Tight Points Battles Leading into the Bud ‘King of Beers’ 150 at Thompson Speedway
THOMPSON, CT — The 27th annual Bud ‘King of Beers’ 150 on Wednesday, August 10, is one of the highlights of the summer at Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park (TSMP) as the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour returns for their third time this season to the 5/8-mile oval. They will be joined by TSMP’s four NASCAR Whelen All-American Series divisions, and the Northeast Midget Association’s “winged warriors”. As the series enter the second half of their season, the chase for the championship is heating up in these six divisions.
TSMP’s top-tier division, the Sunoco Modifieds, has seen Keith Rocco dominate victory lane in the first half of the season. Although Rocco has the lead by 25 points, Xfinity Series Driver, Ryan Preece, is still in contention as the championship battle heats up. Sunoco Modified Rookie, Ronnie Williams, has been another strong challenger against his car owner, Keith Rocco, having consistently finished in the top 5. Williams, who also competes at Stafford Speedway in an SK Modified, has been a quick learner at Thompson. According to Williams, “Thompson is a totally different track. The hardest thing for me to get used to is passing here, which I’m finally starting to get a handle on. We also use a much different chassis and engine from what I run at Stafford, so that’s taken some getting used to as well. Having top 5 finishes is good, but we’d still like to get a win this season.”
In the Late Model division, William Wall’s strong points lead has started to dwindle as six-time champion Rick Gentes closes in. Will started off the season strong with wins in the first three events, pulling a sizeable lead over his competition, however Rick Gentes has shown he still has what it takes to stay up front the last few events with several top five finishes and a win on July 9. Wall isn’t worried however, “I just take it one race at a time. I find when I get wrapped up in the points battle is when I start to make mistakes. I’m just out there to have fun and to try to get some good consistent finishes up front. The time we spent in the garage definitely showed earlier this season. It’s been a lot of hard work all around, and our sponsors haven’t just helped financially but also stop in and help at the track.”
The Xtra Mart Limited Sportsman division has been having an exciting season with five different winners in the six races they’ve run so far, including two first-time winners, Phil Jacques and Brent Gleason. Consistent top-5 finishes have been key for points leader, Ryan Waterman, who holds the lead despite not having made it to victory lane yet this season. Four-time champion, Scott Sundeen is close behind in the points, having seen good success in his new no. 36 car, after retiring his old championship-winning car after last season.
The Mini Stocks also have a tight battle going with another former champion in tight contention for the lead. Despite multiple wins, last year’s champion, Dave Trudeau still trails behind newcomer to the Mini Stock division, Wayne Burroughs Jr. Although new to Thompson Speedway, Burroughs is an accomplished driver, coming fresh off a championship at New London-Waterford Speedbowl. With just five points separating them, it will be a battle of the champions leading into next Wednesday’s event.
Avery Stoehr currently leads the NEMA Midgets as they make their way to TSMP for the first time this season. Stoehr currently holds a 13-point margin over Jim Chambers and a 23-tally advantage over multi time champion, Randy Cabral.
The gates for the Bud ‘King of Beers’ 150 will open at 3:30 PM on Wednesday, August 10, and feature races will begin at 5 PM. For more information about the Bud ‘King of Beers’ 150, or about TSMP, please visit our website – www.thompsonspeedway.com, or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter or Youtube.
Sources: Theresa Condict/Thompson Speedway Motorsports Park PR
Photo Credit: Clarus Studios