Thompson’s Sunoco World Series This Weekend
Thompson, CT — The 38th annual Sunoco World Series of Speedway Racing will be held this weekend at the Thompson International Speedway. This incredible race program will run Friday through Sunday, October 14-16, and will feature hundreds of race cars representing some 15 different divisions.
The Sunoco World Series of Speedway Racing presented by Town Fair Tire and XTRA/MART is the only race program of its kind in the northeast. The Speedway is converted into a small city of racing enthusiasts from Florida to Canada who faithfully make the trip to Thompson every October. They come in droves to watch great racing and to enjoy the party atmosphere that is a big part of this very special weekend.
This three-day high speed extravaganza brings nearly every type and style of oval track race car and race truck to Thompson Speedway for the traditional season-ending grand finale. Headlining the racing action is the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, the ultra fast Super Modifieds of ISMA, the NEMA Midgets, and Thompson’s “Super6” NASCAR Whelen All-American Series divisions. Add to that the Sunoco Lite Modifieds, Pro 4 Modifieds, New England Race Trucks and three “outlaw” racing divisions and you have an amazing lineup ready for exciting high speed action.
Grandstands open at 4:30 PM on Friday so that fans can watch qualifying races for eight different divisions that will be competing for starting spots in feature event racing on Saturday evening. On Saturday, grandstands will open at 9 AM with practice running until 2 PM. Once Saturday practice is completed, qualifying for the Whelen Modified Tour will kick off the competition part of the day. WMT time trials will be followed by qualifying races for the ISMA Super Modifieds, the NEMA Midgets, Sunoco and Sunoco Lite Modifieds, Super Late Models and Thompson Late Models. At roughly 5:45 PM the first of nine feature events will roll onto the speedway for their special moment in the World Series.
Sunday’s activities at the track begin when the grandstands open at 9 AM. Pre-race ceremonies are slated for 11:30 AM with the first sound of racing engines coming to life at 12 Noon. Feature events on Sunday include ISMA Super Modifieds, NEMA Midgets, Sunoco Modifieds, Super Late Models, Sunoco Lite Modifieds and Late Models. The entire weekend comes to a close with the WMT 150-lap race that will determine the 2011 WMT champion. Points leader Ron Silk and Todd Szegedy are in a close points battle for that title. If Silk prevails, it will be his first ever WMT championship. Szegedy is looking for his second title. It will all come down to the final race of the season for the “Tour” at Thompson. Championships are also on the line in many other of the participating divisions including the coveted ISMA and NEMA titles.
Racing is the main attraction at the Sunoco World Series but the good time party atmosphere marking the end of another racing season takes a close second. Activities in the Thompson Club House provide great food and entertainment all weekend long. A great dinner Friday night is followed by an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet on both Saturday and Sunday morning. The highlight at the Club House comes Saturday night with a great World Series dinner menu along with music and dancing until the wee hours of Sunday morning. Hundreds of fans take full advantage of the free camping policy at the track. All units, however, must be self-contained.
Tickets are available for advance purchase through Thursday afternoon at 4 PM at the Thompson Speedway track office. Walk-ins and credit card calls are welcome. 860-923-2280. Fans and competitors can find complete details of available activities and the race weekend schedule on the Thompson Speedway web site. www.thompsonspeedway.com.
Sources:Russ Dowd/Thompson International Speedway PR