Thompson to Honor 2012 Track Champions
Thompson, CT — The Thompson International Speedway is preparing to honor those who excelled in the racing competition during the 2012 season. The track’s NASCAR Whelen All-American Series featured seven different divisions of race cars competing at the historic speedway and the efforts of top finishing race teams will be rewarded on Friday, December 14th and Saturday, December 15th . These events will be held at the Raceway Restaurant and Lounge on the grounds of the Thompson Speedway.
Because of the large number of competitors that typically attend the track’s annual awards banquets, two nights have been set aside to accommodate all of those expected to be part of the gala celebrations. Friday’s banquet will spotlight the efforts of competitors in the track’s Late Model, Xtra Mart Limited Sportsman and Monster Mini Stock divisions. Saturday’s gathering will focus on the Sunoco Modifieds, Super Late Models, Thompson Modifieds and the LKQ/Keystone Lite Modifieds.
Awards will be presented to the race teams finishing the year In the top ten in points in the Sunoco Modifieds, Late Models, Xtra Mart Limited Sportsman and Monster Mini Stocks. The Super Late Models ran a very limited schedule in 2012 and as a result the top five will be honored. The top five will also be honored in the Thompson Modified and LKQ/Keystone Lite Modified divisions.
Ryan Preece will occupy the head table as the champion of the track’s NASCAR Whelen All-American Series feature division. Preece drove the Al and Kathy Moniz # 31 Sunoco Modified to an impressive ten wins during the extremely competitive 2012 season. Preece had a great season. In nineteen outings, he never finished outside the top five and posted an amazing 922 track points.
Derek Ramstrom gained his third Thompson title in the Super Late Model division by a mere six points over Jim Banfield. Each of Ramstrom’s championships has been extremely close with the 2010 contest ending in a tie with Mike O’Sullivan. NASCAR’S tie breaking procedures were used to determine the champ. His 2009 title was also decided by a margin of only six points.
Late Model championship honors will go to Tommy O’Sullivan for the second year in a row. O’Sullivan had a very strong year claiming eleven wins in an eighteen-race schedule. However, the driver with the most wins at Thompson in 2012 was LKQ/Keystone Lite Modified driver Cam McDermott. McDermott, who was the 2011 Thompson Modified champ, chose to move up to the Lite Modified division rather than attempt to defend his Thompson Modified crown. It proved to be a very good move for the Scituate, RI driver as he won fourteen of the seventeen-race schedule.
John Lowinski-Loh, Jr., the 2011 Thompson Modified division Rookie of the year, claimed the top spot in that division with nine wins and 876 points. He will be honored for his championship season as will Scott Sundeen who took top honors in the Xtra Mart Limited Sportsman division. Sundeen visited victory lane eight times and racked up 790 points. He also received national recognition from NASCAR for winning of the sanctioning body’s Division III asphalt track competition. Fellow Limited sportsman competitor, Jesse Gleason, finished second in this national competition.
Thompson’s extremely popular Monster Mini Stock division saw another close race for the division’s crown. But, after eighteen races, Chad Baxter won it all by a margin of eight points over Eric Bourgeois. Baxter was one of eleven drivers who graced victory lane in 2012 making the Monster Minis the most unpredictable and competitive division in Thompson’s race program.
Special awards will also be a big part of the banquets. Rookie of the Year, Most Improved driver, the Chief Starter’s award and the John Hoenig Memorial award will be presented. The names of special awards recipients are not announced prior to the actual presentations.
Each of the awards banquet evenings will begin with a social hour at 6:30 PM with dinner and the awards ceremonies beginning at 7:30 PM. Everyone attending must have a ticket to present at the door since the banquets are invitation only events. Anyone seeking information on Thompson’s awards banquets may call the track office at 860-923-2280.
Sources: Russ Dowd/Thompson International Speedway PR