Stock Cars to Debut on Thompson’s Road Course in 2015
Grassroots Touring Series to Compete in Historic September Event
NO. STONINGTON, Conn. – Founded by long-time road racer, Lou Gingerella, and experienced motorsports professional, Josh Vanada, OTB Promotions has announced that they will host an event on Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park’s (CT) road course, featuring three of the region’s grassroots stock car divisions. Drivers from the North East Mini Stock Tour (NEMST), North East Street Stock Tour (NESST), and New England Truck Series (NETS) will join drivers from Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park’s (TSMP) Mini Stock Division for this historic event on Friday, September 11 and Saturday, September 12.
“Given the rich history of road racing and stock car tradition at Thompson, it made sense to Lou and I to put this event together. We’re excited to showcase some of the Northeast’s finest grassroots stock car touring series, as well as our own Mini Stock Division” said Vanada, the Executive Vice President of OTB Promotions, and current TSMP General Manager.
The two-day event will mark the first competitive activity for stock cars on TSMP’s road course since its $5 million renovation, which was completed in 2014. The format for the two day event will be a practice day on Friday, followed by a final practice, qualifying and feature races on Saturday.
While it will be their first event on TSMP’s road course, NEMST has been competing on New Hampshire Motor Speedway’s road course since 2012. The Tour’s founder and promoter, Bob Guptill, believes that this foundation will be a bonus for fans. “We are excited to offer our drivers the experience of a brand new event on a brand new track. Building on our current road course events, this is sure to put on an amazing show for drivers and fans,” he predicted. The NEMST road race always boasts strong car counts, and given the 30+ car turnout at Thompson’s Sunoco World Series of Speedway Racing last October, another robust entry list is likely.
In their inaugural season, NESST, features the ever-popular and ultra-competitive street stock race cars. Co-Series Director, Nick Ray, is enthusiastic about this stop on the Tour’s schedule. “We are very excited to have this extraordinary opportunity to showcase our street stock on the famed TSMP road course. Our competitors will be ready to put on a great show that will not soon be forgotten. We also would like to send a huge ‘thank you’ to Josh and his team for making this possible,” the rookie director remarked. In addition to bringing their own touring cars, the division’s rules package will also allow drivers from TSMP’s Limited Sportsman Division to compete in the ground-breaking event.
New England’s only regional truck division, NETS, competed at six different facilities in 2014, but none of them were road courses. Actually, the event will mark the first road course event NETS has contested in their history. Series Director, Lorraine Pard, says she and her race teams have had their eye on TSMP’s 11-turn road course since the facility’s renovations were announced. “As soon as Thompson was planning this prestigious road course, I wanted to bring the trucks to the challenge of this style of racing. This past season, teams would ask if trucks could race this course. Our 2015 schedule will be released with a road course date at Thompson. I’m pleased to announce this race to my teams.” With increasing interest in the truck division in the past 18 months, a deep and talented field can be expected.
Any Mini Stock conforming to TSMP’s Divisional rules will also be welcome to participate in a separate race.
Gingerella, President of OTB Promotions, believes that the innovative format is a great entry level event for grassroots teams. “We believe that this is going to be a fantastic event! Being a road racer, it will be great to give some of the grassroots touring series the opportunity to experience, and enjoy, a different style of racing. That’s what we are about at OTB – creativity, innovation, and fun.”
More information regarding the event, and OTB promotions will be available February 2, on OTB’s website, otbpromos.net.
About OTB Promotions
The “OTB” in OTB Promotions is an acronym for Outside the Box. It describes how we roll: promoting motorsports events outside the box. Founded by seasoned industry insiders, Josh Vanada and Lou Gingerella, OTB Promotions does things a little bit differently, choosing to think creatively about event formats and management, offering participants and spectators something new, refreshing, and affordable.
Sources: Josh Vanada/Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park PR