 50th Icebreaker and 62nd Sunoco World Series weekends and the debut of the Sunoco 604 Modifieds! With today’s announcement of the Sunoco 604 Modified weekly purse, over $24,000 will be available to Thompson Speedway’s track championship divisions at each event!
“We continue to hear about our 604 Modified idea catching on with teams and we wanted to again show our commitment to them,” said PASS President Tom Mayberry. “Cris and I both think that once more folks see how they can get the same amount of speed and excitement with a much smaller expense, and race for the same great purse, it’s just going to send this skyward.”
Teams can find the complete 2024 Posted Awards for Track Championship Divisions online at www.thompsonspeedway.com/rules-competitor-info or www.acttour.com/thompson-speedway. Teams can also fill out the Number Registration forms to prepare for the opening 50th Icebreaker weekend starting with optional Practice Day Friday, April 5 before starting the 2024 season on Saturday, April 6 and Sunday, April 7!
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, 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.
Its in the right direction – they should let sk’s run with weight penalty until they get a full field – now they need a cheaper tire. If they doubled the purse they still would struggle to get a full field this year. Mid week shows are tough for owners, crew members and fans.
Be interesting how many they get, its over 10k for this motor to be race ready in a Modified. You can buy fresh SK motors all day for 10k. Also 604s they are on back order from GM, once the shops sell out of ones they already have it will be difficult. These are not allowed to be opened and if you blow 1 its currently $8900 for a replacement if using your old 604 bolt ons. The NH guys have molested units as do pro stocks/late models wich means Thompson is basically hoping 24 guys go out and buy new pieces before the season. Not sure thats realistic.
Sk purse is same and if its 2 tires a race,where is the cost savings?
Wish they used this same money on Sk lites, that would be a homerun since their is allready 60 of those guys in existance.
I have high respect for ACT and thanks to the two men that are trying to keep Tom Curley’s success alive. I do think though that in the long term no good will come from a 604 or 602 crate modified class in that area.
Why not just let anyone that wants to field a modified with a crate engine, ( modified with a crate engine don’t even sound right to hear or look at) go ahead and do it and run in the SKs without weight or carb help. Let’s see how they can do? Someone has already said on another topic that a 604 crate won or nearly won a tour engine rules race at Monadnock only a few years ago. If that is the case then the right driver/chassis set up should be able to hold their own in the SKs with only about 100 HP deficit.
I’ve not kept up with it that good but some one who has may know if NHSTRA has maintained or increased their car count since they went to crate engine and nothing else. Whether car count has increased or not I’m sure that many local engine machine shops/builders and their employees have become at best disenfranchised or at worst an active adversary to those race tracks.
A couple of “tours” that I have paid attention to is, Tommy Catalano’s ROC crate 602 class for beginners and in the south the Carolina Crate Modified Series. The former just finished it’s third year (could be fourth) of about a handful of scheduled races per year. The car count is closer to 5 cars than 10 and best I can tell not one race with double digit car count. I believe that the Lewis kid and the Leaty young lady would have gotten into modified racing anyhow. He didn’t make much but it seems to me like ROC just went along with the sanction and PR so Tommy Catalano could profit by being the only source for the 602 engine and all the necessaries. The CCMS is in a little better shape but not much. Tommy Baldwin’s two sons bolstered car count some this year along with the announcment of the CCMS as companion event to the Whelen Tour at N. Wilkesboro this past September. Car count was 39 but post qualifying and post race tech left me and many others thinking that 100% were cheating but some got a wink and a nod and some didn’t. From day one of Crate mania (around 2004) the aforementioned application of the rules has always raised it’s ugly head when multiple “bonded” crate re-builders from all over have their engines racing against each other. Haven’t looked lately but any kind of seal a racer might need has been available on the black market and even eBay. I still have not seen any race media coverage as to naming who got thrown out and why? Maybe on social media but I don’t go there. The last race or two for the CCMS shortly after the N. Wilkesboro debacle had 4 car fields. I know times are tough and most everything is a new normal but 4-7 cars is not a path forward for any touring series.
The Tom Curley that I knew would change something and try another approach.
When dirt late models run for a 50,000 dollar to win every other weekend why do you think the car counts are down yes racing in all forms is expensive but 1,500 to win 200 to start slap in the face as far as I am concerned get more local sponsors get the win to 4,000 300 to start then you may get the car counts up for me I am done racing just to expensive and no respect for teams and fans
Was that an AP class in crate class racing it was hard to keep up. My question would be what does getting 7 modifieds for racing in a region that loves their late model racing have to do with New England? The starting point one would think would be a place like Monadnock that got 19 NHSTRA crates for their finale last September.
So how many teams buy crate engines, carefully drill out the two or three seals the engines have, take them apart, refine and improve them in hard to detect ways knowing they won’t dyno within spec and reseal them with fakes from Ebay of all places? Risking losing the engine post tech? Seems like an awful risky way to spend a lot of money to win a little money and a plastic trophy.
Since when did mid-week shows become problematic??????
I never had a problem with mid-week shows.
I hate “crate engines” let the engine builders build engines, not the billion dollar corporation.
Mid week shows where the best when it was an open competition and the race drew competitors from all over – Plainville and Waterford had some of the best. Not like that anymore
If the mid week shows are run properly, and there’s no unforseen problems they usually end early enough not to be a problem.
I believe the crate engine is saving racing across the country. You have a bunch of 602 and 604 classes thriving in dirt racing. In pavement the SK light package seems to be a popular package around here. Just look at the car counts. The crate divisions usually exceed the open motor packages at most local tracks. The driver knows the costs of the motor, know that they are on a near equal footing hp wise as the guy lining up next to him. If I were to go racing that is the direction I would go. Not many weekly drivers are making a living racing these days. The only ones making money are people who provide cars for other racers. With the crate engine division you can have fun and hopefully not go completely broke having fun, I hope it does well. I would love to see them integrate the SK motor with some weight adjustments as I think its going to take a bit to catch on here. And Thompson seems to be a year-to-year deal. I am not sure I would go in on the 604 without some sort of commitment that the division will be run at Thompson for a few years to come.