by Jay | Mar 15, 2010 | New England, Thompson
ICEBREAKER- FIRST STEP TOWARDS 2010 THOMPSON CHAMPIONSHIPS.
THOMPSON,CT. The season-opening Icebreaker, April 10th and 11th, at the Thompson International Speedway kicks off the racing season and the drive for a coveted division championship at the historic speedway. In all, six NASCAR Whelen All-American Series division titles are up for grabs for Thompson’s weekly racers. The historic speedway is also the location where many other championships like the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, NEMA Midgets, ISMA Super Modifieds and others are traditionally decided at the end of the racing season.
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by Jay | Mar 11, 2010 | ACT, NASCAR, NASCAR K&N Pro Series, New England, PASS
HUDSON, N.H. — The old adage tells us that consistency wins championships, and Joey Polewarczyk Jr. hopes he can prove it true once again in 2010.
The 20-year-old stock car driver will have plenty of chances to find consistency on the track, committing to run the full ACT Late Model Tour season this year as well as a partial NASCAR K&N Pro Series East schedule. Polewarczyk, who owns four career ACT wins and finished a career-best fourth in the final 2009 standings, is looking forward to getting back behind the wheel.
“It’s going to be a busy summer, for sure,” Polewarczyk said. “I’m excited about it. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Polewarczyk started making waves for himself last June when he beat two-time Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart — plus a full field of Late Models — in the Vermont Governor’s Cup at Thunder Road International Speedbowl in Barre, Vt. But as good a season as Polewarczyk had, it was his offseason that’s been even more productive.
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by Jay | Mar 8, 2010 | New England, Thompson
THOMPSON PREPARES FOR OPENING OF 70TH YEAR
THOMPSON, CT. Thompson International Speedway will mark the opening of its 70th anniversary year with the running of the traditional Icebreaker on the weekend of April 10th and 11th. The famed, high-banked oval will usher in the 2010 racing season with the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour and Thompson’s own “Super 6” NASCAR Whelen All-American series divisions.
Just prior to the actual running of the Icebreaker, the speedway will be open for two full days of open practice. The first of these days is scheduled for Saturday, March 27th with the second the following Saturday, April 3rd.
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by Jay | Mar 8, 2010 | ACT, Canada, New England, Thunder Road
25th ACT SEASON SEES NEAR RECORD FULL SEASON ENTRY LIST
Waterbury, VT – The American Canadian Tour (ACT) will celebrate 25 years of Championship Stock Car Racing with one of its largest number of pre-season full season entered teams. The balance of veteran champions and new teams joining the US touring division represents five New England states and two provinces of Canada. ACT statistician Nick Bigelow said, “I have reviewed past seasons and this looks like the most diverse and best count ACT has had in the past half dozen seasons.”
A fourteen race schedule will carry teams from the shores of Connecticut at the historic Waterford Speedbowl to new tracks located as far north as Quebec City, (the newly renovated 5/8th mile Riverside Speedway in Ste-Croix), and west to the newly paved 4/10th mile Albany Saratoga Speedway in Malta, NY, just outside the New York capital city.
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by Jay | Mar 1, 2010 | New England
LePage, Morin split Pro finals in Barton for Rock Maple Racing snocross series
BARTON, VT (Mar. 1, 2010) – All season long, they’ve battled side-by-side and nose-to-tail for championship points, wins and bragging rights.
Veteran snowmobile racers Mathieu Morin and Bobby ‘The Rage’ LePage have thrilled fans in New York, New Hampshire and the province of Quebec. Last weekend, the dynamic duo took their high-flying war to Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom for another amazing display.
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by Jay | Feb 27, 2010 | New England
New format in Pro and Semi-Pro classes starts this weekend
for Rock Maple Racing snocross series
DERRY, N.H. (Feb. 26, 2010) – In response to input from race teams and driven by a desire to satisfy fans who keep snocross thriving, officials at Rock Maple Racing (RMR) have announced a major change in the way snocross race weekends will unfold.
Starting at this weekend’s ( Feb. 27-28) event at the Orleans County Fairgrounds, Pro and Semi-Pro teams will compete in one class each day from qualifying races through finals.
On Saturday, teams in Pro Stock and Semi-Pro Open will run two rounds of qualifying, an LCQ (last chance qualifier, if needed) and a final. On Sunday, teams will compete in Pro Open and Semi-Pro Stock. The end result gives fans a chance to see Pro and Semi-Pro riders run a final no matter which day they attend.
From a racer’s perspective, this new format allows each team a chance to focus on their Stock or Open sleds on separate days. The mechanics will have more prep time, and even if a rider has a bad day on Saturday he can rest up and still salvage a good points day on Sunday.
RMR was the last sanctioning body in the industry to run qualifying races on Saturday and finals on Sunday. For many years, that format worked well and fans stayed all weekend. Yet in today’s climate, fans often have to choose one day or the other to attend the races. With this new format, they’ll get to see the top talent run heats and finals, no matter which day works best for their schedule.
“We feel this change in format will be beneficial to both racers and our fans,” said Tara Saxton, President of Rock Maple Racing. “Our racers came to us with this request, backed by reasons for the change. We listened to their concerns and want to make things better for them. We also want to ensure our fans see plenty of intense racing on both Saturday and Sunday.”
This weekend’s event is the first of two back-to-back points races at the Orleans County Fairgrounds. Recent snowfall and more in the forecast should bode well for successful shows. Unlike most winters when Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom would typically be covered with two or three feet of snow, much of region had been in a snow-less lull prior to this week.
Yet when the snowmobile racers needed it most, that white gold fell on the Kingdom. Only three points races remain (including this weekend) on the 2009-10 schedule, meaning it’s now or never for those looking to secure a title. Less than 15 points separate Bobby “The Rage” LePage and Mathieu Morin in the Pro classes, so anything can happen.
For racers in the Sport, Junior and Women divisions, your weekend will remain the same. While every team within these divisions is highly-valued by RMR, this change in format was primarily designed to make the weekend flow better for Pro and Semi-Pro teams. All support classes will still enjoy final rounds on Sunday as part of an exciting ‘Main Event’
format.
Spectator gates open at 8 a.m. each day, with racing getting under way promptly at 9 a.m. Admission is $12 per day for adults, or $20 for a weekend pass. For more information, go to www.rockmaple.com.
