Yet another picture-perfect day greeted the fans at Thompson Speedway to finish off the 52nd Icebreaker with the help of the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour.
Single car, time-trial qualifying saw Mike Christopher Jr. leading much of the session before Matt Hirschman and Jon McKennedy both tied with a 19.125-second lap. Hirschman would lead the twenty-nine car field to green for the Icebreaker 150.
McKennedy took over the top spot with a strong inside exit off turn two, leading the pack as Christopher Jr. and Stephen Kopcik dug in and followed in second and third. McKennedy’s day almost came to a grinding halt with Trevor Catalano backwards by the turn two gate with the leader narrowly escaping calamity as the yellow lights flashed. A long green flag run would follow with McKennedy leading the way as Matt Swanson cut his way through to third on the grid before Ronnie Williams’ left rear decided to leave the building on lap 107.
Jon McKennedy pocketed $10,000 in the opening Monaco Modified Icebreaker 75 at the Thompson Speedway on Saturday.
The race featured a competitive field of thirty cars. Ronnie Williams quickly took the point with just 75 laps on the board to claim the winners share.
The action was intense throughout the event. Berndt stole the lead away from Williams, and McKennedy took advantage of the backslide to secure second place. Mike Christopher Jr. and Ron Silk also made their way into the top five by lap thirty.
Chase Grennan’s turn-around dust-up with the turn two wall brought caution out before the halfway point. A rough pitstop took Eric Berndt back to 15th on the grid, leaving Williams, McKennedy, Trevor Catalano, and Christopher Jr. in the top two rows.
Schofield Springs will return as a contingency sponsor for the 2026 SK Modified® division at Stafford Speedway for a third consecutive season, offering $100 bonuses to all second-place finishers. The self-service spring water vendor will distribute $2,200 in total incentives during the 2026 campaign.
“We’re happy to be able to help the SK Modified® division again,” said Larry McKinney, co-owner of Schofield Springs. “The SK Modified® division at Stafford has some of the best weekly drivers and teams in the country and they always put on a great show. We’re looking forward to watching more thrilling Friday nights of racing and helping the teams put on that great show.”
The 2025 season saw 11 drivers earn Schofield Springs bonuses, with champion Jon Puleo leading with 4 second-place finishes. Keith Rocco (3), Mikey Flynn (2), and Steven Chapman, Tyler Chapman, Michael Christopher Jr., Dylan Izzo, Alexander Pearl, Marcello Rufrano, Troy Talman, and Max Zachem each recording single second-place finishes.
The 2026 contingency payouts will begin at the 54th Annual NAPA Spring Sizzler® on April 25-26. The event features Late Model, Limited Late Model, Street Stock, and Granite State ProStock divisions on Saturday, with the SK Modified® and SK Light Modified divisions headlining Sunday’s 30-lap feature race.
(Stafford Springs, CT) — After back-to-back Street Stock track championships at Stafford Speedway, Travis Downey is making the jump to the SK Light division for 2026, where he’ll compete for R.A.D. Auto Machine Rookie of the Year honors.
Downey, who ran the #42 in the Street Stock division for the past five seasons, will switch to the #41 for his rookie campaign. He purchased an SK Light car from Jeff and Alex Pearl and will carry sponsorship from P.J. Ladola and Sons Electrical Contractors along with associate sponsors including Sullivan Automotive, Mutch Nicer Enterprises, Sanger Family Properties, Canton Well Drilling LLC, Traditional Adventures TV, RD Logging & Firewood, Coderre Farms, Canton West Avon Oil, GP Fence, Squid Decals, Cindy Burdick Motorsports, Tidy Services, Installations Plus, and Fieldstone Masonry.
(Stafford Springs, CT) — After capturing the 2025 SK Light championship, second-generation driver Meg Fuller of Auburn, MA is moving up to Stafford Speedway’s premier SK Modified® division for 2026. Fuller will join forces with Dan Avery and Keith Rocco Racing, piloting an Avery Construction car carrying her familiar #2.
Sponsors returning with Fuller include Propane Plus, P.T. Watts, Wally and Jason Koza, Rob from TFR, Interstate Transmission, RaceChoice, Metro Door, Gary Rice Shop Equipment, Renee and Ed Bennett, Avery Construction, and VR Wraps, with P.J. Ladola and Sons coming aboard as a new partner for 2026.
STAFFORD SPRINGS, CT — Gary Rice Shop Equipment is returning to Stafford Speedway for a full season in 2026 after joining the track’s contingency program midway through 2025. The company will provide first-place bonuses to SK Modified® and SK Light feature winners throughout the season — $150 per win for SK Modified® drivers and $125 per win for SK Light competitors.
Combined, the bonuses represent a total contribution of $6,150 to Stafford’s open-wheel drivers in 2026, with the SK Modified® division carrying a prize pool of $3,150 and the SK Light division at $3,000.
“We love racing, especially the modifieds, and we really enjoy coming to the track to watch the races,” said Gary Rice, owner of Gary Rice Shop Equipment. “The business that I have and the line of equipment that we offer really caters to racers with shops. We do things like automotive lifts, air compressor systems, and tire machines and we offer a racer’s discount on shop equipment. I don’t think there’s any other company like ours that advertises with circle tracks like we do and we’ve found that it works pretty fast for us. It’s nice to have a big presence at a track like Stafford.”
