Thompson Inks Major Events Dates with NASCAR
Thompson, CT — Following several weeks of negotiations, Thompson International Speedway and NASCAR have agreed on the dates for the major events to be run at the historic Connecticut oval for the 2001 racing season.
The season will open with the traditional two-day ICEBREAKER event on the weekend of March 31st and April 1st. The featured division will be the NASCAR Featherlite Modified Series. A full card of support divisions that make the ICEBREAKER the premier spring event in the northeast will join them.
The Modifieds will return to Thompson on Thursday, August 16th for Thompson’s traditional mid-week extravaganza. This race will serve as the final warm up at Thompson for the NFMS before their return on the weekend of September 8th and 9th.
This date marks the return of the Thompson 300. The twenty one year tradition of the 300 at Thompson has already generated much excitement with both fans and competitors calling the speedway to express their delight.
The final appearance of the NFMS will come on the weekend of October 19th – 21st when the track opens for the 28th annual World Series of Speedway Racing.
One of the biggest changes in the touring series schedule comes with the annual visit by the Busch North Series. These cars and stars will race on Saturday night, July 14th. This date is one that speedway officials and NASCAR have worked on for over a year. “We are thrilled to have been able to schedule this major event on a Saturday night, said track owner Don Hoenig. We feel that this will serve both the competitors and the fans with a great race which will be run under the lights.” There is a lot of excitement surrounding both this event and the return of the 300. We think that the 2001 racing season will be one of the best ever at Thompson,” Hoenig concluded.
The remainder of the 2001 Thompson schedule is expected to be released within the next couple of weeks. Director of Operations, Ben Dodge, Jr. said that the balance of the schedule can be completed now that the major events dates are set.
Thompson International Speedway expects to adopt a full racing schedule that will include Sunoco Modifieds, Pro Stocks, Late Models, Street Stocks and Mini Stocks.
Additional divisions may be added or included in special events.
When complete, the 2001 schedule will be released to the media and will be posted on the track’s web site at: www.thompsonspeedway.com.
Sources: Russ Dowd/Thompson International Speedway PR