Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park Gears Up for the 42nd Annual Icebreaker in April
THOMPSON, CT — The 42nd Annual Icebreaker, one of the most highly anticipated racing events in New England, will take place on April 8-10, featuring the first championship race of the season for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour (NWMT). The Icebreaker this year has been expanded to twelve divisions of racing, and will once again include the popular Fan Appreciation party on the track on Sunday morning before the second day of races begin.
The Icebreaker will start off with a practice day on Friday, April 8. The pit area will open for haulers to start coming in at noon, and rotating practice sessions will begin at 1 PM for all divisions except for the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and the Pro All Stars Series (PASS). Tickets for Friday cost $15 per person for pit access. Haulers will be able to come in until 7 PM on Friday to park for the weekend.
Saturday’s on-track activity will begin at 9:45 AM with practice for PASS and NWMT competitors. The pits open at 8:00 AM and the grandstands open at 9:30 AM. Qualifying races will begin in the afternoon at 2:30 for all divisions, ending with time trials for the NWMT cars at 4:00 PM. Feature races will begin immediately after, starting with the Vintage Outlaws division who will be racing their first of three events at TSMP this season. Also returning to the Icebreaker will be the Lite Modified division, NEMA Lites, Lite Modifieds, and Trucks. Newcomers to the Icebreaker this year include the Pro All Stars Series (PASS), for their first return to the 5/8-mile oval since 2010, and the start-up stock car series, the North East Street Stock Tour (NESST). The NESST is open to any of TSMP’s Limited Sportsman cars, giving drivers the opportunity to compete twice on Icebreaker weekend.
Sunday’s events will start off with the return of the Fan Appreciation party on track. Fans will once again be invited to the Icebreaker Fan Appreciation party on the track Sunday morning for the opportunity to meet the stars and cars and enjoy some live entertainment. The morning’s activities will include a Champion Banner Raising Ceremony at 10:30 AM followed by a live concert by American Idol contestant, Timmy Brown.
The racing action will begin on Sunday afternoon at 12:35 PM starting off with the TSMP’s premier NASCAR Whelen All-American Series (NWAAS) division, the Sunoco Modifieds. Also on tap will the TSMP’s other three NWAAS divisions – the Late Models, Limited Sportsman, and Mini Stock. The Limited Sportsman and Mini Stock divisions will both be competing in their first race of the O’Reilly Auto Parts Triple Crown Championship, which earns competitors separate points in the three-race series in addition to TSMP points. PASS will be putting on an exciting 75-lap race, and the afternoon will finish up with the feature event, the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour 150-lap race at 3:30 PM.
Tickets will go on sale for the 42nd Annual Icebreaker on Tuesday, February 23rd and camping reservations will go on sale on March 1st. For more information and to order tickets, visit www.thompsonspeedway.com/event-tickets or call our office at (860) 923-2280. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter or Youtube for the most up to date information about events at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park.
Sources: Theresa Condict/Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park PR