Thompson Releases 2012 Racing Schedule
Thompson, CT — The 2012 NASCAR racing schedule at the Thompson International Speedway has been released. The twenty race lineup has generated considerable excitement as it contains a wide variety of racing programs for both competitors and fans.
The 2012 racing season at Thompson will kick off with the traditional Icebreaker event on the weekend of April 14-15 which will mark the opening of both the Thompson season and that of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour. The season will conclude with the traditional World Series of Speedway Racing in October. Competitors and fans are urged to download a copy of the 2012 schedule so that they can see the entire, season-long lineup of racing action at the historic speedway.
Some of the highlights of the all-new Thompson race schedule include four events for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour including the return of the UNOH Showdown event that features both the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour. The format will remain similar to the inaugural UNOH Showdown including the 50-lap, $50,000.00+ showdown between the two tours. There will also be two appearances of the Modified Racing Series, extra distance races for each NASCAR Whelen All-American Series divisions plus the addition of the Lite Modified division as part of the track’s Thursday Night Thompson Thunder lineup. The popular Mini Stock Northern Twin Challenge will return for the third time in 2012 and some additional events are still in the works by track management for the Thursday night weekly race programs.
In adding the Lite Modifieds to the weekly lineup, track owner, Don Hoenig, said that the Lite Modifieds had been part of both the Icebreaker and the World Series recently and the positive response from both competitors and fans made the decision to add the Lite Mods to the weekly program an easy one. “This is an exciting division to watch and it has caught the imagination of all of us. We are looking forward to having the Lite Modifieds join us on a weekly basis and we anticipate that the division will grow and become a real fan favorite,” said Hoenig.
In other off-season activity, Thompson’s web site has the 2012 general safety rules that apply to all divisions along with the specific rules for each of the tracks NASCAR Whelen All-American Series race cars. Late Model competitors will also want to become familiar with the proposed rules for their division in 2013-2014.
The track is accepting car number registrations in all divisions. Racers are reminded that car numbers should be renewed by January 15th if they wish to keep their car number. Competitors who earned NASCAR points in 2011 will have their car numbers held until the January 15th date. However, after that date, any numbers not renewed will be available on a first come, first served basis. Renewal forms are available for download from the Thompson web site.
Thompson’s Banquets of Champions are scheduled for Friday, January 27th and Saturday, January 28th. Tickets are available to all competitors that finished in the top ten in points in their respective divisions. The tickets are going fast and race teams are urged to contact Thompson’s Office Manager, Mary Ann Rossi, to place their orders.
The 2012 racing schedule, car number renewal forms and racing rules are all available on the track’s web page. www.thompsonspeedway.com.
Sources: Russ Dowd/Thompson International Speedway PR